What a day! A real Aussie Road Trip. Not quite 'Priscilla, Queen of the Desert,' but it did include a suprise
discovery of another cinematic sort. First headed south of Sydney along Australia's Pacific shore to the coastal
village of Stanwell Park, overlooked by a precipitous cliff reminiscent of the Torrey Pines Glider Port in San Diego, complete
with a steady stream of daredevil hangliders and paragliders launching themselves into silent flight over the azure waters
below. From there, inland past miles of bush, including some charred in incessant bushfires, to country farm towns named
Berry and Robertson.
Roberston, I was told to my suprise upon our approach, is where 'Babe' and 'Babe: Pig in the City' were filmed.
After asking a few locals where Babe's farm was, we finally found it over a ridge alongside a narrow country road, smack
in the middle of rolling farmland seemingly lifted right from the Babe movies. What remained of the the set -- once
a real farm created for the movie -- was torn-up pieces of structures that nonetheless called to mind several scenes
from the two movies, including the well that Babe fell down!
After a full 'Devonshire tea' (tea and scones served with insane amounts of heavy whipped cream and strawberry
jam) at a manor house near Babe's farm, we drove through Kangaroo Valley before returning to Sydney. Alas, no Kangaroos
were spotted, but a couple of 'Wombat crossing' signs at least slightly mitigated that disappointment.
Tomorrow are the Opening Ceremonies of the Games, and my thoughts will need to turn from exploring this endlessly fascinating
and beautiful land to the serious (but fun) business of competing in my greatest sporting event ever Stay tuned!.
