Add another word to your strine vocabulary. You know what a kangaroo is, you may know that a Jackaroo is a male ranch hand. But did you know a Jillaroo is a female ranch hand?

Australia’s outback expanses of remote farms have a hard time attracting workers away from the high paying mining jobs. So women have stepped in to learn the ropes and to have an experience of a lifetime doing the farm work.

 

Australia has exported a lot of its culture via characters like Crocodile Dundee and Dame Edna Everage, but the language is still a barrier to many people understanding the country, as is the strangely cockney-like accent.

If you ever had to study the ‘national anthem’ Waltzing Matilda, you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s incomprehensible. Rhyming slang and obscure cultural references abound.

But if you travel to Australia you find a rich land and proudly independent people living in their self-described ‘the lucky country’.

A trip to see Australia is a daunting prospect unless you live in New Zealand. Travel to either of these places from the northern hemisphere involves a major investment in long-haul air time.

Just like these antipodeans who travel to Europe for long periods to make the effort worth it, northerners should plan on allocating as much time as you can to spend in New Zealand and Australia.

While the southern summer is the most popular time to vacation, it is also the most expensive, and busiest. Beaches are crowded, travel in New Zealand and Australia is congested and everyone is making the most of the season.

But go in the shoulder or off-seasons and the sight-seeing is much more relaxed and enjoyable. Both countries have a pleasant climate, and weather is amenable if you pick the right parts of the countries to be in. Don’t go to the beaches of New Zealand in August, but try some alpine skiing or snowboarding. Check out the Great Barrier Reef and the Gold Coast while everyone else is shivering in the south.

Whatever you do don’t expect the locals to speak American. They speak English, sort of, and it’s fun to learn the dialect.

NBC Olympics coverage will begin with the US Olympic Trials starting Thursday. NBC will broadcast on Universal Sports with 16 hours of Olympic Trials. The NBC Olympics coverage offers 50 hours of trials including primetime on NBC and USA.

While the US Open is presenting its own grand standing and action, the USGA (United States Golf Association) announces that it is awarding 143 grants to promote and support golf programs, and these are not related to the US Open.

Another sordid celebrity case unfolds with the guilty pleas of Kelly Ryan Titus and Craig Titus. The two former bodybuilding stars admitted killing their personal assistant, Melissa James, after first claiming she had died from a drug overdose. Perhaps the

Resistance Stretching is based on a book by Bob Cooley, “The Genius of Flexibility: The Smart Way to Stretch and Strengthen Your Body” There no doubt that this book, the concepts, Dara Torres Resistance Stretching endorsements and testimonials provides results.