Rachel Walker, 70 years old proudly holds the Australian flag as she waits for the Olympic Torch runner to arrive. She waited two hours in the Bankstown neighborhood where she lives.

Hundreds of local Olympic fans waited hours in Bankstown waiting for the Olympic Torch to pass through. When it did, they mobbed the runner just to touch the torch.

During the opening ceremonies, Australian sprinter Cathy Freeman was given the honor to light the Olympic Flame as it rises to the top of the stadium. Shortly afterwards, the flame got stuck on it's upward travel and Freeman had to stand there until they got it moving again.

Riders on horseback carrying the Olympic flag kicked off the opening ceremonies.

Australian native dancers on stilts performed for the 110,000 spectators.

A colorful 'flower' from a performance titled 'Nature'.

Flying fish and a floating child (Nikki Webster, 13 ) were part of a performance called 'Deep Sea Dreaming'.

Australian native dancers performed traditional tribal dances during the opening ceremonies.

Members of the US Olympic team join the other athletes in a parade around the stadium during opening ceremonies.

A fan displays his favorite country's flags, painted on his shaved head.

Olga Black of Melbourne is one of the many volunteers who always had a friendly smile.

Chelsea Clinton attended the swimmimg finals at the Aquatic Centre watching the US win 8 medals. Next to her is Stanford track star Michael Stember.

Olympic Boulevard was a mass of people all the time. A huge hassle when trying to lug 40 pounds of camera gear between venues.

Olympic pins are traded and sold at every Olympics. This gentlemen had his own fancy portfolio case to display his collection.

US Olympic weightlifter Suzanne Leathers married her coach Don McCauley in a civil ceremony at a tacky Bankstown sports club and casino just before the opening ceremonies.

For the closing ceremonies I decided to go to Sydney Harbor rather than the Olympic Stadium. Had to set up for this photo six hours before the fireworks - it was that packed and prime viewing positions were hard to find. That's the Opera House and Sydney Harbor Bridge behind it.

Halfway into our Olympic adventure, reporter Chuck Nevius and I decided to fly out to the edge of the outback to see what the real aussies thought of the hoopla in Sydney. We took a 3 hour flight to the middle of nowhere and found the "town" of Silverton, which is basically just a bar and a few scattered old buildings. Silverton did have one claim to fame, it was where the Mel Gibson 'Mad Max' movies were filmed. Read about how the gullible Chuck and I fell for the oldest bar trick in the world.

This is the road to Mundi Mundi Plains seen in the distance. Nothing but red dirt and sheep for miles and miles.

The Silverton Hotel which is really just a bar these days. Chuck and I had a few beers here and talked to the locals about the Olympics and life in the outback.

Jo Casey, owner of the Silverton Hotel and a few of the locals watch the Olympics on tv.

Sheep trucks kicking up dust along the Mundi Mundi Plains.

Chuck and I went out to a sheep ranch and watched these hard working guys shear an entire sheep in less than two minutes. They were incredibly fast and efficient and you didn't want to get in their way.

On the way out to Silverton, these signs warned of wandering kangaroos. You hit an adult at 100 km an hour and you'd be lucky to survive. Chuck and I missed all the roos but I had to more than once remind Chuck he was driving on the wrong side of the road. They drive on the left side down under.

We met up with a park ranger near Silverton who had befriended a herd of kangaroos. In the evenings he would go out and feed them white bread. They would come as close as 20 yards to us.