Oprah Winfrey touched down on Hamilton Island for the first stop on ‘Oprah’s Ultimate Australian Adventure’.
She and best friend Gayle King later visited the Hamilton Island Wildlife Park, where Premier Anna Bligh welcomed her to Queensland, before she held an 18-month-old koala named Elvis.
“I am overjoyed to be here in Australia,” Oprah said. “This is a big adventure and I’m going to open myself up to every little thing along the way. I want to experience as much as I can – I’m trying to do it all in eight days.”
From the Wildlife Park, Oprah travelled via helicopter to see the majesty of The Great Barrier Reef. She then joined 93 audience members (15 men and 78 women) from ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’ travelling in Queensland for an exclusive Aussie seafood barbecue on Whitehaven Beach prepared by world-famous Australian chef Curtis Stone.
She was welcomed to the beach with a soaring rendition of ‘Waltzing Matilda’ by The Ten Tenors before chef Stone personally hand-picked the region’s best seafood, meats and produce and showcased Australia’s gourmet delicacies with shellfish on ice, including red claw crayfish, king prawns and oysters, along with grilled lobster and some Aussie tropical fruits.
“I am thrilled to welcome Ms. Winfrey, her team and the lucky audience members to Hamilton Island,” said Hamilton Island’s chairman, Sandy Oatley.
“We are delighted Ms. Winfrey decided to make this her first stop on their Australian itinerary where they got to enjoy Queensland’s beautiful Whitsunday Islands and the Great Barrier Reef.
“We know everyone is as excited as we are to see the final show when it airs next year in January,” Oatley said.
‘Oprah’s Ultimate Australian Adventure’ moved on to Uluru, followed by Melbourne and Sydney.
Captions and images are Copyright of 2010 Harpo Productions