Brisbane - Jan 3 - Jan 7

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We arrived at John and Gizie's around 10:30 am.  John was waiting for us and Giz was scheduled to be home later that evening after work.  Gizie works at Qantus Airlines.  Gizie's father "Charlie" happens to live right across the street from John and Giz.  He was very friendly and was constantly offering us food and drinks.  He made us lunch one day and dinner the next. 

John and Gizie's home sits right on the water in an area called the Gold Coast.  It's a beautiful neighborhood and a perfect training site.  I couldn't wait to get on the water.  It was summer time in Australia and the temperatures were in the mid 80s to low 90s with water temps around 80.  We had been skiing in dry suits in Texas since mid November. Skiing wet in January was something I had never done. 

We didn't know we we'd meet on our trip other than John and Giz, but to our surprise, in walked Oscar "Foot" Mann.  Foot moved to Australia about 3 years ago from Florida.  Foot's wife was originally from Australia and they decided to retire there to be closer to family.  Foot spends his days as a General Contractor building and remodeling homes, wood working, and playing Trivial Pursuit at the local library or town center of some sort.  Foot has the knack for retaining every bit of information he's ever read or heard.  So he's a master at the game.  He has an ongoing battle with two local retired librarians.  For those of you who don't know Foot, he's the guy that pretty much wrote the current World Barefoot Rules Guide. Ya know, the one we're always complaining about being too thick and too complicated.  Foot's can recite the thing line for line.  He's been around the sport for many years and has been a huge influence on the sport from a US National, World, and now Australian point of view.  He was recently selected as the Coach to the Australian Barefoot Team that will compete in the Worlds this coming September in the US.

To our surprise, Foot offered his tour guide services to use during our stay in Brisbane.  Being from the US, he was a great help explaining the differences between US and Australian customs, slang, and general oddities. He knew all the local history, and took us to see some great sites off the beaten path.

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One thing I noticed about Australia immediately, other than the fact that they drive on the other side of the road, was that there is practically no litter anywhere.  The place was not only beautiful, but very clean.  Aussies are big into the outdoors and do their best to recycle and keep things looking as they should.  Some other things I personally made a note of is that Aussie's aren't big on air conditioning.  They seem to have a higher tolerance for heat than even we Texan's do.  Some other things that could drive an American crazy while visiting include:

- When you order ice tea, it's bottled ice tea like Snapple and comes in a small glass with one or two ice cubes.  I've learned to order a glass of ice separately so I can pour my tea into it.  Australia is settled by European's, so many of the customs are the same as Europe.  You'll experience the same ice issues in Europe. 

- I like shrimp and oysters, and they have plenty.  But don't bother asking for cocktail sauce or horse radish.  They'll look at you like you're crazy.  Some restaurants will say they have cocktail sauce, but it's some strange concoction that tastes like French dressing and ketchup mixed together.  It's nothing like we're used to in the states.  If you come to Australia, be sure to smuggle in some cocktail sauce, horse radish, and maybe even some Tabasco sauce.

- Australians are lousy at distances.  If they tell you something is 5 minutes away, it's really 15.  15 really means 45.  If they say something is just down the street, it's about 5-10 miles.  Australia is a huge country and Aussie's think things are closer than they really are.

One of the funniest parts of the visit has been getting used to each others accents and slang.  Aussies talk fast.  My only advice is go with the flow and don't assume anything.  Stop them and ask what they just said and they'll be happy to explain.  Then let them know you'll be glad to do the same. 

During our stay at Giz and John's place, I got a chance to sit down with Oscar "Foot" and Gizie and talk a little barefooting.  Click on the link below to check out the interview.

Click Here for Video
43Meg MNV

Michele and I were also surprised by another visitor.  Clint Veivers, a barefooter from Queensland that we only knew as a customer to BarefootCentral.com.  Clink drove 3 hours after working til 3 am just to ski with Michele and I.  I couldn't believe it.  He was very excited to meet us and we had a great time skiing together and kidding each other about our accents.  Clint writes a lot of articles for the Queensland Barefoot Club's news letter and has a few articles in the Australian Waterski Magazine.  He also runs the website for the Queensland Barefoot Club's website.  So we had plenty to talk about.

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It was a real pleasure skiing with Gizie.  I had never had the opportunity to ski with her and I was thoroughly impressed.  She skies as good as any top Open Men's skier I've ever skied with.  Clean and confident surface turns, front flips, and feet to feet toe turns.  I asked her if she did line steps and she said she could only do a line-front and couldn't see herself doing a line-back.  So I saw that as a challenge.  I spent 3 years learning line backs and know damn near every trick in the book to figuring them out, so I told Giz to get out the shoe skis because she was going to do a line back before I left.  She looked at me like I was crazy, especially seeing as though we only had two days to ski together.  I told her I'd give her the crash course and if she would attempt a few and get out of her comfort zone for me, I guaranteed she'd get one.  She tried about 20 the first day and was starting to get the feel of what I needed her to do.  Then after about 5 attempts in her first set on the 2nd day, she was getting her leg over the line but still falling away.  During her 2nd set I told her to try a few more after giving her some pointer, then low and behold she skied one away.  We were all yelling and screaming.  I couldn't believe it.  Giz was so excited she hugged and kissed me.  That doesn't happen very often to me.  ha ha

Brisbane is a great city with so much to do.  We couldn't do everything, but one thing we had to do was visit the zoo where crocodile hunter Steve Erwin makes his home. The zoo was located about 15 miles out of town in an area they call the Glass House Mountains, which are ancient volcano spouts that are now nothing more than a huge rock formation sticking up from the ground.  They are huge and can be seen for miles.  It was fun visiting the zoo and seeing Steve Erwin's crocodile show.  They have several stadiums set up (all different sizes) just for his shows.  His image was everywhere.  It was strange though.  The Aussies don't really like him.  They feel he has made them look foolish to the world.  People come to Australia thinking all Aussies are like Steve. 

Click Here for Video from our visit to the Zoo
25Meg MNV

 

After the zoo, we went shopping for Opals at a local opal shop and then visited the famous Ettamogah Pub. It was very cool.  We sat and talked and had several beers while Foot filled us in on even more local facts and history.  The man is a bottomless pit of useless and interesting information.

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On one day Gizzy took Michele downtown Brisbane to explore the city and check out the beach called Surfers Paradise.  There were hundreds of surfers in the water and a very cool sand castle. 

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On our last night we all went out to dinner that evening at John and Gizie's favorite restaurant.  We were all parting ways early in the morning.  Michele and I were heading to Heron Island and John, Giz, and Foot were headed to Melbourne to attend an Australian Barefoot Team practice weekend for the Open division skiers.

Special Thanks to John, Gizie, Foot, Charlie and Clint for making us feel so welcome.  You'll be welcome at our home any time.