from ABC BUSH TELEGRAPH

Bog Snorkelling at Julia Creek

By Vicki Wilson

Monday, 21/04/2008

Julia Creek is about as far away from an cold Irish peat bog as you can get. It's hot and dusty and there's not usually much mud around.

But that hasn't deterred organisers of the town's Dirt and Dust Festival from holding a bog snorkelling competition and inviting the world bog snorkelling champion Julia Galvin along to compete.

They dug a trench about 30 metres long and filled it with water to create the "bog". A few red claw crayfish were also added as a special surprise!

Julia Galvin, World bog champion and Justin Vardey, Event organiser.

Julia wades in...

For the near-sighted, article reads (by-John Andersen , in the Townsville Bulletin) --

NEARLY THERE . . . Julia Galvin, of Ireland, during her epic ‘swim’

Bog champ conquers creek

She came, she saw, she bog snorkeled. Julia Galvin, world champion Irish bog snorkeller, took Julia Creek by storm. The two Julias —the town and the bog snorkeller— loved each other. Ms Galvin is a cross between bog snorkeling athlete and performer. As the sole competitor in the event, she played to the crowd, singing “I’ve Been a Bog Snorkeller”, as she sat at the edge of the bog hole seconds before her epic swim on Sunday.

She’d seen the bullriders go through their over-the-top prayer to the Lord before the bull-riding event on Saturday night and came up with one of her own: ‘‘Lord I want to thank you for the beautiful bog in Julia Creek. For some reason you have blessed me with this insanity, so please Lord, let me put it to good use. And seeing as this is Queensland, Lord, let me survive this drive.’’ She added the last bit after taking note of the many public service signs on her way to town.

A staunch republican, she abruptly ended a radio interview in Julia Creek’s main street on Saturday morning when the interviewer introduced her as Julia Galvin ‘from the UK’. Ms Galvin stormed down the footpath shouting ‘I’m from Ireland. Ireland! ’A good sport, she came back, but the interviewer didn’t mention the UK again. The town turned out to see her perform yesterday and she didn’t disappoint. With her wet suit, flippers, face mask and snorkel, she cut an imposing figure as she strutted her stuff at the bog snorkeling arena, joking and singing. She’d already competed in the cow-pat throwing competition and was in a hurry to get to the fly-swatting contest.

Bog snorkellers, it seems, just want to have a go at everything.

Hitting the highway -with a thump

JOHN ANDERSEN in the Townsville Bulletin reports;

...Ms Galvin said her training involved a slow breathing technique, fast leg movement and a slow, powerful arm stroke
that resembled a John Travolta disco movement. In coming to Australia to compete she said she felt she had the weight of the world on her shoulders.

"I am representing Ireland and the rest of the world," she said. On her drive out to Julia Creek she saw a dingo and some emus, but only roadkill kangaroos.

"I'm not interested in seeing reptiles or spiders up close," she said. Several times...'

READ FULL ARTICLE HERE

OZ -Reports from the front line #4

Sunday 30th cont.

When John asked for his tickets I asked for mine again and they were there after all. Hurray! It turns out that I did know John after all. I had given him and few more a lift after a wedding 2 years ago.

John showed me a txt from his mother, saying that she heard a rumour from Billy Keane that Tadhg Kennelly had organised her son to be sitting next to a celebrity.. ha ha.

More to follow.

OZ -Reports from the front line #3

Sunday 30th

Armed against the sun with factor 50, a sun hat, red glittery Pom poms and an Umbrella! ...I went to S.C.G. in a taxi which I must say are Very cheap in comparison to home. I went to the box office to pick up my ticket that Tadhg had kindly left me.... the whole place was a sea of red and white...30 odd degrees and not a cloud in the sky.... oh man was i going to burn!?
I asked the lady for my ticket... and she couldn't find it! my heart sank, but I knew that another Listowelee was going to be there so I waited for him...John Perryman.. I knew of the Perrymans but wasn't too sure if I would recognise him or not.. It was great when he finally came along as I was getting no joy trying to plamas the ticket ladies... Telling me that they couldn't sort a ticket for me that it was a "Tie" issue They can't say Tadhg down here.

OZ -Reports from the front line #2

Sat 29th

I had been warned by the guys in Listowel to bring home Tadhg Kennelly Memorabilia...so...i spent a lot of money buying smiths crisps looking for a sydney swans Sticker of Tadhg... SEVERAL bags later I decided to read the packet.... N.R.L National rugby league!! not A.F.L ..Australian Football League! Depending on what part of oz footy means different games. Not to worry Julia Got to see the man himself play on Sunday

OZ -Reports from the front line

Friday April 28th
The hair was not in a fit state to be seen and a hair-do was no.1 on the list of priorities... so I ended up on the edge of Chinatown in George's St and got my hair done by a Japanese lady called Aki who gave me a cut that made me look like one of the Beatles for $275... ouch1. I wandered around a few skinny people shops until a big Russian woman told me to go to Bondi Junction shopping centre. So thats what i did. I went on the train and came back on the bus. I find the trains a bit grubby but they have seats that flip up so you are never travelling backwards.
I went to see Kevin O'Shea that evening and his lovely ladies Tan and Ruby. I had a lovely seafood pasta and I think I ate calamari...Frank isn't big on exotic seafood ...i.e anything other than Donegal catch. When I got back to the Hostel I had a "golden Gaytime"

Julia goes Down Under

Touching down in Australia this April and looking forward to competing in an extravaganza of BIZARRE SPORTS, first stop in the itinerary is the coincidentally named JULIA CREEK in Queensland at the DIRT 'n DUST FESTIVAL (4th-6th Apr.)for BOG SNORKELLING, COW PAT THROWING & FLY SWATTING.

By being the celebrity guest at the Australian Wife Carrying race -to be held in Singleton N.S.W., (12th Apr.)I will have the honour of being carried by none other than Australia's representative Power Lifter, champion David Vaughan. This will be interesting as I weigh in at 120kg!
It's a children's cancer battling charity, so try get there and dig deep.

I have plans to cross Australia by train taking in KALGOORLIE and to visit the land locked state of the Hutt river province before leaving via Perth at the end of April

Julia holds up her good name.

I have been competing at Eukonkannon MM-kisat since 2003. I still can't spell that word after all this years let alone to pronounce it!

I'm a finer specimen of a woman (i.e. bigger) than most women that enter this
World Championships. Some people have asked in the past if I find it troublesome competing with the 49kg ladies. I simply tell them the objects of the race, namely 1. Win the woman's weight in beer and 2. Have fun!

Coming to Finland for the first time in 2003 I had many preconceptions about
the place, I thought that it would be colder, greyer, windier and wetter than
Ireland. That everybody had a reindeer and that not one person would understand
me!

Wowee! I was blown straight out of the water on all accounts! Most people in
Ireland go to the south of Europe for a "sun holiday". I have been advising all
my friends to come to Finland, where 24hr sunshine and clean and active living
is the order of the day.

Food, fishing, saunas, lake swimming, BBQ's and parties all the time, the
Finns put down a great summer of entertaining themselves and their neighbours.
Their gardens are lush and full of beautiful flowers. You may think I'm
painting a "Too Beautiful" image of the place but believe me, come here and see
for yourself.

Unlike the Irish, the Finns are a little more reserved at the start but "to
know a Finn is to love a Finn"! Once you get past that austere shell you will
find the most loving, giving, spiritual and hilarious people that love to talk!

I love them so much I came back to see the winter, it's snowing and last night
it was -17c! Ireland has a temperate climate so anything below -4c is a great
cause of excitement for me. The houses are hot and snow is just like sugar,
crunchy underfoot - not the best for making snowmen!

Speaking of men - I must say the Finnish men are very beautiful! Other scenery includes Christmas trees, green in the summer and white in the winter and lakes, dark and bottomless in the summer and solid ice in the winter. Cross country skiing is a local activity in the winter that I'm going to try today!

The race itself? On the day about 8000 spectators come to watch at the local
school running track, some people come in fancy dress, some in the latest high
tech running gear. The most competitive are the Estonians, they have been
winning this race for years! Every year they have a new way of carrying or
jumping.

I had the honour of being carried by former world champion Margo
Uusorg in 2007. It was an experience I'm unlikely to forget! I came 29th out
of the 44 couples. Not bad considering I have always come last in previous
years.

I don't know who is going to carry me in 2008 but I know I will see you there!