It’s hard to sum up eight weeks in a country- but I’ll try.
Three Favourite Scenic Spots:
- Uluru- obvious. Probably our favorite thing in all of Australia.
- The Great Ocean Road, west of Melbourne- especially the Twelve Apostles area. I had seen photos of them but I was completely unprepared for how big they were in real life.
- The Whitsunday Islands, particularly Whitehaven Beach
Bob models a "stinger suit" at Whitehaven Beach
Three Favourite Attractions:
- Hunter Valley Zoo. We kept fondly reminiscing about this place for days and weeks after we’d visited.
- Horizon the Planetarium, at SciTech in Perth. This planetarium runs the most advanced software in the southern hemisphere- actually, the program is still in beta. We enjoyed getting a tutorial on the southern night sky. Very nice planetarium, interesting movies, knowledgeable staff (and the rest of the museum was a blast too!)
- Art Gallery of New South Wales- the free tours here were excellent. If you can’t make the tour, they also offer free audio downloads. They have a great collection of Australian art.
Three Favourite Foods:
Dip in sour cream, then sweet chili sauce
- Potato wedges with sour cream and sweet chili sauce. The best bar snack EVER.
- Burgers or sandwiches with “the lot” (the works.) In Australia this means lettuce, tomato, onion, cheese, a slice of beetroot, and if you’re lucky, a fried egg and a slice of caramelized pineapple.
- Fish ‘n’ chips. We tried them all over the country, and our favorite was the fried basa in Bowen, Queensland.
Three Favourite Animals:
- Little penguins (at the Penguin Parade)
- Koalas (in any zoo or preserve)
- Tropical fish (at the Great Barrier Reef)
Three Favourite Wineries/Breweries:
Three Favourite Aussie Slang Terms:
- Bogan– the Australian version of a redneck.
- Budgie smuggler– the very cheeky term for a man’s Speedo swimsuit. Unfortunately, more common than we’d like.
- Too easy! This little phrase can be used anywhere, anytime, especially if you are a B&B owner in Townsville.
