Australia

Best of Australia

January 8, 2013 /

Australia is a massive country with many destinations where time will always be too short to see it all. We spent approximately six weeks enjoying the contrasting ecosystems, wildlife, cities, and people. We traveled by train for 153 hours across the south, east coast, outback, and north center of the country!

From the beautiful architecture of the Sydney Harbor, the impressive views of the Blue Mountains, the refreshing afternoons at the Brisbane’s South Bank, the spectacular underwater world of the Great Barrier Reef, the turquoise waters and marine turtles of the Whitsunday Islands, the surfing waves in Byron Bay, the bohemian style of Melbourne’s cafes, the wild jumping kangaroos and waterfalls at the Grampians National Park, the delicious wines and koalas of the Adelaide Hills, the unforgettable red sunsets of the outback, and the tropical weather of the crocodile lands of Darwin, Australia has something to offer for every taste and traveler.

The history of Australia goes way back before the arrival of the first European ship in 1606. The entire land was home to more than 250 Aboriginal tribes with over 700 different dialects. Unfortunately through colonization, the cultural preservation of these tribes has been significantly endangered. From 1870 to 1960, England took Aboriginal children away from their families, forcing them to disconnect from their culture by living and adapting to the European society. This horrible practice of cultural genocide is presented in the movie Rabbit Proof Fence and it is just an example of the pain Aboriginal tribes have endured through colonization. This experience has intrigued us to learn more about the ways of life of the Australian natives.

Aboriginal Map

Below are other great things we enjoyed about Australia:

Food and Drinks

  • Kangaroo meat

  • Crocodile meat

  • Emu meat

  • Poached eggs

  • Lemon, Lime, & Bitters: sparkling drink

  • Toohey beer

  • Passion fruit

  • Byron Bay Brewery

  • Fresh seafood at the Sydney Fish Market

  • Meat Pies

  • Chocolate Room: dessert restaurant

  • Sausage Roll

  • McLaren Vale Wineries: d’Arenberg Winery, Wirra Wirra Winery, and Kangarilla Road Winery

  • Eggplant Chips

Favorite Sites and Activities

  • Scuba Diving in the Great Barrier Reef

  • Camping in the Whitsunday Islands

  • Seeing the wildlife: Fish in the Great Barrier Reef, Kangaroos and Emus in Grampians National Park, Koalas in the Adelaide Hills, and Crocodiles in Adelaide River

  • Litchfield National Park

  • The Bohemian feel of Melbourne

People

  • Latoure, Huezo, and extended families (Diana, Harold, Harold’s Parents, Estela, Rafael, Tere, Merci, Nelson, Kenny, and Alejandra): they hosted us and treated us as part of their family in Sydney

  • Kat: our Couchsurfing host in Brisbane

  • Ash: one of Kat’s roommates

  • Alex: one of Kat’s roommates

  • Nani: Gisela’s friend from Colombia

  • Raul: Sal’s brother’s friend from Los Angeles

  • Duncan: our Couchsurfing host in Melbourne

  • Jeff: Duncan’s roommate

  • Jessica: she was also Couchsurfing in Duncan’s house

  • Jen and Brett: friends we met at a party and they invited us to stay with them for a few nights in Melbourne

  • Dan: Brett’s friend and neighbor

  • Luke: our Couchsurfing host in Adelaide

  • Josh: Luke’s friend we met and he invited us to stay with him a few nights in Adelaide

  • Joe: Luke’s roommate

  • Enrico and Maria: they were also Couchsurfing in Luke’s house

  • Alice: Josh’s girlfriend

  • Jasmine: Josh’s friend

  • Andrew: Josh’s roommate

  • Emilia: Andrew’s sister

  • Nathan: Emilia’s boyfriend

  • Stokes Family (Josh’s family: Paul, Marion, Lachi, Emma, Sophie): spent a lovely day with them

  • David and Sarah: German couple we met on the Ghan

  • Shima and Hajime: Japanese couple we met on the Ghan

  • Jacob: our Couchsurfing host in Darwin

  • Jonas and Kim: they were staying at Jacob’s house

  • Andy and Fran: Brett and Jen’s friends that live in Darwin

Instruments

  • Didgeridoo: a wind instrument used by the Aboriginals

Animals Viewed

Note all animals have been seen in their natural habitat, no money has been contributed to companies that keep them in captivity.

  • Cockatoos

  • Bush Stone-Curlews

  • Parrots

  • Sting Rays

  • Marine Turtles

  • Fish

  • Coral

  • Dolphins

  • Wild Turkeys

  • Eastern Gray Kangaroos

  • Emus

  • Penguins

  • Koalas

  • Hill Kangaroos

  • Frill Neck Lizard

  • Wallabies

  • Saltwater Crocodiles

  • Python Snake

  • Spiders

  • Termite Mounds

Crocodile out of the water

Eastern Gray Kangaroo

Jumping Crocodile

Common Sayings

  • Heaps = lots of

  • G’day mate!

  • Fair dinkum = true

  • Bloody oath = cool

  • Letter H = pronounced like “haych”

  • Letter Z = pronounced like “Zed”

  • Rubbish = trash

  • Sunnies = sun glasses

  • Shops = any store or mall

  • Harbour = harbor (pronounced haba)

  • Trolley = shopping cart

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