Australia Review
We flew into Sydney, Australia after three weeks in Fiji, which is to say we flew from a remote, tropical, island nation in the south Pacific to a fully-developed, industrialized nation with millions of people and a wide range of climates. Sydney has all the makings of a big city; art, skyscrapers, mass transit systems, expensive lifestyle, convenience, pollution (though less than most cities), an array of entertainment options, and a bustling populace, except one: a high crime rate. This is an ironic twist as Australia was basically a penal colony for the convicts and rejects of England. There were settlers as well, but they were much further north in Queensland.
As an American visiting Australia I immediately noticed how expensive everything is, especially beer and restaurant food. The latter I attribute to a fairly high (by American standards) minimum wage, the former I still don’t understand. Beer is literally four to five times more expensive in Australia than in the states. There is no tipping in Oz, unless you feel that the service provided is exceptionally good, and no one is expecting a tip. Food in Sydney and Melbourne is incredible. Once you get outside the major cities however, the food is mostly average with a few gems here and there.
The weather is quite similar to the east coast of the states only in reverse with respect to north and south. Starting south in Melbourne you get a cold, wet climate like you might expect during the early parts of spring in northern New England. As you move north along the coast the weather becomes warmer until you reach the Miami of Australia: Cairns.
Cairns, pronounced ‘cans’ by the locals, is a city that thrives on tourism and specifically tours of the Great Barrier Reef. In my humble estimation, the best thing Australia has to offer is the Great Barrier Reef. Snorkeling is a magical experience here; to float about with giant fish watching the ebb and flow of colorful soft corals beneath you. Pastels of sea life fill the sea floor with jagged stag horn coral and many more. Huge Maori Wrasse nudge you like a puppy requesting attention. To call the Barrier Reef beautiful is a major understatement. If you visit Australia for only one thing, go see the Great Barrier Reef.
Australia has its share of parasitic insects and then some. First up are the bedbugs, which you can find at some of the more affordable accommodations throughout the country. Next are the mosquitos, or as the locals refer to them: mozzies. And to round out this fine collection of blood suckers there are the midgies and sand flies. All of them dined on us, numerous times in some cases. The mosquitos were probably the most prevalent and noticeable, but their bites went away in a matter of days while the bedbugs were nearly impossible to find until it was too late. Bedbugs usually bite in the early morning hours for some reason and the effects of their bites could last for weeks. The midges were also nearly impossible to detect until they bit you but this was due more to their small size. Luckily they seemed to travel in small numbers. This was not the case for the sand flies which are larger in numbers and size. Sand flies strike quickly and tend to hang on through very windy conditions. At one point in the trip we figured that we were bitten well over 200 times from these annoying pests.
Traveling in Australia is done mostly by road, though they have fairly inexpensive domestic air fares through a few competing airlines. You can go by rail but it is an expensive experience that can take longer than driving to reach your destination. We opted for rental ‘caravans’ from a company called Wicked Campers.
Wicked rents out a well-traveled fleet of beat up economy vans with graffiti-style artwork on all sides, some more offensive than others. There is no mistaking a Wicked van when you see it. The staff encourage you to add your markings to the inside of the vehicle with a large Sharpie marker they provide when you pick up the van. These vans are lightly stocked with the bare essentials; pads for sleeping, storage bays, a small single burner and propane tank (AKA a ‘bottle’ by the locals), a sink with a three gallon plastic water bottle attached to a hand pump faucet. The waste water from the sink drains onto whatever surface you are parked on at the time. There is no toilet, shower or heater and the only source of electricity is what you get by plugging into campground outlets. These powered parking spots are usually a few dollars more at the campgrounds that have them. We managed to save some money by staying in places that were off the beaten path or outside of a campground right in plain site while still close to a public bathroom.
Until you drive from one major city to another you cannot fully comprehend how incredibly large Australia is. The major roads are in good condition and allow you to drive at a reasonable pace (the speed limit in most areas is 100-110kph), but if you stray off the main highways you could be in for a gut busting ride. Carnage on the roads of Australia is quite common in the form of dead kangaroos that ventured onto the roads at night. Some areas are littered with corpses on both sides of the road and there doesn’t seem to be much, if any, skid marks in front of them. This is probably due to the fact that most of the roads are only lit by your own headlights and ‘roos can and do jump (into traffic) quickly. Additionally, many Australians consider kangaroos to be pests. We were told by Wicked many times, quite clearly, “do not swerve for kangaroos.” This is wise advice as there are no shoulders on the roads and a swerve at high speed in a top-heavy van can have some very bad consequences. I think the word Australia really means “land of the roundabout” because there must be ten times more roundabouts than four-way intersections where everyone has to stop. The learning for using roundabouts is steep but once you get it, you will curse stop signs. There are a lot of rest stops, so many that you might think the entire country suffers from narcolepsy. There are a large number of road-side campaigns urging you to slow down, take frequent breaks, nap, don’t run with scissors, etc. And with good reason. Most of the roads are narrow, two-lane byways you get to “share” with massive land trains; gigantic trucks with two to three trailers, sometimes reaching lengths over 150 feet! Throw in a random bicyclist and you wonder how more people don’t die on the highways.
Generally speaking, people in Australia are friendly. Just about anyone you break the ice with will talk your ear off if you let them. But I wouldn’t call them outgoing to greet you with open arms. They will shoot you straight when sharing their opinions and most seem fairly well informed in world news and politics. I think this is because they are so isolated and part of who they are is to be connected to the outside world.
So much of what Australians have is imported. Cars, food, clothing, style, film, entertainment are all mostly comprised of imports, though this is changing. Music specifically is one area Australians seem to be producing a lot of now. Sydney and Melbourne are hot beds of talented up-and-coming artists and you can hear a number of them on Triple J, Australia’s national progressive music radio station. Triple J kept us sane through more than 4,000 kilometers of Australian roadway. The frequency changes every 150 or so kilometers but sometimes it’s the next broadcasting frequency up the dial from where you were before. This is handy if the car radio has that magical auto-tune feature.
You might think that English is the main language in Australia and you would be right, but not the kind of English you expect. Spelling and pronunciation of many common words are quite different from that in America. City and street names are often the English approximation of Aboriginal words to add some confusion to the mess. For instance, ‘schedule’ is pronounced more like shed-u-el and ‘insulation’ is more like in-shool-a-shun. If you want to say thanks or goodbye it’s ‘cheers’ and when greeting someone you say “How you goin’?” Not “How you doin’?” Or “How’s it going?”
Internet access and cell phone service in Australia are expensive. Most people in America with high speed internet enjoy one relatively low price for what is, essentially, unlimited bandwidth. In Australia, this is severely limited and much more expensive. Finding “free” internet, that is open wifi without paying for it, is difficult if not impossible. The one exception to this is McDonalds. Yes, just about every Mickey D’s in Oz has free wifi. It’s crowded and therefor slow most of the time, but you can be sure to have enough bandwidth to check email and Facebook while under the golden arches. Other than that, be prepared to pay through the nose.
If you have the means and the time, Australia is very worthy of a visit. The Great Barrier Reef, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Noosa Heads all come to mind as places to be sure to visit. Maybe next time we’ll hit the west coast.
You can check out the whole photo set on Flickr here.
