Life is slow …

May 6, 2009
by Rodney Olsen
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… but internet speeds at Rottnest are slower.

To be fair, it’s really the Optus wireless broadband that’s slow here. Everything takes forever to load so I won’t be updating this blog until I can get faster internet access.

We’ve been at Rotto for a few days so far.

I’ve read Mad Church Disease by Anne Jackson and large chunks of the impressively large book Shantaram. I’ll tell you more about them later.

Next month is officially winter but the weather has been amazing. I’ve been in shorts and t-shirt the whole time, apart from when I’ve been swimming in the crystal clear water of the sandy white beaches.

I love relaxing at Rottnest so I’d better just publish this post so that I can get back to reading, swimming, laying about, spending time with family and all those other things that make Rotto the best place to be.



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A nation behaving badly

March 30, 2009
by Rodney Olsen
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around_the_world.jpgAre Australians the ultimate ugly tourists?

It seems we’re costing Australian tax payers more and more while we’re overseas and dying abroad at an ever increaasing rate. We keep getting arrested while travelling and we apparently don’t care much for those in authority. We also need rescuing a lot more that we used to.

The information has been released by our own Department of Foreign Affairs and is being reported at News.com.au in the article Department of Foreign Affairs reports latest Australian tourist figures.

WHINGEING, irresponsible, cut-rate Australian tourists abroad are costing those who stay home millions of dollars and are being arrested more than ever.

The latest figures from the Department of Foreign Affairs show that 2009 is set to become the first year when more than 1000 Australians are arrested and when more than 1000 Australians are expected to die overseas, The Australian reports.

Surely we’re not all bad.

While I don’t get to travel overseas a lot I do make a point of behaving myself while in someone else’s country. Mind you, I pretty much behave at home too. I suppose that with more Aussies travelling we’re bound to see an increase in the number of ‘ugly Australians’ leaving our shores.

What’s your experience? Do you travel a lot? If you’re Australian have you ever seen other Aussies behaving in such a way that you’d rather you weren’t idetified as their countrymen? If you’re not from the land down under, what are your impressions of Australians that have visited your part of the world? Who do you think are the world’s worst tourists?

Please feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments section of this post.



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We apologise for the break in transmission

May 7, 2008
by Rodney Olsen
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Rottnest.jpgI’ve been on Rottnest Island for the past few days and tonight I head for the Gold Coast for a day’s conferencing.

I’ll be back over at Rotto on Friday to spend the weekend.

If you’re looking for some good reading while I’m away you’ll find plenty of interesting stuff in the Blog List in my sidebar.

Check out a few of my favourite blogs and let me know what you think.



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A Busy Week Relaxing

May 2, 2008
by Rodney Olsen
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Rotto.jpgIn a few days time I’ll be letting the stress melt away as we spend some family time at Rottnest.

I’ve been looking forward to our Rotto week for the past year, since we were last there, but this time it’ll be different.

Half way through the week I’ll be heading off for dinner … on the Gold Coast.

We’ll travel to Rottnest on Monday, I’ll head back to the mainland on Wednesday afternoon and find some way to get to Perth Airport so I can take a five hour flight to Brisbane before an hour’s drive to the Gold Coast. By that time it’ll be past midnight and I’ll be ready to drop.

After a few hours sleep I’ll be up and ready for a day at the Christian Media Australia Conference. In the evening there’ll be a dinner where Compassion Australia will have opportunity to communicate with the conference delegates about our recent trip to Haiti and the Dominican Republic. It was such a significant trip that I wanted to have the opportunity to be there for the dinner. If I can help communicate the desperate need we witnessed to others working in the media, we may have the opportunity to get the message out even further and start making a difference for those who are suffering.

After what I hope will be a good night’s sleep on the Thursday, I’ll do the trip in reverse, arriving in Perth around 1:30 Friday afternoon. I’ll then have to find my way to Fremantle again to take the ferry back to Rottnest to spend a few more days unwinding before we head back to the real world.

So far the plan should work as long as I can find a way to get between Fremantle and the airport and from the airport back to Fremantle.



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