Australia Pt. 4: Funny Signs, Great friends, and wrap up!

Dinner out with our wonderful Aussie friends, Nichol and Tim!

One of the wonderful things about travel is the friends you make! Nelson met Tim during a dip in the natural spring baths in Budapest, Hungary on a cold night in 2008. Almost 4 years later we are under Tim's roof, having dinner, and meeting his new family! Tim and Nichol took us in for a few nights during our Down Under Tour and we could not be more thankful! We met their adorable son Aiden and we were able to pick their brains about what to do in our upcoming adventures through southeast Asia. This was our last night in Australia and boy did they show us a great time! Thanks for everything guys! Come to NYC soon so we can return the favor! :) 

Now for the interesting Aussie road signs and our thoughts on this huge, beautiful country....

Days in Australia: 24

Language Barrier: Okay so yes they speak English in Australia, but their accents can be thick at times causing us to listen very carefully. However, there were some words we did not recognize... here are a few new ones we learned!




Aussie English       American English

Overtaking                     Passing

Mossies                         Mosquitos

G’day                              Hello

Cheers                            Thanks

Mate                             Friend, pal

Stingers                          jellyfish

Nappys                           diapers

Brekky                          Breakfast

Play up                          Misbehave

The People:

The people of Australia were very nice to us. They were helpful when we asked questions or help with directions.




The culture- Aussies are very proud of their culture. They are very unique in their own way. We were lucky enough to be in Australia on Australia Day, their Independence Day. Everyone was out wearing their red, white and blue and celebrating with BBQs and parades. The Aussies are big into their sports, mainly Rugby and Cricket.

The Climate- Hot and Rainy! We were in Australia in the middle of their summer. It was unbearably hot in the south near Melbourne. 90s and hot sun everyday. When we headed to the north it was in the middle of their monsoon season. This was good for us because their were less tourists and lower price lodging, but Queensland was seeing some major flooding in some areas. We really lucked out and only had a day or two of wash out rain, but we did encounter some flooded roads and were forced into some detours.

The Cost- Very expensive! Maybe we have been spoiled with our dollar being stronger everywhere we have traveled before Australia. The Australian Dollar was strong, and kept getting stronger as we were there. On top of that things in Australia were pretty costly to being with. It was hard to find hotels/motels for under $100 on the road. Speaking of the road... we found Australian driving to be very slow. There were speeding cameras everywhere! And the speed limit was very low in many areas. The speeding tickets are very expensive as well. About $400, not that we would know from experience (Nelson!).


Must do's

• Sydney Harbor and Darling Harbor- Must take a stroll along the water and take in the views of both the city and the bridge. We had beautiful weather and lots of people out enjoying the shops and restaurants as we were. 
• Melbourne's Federation Square- A great place to hang out with the Aussies. Many different restaurants and a good place to enjoy the sunshine.
• Melbourne's Tourist Tram- This vintage tram has no AC but is a great way to learn more about the city with an audio tour on board. Best of all its free. 
• Great Ocean Road- This is a must with 5 exclamation points! The drive was well worth it if you have the time. We stopped at Lorne beach along the way and enjoyed the views! Pick a nice day and take your time driving!
• The Great Barrier Reef- this experience was absolutely incredible and we are very glad we took the time to do it. Our boat ride, snorkeling, and lunch was about $100 each and worth every penny!

Funny/Memorable Moments:

 

                                 

These signs were a funny moment in themselves! They were separated by about 5 miles each. We kept wondering what the next sign would say? It was completely random and we didn't quite understand the point of them? (And we still don't!) There were also signs with trivia questions to keep drivers awake and alert! The sign with the answers on it came shortly after the question. Interesting way to keep the drivers awake.

When we arrived to the rental car place in Sydney and got situated in our yellow Hyndai Getz (interesting vehicle!), we were trying to set up our GPS to get to our friend's place. When we asked the guy working the counter what "county" we were in he said "Sydney." Sydney was not an option. We assumed county was like our state and we did not know what county we were in. He kept saying, its Sydney! Finally we asked someone else and he told us we were in New South Wales. When that was accurate and we thanked the man, he looked at the GPS with great intrigue and asked, "What is that thing? A phone?"

We were up at Airlie Beach having a nice quiet night at our hotel and using the wifi in the patio area by the pool. An older woman came into the pool/bar area and was clearly very intoxicated. The pool closed at 9pm but that didn't seem to bother her. She proceeded to the pool area and took off her dress to reveal her thong and bra and dove into the very shallow pool! Nelson's face was completely priceless as he watched this all unfold! He couldn't believe what he had seen. He was more concerned that this drunk lady might drown herself in the pool. "Can you see her?! Did she hit her head!?" After her midnight dip she put her dress on and walked out to the parking area passing by us. She looked right at Nelson in a drunken tone and told him, "Sorry to bother you! Its good to swim! Its good for the soul! Even at 57!"

Ah, Byron Bay. Think of money motivated, career focused individuals concerned with time and profits carrying their blackberries and have no concern for the environment. Now the type of people you will meet in Byron Bay are the complete 180 from this! We were walking the streets on Byron on evening and Nelson was enjoying his ice cream. (If you know Nelson, you know his obsession with ice cream). A man who presume to be under the influence of some type of illegal substance came up to Nelson and walked alongside him. He told Nelson he liked his hat and that he had one just like it. Nelson being very polite said, "Thanks I'm sure it looks good on you too." The man then asked Nelson for a lick of his ice cream! Nelson keeping his composure and again being polite said," No, I don't like to share ice cream with strangers." The man said, "Oh okay, you don't happen to be gay are you?" At this point Nelson said," No, no I'm not!" And we quickly turned away from the man down another street!

Allie and Nelson with the Sydney Harbor

We truly enjoyed our almost month in Australia and were thankful we extended our time there to make our driving less strenuous and allow us time to see much of the east coast. We would recommend a trip to Australia to anyone who loves beautiful landscape, snorkeling or diving, and anyone who has an intrigue for Australian culture! Next up, we head to Bali, Indonesia where we enter a whole new world, much different from Australia!