Today is a very very big day in Australia, being the first day of the Olympics in Sydney. During the 10 months since my arrival in Australia, the news has reported the progress every day. On many occasions it has seemed to be a litany of errors and corruption with many pessimists forecasting utter disaster in September. However, the Olympic Torch Relay around the country for the past 100 days has captured the imagination of the nation and even here, 2000km from Sydney, most people are fascinated by events in Sydney. Indeed this part of the country is almost empty of visitors at he moment; it would seem that huge numbers of people have flocked to Sydney.
The opening ceremony is a fantastic spectacle and seems to do more for the cause of Aboriginal reconciliation than the Howard government has ever managed. The one question that has been on everyone's lips for the past year was who would have the honour of lighting the flame. The main candidate has been Dawn Fraser, a swimmer who won many gold medals in 1956 and 1960 and later became an outspoken public person. She is indeed one of the Olympic heroines who get to carry the torch in the arena but the final honor goes to the Aboriginal athlete Cathy Freeman in a potent political gesture which moistens the eyes of many viewers. Even a minor technical hitch cannot detract from the magic of the moment and the raucous Aussie crowd in this Magnetic Island bar are at one with the country in their pride.
Denise shows how it is done on a wakeboard
Back on the solid ground we take a long and poorly navigated bushwalk along the beaches and forest trails. Our efforts are rewarded with the sighting of a few wild Koalas grazing on the gum trees. As always, the sighting of animals in the wild is much more pleasing than seeing their captive cousins in zoos and wildlife parks.
In the Olympics, the Aussies are thrilled with their swimmers; teenage wunderkind Ian Thorpe takes gold in his first race and then the 4x100m men's freestyle relay team manage to beat the Americans. The shouts of "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi" reach almost deafening levels after this.
I head back to the esplanade to take a swim, but the cool breeze has strengthened and I leave the waters to hardier souls than me. I do notice a large and vocal crowd in one waterfront hostelry and go to investigate the course of such revelry. I have arrived just in time for the final of the Miss Wet Tee Shirt contest featuring a bevy of local beauties. The contestants soon change this into the Miss NO Tee Shirt contest, much to the delight of the audience; and some people say that Townsville is boring !!!