Australia 2000 - The Olympics

A typical day at Olympic Park. It was hard not to get run over by people. The fun part was listening to so many different languages and seeing folks dressed up in silly costumes to cheer their country. The volunteers were extremely nice.

The Olympic Torch by day

The Olympic Torch at night	The Stadium at night - what a sight!
The fountain at night - long exposure for effect. Cool!

This koala dude was very relaxed!	This guy jumped out a tree and was suddenly confronted by a busload of Japanese tourists. I took this pic as he was looking for an escape route.
What a cutie! They sleep all the time.	These are Rainbow Lorikeets, which are very common in Oz. There was a flock of about 30 birds living in one of the caravan parks we stayed at.
What a cutie! They sleep all the time.	This baby kept sticking his head into mom's pouch to collect goodies!
We caught this guy sleeping. They're very soft...much softer than the koalas.	Stevo made friends with a mom. Check out the baby head sticking out of her pouch!

The campervan dude! This was a good vehicle, but too bouncy on the bumpy roads, and very uncomfortable to sleep in. We did have some very romantic candlelight dinners, though. This is our fav campsite - right off the beach at Port Macquarie, which is aboutr 500km north of Sydney.	Here's the beach...our backyard for the evening. The stars were incredible, and we got our first glimpse of the Southern Cross.
Dangar Falls, near one of the World Heritage Rainforests. It was very windy, but pretty.	This is the lighthouse at Byron Bay, which is a hippie community much like Santa Cruz. We felt right at home!
This is the view of the bay and part of the town from the lighthouse. It's a very popular hangliding spot.	Steve at the Easternmost Point of the Australian Mainland. We were a bit cranky this day. Can you tell?
This is Elliot Heads beach near Bundaberg, which happens to be the rum capital of Australia. This was the day we realized we weren't going to make it to the Great Barrier Reef. We should have bought some rum.

Steve works on Nicole in the parking garage of the Samsung Pavilion. See the worker on his break in the background?	You'd think they'd give a visiting doctor more consideration.
Nicole just before the race. She was up for it!	This is around the 5th lap. She was dead tired, cold and had these two wheelsuckers drafting her the whole time. What sportsmanship!
Steve with Nicole's coach Gale and her husband Del. There's no mistake about which country they're supporting!	After the race - she was happy to have finished!