Today is our last day in Australia and the boys last concert. We have been in Bundaberg for the past 2 days. It is about 3 hours north of Brisbane. Yesturday we traveled another 1 1/2 hours north to Town of 1770 where we crossed the Coral Sea for 1 1/2 hours and went snorkling on the Great Barrier Reef.

The crossing was a bit rough and many of the boys and chaps returned their breakfasts on the ride out. Barry and I did not succumb. The diving was amazing. We saw many of Nemo's cousins but Nemo himself remained elusive. Several sea turtles swimming about the reef and lots of coral.

We were taken to an island located by the reef and learned that the entire island is made up of only coral. The trees on the island hold water within the bark, which is how they grow, but there is absolutely no soil. There are even birds that bury under the ground to lay eggs. In fact the birds, which have no predators, no longer teach their young to fly and will become completely flyless as time passes.

We are heading for an area on the sunshine coast today an hour north of Brisbane. One more concert this afternoon then we fly out of Brisbane at 9 am on Sunday for LA and then NY.

We took lots of pictures and video. Bought a few souvenirs and I am bringing home of choir cold. But that is what happens when you travel with 80 boys. It is has been a wonderful experience and we are thinking about doing again.

\we were in \bathhurst on Monday just on the otherside of the Blue Mountains. \everyone was billeted and we got to stay with the head of the teacher education school at \sturt university. A town of 30,000 they were warm and welcoming. It was quite cold and very few had heat as we know it.

W e are in Brisbane now and we spent part of the day with a young woman who was tracy's counselor in camp when she was 8. What a wonderful time we had with her and her 3 year old.

Only a few more days until we return home. This may be our last post until we return.

We have spent the weekend in Sydney. It is a vibrant, cosmpolitan city. Very walkable. That is evidence by the 11+ miles we walked since arriving on Friday.

The Harbor is a buzz with shops, restaurants, ferries and of course the Opera House. Last night Barry and I took a ferry to another part of the city so we could see the city all lite up. It was exquisite.

Today we took the boys to an Australian football game. It is part rugby, part basketball, part soccer and I don't know what. Each team has 18 men on the field at a time. I don't quite understand what was going on down on the field but the Sydney Swans won over the Melbourne Blues.

We are headed to Bathhurst tomorow for one night and then on to Brisbane. Check out the choir's website. We just uploaded a ton of pictures. There is one of me being surrounded by the kangaroo's.

Hi everyone,
We have arrived in Sydney this evening after 2 exciting and busy days in Adelaide and in the Outback.

In Adelaide we went to Cleland Park which is an animal preserve. The kids and us were just blown away by the indigenous animals in the park. There were many, many kangaroos, wallabies, emus, tasmanian devils, an assortment of water foul and koalas. And the best part was that you could walk around and feed and pet the kangaroos.

They feel something like rabbits. At one point I was confronted by a large, somewhat agresive Roo who went right into my jacket pocket for the food I was carrying. I pushed him away and pulled out the bag. As I was taking some food into my hand he stood straight up and wrapped his paws around my wrist and attempted to wrestle the bag from my hands. Someone took a picture I will be able to share with you. At one point I had 7 Roo's standing around me begging for food.

Barry was just blown away from all of this. We got to hold a koala and have our pictures taken.

The boys performed in Adelaide that evening in a beautiful old town hall. They performed well, but we could tell they were tired from their day in the animal park.

It was off to Ayers Rock at 4:15 AM yesterday. Ugh. Some of us had to fly to Sydney and change planes while some of us flew to Alice Springs and then changed planes. It was like going from Atlanta to Philadelphia to get to Chicago. When we arrived we were directed to our camp ground accommodations. Barry stayed in one camp and I in another. My three boys and I had lovely accommodations. two rooms and a kitchen between us. In my double bed I could almost reach the walls on either side with my arms stretched out. Need I say anymore. Barry's wasn't much better. The best part was that you had to go outside and down the road to get to the bathhouse. For those of us who need to use the facilities in the middle of the night this was a challenge. Especially with signs posted around the camp to watch out for Dingos at night. (Large wide dogs). I told my boys to use the tree outside if they needed to go. I was more creative. I will leave that story for another time.

We drove out in our bus to watch the sun set on Ayers Rock and then had a bar b que on the resort grounds. Most of us dined on Kangaroo and Emu sausage. The male chaps took care of the barbie. Barry was in his glory having to grill the boys food. He always wanted to be a short order cook and now his dream had come true.

There was live music in the eating area while we all sat at picnic tables eating our food. For my Florida friends, it reminded us of Woody's River Roo transplanted to Australia.

Up again at 5 am to see the sun rise on Ayers Rock and then it was off the camel farm. there we met some Aboriginal people who spoke to us in their native tongue about the food they eat and how to throw spears. Several of the guides interpreted. We were then all treated to a ride on the wild camels. did you know that Australia has the largest population of wild camels in the world?

We all chose not to shower today and everyone is looking forward to showering tonight. But first we are headed to the harbor for a nighttime cruise. the chaps have off tomorrow to tour Sydney. The boys have two concerts and we are going to a football game on Sunday.

That brings you up to date. More later.

More concerts on Sunday. The boys performed at the Australian Music Educators Conference here in Perth. There was some concern about the lunchtime time slot as we heard only 20 people showed up the day before for a concert.

So in anticipation we had the boys rehearse in the lobby trying to drum up business. It worked, but so did the rumor that was spread around that the boys were not to be missed. The house was packed in the auditorium and the concert ran over 20 minutes. One of the members of audience was so taken with the boys that she stayed for the entire concert and was late for the symposium she was facilitating.

Later in the day there was a concert at the Perth Concert Hall. There were over 1400 people in attendance. Almost a full house. Again we heard that several participants at the conference skipped their last two meetings to attend the concert.

Today the boys performed at the Winter Arts Festival in downtown Perth during lunch. The crowd grew as the boys sang. In attendance was the Lord Mayor and several other dignitaries. We were then invited to a private reception in the Lord Mayor's office where the boys sang again for the Mayor.

I must tell you that view from the Mayor's office was simply breathtaking. It looks down on the Swan River and out across the city. Simply breathtaking.

Perth is called the city of lights because when John Glenn flew over Perth the entire city turned on all of the lights.

We continue to be overwhelmed by the warmth and generosity of the Australian people. Barry and I have been lucky enough to have a homestay in Perth. Our host family is delightful and I am sure we will be in touch with them long after we leave.

Heading home from dinner from our hosts home and it is on to Adelaide tomorrow.

Saturday was a travel day to Perth. What a difference 4 hours makes. We went from 40's to 60's and gained another 2 hours in time.

Interesting fact: Perth is exactly 12 hours different from Philadelphia. Okay we are a day ahead but if it is 10am in Philadelphia it is 10 pm in Perth. We were hoping to Skype the kids but that doesn't look like that is going to happen.

Barry and I lucked out and got a homestay while in Perth. A lovely family who has done quite a bit of travel themselves worldwide. We hear the accommodations at the local hostel make the hostel in Melbourne look like a palace.

The boys are performing at the Music Educators conference this morning and then later in the day there is a joint concert with the AYC Perth group.

Perth is a modern city sitting on the Swan River. There are some high rise apartment buildings but mostly business is in the downtown area. We went for a walk this morning and found the Deloitte office. Amy works for them in Philly.

We ate dinner on the wharf in Fremantle last night with our host family. Fremantle is a large port city and is quite charming. We ate dinner at a local fish house on the wharf last night. fish and chips - yummy. We will be spending some time walking around the town tomorrow sightseeing.