Thanks Reba for letting your fans follow you on your tour in Australia
Hello from Australia,
I arrived in Melbourne at around 9:45 AM on Wednesday. I was very excited about this trip because I got to bring my Mother-in law, Father-in law, Mama and Daddy to Australia for their first visit. Narvel, Shelby and I had talked about our first trip to Australia, last year so much, they said when we came back they wanted to travel with us.
On our first day here we got out and walked in the beautiful parks of Melbourne and enjoyed the flowers, trees and the sunshine. After the long flight, the exercise and sun always seems to rejuvenate us. We had a great family dinner and went to bed fairly early to try and get on their time zone and to get some rest for all the press we had planned for Thursday. Thursday, my day started at 8:00 AM with a phone interview with Peter O'Callaghan with 3MP radio here in Melbourne. 3MP is the presenting station for our show in Melbourne. After the radio interview, we traveled to the Channel 9 studios where I performed "What Do You Say?" on the Today Show. It was great to get to see my friend Steve Liebman, the host of the Today Show. When he was in Nashville on vacation, he and his wife came to our home and visited with us. We had a great time. It's always great to get to visit with Steve.
After the today show, I did an interview with John Laws at 2UE radio by phone. I will get to see John later on in Sydney to do his TV show next week. At 9:30 AM we traveled to the Channel 7 studios where I was on the Denise Show. This show was special for me because the last time I was in Australia, I was on Denise's very first show that went on the air. It was great to see her again and this time I got to give her a small birthday cake and sing Happy Birthday to her. I sang "What Do You Say" which is a song off my new CD called "So Good Together".
At 10:50 AM we went to the Channel 10 studios where I rehearsed the same song for the GMA show. They were taping their last show of the year soafter rehearsing I had a couple of hours before the taping was scheduled. During those two hours, I did photo shoots and interviews with the Herald Sun newspaper from Melbourne, Sunday Telegraph newspaper from Sydney and The Australian which is the national newspaper. By this time it was 1:00 PM and time to tape the GMA show. After the performance, needless to say, I was getting a little hungry so we took a break and had great Italian food for lunch.
At 2:30 we traveled to the 3AW studios where I was on the radio live for about 40 minutes with Ernie Sigley. I had done an interview with Ernie on my last visit and it's always so much fun to get to visit with him. Ernie took some calls from listeners while I was there and that is always fun. We were headed back to the hotel by 3:30 and traffic was beginning to get pretty heavy. We made it back in time for me to do a few radio phone interviews that started at 4:00 PM. I did interviews with 2CC and 2CN radio in Canberra. We will be doing a show in Canberra on December the 12th. To finish off my day I did two phone interviews with radio stations 5DN and ABC/5AN in Adelaide. Our concert is on December 6th in Adelaide.
By this time I am pretty tired of talking about myself. I am now going to do one of my favorite things and that is to take Shelby to the pool for a little
relaxation. We will have a big family dinner tonight and tell stories about what all everyone got to do and see today. I'm a little tired but it has been
a great day.
We'll all get some rest and start again tomorrow.
Love,
Reba
Adelaide, Australia
Today was a day off and a day of travel. The band, crew and I woke up in Melbourne and headed to the airport. We flew to Adelaide around 11:00 AM. It's quite interesting going to the airport with around 100 bags to check-in and 40 people traveling. Once everyone's bags were checked in and everyone had their boarding passes everyone scattered looking for breakfast, coffee or a magazine to read. Just as the plane began to board, everyone appear from all around just in time to make the flight.
We arrived in Adelaide around 12:15 PM. Our hotel was downtown near the shopping and although it was Sunday, the city streets were buzzing. A few of us hit the stores and the first thing that hit my eye was a bookstore. The last time I was here I bought a few books of an Australian author Di Morrissey. Today I found the book, "Scatter the Stars" and then another Australian author, Bryce Courtenay's book "The Potato Factory". I love to read, it passes the time away while waiting on planes and I learn more about Australia. Shelby stayed at the hotel swimming with the dancers and then played cards with his grandparents.
With dinner coming on, we scheduled our dinner plans on top the mountain overlooking Adelaide. The food was great. Kangaroo was on the menu but none of us were brave or curious enough to try it. A lot of the band and crew have colds, maybe a touch of the flu and some are still trying to get acclimated to the time change. But all and all, we're having a great time.Tomorrow we have a tour planned through the wine country and then the show tomorrow night, so I'd better get in bed and get some rest.
Reba
Melbourne, Australia
We’ll its Saturday and I finally got a break. Not only with the interviews but with the weather. It cooled off to around 72 degrees and was a beautiful day. When I counted the interviews that I had done in the last two day, I had done 25. I was ready for a change so I got up eager to get out and do a little shopping. We walked down Collins Street, where there are some great shops, and I bought a beautiful necklace of Lapus and Pearls that was made in Broome. On my last trip here I bought a book called "Tears Of The Moon" that taught me a lot about the pearling industry in the1800’s in Broome. There’s nothing like a great shopping trip to get awoman recharged.
Around 4:00 PM I went over to the auditorium to do a sound check and a little rehearsal. The dancers and I worked out a few of our routines and the band and I rehearsed a couple of new songs. We hadn’t performed since we did a TV show in the U.S. around the 23rd of November. Everyone was excited to get back on stage. While we were out shopping and at the auditorium, Narvel’s parents and my parents took Shelby to the Melbourne zoo. Shelby got to see a young Kangaroo in its mother’s pouch and saw several Koalas. This was a great experience for him and will be great for his school report when we return home.
Then it was show time and the band and I couldn’t wait to get back in front of the Australian audience. The feeling was different this time because when we were here before, I had no idea how the audience would respond to my music. Last time the response was so great, we were very excited to get back out there. When the curtain went up, we weren’t disappointed. The audience was as fabulous as we remembered and we had a great time.
Then it was back to the hotel to pack up and get ready to leave for Adelaide early in the morning. We sure enjoyed our stay in Melbourne and as usual, we can’t wait to come back. I hope you will be able to join us somewhere on the tour before it’s over.
Talk to you tomorrow,
Reba
December 7, 1999 Monday
Adelaide, Australia
It was another fast paced day for us, of course, it always is on a day off. That’s the way we operate. We work hard and we play hard! Shelby got up the earliest because he had his schoolwork to do. I ordered us breakfast in the meantime and then we all got ready and met the grandparents and friends downstairs for our sight seeing tour that started at 10am. What made this so unusual, was that we toured today in two 1955 Chevy’s.They were in great shape and looked too cool! We took in the sights on our way to the Fox Creek winery where we sampled a few of the local wines of Adelaide. They were all very good. Then before leaving, Narvel,Shelby and I got our picture taken in front of the sign at the winery.
Then we went on to lunch. It was great food with great company. The menu had everything from pheasant, which I had, to swordfish, steak, rotello,which is pasta, with mushrooms and everything in between. With wonderful soup to start with and a wide variety of desserts to choose from, we waddled back to our cars for the trip back into town. My daddy had said earlier that he wanted to buy a bullwhip to take back home for his grandson. So we went to the R.M. Williams’s store and museum and looked around a bit. Daddy found the bullwhips and also saw the price! They ranged from $194.00 to $395.00. Daddy gave a startled look and said, "I wouldn’t give that if I had to buy the Grandson!" This had the store in a belly laugh especially those who know my Daddy! He’s such a character! We did make it out of the store with belts, shirts and a knife for Shelby that was bought by his grandparents as a Christmas present.
We had time for a quick nap and to get ready to go get a bite of supper and then it was on to the venue for the show. For some reason unbeknownst to me, the opening act hadn’t shown up yet. The show started at 8pm and it was already 7:45pm. So Narvel let me know to be ready just in case they didn’t show up. Eight o’clock came and There was no opening act. So I was ready to go to the stage when Jake, my tour manager, let us know over the radio that someone had been called in to fill the spot for the opening act. His name was Roland Powell and he had just gotten back from recording in Nashville with some folks all of us knew. You talk about a small world! Thanks Roland for helping us out!
So even though the show started a little late, it came off without a hitch! The audience was very responsive and attentive. We all had a great time. This was our second time to perform in Adelaide and I sure hope it won’t be our last. We all met in the bar at the hotel for drinks and some sandwiches and to recap a wonderful day. After that, it was back to our rooms to pack up and get ready to fly to Sydney tomorrow morning. So we’ll see you tomorrow.
Thanks for taking this journey with me, Reba
December 7, 1999
Sydney, Australia
Today was my first full day off here in Australia. We woke up in Adelaide and had a flight to Sydney around 11:15 AM. It was near 100degrees in Adelaide and we thoroughly loved the people and the scenery around Adelaide but we were ready to head to a cooler climate. Everyone told us it was very unusual for Adelaide to be so hot. The area around Adelaide reminded us a lot of Northern California around Napa Valley. We arrived in Sydney around 12:30 PM and headed to the hotel. We got unpacked again, which has to be the worst part of traveling, and headed down to the harbor. We got on a boat and cruised all around Sydney harbor and learned a lot about the early days of Australia. The weather was much nicer with the temperature being around 80 degrees. After the cruise we all headed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. We ate at Bel Mondo near the harbor and had a great dinner.
We returned to the hotel and decided to go to the bar at the top of the hotel that had a great view of all of Sydney. Some of the crew, band and dancers came in and we sat and told jokes and old road stories for a long time. The crew had to depart the hotel at 6:00 AM the next morning to drive to New Castle to set up the show. Since it was getting late we all decided it was time to get some rest. We got to see one of the most beautiful cities in the world and had a great day.
I'll talk to you tomorrow.
Reba
Sydney & New Castle, Australia
Hi to everyone!
I woke up in Sydney and had 3 phone interviews to do this morning. The family took off to go sightseeing again. They were off to see thewildlife and see some aboriginal carvings. After a wonderful lunch at the hotel, Narvel, Sandi and I headed over to Foxtel TV for the John Laws Television Talk Show. I always enjoy visiting with John, it was great to see him again. Before we left, I got to meet Kasey Chambers, who won Country Album of the year at the Australia Recording Industry Awards. So we got to visit a little and I got to take a picture with her.
We went back to the hotel about the same time that our family was returning from their sightseeing tour. We talked for a few minutes and then told them bye because we hopped back in the van and headed north toNew Castle for our show. It took us two and half-hours to drive up there and the scenery was lovely. The show was a lot of fun. It was in a theatre with a very small stage. The dancers and I were a little closer together at times but we made it through all the dance numbers without any serious casualties! The audience was very attentive and responsive. I sure did appreciate them.
The drive back to Sydney was quicker because there was less traffic. We got back to the hotel about 1 AM and Shelby was sound asleep.I have an interview in the morning but the rest of the day is off. I'vebeen polishing my credit cards for a shopping trip. I can't wait.
I'll talk to you tomorrow.
Reba
December 11, 1999
Sydney, Australia
We had the morning off so Shelby, Narvel and I slept late. My AOL Australia Chat on the Internet started at noon, which was veryi nteresting. There was a lady here in Sydney who would ask me question sthat came up on her computer screen, I would answer them and then another lady would type out my answers. We did this for about 30 minutes with questions coming in from all over Australia and the U.S. Shelby and I went downstairs for lunch while Narvel got on the computer to do some work. Our parents went on a tour today going all aroundS ydney and looking at all the beautiful beaches. I think Shelby was alittle toured out so he stayed with Dad and me.
We shopped a little and went to an opal shop. They told us how they mine for opals then bring them back to their shop, clean and polish them, and then mount them in beautiful mountings and sell them as earring, necklaces, rings andletter openers. We saw pictures of the mine fields where they mine for the opals. He said that they usually find the mines where the opals are with geologists and very scientific means. But one day their dogw ondered off and became lost. They found him nosing around in a place that produced over a two million dollars worth of opals. We've been looking for a dog ever since. Shelby was tired of shopping so we found a nice park and Narvel and Shelby played rugby until we headed back to the hotel.
Shelby, Gloria, (Narvel's Mother), Mama, and I met in the sitting area before dinner to play cards. Shelby won the first game and Mama won the second. One of the great things about this trip is that Shelby has gotten to spend a lot of time with his grandparents. He doesn't get to see them as much as we would like because we live so far apart. Then everyone else came down and we ate before leaving for the show. A local artist named Darren Coogan opened the show for us and just like the night before the crowd, my band and I had a great time. This was our second night at the Sydney State Theatre and the sound was unbelievable in the theatre. Such a beautiful place built in 1929 and still in it's original décor, I couldn't help but think about all the great artist over the years that had stood on that stage. After the show, I visited with Peter Bond who is the CEO of Universal Australia. He had never seen me perform before and I was thrilled that he came to our show. I also got to meet a lady who is a DJ fromSingapore. She said country music is very popular in Singapore and also in Japan and China. That's great news because Narvel and I have always wanted to go see that part of the world. I just hope the band and crewd o too! Wouldn't that be fun?!We then headed back to the hotel. My folks, friends from Texas, Narvel and I all met up at the bar in the top of the hotel, which has a gorgeous view of the Sydney harbor and Opera House. We visited and reminisced about our tour of Australia thus far and said goodbye to ou rfriends from Texas, Anne and Jerdy Gary who are heading back home. We're having a great time!
Talk to you tomorrow,
Reba
December 12, 1999
Sydney & Canberra, Australia
Royal Theatre
All of our family left on a sightseeing tour this morning at 9am, so I got up and got Shelby ready to head out on another adventure. I have a show tonight in Canberra, just south of Sydney, so Narvel and I didn't get to go with them. We leave first thing in the morning for Brisbane, so today was spent packing up all of our things in the hotel room that we've lived in for six days. Things sure can get scattered in that amount of time!
We left the hotel at 2:45 PM and headed to the airport. We met up with the band and dancers. The crew had to depart the hotel at 6:00 AM and didn't get through loading all the trucks from our show in Sydney last night until 3:30 AM. They are the hardest working people in show business. There is no way this show could go on the road at the rate it does without them. We flew for 45 minutes down south to Canberra where it looks a lot like Colorado Springs, Colorado! It's beautiful down here! We never know what to expect each time we arrive in a new city. Since we didn't play Canberra when we were down here in 1998, we were pleasantly surprised tofind another beautiful city.
The show didn't start for another 3 hours when we got to the venue, so Jake set up reservations for Narvel, Sandi, himself and me at what they said is the 3rd highest rated Asian Restaurant in Australia. We headed over there at 6 and they were right! It was great! So we got back to the venue in time to get ready for the show. The audience was very responsive and very attentive. After the show, we got to meet the American Ambassador to Australia, and her husband. Since there weren't any flights going into Sydney that late at night, we all rode back on a bus together to Sydney. It was a three and a half-hour drive, so a lot of jokes were told and a lot of Submarine sandwiches were eaten for those that weren't snoring! Good thing tomorrow is a day off! Everyone will need it!
Talk to you tomorrow,
Reba
December 14, 1999
Brisbane, Australia
Today was cloudy but it never rained. Narvel and I worked on the computer while Shelby did school work this morning. Shelby and the grandparents headed out for another sightseeing tour. They toured Lamington National Park, Surfers Paradise and the coastline from Coolangatta to Moreton Bay. Moreton Bay Bugs are Shelby's new favorite food. For those of you outside of Australia, Moreton Bay Bugs are alittle like lobster and a little like crabs. Shelby also got to do the Treetop Walk, which is a swinging bridge above a 200-ft. gorge.
Narvel and I headed into town to try to do some Christmas shopping.We're running out of time so we are trying to get caught up before we head home. We don't arrive back in Tennessee until the 23rd of Decemberand after being jet lagged, I'm not sure that we will feel like heading to the shopping malls when we return.We had a show tonight in Toowoomba. That's about a two-hour drive west of Brisbane. The drive was beautiful. It reminded us a lot of parts of Colorado and Montana. We performed in the Empire Theater. It is an old theater that has been recently restored. It was beautiful. The city of Toowoomba sits on top of a hill. We have another show there tomorrow night and we plan to drive up a little earlier so we can see more of the city.I 'm writing this letter in the back of the van riding back to Brisbane.The roads are a little rough so typing is a little difficult. We're arriving at the hotel and I'm tired so I'll talk to you tomorrow.
Reba
December 15, 1999
Brisbane, Australia
The day started with Shelby doing his schoolwork. Then the family went on a sightseeing tour to Noosa and the Sunshine Coast Region. Noosa isa sleepy little town two hours north of Brisbane that reminded us a little of Carmel, California. The beaches were beautiful and we had lunch at a restaurant that over looked the beach. When we were half waythrough with our lunch, it started to rain. We had to cut our tour short so we could get back to the hotel in time to get ready for the 2 hour drive to Toowoomba for the show. Scott, our driver, had been up since 5:30am because he doubles as an undercover agent for the police. He captured a bank robber that had been released from prison for 18 months. He even made the morning news.
The drive was a pretty one. We saw lots of cattle, emu, and good grazing land. The sunset was beautiful. When we got to the venue, we ate dinner in catering and I went to get ready for the show. Troy Casser Daily opened the show again tonight and did a great job. He's very popular in the country music industry down here. The crowd really liked him. After the show, a couple of friends of Susie and Paul's, my sister and her husband, Roz and Allan Flood from Warwick came back to say hi. They also rodeo like my family and both competed in the Australian National Finals last week and did very well.
Shelby had been hanging out with the dancers so he asked to ride on the bus with the band and dancers back to Brisbane. He has had a great time out on this tour. What a lucky guy! I sure am glad he, Mama, Daddy, Gloria, and Narvel, Narvel's parents, came out with us. It sure has been fun. On the trip back to Brisbane after the show, we got out of town away from the lights and stopped along side of the road and got out to look at the stars. They are so different from the ones on our side of the world in the U.S. They seem to go from horizon to horizon and so close. Then I talked Scott, out driver, into stopping at a McDonalds about 30 minutes out of Toowoomba to get something to eat. Shelby will be disappointed that he didn't ride with us. So ends another great day in Australia.
Good Day Mate!
Reba
December 16, 1999
Brisbane, Australia
It was another beautiful day in Australia today! We took the band, dancers, and our parents out on a boat that took us down the Brisbane River. Just as we were pulling away from the dock, a small jetty pulled up behind us. It was my cousin on my daddy's side that had been docked here in Brisbane. She and her family are sailing around the world. The last time we came "Down Under" they were in New Zealand. You talk about a small world. They are docked right outside our hotel! We got to visit and made arrangements for them to come to the show tonight.We had a great time out cruising! We ate lunch, sunned a little, played cards, danced, and took lots of pictures. Then it was back to the hotel. After dinner we went to the show that was at the Entertainment Center 20 minutes from the hotel. We had a great audience tonight. They were very responsive and attentive. After the show, we had a small birthday party for our December birthdaypeople! Terry Fox, Chris Hicks and Brandon Blackstock were all presented with the famous "On The Road Pie In The Face" award! See it's really not that glamorous out here after all! They also got a great tasting chocolate cake. By the time we got back to the hotel, everyone was ready to hit the sack and get ready for another day tomorrow. We fly to Townsville tomorrow and we have two shows left for the year.
See ya,
Reba
December 17, 1999
Brisbane & Townsville, Australia
Our day today consisted of traveling! We packed up and left our hotel in Brisbane and as we were closing our door to the van, Daddy's cousin, Bev McEntire McMillian knocked on the window. We visited a little more and then said our good-byes. Bev and her family are sailing around the world in their boat and the last time we were in New Zealand, they were in Auckland, New Zealand. A year and a half later, we're in Brisbane and here they are too! It sure was good to see family but unusual that it was half way around the world from where we live!
Mama sat by me on the plane to Townsville and filled me in on a lot of what I didn't know about her Daddy's family and his growing up years. It's funny how little I know about my ancestors even after writing my autobiography. He had a very interesting life. Townsville reminds us all a little of Florida, very tropical, hot and humid. Since we're on tour at Christmas time, we missed our annual Starstruck Christmas Party. So the folks at the office had a Christmas lunch in Nashville and the band, crew, dancers and our family members had Christmas dinner here in Australia. Then we took a boat ride after dinner and had a great time visiting, telling road stories and dancing.
It was a special night. Brian Leedham, my production manager, ended dinner with a toast to a wonderful, eventful year. The toast was to successfully touring Europe, United States, Brazil and Australia, recording two albums and the making of two movies all starting January4th, 1999. What fun we've had! Thanks to all of you reading this for supporting me in what I love to do!
From Townsville, Australia,
Good Day, Mate!
Love to you all,
Reba
December 18, 1999 Saturday
Townsville, Australia
We got to sleep in this morning. Shelby did his school work and then we were off to learn about the town of Townsville. Townsville housed the Australian Air force Base Headquarters during WW II. We saw the Old Quarantine Station building where immigrants had to clear before entering the country. We went up Castle Hill and had a panoramic view of the city.
Being just about toured out, (I think we know more about Australia than we do the United States!), we came back to the hotel and had lunch. Shelby had one last report to do for his music class, so we went back tothe room and he finished that. Then out to the pool!!! The weather is very tropical here, the sun is hot but the breeze is cool! So Mama and I sat out by the pool and visited while Shelby swam with Mark, one of my dancers, and Jenifer, my fiddle player.
A lot of the dancers, band, Jake and Sandi went out snorkeling and scuba diving out at the Great Barrier Reef. They had a great time! The show went great! We had another wonderful audience. We got back to the hotel and told our parent's goodbye, they head back first thing in the morning. They had a wonderful time in Australia. A trip they will never forget.
Talk to you tomorrow,
Reba
Townsville & Cairns, Australia
December 19, 1999
Our parents, minus Daddy, flew out of Townsville this morning and headed back to Sydney. Daddy had called last night and was catching a ride with some people in Nyngan where he had been staying this past week. So he’d meet Mama at the hotel in Sydney later on that day. He said he had a wonderful time and going out into the country made his trip to Australia 4 times better.They even had a barbeque for him before he left. They had lamb, pork chops,bacon and sausage. One night they even cooked kangaroo. He said he saw lots of wild goats and hundreds of kangaroo. He loved it! The folks back in Oklahoma will be hearing about this trip for a long, long time! Good on ya, Daddy!
The rest of us took two smaller planes on up to Cairns. It’s very tropical and looks a lot like Hawaii, very pretty. Once Narvel, Shelby and I got into our rooms and unpacked, a car took us over to the helicopter pad. The band, crew and office staff of Starstruck had gotten Narvel and I a helicopter tour of the Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef for our Christmas present! We thoroughly enjoyed it! We saw giant stingrays and a shark and lots of jellyfish that were floating on the top of the ocean. We landed on a small area of sand right out in the Great Barrier Reef and looked around a bit and then off we went again! It was a great ride and one we’ll never forget! So thanks to our wonderful Starstruck Organization, we ended this tour in the most spectacular way!!
After the ride, Narvel and I had dinner with Michael Coppel to discuss our thoughts and feelings about this tour and plan a return visit hopefully in the year 2001. We’ll let you know. Then it was on to the show. I walked into the back area and Doug Sisemore, my bandleader, told me that Melissa Coleman and Regina Leigh King were coming to our show tonight! Melissa and Regina were two of my back up singers in 1995. I was so glad to see them. They are both on tour with Englebert Humperdink. They were performing in New Zealand and Hawaii and play here in Cairns tomorrow night and then go back home for Christmas. We got to visit alittle after the show. Regina said, "That was the best seat I ever had for a Reba McEntire Show!" Back when she was with me she never got to see the show,she was always on stage!
I’d like to take this opportunity to say a great big thank you to everyone involved in making this tour to Australia such a successful, eventful and memorable occasion. I couldn’t have done it without your faith, support and hard work in putting it all together. My crew and the Australian crew worked very hard with grueling hours and a tough schedule and my band never sounded better! What more could a girl ask for? I hope all of you taking the journey with us via e-mail have enjoyed it too! If you ever get the chance to go "Down Under", I highly recommend it! You’ll never forget it, I know I won’t.
Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! We’ll see you in the next century.
Thanks so much and G'Day Mates!
Love,
Reba
G'Day mate! :)
