January 10th

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Penrith, Australia - January 10th - 10:00pm
Today was one of those days that I think of how long I’ve been travelling and wonder WHY I don’t have my camera with me 24/7…

So I got up around 10 as I was knackered from the long day yesterday. It’s funny how tired you get over the slightest day after doing nothing for a few days! Haha

I did a little playing around on the computer, looking up a few websites that I received yesterday. Figured out where I have to go to get my tax file number and things. Jean was out for coffee with friends so I got ready for 12:30 as she was on her way home. We had to run into the plaza to get a few groceries. Jean informed me that her sister and brother in law invited us over for dinner around 5:30. So I was excited for that as I briefly met them last Sunday and they are a lovely couple.

As we left the plaza, Jean had one more stop at the hardware store and she realized that she hasn’t taken me down to see the Regatta or the White water stadium. So we took a little drive down there. These 2 sites are where some Olympic events were held in 2000 at the Sydney games. So it was very neat to see the facilities. Unfortunately there was a 12 hour cycling event being held at the regatta centre. Yes that sounds funny but there is a cycling/walking track that goes around the water which they hold the events at. Jean wasn’t sure if the regatta centre was build specifically for the games or before and just upgraded for the games but the white water stadium was definitely built specifically for the Sydney games.

Just as we got to the White water Stadium there was a large group having their final instructions before setting off in the rafts. So Jean and I walked around to get a good view of them coming down the course. The first couple times around were fairly uneventful as they were just getting familiar with everything. There were a few guys going solo in kayaks which were pretty neat to see. They were practising their dives and rolls and whatever else you call them. It was cool to see. But the best was the inexperienced people coming down. They got a little more adventurous and it started to get funny. They’d go down the rapids and get tossed out and watching them try to swim through the current to shore was funny. I’m sure it was hard but it was still funny. They had people throwing ropes to the ones that couldn’t swim against it, so everyone got back safe and sound. They then purposely set the rafts up against one of the rapids to see how many people they could lose, some of them where holding on for dear life and the others were trying to roll the raft over. Eventually everyone ended up in the water a few times which was comical. They best part of the day was seeing the male guide in a raft with about 8 -10 screaming teenage girls. They would go over the slightest rapid and scream like they were dying. I laughed but did feel bad for the young bloke (that’s male for those of you that aren’t familiar with Aussie slang).

**Lee, run it by Luc and see if a group of you, if you have a chance want to take the train up to Penrith and go white water rafting. It’s 85 per person but we might get a discount if we have enough to fill a raft. You get 90 minutes of rafting session, necessary equipment, instructions and river guide. They do have group discounts but I don’t know how many they classify as a group.**

There was a bloke in the shower that was out in the open and he was wearing a speedo. Jean informed me of the terminology that they call speedos down here…wait for it…They call them ‘Budgie Smugglers’! I laughed hysterically.

I wish I had my camera but ‘I’ll never do that again’!

It was 5pm and we still had to dash home to drop the groceries off so we had to say goodbye.
We got to Barbara and Karr’s place safely and enjoyed a fantastic dinner. We ordered Thai food from a great little restaurant. It was nice to sit outside and enjoy champagne and delicious food. We shared some great stories and have an excellent time. We said our farewells and headed off home.

Jean was feeling energetic so I put on a movie for her on my laptop and I went to bed…Good Night Everyone!

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