Well, aussie life is coming to a close. We are home on Dec. 30th and are going to just enjoy the next 12 days of Christmas. It is a little different down under, not quite as commercialized as home. No snow, not many stores playing carols and only some decorations. People are more focused on the fact that is it summer holidays!! So here's to you all, think of us on Christmas day as I will be frolicking in the ocean for one last time!!

What an amazing concert hall and of course where I feel at home. Oberon had an Awards Night which featured many musical numbers. We performed Lift Every Voice and Sing which was written during the times of strife for the African Americans in the south. We got all dolled up and had a wonderful evening.

Two shots of the infamous AYERS ROCK, though no one calls it that in Central Australia. The Anangu people are the traditional owners of ULURU, the land was officially given back to them by the government in 1985 and the aboriginals asked for help to turn it into a place that people could come to and learn about their cuture. This rock, which stands out from the landscape, is 90 storeys high (348 metres). We walked the base (9 km) as the summit was closed due to winds. They have had deaths due to people climbing it during poor conditions, so it is not open to climb very often. The rock surface gets to 65 degrees celcius! Ouch. As you travel the base, there are many sacred places that you cannot photograph, which show you the places where the aborigianal women had and raised their babies (southside) and where the aboriginal men did their training (northside). Hard to believe that 2/3 of this rock is actually still underground.

Pictured above is the OLGAS, known to the aboriginals as KATA TJUTA (meaning many heads). The size and grandeur of the 36 massive domes was very impressive. These ancient, weather-beaten mountains, covering an area of 3500 hectares, are far larger and just as imposing as ULURU. The most unique thing is that if you look closely at the picture, you can see the outline of Homer Simpson lying down. DOH!!

I celebrated my 36th birthday by going on a sleeping safari at the Werribee Open Range Zoo. It was the wildest experience to wake up to the sound of lions roaring. Especially being in Australia. This zoo has animals from Africa including; giraffes, cheetahs (see below), rhinos, meerkats, lions, zebras, vervet monkeys and hippos! We saw Harry the hippo at feeding time and he decided to spray feces from his butt while swinging his tail, boy did we run for cover!

This is Haraka - the 13 year old cheetah who lives in the zoo. That makes him 91 years old in human time! Though a bit cranky in his old age and trouble with his teeth, he was able to chow down on this rabbit like it was nothing! Cheetahs can travel up to 112 km/h, so when driving down the high way, they would pass you! They are a solitary animal which means they only get together with another cheetah to mate, besides that they are on their own.

This is Anthony from the Werribee Open Range Zoo. In Africa, he lived with all females and so does not know how to 'live' with males. Therefore, he does not know how to fight, and the other males take advantage of this. He has a horrible odour, a skin disease, and is allergic to his food. Poor Anthony, so troubled yet so adorably cute!! Interestingly enough, giraffes only sleep for 20-25 minutes a day while they are standing up. Add this fact to their very long tongue that they can put up their nose - and I believe I was a giraffe in a former life.