How many of you have your World Loppet passport and need to fill it up? How many of you would like one, with the Australian Kangaroo Hoppet ski race stamp in it? Or, how many of you would like to spend 10 days 'Down Under' in Australia this year.

If any of those sparked interest in you, we would like to propose a trip to Australia to do the 42 km Kangaroo Hoppet on August 25th, 2001. Our names are Brad Suhr and Grant Henry, and I would like to explain how this came about. Grant is from Australia, has done the Hoppet in the past, and sparked my interest by proposing we head over and do it this year. Having travelled quite a bit and knowing that seeing a new region with a local is always more rewarding, I was in. As we sat nursing our tired bodies and feeding our faces after the Birkie 6 weeks ago, we decided to make that convenience available to a group from the area. We have put together a very attractive trip, and expect the spaces to fill up quickly. If you are interested, we suggest letting us know as soon as possible.

Here is a brief itinerary of the trip - we have two different options - if one works and the other does not, let us know - we will be finalizing the itinerary after getting some feedback from interested parties.

Short-trip - (cater to those only able to take one full week off work) - $2,799

August 17-26

• Round trip airfare from Minneapolis to Sydney, plus a short flight from Sydney to the resort.
• Two days in Sydney - one with a city-wide bus pass to be used on your schedule, one with a trip up the Sydney Harbor Bridge. Lodging will be at a 3 and a half star hotel in Sydney.
• airfare from Sydney to Albury
• all ground transportation to and from airports
• Five and a half days at a resort where the Hoppet takes place - options of things to do besides skiing are alpine skiing, seeing the local resort town setting, or heading down the mountain during the day for some biking or even golf. The resort is a community setting - rooms will be for 4, 6, or 8, and all meals are provided in the cost. This resort caters to the skiers and does this for each Hoppet (they know how to treat and feed the skiers)

August 15-26

• Round trip airfare
• 3 Days in Sydney - two days, the same as the above. the third day will be an open tour pass for you to decide between 6 different regional tours - from a winery tour in the Hunter Valley to a tour of the Sydney night nife, there will be something you will marvel at.
• airfare from Sydney to Albury
• all ground transportation to and from airports
• 6 and a half days at the ski resort - all meals included

If you are interested, e-mail us at [email protected], and we will mail you a detailed intinerary.