My New Year's resolution: yawn more, drink less coffee

I never thought the subject of yawning was all that interesting, but I read a fascinating article today that explains why we yawn. Contrary to popular belief, we yawn to cool our brains, not because we're bored. Yawning keeps our brain temperature regulated which helps us operate more efficiently.

So how does this relate to Australia? The researchers that conducted this study chose to analyze parakeets because "the birds have relatively large brains, live wild in Australia, which is subject to frequent temperature swings, and, most importantly, do not engage in contagious yawning, as humans and some other animals do." This left me wondering if people in Australia yawn less than say, Americans?!?

Since I can't employ a research team to answer that question, I do know that the Aussie tour group we visited with this weekend was yawning quite a bit. But I think that had more to do with jet lag and a busy schedule than outside temperature, because the temperature change they recently experienced was working in their favor for brain cooling. When they left Sydney, it was 90 °F (32 °C), and when they stepped off the plane in Raleigh, the temperature was 41 °F (5 °C). Since they were pretty tired, and exhaustion was shown to increase deep brain temperature, a big yawn here was probably just what they needed. Plus, they say a good morning yawn can function like a cup of coffee and give you a jolt of energy.

I know what my New Year's resolution is for 2009 -- to replace coffee with yawning. I think I can handle that.

Fill 'er up, mate!

I'm so happy that $20 can once again get you a respectable amount of fuel. Now that the price for a gallon of gas has dropped below the $2 mark, it seems crazy to think how much we paid to fill up this past June. $70 to $75. That's ridiculous!

I just checked to see what the going rate for a litre of petrol is in Australia... At several stations across Sydney, regular unleaded petrol is priced at 100.9 cents per litre. The lowest its been in three years.

This reminded me of the shock and confusion I experienced the first few times I bought litres of petrol in Oz. When I tried to calculate my gas mileage, I had to convert litres to gallons, AUD to USD ($) and kilometers to miles. Needless to say, I soon quit calculating and just enjoyed the drive. Actually, after a few weeks of driving on the opposite side of the road, I got used to shifting gears with my left hand and resisting the urge to turn right on red.

What do kangaroos and kiwis have in common?

Answer: The 2008 Rugby League World Cup final

Australia is not only hosting the 2008 Rugby League World Cup, the Australian men have also made it to the final match. The Kangaroos will take on the Kiwis of New Zealand this coming Saturday. Talk about some intense competition. These two teams have quite a history. Back in 2000, they faced off in the championship game (or "Grand Final" as the Aussies say) with Australia capturing the world title.

And on the women's side of things, New Zealand pounded Australia 34-0 to retain its World Cup crown earlier this week, giving the Kiwi Ferns their third World Cup victory since 2000.

Pat Mills makes ESPN's "Top Five College Hoops Players"

Pat Mills, a sophomore point guard on the men's basketball team at St. Mary's College, has been getting some serious attention since his Olympic debut on the Australian national team this year.


Last week, he made Andy Katz's "Top Five College Hoops Players" on ESPN. Plus, Katz also published a great story about him on ESPN.com.

This Aussie import is definitely one to watch in the backcourt during the 08-09 season. Plus, it's rumoured that he will be a top pick in the NBA draft next June.

For all you coaches out there looking to find another hidden gem like Pat Mills, there's never been a better time to tour Australia.

Australia kicks off women's soccer league

For the past four years, there has not been a national women's soccer league in Australia. That's shocking for several reasons:

- Australia's national team, The Matildas, is currently ranked 12th in the world and has competed in four Women's World Cup tournaments.

- Football Federation Australia (FFA) considers women's soccer to be the fastest growing team sport in Australia.

- The FFA has over 100,000 registered female participants.

So with the backing of a new corporate sponsor, the FFA kicked off the Westfield W-League on October 25. Since Westfield has 44 shopping centers across every major metro area in Australia, the league's homepage pairs an action shot of glamorous soccer players with the headline "football with style".

All eight teams in the competition were matched up for four games during the opening weekend. Round 1 resulted in Sydney, Melbourne, Queensland and Newcastle coming out on top.

According to FFA CEO, Ben Buckley, the W-League "completes the pathway for women in football, and creates an opportunity for the best players in the country to perform on a national stage.''

If your soccer team is looking for high-level competition and would like to visit Australia, Horizons Sporting Events can put together a great tour package for you.

The times they are a-changin'

Daylight Saving Time will come to an end this weekend for the entire US, but across most of Australia, it just started. What complicates things even further is that not all of the states and territories in Australia observe this time change. Clocks went forward one hour for five of the eight regions on the first Sunday in October -- NSW, Victoria, the ACT, Tasmania and South Australia. Western Australia was giving daylight savings a 3-year trial, which ended last Sunday. And Queensland and the Northern Territory do not have daylight savings.

So needless to say, this month, I've visited the World Clock almost every day to check the time. Currently, there's a 15 hour difference between North Carolina and Sydney. But after we "fall back", that will change to 16 hours.

If you're getting ready to travel and all of this makes your head hurt, check out this Daylight Saving Calculator. It will do the math for you.

The Lowdown on Low Down Under

Horizons Sporting Events had the pleasure of coordinating a team tour for Washington State University Men's Basketball Team in June 2007. They played six games between New Zealand (Auckland) and Australia (Canberra, Sydney, Gold Coast and Cairns). During the tour, Derrick Low had some stand-out performances, catching the attention of coaches from several NBL teams and the Australian National team. He scored 35 points against the Sydney Kings and had 30 points and 3 rebounds against the Boomers.

This summer, Low signed to play with the NBL's newest club, the Sydney Spirit. He's having a great season so far. In fact, he recently put up 32 against Melbourne's South Dragons. And during Sunday's game against the Wollongong Hawks, he led the Sydney siders with 24 points, helping them clinch their fourth victory of the season. Congratulations Derrick!

Come walkabout

The much anticipated Tourism Australia advertisements debuted earlier this month. The new global campaign is built around the upcoming blockbuster "Australia" by Baz Luhrmann. In the movie, Nicole Kidman plays an uptight aristocrat who is transformed by visiting the country and all that it has to offer. In the ads, also directed by Luhrmann, Australia is extending an invitation to tourists to 'come walkabout' and have a similar transformative experience.

Australia’s Aboriginal people go ‘walkabout’ to reconnect with the land and their traditional way of life. For most of us, a ‘walkabout’ takes the form of a vacation to escape the pressures of daily life. Consequently, one of the two tv commercials in this campaign follows a New Yorker who is transformed from a stressed out, high-powered executive to a relaxed beach bum after visiting Australia.

The print ads have the same transformative message -- "To find yourself sometimes you need to lose yourself." -- and feature locations across all eight Australian states and territories.

More bang for your buck

It's a great time to tour Australia with the Aussie dollar at an all time low. $1 AU = $0.69 US. So you can get more bang for the US buck.

Contact us today to see how the current exchange rate could dramatically drive your tour costs down.

Australia vs. Europe

According to an article on Australia.com (the official tourism site), your dollar will stretch much further on an Australian vacation than a trip to Europe due to the current US exchange rate compared to the EURO. "Why settle for a small hotel room in London or Paris in a less than desirable part of town, when for the same price, you could stay in a gorgeous room overlooking Sydney harbor, Melbourne city or a suite in tropical Queensland." Sound too good to be true? Ask us to prepare an estimate for you, and see for yourself.