 Oprah Winfrey’s audience of 300 arrived in Australia from the United States on Tuesday to begin enjoying the talk show queen’s ultimate giveaway* — an eight-day journey across the land Down Under. Winfrey opened her 25th and final season of “The Oprah Winfrey Show” in September by surprising her fans with what she’s billed as the trip of a lifetime. The hand-picked audience was made up of some of who the program called its most loyal viewers over the years. The itinerary* for “Oprah’s Ultimate Australian Adventure” remains a closely guarded secret, but it is expected to cover every corner of the continent — from the glittering* Great Barrier Reef to the east, to the dusty red Outback in the center, to the crocodile-infested* rainforests of northern Oz. Excited audience members — who on Tuesday still had no idea exactly where in Australia they’d be heading — waved at reporters and photographers as they were ushered through Sydney airport and onto a bus, which whisked* them away to a hotel for a briefing. Winfrey was traveling separately by private jet and expected to land sometime later in the day or week (that, too, was being kept secret.) “It’s an unbelievable experi-ence, and I just want to soak in every bit of it,” said Jocelyn Kelley, of Boston, who was traveling with her mother, Gloria. “To be in that audience, to be a part of something so big, is just amazing.” Winfrey will film two episodes at the Opera House (which the Australian media has renamed the “Oprah” House) and a third episode at a yet-to-be disclosed location, rumored to be somewhere in the Outback. Her arrival has been treated with breathless anticipation in Australia, which is forking out* more than US$4 million for the trip between the federal and state governments. Officials say that’s a small price to pay for the many millions of dollars of tourism advertising the show will bring. The audience, which ranges in age from 18 to 75, will be split into different groups and sent to various sites around the country. (SD-Agencies) | 