G'day everyone and
welcome to a new continent, where I'll take you onto an adventure to the
Magical Land of Oz and it's diverse cultural aspects.
In short: allow me to
introduce to you a few Aussie things!
First of all,
whoever thought that the Australians don't have their own language, will find
themselves very much mistaken upon arrival. Apart from the Aboriginal language
and the fact that the Australian English has different pronunciations, it also
has a different vocabulary. The most obvious vocabulary alternation is the use
of shorter words. Almost every (with some exaggeration) long word in de English
dictionary has a shorter Australian version. For example: mosquito = mozzie,
McDonalds = Macca's, Australian = Aussie, Barbeque = barbie,
kangaroo = roo, breakfast = breakie, Tasmania = Tassie, and so on.
In other words, using
the term Aussie is definitely an Aussie thing. You sound definitely keep your
ears open for their peculiar expressions. Like for example, “chuck a yewey”,
meaning: Make a U-turn. Or the very famous “No worries”, basically meaning as
much as: “forget about it” or “don’t worry about it” or “that’s all right” or
“I will/can do it”.
Another truly
Aussie thing is Rubber Tramping (trekking around by car). Aussies and
foreigners alike love to travel around this magnificently big country by car.
You have your "Grey Nomads" on the one hand; pensioners travelling
around with their caravan/camper van. These nomads are more often than not
Aussies. On the other hand you have your backpackers (that's us!). Then you
also have everything in between; from 4WDs in every shape and size to road
trains.
As I only have
experience with "Rubber Tramping: Backpack style", I will only give
tips and tricks on that aspect.
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| The Great Ocean Road, one of the amazing paths to travel.. |
Starting off with
your most important utility of your travels: your car. This will probably be
your bed, kitchen and transport for the duration of your stay. There are
several options when it comes to getting around by car. (Of course, public
transport and air travel are also options but they do not give you the same
experience of the country and are often quite expensive). Back to the options:
you could buy a car, hire one or hitch along with people who already own one.
The latter is probably the cheapest option and comes with the least amount of
responsibilities. The flipside is that you'll most probably have to make a lot
of compromises and loose a little of your freedom, as you'll have to adjust
your plans to those of your travel companion. You could easily find a ride on
numerous Facebook groups like for example "Australia Backpackers Working
Holiday Visa". Or if you just search "Australia ride share"
you'll surely find a suitable mate.
The second option
- hiring a car - is easy because you bare less responsibility than owning a car
but you still have the freedom of going wherever you like. The downside is the
price. There are companies that are specialised in Backpackers, their rentals
are often well-equipped and ready to go. A couple of these companies are: Britz
or Apollo (campers, all sizes)
Finally there's
the option of buying your own car and selling it again. (This is the option we
chose). Meet Pumba:
Pro's are the
comfort of owning your own car and it would probably be cheaper than a rental,
especially long term. The cons would be the responsibilities. Finding a car of
your liking will prove much easier when you submit your preferences onto the
following Facebook group: "Australia Backpacker cars". The admin does
a great job in linking a seller with a suitable buyer (and vice versa). This
group is also useful at the end of your travels when you decide to hand over
your trusted travel companion on to the next backpacker. Don't forget that you
will most probably still have to register the car or at least change the name
on the Rego (another Aussie word, meaning registration), which will take some
time and money. Transferring the Rego from the previous owner is free in most
of the states, though.
Either way, Rubber
Tramping is the way to go when you wish to discover the Land of Oz. Now, when
or if you decide to travel around by car there are some road related Aussie
things you should probably know about.
When driving, you
should definitely look out for wildlife. Not only because it's amazing to see a
kangaroo or a wallaby hop along side the road or have a pack of emus run beside
you. Funnily enough you don't get bored of seeing these awesome creatures. Even
after seeing hundreds of kangaroos, you still frantically look for them in de
bushes and become so excited when you actually see one. It tends to take your
breath away a little: it's that wondrous. But, these wonders also tend to cross
the road unannounced. As most wildlife in Australia is nocturnal, you'll have
to be extra careful around dusk or dawn. Although it's best to keep your eyes
peeled at all time, even if it's just to take in as much beauty as possible.
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| Here's a Roo with it's Joey ;) |
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| Here's an Emu (pronounced Emju), in case you were wondering what it looks like.
It might also be
wise to understand the vastness and often emptiness of this country. Australia
is made up of big city along the edges with basically nothing in between them
expect some odd towns (sometimes consisting of a single cattle or other
station) scattered alongside the highways.
If you plan on
travelling from the south to the north or vice versa via the centre, prepare
yourself for endless looking roads with no change in the scenery. From Adelaide
to Darwin, there’s only one-way to go: The Stuart Highway. Another very famous
never-ending-road-of-nothing takes you from Adelaide to Perth via the Nullabor.
Oh yeah, one more
thing: make sure you drive on the left ;). There'll be plenty of signs to
remind you though.
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Well, basically
these are a few major basics to an Aussie adventure.
Stay tuned for more
highlights of the magical land of Oz. Here are a few preview pictures, just to
keep you interested.
Lots of love,
Tweenie xo
