Oprah’s US guests arrive for adventure Down Under

MELBOURNE - Talk show queen Oprah Winfrey’s 300 Americans guests, who were hand-picked to be wowed by the wonders of Australia first-hand, have arrived in Sydney.

As the lucky US guests filed through Kingsford Smith airport, they waved at the waiting media and gushed about their adventure Down Under.

“That I was selected to do something such as this, I would have never thought little bitty ol’ me would ever have this opportunity,” News.com.au quoted Orlando Bogins, from Detroit, as saying.

“It came at such a very hard time in my life - my mum had nine hours (of) surgery, I was laid off from my job and my house had been broken into.

“So we had all of that happen and then I got notification that I was selected to go on the Oprah show,” Bogins added.

Bogins’ mother was left in tears after hearing the news of her son’s trip to Australia.

“Everyone keeps telling me to bring a kangaroo back, but obviously I can’t do that,” one unnamed guest said.

Jocelyn Kelley, who travelled from Boston with her mother Gloria, said she “would never in a million years think I would be going to Australia”.

“And with Oprah - it’s unbelievable, it’s an unbelievable experience and I just want to soak in every bit of it,” Kelley said.

“To be in that audience, to be a part of something so big is just amazing.”

Like locals, guests are in the dark about what they can expect according to Kelley’s mother.

“None of us know anything, we will know more later,” she said.

Plans of the neurotically guarded itinerary have been leaked to The Daily Telegraph, and outline the rundown of iconic Aussie experiences her guests can look forward to.

Wine tasting in the Hunter Valley, touring the Blue Mountains, and surfing lessons in Byron Bay are all on the schedule for the audience who are expected to be split into three groups for this leg of their holiday.

Qualia, the uber-luxury Hayman Island resort, will also reportedly play host to 120 audience members.

It’s the kind of global exposure that Tourism Australia must dream about.

Winfrey’s Down Under adventure will reportedly add 47 million dollar to the bottom line for the tourism industry.

“They’re (Tourism Australia) targeting this demographic because these are the people - the middle class families in the US - who decide where holidays are taken,” a NSW Government source told the Daily Telegraph. (ANI)