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1.03.11
Oprah's Ultimate Australian Holiday Itinerary
For 8 days last December Oprah and her 302 strong audience traveled to Australia to see what we have to offer. On arrival they were split into groups and went off exploring different holiday locations around the country.
This page provides an overview of her basic itinerary in case you're interested in including some of her highlights into your next trip to Australia.
The itinerary was a closely guarded secret until just days before Oprah arrived... Small towns and cities around the country all begged her to visit them, hoping the attention her visit gave to their town would bring visitors in the future.
When they did arrive what they saw in 8 days is almost humanly impossible unless you are Oprah and using chartered flights. Ideally you would not try to visit all these places in less than 3 weeks. If you do only have 8 days then just pick your two favorite spots and take the time to really see those properly. I have listed some itinerary planning tips in my Australia travel page.
In 8 days she visited the Great Barrier Reef, Uluru, Melbourne and Sydney. Her audience members visited Tasmania, Western Australia, Byron Bay, the Blue Mountains, The Hunter Valley and the Daintree Rainforest.
Touchdown in Sydney
Day 1
The lucky Oprah winners landed at Sydney Airport and headed to the Intercontinental Hotel. It's a great location that has beautiful views of the city if you are lucky enough to get a high room. It's also a short walk from the harbour and the many harbour walks.
That afternoon the group then split up, some taking bicycle tours, some walking tours and others a behind the scenes Opera House Tour. They ended the day with a twilight visit to Taronga Zoo.
Oprah visits the Great Barrier Reef and the Uluru
Day 2
Oprah landed on Hamilton Island on Queensland's Great Barrier Reef and less than 2 hours later she was nursing her first Koalas, Phoebe and Elvis (and watching them mate!) at the local wildlife park.
Later that afternoon she flew via helicopter to enjoy a beach BBQ at Whitehaven Beach, on Whitehaven Island, a short ride from Hamilton Island.
Curtis Stone, who seems to be her favourite Aussie chef, cooked up a bunch of great BBQ seafood for her and her lucky crew.They were entertained by the 10 Tenors.
Uluru and the Sounds of Silence Dinner
Day 3
This afternoon Oprah headed to Uluru to visit the great rock and learn more about the Anunga people. She spent the night at Longitude 131 resort and dined under the stars at the Sounds of Silence Dinner overlooking Uluru. If you ever have the chance to do this dinner don't think about it - just do it!
Oprah meets Melbourne & the Prime Minister
Day 4
Today Oprah was in Melbourne, Australia's second largest city, for her only public appearance outside her shows being filmed in Sydney. Approximately 10,000 fans lined up in Federation Square for hours for a chance to meet her. This was a big deal here with the Australian media going into a frenzy as can be seen in this minute by minute blog of the event in a national newspaper. She met with our Prime Minister, Julia Gillard,(and mispronounced her name) and announced Jessica Mauboy as our biggest pop artist (she's good but not really our best).
In the evening she shared dinner with a family and their friends in Toorak. She spent the night at Crown Towers Apartments in the Crown Casino Complex where the news reports of the day told us she had a nice sleep in!
There's an "O" on the Sydney Harbour Bridge
Day 5
Can you think of a better way to spend a sultry Saturday night than having a gourmet catered event in the Botanic Gardens on Sydney Harbour.
When Oprah finally arrived in Sydney we threw her a party she will remember forever. It was the first time all of her audience members had got together in one place too.
Before heading to the party she visited the home of one of her Australian viewers that she had met at one of her shows. The family BBQ in Earlwood gave her the opportunity to try her first Aussie beer, a can of Victoria Bitter (VB).
Sydney Harbour and a BridgeClimb
Day 6 and 7
Bright and early this morning Oprah and 249 of her audience attempted to set a new record for the number of people climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge simultaneously.
Sunday morning saw Oprah out exploring Sydney Harbour with Russell Crowe. Another perfect day, we were all joking that Oprah really must be God because where ever she went the sun shone and blue skies greeted her.
Oprah live from the Sydney Oprah House
Day 8
There were 350,000 requests for tickets and only 6000 seats so a ballot was arranged to distribute them.
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