MardiGrasStory

Our time in New Zealand allowed us to slow down our life a little. We had a chance to develop our own routine instead of one that had been dictated by work and commitments for such a long period of time. We finally were able to catch up on long sought after sleep and just experience life at a leisurely pace. We thought, naively, that this is how all the rest of our travel would be. This was dramatically altered when we touched down in Sydney.

We were quite excited to have a friend from home, John Early, meet up with us but we had no idea that he was bringing along a surprise. Our friend Jon Ringham was with him to help blow out one of the largest and wildest global parties, The Sydney Mardi Gras. To prepare for the upcoming main event, the Night Parade, we started checking out the club scene of Sydney. Once again becoming nocturnal, we danced away the nights with our friends and took in only a few hours of sightseeing each day. But as we did walk around we could feel the energy radiating all about us. People were frantically searching for that little something extra for their costumes. Anything that glittered or was made of leather and steal had long been swiped from the shelves. You could feel it...the party was about to begin.

As the night pushed away the afternoon sun, everyone in town began making their way to Oxford St. There was a positive vibe in the air. All of us started getting that feeling inside when you know you�re going to have a really good night. There's nothing else like it. And, we weren�t the only ones feeling that feeling. Oxford St. was shaking and Sydney had come alive for one extraordinary night of passion, fun and pure sass. There were over half a million people from all over the world on the streets of Sydney for the world's most famous celebration of pride. It is Australia's largest outdoor event and it is WILD. It is a unique event where politics and entertainment collide to produce a vital, sweaty and unforgettable statement of acceptance.

The parade kicked off with thousands of motorcycles making their way down the street. The famous "Dikes on Bikes" had covered their headlights with film forming a perfect shimmering rainbow that extended for almost 2 miles. Half a million people were literally jumping up and down as lights, fireworks, explosions, lasers and thumping music were all around us for the 4 hour event. Not that we're biased or anything but the USA Float took the show. It consisted of an enormous dance team wearing "Hot Pants" that resembled the American Flag and they were getting down to the booming sounds of Madonna's "Hey Mr. DJ put a record on I want to dance with my baby..." Wow!!! All night long the pace quickened and the senses were bombarded with input from all directions. As the parade ends to a huge round of fireworks, the clubs begin to open their doors. As you probably expect, that is when it really begins. Lights, Music, Costumes, Drinks, Dancing.....As often happens, night faded to day in a blink of an eye.

Next Adventure: Rolling Down Under Through Australia