MTV AWARDS IN SYDNEY PART 1

Last weekend I joined the Mile High Club. Don’t get the wrong idea here I didn’t do the wild thing at 37,000 feet above the Pacific, (how you can do it in those tiny toilets is beyond me) No I was fortunate to join the lucky ones who took the Party Flight to Sydney for the MTV Awards, and what a party it was. As soon as the seat belt sign was switched off it was party time, you could move around the cabin at will, drink champagne and have artists like Dizzee Rascal and Scribe preform for you. You didn't feel like you where airborne it was such good fun. The flight went real fast and sooner than you would think we where picking up out baggage in Sydney Airport.

A photographer friend of mine had offered a room at his place overlooking Bondi Beach. We went out for a drink that night at Surrey Hills with some of the guys from MTV, but knew we had a big tomorrow, so didn't push the boat too much. One thing I did notice the Aussie girls really know how to party. Some girls where dancing near to where I was sitting, she fell backwards and cracked her head on the corner of the very solid table just in front of me. The noise was dull and I was sure she had done some serious damage. I put my hand out to hold her head and she had a lump the size of a goose egg on her noggin. I asked if she was ok and she assured me she was fine, but I wouldn’t like to be in her shoes when the booze wore off. Back at Peter's apartment he showed me through his files of celebrities he has shot over the years. I was really impressed and the majority shot at Bondi. I did a quick mental note of how much he had made from the pics. I reckon he has made around $200,000 and the majority shot about 100yards from where he lives. It wasn't till the morning I realized why.

I woke and walked into the living room around 8am. The view was breathtaking. Of course at night I had no idea what it would be like in the morning. The sea was blue as the sky and the sand was golden. This is the place that every celebrity comes to when they come to Sydney. It is a paparazzi dream, Paris, Nicole, Brittany; you name it they have all been here. This is Peters front yard, no wonder he is one of Australia's well know Paparazzi photographers. I walked along the beach and just took it all in, it was just beautiful. The surf was good and people where just chilling out in the sun. I didn't spot any celebs but I knew why they would come here, here was a great cross section of an Aussie lifestyle. Clubbies, girls in bikinis, some topless, it was a far cry from the first beach I visited when I we arrived in nz. It was Piha, the sand was black and the girls on the beach wore towels around their waists and when they took their towels off they had board shorts on.eh! The two countries are so different they are miles apart... and not just geographical. I used to live in Australia, on the Gold Coast, and I use to think of the difference between Australia and New Zealand was the difference between the USA and Canada. Australia being the USA and New Zealand being Canada, after this trip, I still think of Australia as the USA but New Zealand as Mexico. Ok. Mexico with grass. Transport around the city is great, broadband connections leave NZ in their wake the Pr companies dealing with registrations for MTV couldn’t do enough for you, and polite. To say I was impressed would be an understatement, but I guess you may have figured that out. The Awards where looming and I was ready for almost anything stay tuned. All will be revealed in part two...