Understanding Australia: Weekend Travel Inspiration
This is part of our weekly series to help you to understand our country, Australia a little better. It is part of the Weekend Travel Inspiration, and we certainly hope that this inspires you to visit us. If you have any questions about Australia, please feel free to ask and we will gladly answer.
Q: Which direction is North in Australia? (USA)
Contents
- 0.1 Q: Which direction is North in Australia? (USA)
- 0.2 A: Face south and then turn 90 degrees. Contact us when you get here and we’ll send the rest of the directions.
- 0.3 Q: Can you give me some information about hippo racing in Australia? (USA)
- 0.4 A: A-fri-ca is the big triangle shaped continent south of Europe. Aus-tra-lia is that big island in the middle of the pacific which does not… oh forget it. Sure, the hippo racing is every Tuesday night in Kings Cross. Come naked
- 1 Why are we so easy going?
- 2 The Aussie character
- 3 Why We Swear
- 4 An Australian Bogan – One of Our Precious Sub Cultures
- 4.1 Q: I have a question about a famous animal in Australia, but I forget its name. It’s a kind of bear and lives in trees. (USA)
- 4.2 A: It’s called a Drop Bear. They are so called because they drop out of gum trees and eat the brains of anyone walking underneath them. You can scare them off by spraying yourself with human urine before you go out walking.
A: Face south and then turn 90 degrees. Contact us when you get here and we’ll send the rest of the directions.
To understand Australia and Australians is to understand the vast land that we live in. Down Under as Australia is called, is a long way away but is well worth the effort.
We realize that we are far away from many places and we are known as the land down under – maybe this makes us not care what people think so much. Also when we travel most people will say, “are you Austrian?” and then, “such a long way away”.
Australians are masters at taking the piss out of one another….. and anyone else who opens themselves to this. To help to inspire you to visit our wonderful country, these are some tips. We also feature some of the amazing questions that visitors ask about our country.
Q: Can you give me some information about hippo racing in Australia? (USA)
A: A-fri-ca is the big triangle shaped continent south of Europe. Aus-tra-lia is that big island in the middle of the pacific which does not… oh forget it. Sure, the hippo racing is every Tuesday night in Kings Cross. Come naked
Why are we so easy going?
So why are we so laid back? Well the weather is really very good. A lot of sunny days and our winters are many other peoples summer days. Most people like the beach and the majority of the Australian population live around the coast of this bloody big island. The red centre is hot and dry though quite cool in the evening. If you want to meet some very dinky di Aussies, stop at a local pub and have a chat. They will talk back for sure. Shout them a beer and they will never shut up and I know that that is a generalization, but I also know that I am not far off the mark.
Q: Are there supermarkets in Sydney and is milk available all year round? (Germany)
A: No, we are a peaceful civilisation of vegan hunter gatherers. Milk is illegal.
The Aussie character
In defining what our characters are like, we are a mongrel breed – a bit of this and a bit of that. One thing that I think that is universal is that we are pretty laid back, have a great if irreverent sense of humour and we are really very friendly and embracing of anything and anyone. As in any country we have our die hard people of ultra conservative views, but in the main we are a pretty liberal country.
Q: Will I be able to see kangaroos in the street? (USA)
A: Depends how much you’ve been drinking
Why We Swear
We don’t see the word ‘bloody’ as swearing. Bugger and crap are also just normal day-to-day words for us. So are other words that you can probably guess. These are not unusual words for many Australians. We had a friend over from the States who said “s**t” and then “pardon my French”. We all thought it quaint, strange actually and totally odd. I mean he only said s**t”.
Our past Prime Ministers have often dropped the ‘f’ bomb in public and international situations. Now there are times and places for foul language and many people know how to rein this in, just a few of our ex PM’s forgot such is the common usage of these words.
Q: Can you tell me the regions in Tasmania where the female population is smaller than the male population? (Italy)
A: Yes, gay nightclubs.
An Australian Bogan – One of Our Precious Sub Cultures
A bogan is a slang term about a certain group of people found in Australia. A sub species if you like. Bogans look and act differently to others, and have their own dialect. They tend to live in packs, though they like to mix with others, generally at the pub or at the bowlo.
That’s not to say that bogans are not nice people. Most are really genuinely good blokes and sheila’s. These are the only group, where the use of the term sheila’s is acceptable as it is part of their dialect. Other bogans are just plain bogans in the not so nice sense.
Bogans are just that little bit different to others. Be careful if you call someone a bogan, it may not go down well with many. Yet Bogans are a very proud and interesting species.
Q: I have a question about a famous animal in Australia, but I forget its name. It’s a kind of bear and lives in trees. (USA)
A: It’s called a Drop Bear. They are so called because they drop out of gum trees and eat the brains of anyone walking underneath them. You can scare them off by spraying yourself with human urine before you go out walking.
The questions are Courtesy of Amazing Australia
We hope you understand Australia just that little bit better now, mate
Please ask any questions about Australia and we will gladly answer them for you
I like encountering Australians when we travel. you are in general a friendly and congenial people. You like beer and clearly have a good sense of humor. All the more reason to come and visit y’all.
Thanks Eileen, would love you to come down under. We are a friendly bunch with an irreverent sense of humour
Ha! Ha! Ha! This post reflects what I love most about Australians – the great sense of humor. I was chuckling as I was reading and scrolling down. How I wish my fellow New Yorkers can be as light hearted. Thanks for the fun post.
Thanks, we have a problem with our honour. Everything and everyone is fair game 🙂
hahaha I just can’t stop laughing at those toungue in cheek answers 😀
I live in Sydney now and I am loving it. I agree that people are quite laid back here… it’s what I love the most.
Thanks and there will be more coming every week in Weekend Travel Inspiration where I will introduce you to more of our country.So pleased you are loving Sydney
That gave me a good laugh! Love the one about seeing kangaroos in the streets!
Thanks Amy 🙂 If you are in Canberra you could well see a kangaroo in the street.
Paula, This cracked me up! I love your idea of introducing Australia and Australians to us. Thanks for co-hosting Weekend Travel Inspiration.
Thanks Corinne, it was fun writing because it is all true. Thanks for inviting me to co-host Weekend Travel Inspiration.
I have no problem believing the questions!! I moved from the US to New Zealand a few years ago and I have to say that I didn’t know much about NZ or Aussie before I got here.
It is funny isn;t it, but I always think that people do know more than what they might. Each Saturday in Weekend Travel Inspiration I will be bringing more to you about Australia and our idiosyncrasies 🙂
Great article…it’s really funny, loved the style..one day we hope to make it there!
Thanks Francisco, it is all true and I look forward to you reading more about our lovely but strange country on Weekend Travel Inspiration.
Paula, I love this post. We have been in New Zealand for 11 years now, and my favorite questions from an American friend – I am heading down under and can’t wait to see you, we are making three stops, which ones closer – Sydney, Brisbane, or Melbourne?
I am looking forward to co-hosting with you and the new team.
Come and see us definitely. We are an hour south of Sydney and can meet you there easily :))
I love the hippo racing question. The one about north isn’t as silly as you think. My husband has a brilliant sense of direction and often navigates according to the position of the sun – something I have never mastered. The sun is ‘up’ right, not north or south. Anyway we once got thoroughly confused in Cairo because he completely forgot that the sun is in the south in the northern hemisphere.
I don’t have any sense of direction so I can empathise with this.
hahaha such a funny post guys! As you might now my hubby Nick is Australian… I remember falling for the old drop bear joke the first time I visited, and then I was sent to buy a beer, and instead of a Toohey’s I asked for a TOO-HAY’s… the barman laughed to much!
Glad to be hosting the linkup together!
Thanks Margherita; we Aussies don’t take any prisoners. Also glad to be hosting #wkendtravelinspiration with you.
Interesting…
Interesting ..good, interesting ..bad 🙂