Day 12: Olympic Park, Siri's Surprise, and ANZ Stadium

A cold, light rain would be unavoidable today as we set out for Sydney Olympic Park under cloud-covered skies. We met Horst our tour guide for a full morning of facilities history, stories, and explanations. Of all the impressive buildings and systems, perhaps most amazing was the effort made by planners to incorporate self-sustaining features into the park's design. Solar panels, watershed and stormwater recycling systems. The list goes on.

Almost by chance, our morning Olympic Park tour guide bumped into us again at lunch (McDonalds and Subway). Horst happen to mention that the Olympic rings were down the street. And that the framing used to hoist the flame out of the water and into the Sydney sky had been turned into a fountain that looked much like it did rising out of the water. As an afterthought, I mentioned that a member of our group played (and medaled) in the 2000 Olympics. Upon hearing this, he urged us to show her the fountain. So Dr. Zarick and I approached Siri Mullinix (2000 Silver Medalist, Women's Soccer) with a "surprise." After the Olympic Games concluded, the names of all the medalists were added to a permanent exhibit beneath the fountain. A $2 coin prize to the person who found her name first. I wish I had a photo of Siri when she realized that her name was included. Then quickly, she (and the others) began looking. Their trip is nearing its end, and every dollar counts so $2 was a good offer.


A few minutes passed, as someone yelled out "they are arranged by team" and someone else yelled "it's called football here." Then Dr. Zarick found her name, along teammates Hamm, Lilly, and others. (Note: HPU faculty and staff and their immediate families are not eligible for this prize.) And here was the look on her face as she proudly relives her accomplishment:





After our brisk walk in the rain, we met a different guide (name?) at ANZ Stadium. ANZ is Australia New Zealand Bank, which recently acquired the management lease of the stadium, which is owned by the government. The tour was quite extensive with walks on the field, access to the press and corporate boxes, and explanation of the large movable sections of seating using 6 electric motors beneath the concrete stands. It was incredible to see the changes done to the stadium since the Olympics.



ANZ Stadium is to be the site of Saturday's rugby match between the Australian Wallabies and the New Zealand All Blacks. With the All Blacks recent win over England and loss to South Africa, it should be a great match. Unfortunately, we will all be leaving Sydney going our separate ways (group to NC, me to Cairns) on Friday afternoon, so we will miss the game. The next HPU group coming to Australia would do well to check all the local game schedules before booking flights. I couldn't have guessed the interest the students would have in local sports! I thought I was the only All Blacks fan in the group, but several bought gear at the ANZ Stadium merchandise store.



Part of us capped off the night with a great dinner and dessert at an Italian restaurant on the Whalf. A bit up-scale, but as we have come to realize, food is not cheap here. There are $3 cokes, $10 slices of pizza, and $20-30 entrees, regardless of the meal. I am guessing that I have spent more on food in the past 10 days than I spend on groceries in 2 months in the States! Something I suppose a person gets used to.

Tomorrow is the students' last full day in Australia, and my last full day in Sydney. We are all making last-minute decisions about what to pass up, what will cram into luggage, etc. It has been a wonderful adventure from U.S. flights to conference in Surfers Paradise to the beauty of Sydney, but there is talk of sleeping in their own beds, seeing spouses, friends, and of course pets, and the like. From what I have overheard, it has been a wonderful trip, well worth the cost. And to everyone's credit, the trip has run so smoothly with no one late for any meeting time, no missed appointments, no bad traffic, and only a day-and-a-half of rain during the entire trip. And the next HPU trip to Australia will be even better!