Aussie Scavenger Hunt

Australia Day, the Land Down Under’s version of the 4^th of July, honors the British Navy reaching New South Wales in 1788 and subsequently, the birth of a nation. If they only knew what they were in for… Every Australian should count their blessings for surviving a day in a country that started as a penal colony, has the highest incidence of skin cancer in the world, and hosts half the globe’s deadliest creatures.
I’ve met many and they generally walk through life with a Dundee-​esque demeanor. Life is too short to fear fatal threats from land, sea or air, so might as well over-​drink, eat gluttonously and party ’til the ambulance comes. Every 26^th of January they take that philosophy up a notch.
My first experience with the holiday was at an English pub popular among ex-​pats. The celebration called for dressing in drag, drinking Vicky’s Bits (Victoria Bitters lager), eating Possum Pie (shepherd’s pie made with gyro meat) and yelling profanities at TVs during Aussie rules football matches (extra violent version of rugby with more players and shorter shorts).
This time Pie Face upped the ante by partnering with ycMedia and sponsoring Piepalooza, a scavenger hunt through midtown that celebrated all things Aussie. The game consisted of nine checkpoints with tasks to complete and evidence to upload to social media sites. You can check them out by following @PieFaceUSA or #PiePalooza on Twitter or Instagram. There were 4 teams of 5 contestants competing in an amazing race with only the following supplies; $ 20 MetroCards, drank tickets, and an itinerary with tasks/​rules/​emergency contact info. Here are the results –
The Late Bloomers: a rabble of contestants that originally belonged to other teams but arrived late and therefore thrown together out of necessity. This wild-​card team gone wild came in 4^th.
Chickity China the Chinese Chicken Pot Pies: the self proclaimed Champions of Canton, aka the Shanghai Six started in front and showed no signs of slowing until… well they did. They placed 3^rd probably because they had extra players and were still only minutes behind the runner-​up.
Asian Persuasions: looked like a meeting of the National Association of Asian-​American Professionals. I was worried that this team would get organized quickly and leverage their knowledge of technology against us… but they didn’t and 2^nd place is still 1^st loser.
Iron-​Lion-​Zionists: This pre-​fab team of double-​minorities, Jewish-​Yelpers, had only one empty slot and their interview process was rigorous. I explained that I was a transfer ‘elite’ and completed my kindergarten career at a Beth Torah Day School in Miami, apparently that was enough. Unfortunately for the other teams we had a little divine intervention from the archangel… Eric Bana. Not the hunky gambler risking it all for love in ‘Lucky You’ but the name-​kicking, ass-​taking one from Black Hawk Down/​Munich/​Troy. His Melbourne accented whisper guided us through the most efficient routes like Moses traversing the Red Sea. We never waited more than 2 minutes for trains/​buses. We crossed the finish line with enough time to eat lunch, take victory shots and claim the grand prize before we even saw the next team. In case you were wondering, we each received a canvas bag filled with –
Mambo Skatewear snapbacks from B_​Wear, wines from the world’s southernmost vineyards, and Pie Face t-​shirts + gift certificates. The non-​winners received gift cards and more food than a pregnant Adam Richman could eat –
Brunch: the most important meal of the day was full of hearty fare including dark roast coffee, sausage rolls, and mini pies of which I had the Tandoori Veggie and Thai Chicken Curry. They took the flavor of the ubiquitous curbside pasty-​cart and fancied it up with a flaky crust akin to croissant.
Lunch: after 2 hours of frenzied dashing to the finish line, we needed to hydrate and get some stick-​to-​your-​ribs fare like PF’s signature «Stack» in us. Mine was an overstuffed chunky steak pie topped with mushy peas, mashed potatoes and gravy.
Desserts: just as everyone was starting to slip in and out of food comas, a truck backed into the café and dropped an avalanche of turnovers and tarts on us. Not really, but they were everywhere and it’s obvious the same amount of attention is allotted to perfecting the baked goods. All the way down to the pie crusts decorated with emojis.
From now on ‘Straya Day joins the ranks of my favorite holidays along with Cinco, Patty’s Day and Purim. Next year consider commemorating with beers from Brisbane, savory pies, and a devil may care attitude and your view of the ‘Oz’ might just get turned upside down –