Ballantyne's Blog: 06/01/2007

Well, its been 4 day so far in the land of Oz and I have much news to tell you. Firstly, the reason for coming to Oz for holiday was for my sister’s 21st birthday party, which was last night and went down swell! I met all the Aussie friends and we had a lekker jol, complete with dancing, speeches, a bar and cake... So all in all a good night had by everyone. Pictures are between each paragraph!

Arriving at Brisbane Airport

We (Grandpa and I) landed in Oz at 19h00 on Tuesday night. I was very tired on the plane, but once I saw the family I felt full of energy again. We when home for a much deserved cup of tea and my mate (Ryan Holm) come to see me with my sister's new boy friend, James Fox. Ryan and I picked up exactly where we left off 12 months ago and ended up catching a bus to 'The Paddo' (local watering hole with a wild west feel - you can roll your eyes now!), and only came home at about 2am.

The Birthday Girl

Wednesday was spent lazing around and taking a short trip to a shopping mall in the next suburb. That evening we when to see my uncle and aunt and family, who are funnily enough left for South Africa on Thursday. Thursday was spent trying to organize a play list for the party the next day, as well as allowing me time to finish off a short movie I made for my speech... I'm hoping to make it available on YouTube sometime soon. Ryan and I went out on Thursday night for supper (steak at 'The Hog's Breath' - again roll your eye's now...) which was like going to Spur, after which we went again to 'The Paddo' for some more beers.

Mom and Dad Dancing at the Party

At this point it might interest you to know what happens when you order a drink in Oz... Besides having a selection of bottled beer and ready mix rum and coke etc... most Ozzie pubs/clubs have a huge selection of beers on tap (usually around 10 - 15 on average). This not only perplexes the South African, who is used to a choice of Windhoek or Castle, but also the question was posed to me by the very forward barmaid, "Skooner, pot or pint?". Her accent was so heavy that I could hardly make out what indeed she was on about and since 'pint' was the only word that made any sense to me, i just said "Pint, please...". I learnt later that a 'skooner' is a 340ml glass and a 'pot' is around 250ml. So much or tact.... Another odd thing is that you DO NOT tip anyone in Australia... The general bar staff get an hourly rate of about $25 and this goes up depending on how long you've worked for particular pub/club and how old you are. Therefore they don't need tips to live off, however this backfires on Australian restaurants and pubs/clubs in general.... Because the service is (with exceptions, but these usually only serve drink) terrible in comparison to the South African standard!!!!

The Men!

Oh well, that ends this installment.... Tune in soon for the next exciting adventures of "Ryan - Down Under!" (And no that is not the title of some Australian blue movie......!)