Coming up... unbridled glee / unnatural acts / a spooky noise / sharks / a magic penguin / the man who flew around the world via the poles / a deadly dawn encounter / something unseen at Taronga Zoo / something 34 million miles away / something that revolves in 70 minutes / something hardly anyone does at the Opera House / walking through Jurassic Park / three naked women / fireworks in stone / something worth rising at 5am for

The Australian Skeptics kindly invited me to perform at their national convention. As I'd never been to that part of the world before, I thought I'd make the most of it. My itinerary was:

• 15 days in Australia (Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Ayer's Rock... and more)
• 6 days in Indonesia, 3 being devoted to Komodo dragons
• 2 days in Singapore

This part of my website covers the Australian leg of the trip.

Aug 14. 15th Century Heretics And Unnatural Acts.

I love flying. For me, the day can start no more happily than with a suitcase, a ticket and a ride to an airport. When I told friends I'd be flying to Australia, several warned me that even though I might like normal flights, this would be different. This would be long-haul, and hence an ordeal. The words 'long haul' were intoned as if we were discussing Torquemada and the correctional facilities for 15th century heretics. Friends with a taste for tabloid scare-mongering also warned me that "something-something-thrombosis" meant my heart would implode somewhere over Kuala Lumpur and my legs would fall off.

Actually, I had a wonderful flight. Top marks to Qantas and their excellent service. Mind you, I'm easily pleased when it comes to airlines. All the ones I've used have been pretty good. The only one I positively refuse to fly with is British Airways, the Basil Fawlty of airlines. In my opinion, based on my experience, they are extortionate con artists, treat their passengers as an awkward inconvenience, and wouldn't know customer service from a hole in the ground.

The best moment of the flight came just after the Bangkok stopover. The business-class passengers were supposd to have exclusive use of some new-fangled in-seat computer and entertainment service. It was announced over the intercom that, due to technical problems, these services were not available and would not be fixed on this flight. Back in cattle class, where I was, this announcement prompted a hearty cheer from the entire cabin, with much exchange of giddy smiles and unbridled glee. The Germans call it Schadenfreude.

Arriving in Sydney just before dawn, I was met by Richard Saunders, the 'El Prez' of the Oz Skeptics, and one of those people whose kindness, hospitality and helpful nature is off the scale. Richard took me down to the harbour so I could catch my first sight of the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. In the faint light of the early dawn, they both looked pretty magnificent.

For the duration of my stay I enjoyed the excellent hospitality of Peter Rodgers (pictured below on the left), who kindly offered me the East Wing of his Baulkham Hills mansion for the duration of my stay. Once I had got myself settled in, Peter felt it was time I did something suitably touristy, so off we went to a nearby Koala Park. There I met koalas, performed one unnatural act with a sheep and another with a kangaroo, and had a thoroughly good time. Full story and more pictures, including photos of these unnatural acts, here.

Aug 15 - 16. Life's A GASS, And My Act Is Worthless.

The Skeptics had taken a stand (literally and figuratively) at the Great Australian Science Show, GASS for short, which was taking place in Melbourne. They kindly invited me to go along for the weekend, so I did. This involved a flight in the company of the afore-mentioned Richard Saunders, plus prominent skeptical activists Peter Bowditch and Alynda Brown.

Peter (below left) specialises in campaigns against irreponsible medical quackery (see www.ratbags.com). He's not only fascinating to listen to, but so impressively knowledgeable that it's actually spooky.

I didn't get to see a great deal of Melbourne, but there was time for a quick stroll around the city. It didn't feel far from home at all, given that the first pub we went into was filled with the  music of Led Zeppelin, and the second was called the Charles Dickens. One thing I did like about Melbourne was the headquarters of the Cancer Council, which has a huge daffodil on top, this being the emblem of their fund-raising efforts.

GASS was great fun. There was a very healthy turn out of people keen to learn more about science and cool stuff like evidence, experiment, observation, testing, asking good questions (which often means awkward questions) and other keys to knowledge.

On the Skeptics stand, we busied ourselves demonstrating things like spoon-bending and fakir stunts such as lying on a bed of nails, just to show that not everything is as inexplicable as it may seem. Steve Walker was there too - a superb magician specialising in deft close-up miracles allied to a disarmingly warm and genuinely funny style (below left). Also, my good friend Lynne Kelly gave psychic readings all day, delivering deadly accurate insight while simultaneously claiming to have no psychic gifts at all (below right).

I did some magic on the stand and helped out a little here and there. I was then approached jointly by the Skeptics and the GASS organisers, who asked if I'd like to give a small half-hour talk in a room adjacent to the main exhibition hall. Although I had not come expecting to do anything like this, I naturally agreed and did my best to cobble together half an hour of chat, tricks and demonstrations. The delicious joy of this was the unbelievably absurd contract that was involved... talk about bureaucracy gone mad.

> > > Continued in Part 2

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