So you’ve decided to start your adventure in Australia: amazing! Australia has an abundance of opportunities when it comes to travel, adventure, finding friends, finding yourself and earning some money!
Yeah I know what you’re thinking; Australian people speak English, I speak English, you speak English, what more could there be to learn, really?!
Spend just a few days in Australia and it becomes clear that language barriers do exist….you just have to know how to get round them!
It all starts with a visit to the pub, of course., or hotels as they’re sometimes called in Australia. You’re ready to order a pint of whatever it is you’re drinking and suddenly notice something rather alarming;
Wait, those aren’t pint glasses!
No, they’re schooner glasses and it’s basically the norm in Australia for a lager or ale to be served in one. A schooner is 425ml, about 3/4 of a pint. A friend told me a few weeks ago that beers are served this way as, if you were to sit in the Australian sun with a pint you’d probably get halfway through and find yourself drinking warm beer (never good) but I also sense it’s something to do with the stricter alcohol rules which Australia also has in place.
There are some pubs where you can buy a pint but you can also ask for something called a pot which holds 285ml – you’ll often find that you’ll get a free pot of beer with a meal in some pubs as a meal deal.
The above applies to Queensland and Victoria but in New South Wales for some reason a pot is called a middie.
In South Australia and pot is a schooner.
In Western Australia a pot measures 575ml which, being slightly more than a pint, is usually just called a pint by all the English people living there.
Confused yet?
Maybe it’s time for a lie down……but not on the duvet. Nope, in Australia a duvet is called a doona.
Maybe you wanted to drink at your hostel though instead of at the pub? For this you’d need to go to the Bottle-O or bottle shop, generally an off license where you can buy 24 bottles or cans in a carton called a slab, a few stubbies (small, 375ml bottle of beer) or a tallie (a long-necked bottle of beer.)
Ooooh and don’t forget the goon; yes, it’s a gross cheap wine in a bag but it’s cheaper this way to get blotto, loose or magotted!
At some point you’re going to have to eat though right?
In Australia a pepper is a capsicum and an aubergine is an eggplant.
A courgette is a zucchini and if you want a toasted sandwich you need to ask for a jaffle.
A chicken is a chook and a lolly is what we’d probably refer to as sweets or candy.
tasty cheese is cheddar cheese and cheddar cheese is that plastic cheese normally reserved for barbeques and kids lunch boxes.
Want a sausage from the barbeque? Ask for a snag and if you’re having it in between two pieces of bread it’s a sanger.
Many of the food names though are just shortened versions of the original. If a word can be shortened you can guarantee that it will be in Australia:
Avocados are avos
Brecky is breakfast
Throw another shrimp (read prawn) on the barbie and get a stubbie from the Esky – an esky is an insulated container for food and drinks, usually taken to the beach to keep your beers cold!
That famous Australian dessert, the pavlova? Call it a pav.
Need to pop to the corner shop? Here it’s a milk bar.
And there’s no need to waste your breath asking for a cappuccino, that’s far too much effort, just call it a cap!
And these are just a few of the many ‘Australianisms’ I’ve come across! Can you think of any more?
The East Coast of Australia, from Melbourne to Sydney (oh and Canberra…..) and finally up to Cape Tribulation in the far North of Queensland, is probably the most popular and most visited part of Australia and with a huge amount of exciting cities and beautiful beaches to explore we can see why.
But how can you travel Australia’s East Coast and see everything it has to offer?
1. Take a flight
There are two main budget airlines for domestic flights in australia are Jetstar and Virgin Australia (formerly Virgin Blue), both will get you pretty much anywhere on the East Coast, providing you’re not fussy about having to get a bus or taxi from the airport.
How about flying from Sydney or Melbourne to Ballina where, after a 30 minute bus journey you could be exploring Byron Bay or fly from Brisbane to Prosperine where you can sail, dive and snorkel your way around The Whitsunday Islands?
You can easily plan your trip to Gold Coast with Expedia and try your hand (or feet!) at surfing in Surfers Paradise, touch down at Cairns airport to explore the Great Barrier Reef, stick around Sydney to find the perfect balance between beach and city-living and while away your time in Melbourne with coffee and cake in one of its many cafes.
Flying isn’t always the cheapest option but if you’re looking to get somewhere quickly and conveniently then it’s definitely the way to go.
2. Book a bus journey
Greyhound Australia and Oz Experience both have different packages you can use to travel Australia’s entire East Coast in one go or, if you’re planning on working in Australia or just staying longer in places you like, you can opt for a 12 month pass – just use the calculator on their website to work out how many kilometres you’ll need over the year and you’re away!
The great thing about travelling by bus is that it actually stops at the most popular destinations – you can see the entire East Coast by bus easily without the hassle of airport transfers and departure lounges and you’ll easily make friends along the way. Prepare for a bumpy ride though!
3. Hire a Campervan
Ah the traveller’s dream! Riding around the country in a campervan, getting back to nature, cooking on a camping stove, beers on the beach – perfect. Thankfully there are a huge amount of companies in Australia who want to make this dream come true, for a price of course.
The most popular choices are Jucy, Wicked Campers and Spaceships but there are smaller companies as well. This is when your negotiation skills come in handy as your try and play one of against the other in a bid to get the best deal: to be honest, it works!
You can also check to see if there are any relocation deals available too – this means that, usually for something ridiculous like $1/day, you can ‘relocate’ a campervan to a specific depot in a certain amount of time.
Campervanning is the ultimate adventure and ensures that you get to see, stay and do whatever you want in your own time frame.
4. Hitch a Ride Part 1
This one takes a bit of courage but once you’ve stuck your thumb out a few times you’ll get used to it. Obviously hitchhiking your way up the East Coast isn’t the most conventional way to travel and so you’re going to have to get used to being flexible. There won’t always be someone driving where you want to go and you’ll have to change plans – it could be the best thing you ever did though; meeting new people and living one day to the next without any plans can be exciting!
Obviously if you’re going to hitchhike it goes without saying that you need to be careful and stay safe especially if you’re travelling alone. Stay in contact with friends or family via text, keep your wits about you and don’t try and hitch a ride in the dark.
5. Hitch a ride Part 2
Wait, didn’t we already cover this? Well, no. Scour the noticeboards in any Australian hostel or even just pop onto Gumtree and you’ll find heaps of people already driving somewhere who want a road trip buddy or are willing to take a passenger, usually just for the cost of petrol money.
Again, this requires a lot more planning and a flexible approach but it’s definitely a fun way to meet people, have an adventure and catch a cheap ride!
How did you travel Australia’s East Coast?
Last week we were nominated for Hostelbooker’s 7 Super Shots by our very own rtwbackpacker Chris and we were thrilled! Not only because it’s the first time rtwbackpackers has been nominated to take part in anything like this but also because it gives us a chance to share some of our favourite photos with you.
So without further ado, here are our 7 Super Shots;
The picture that…..takes my breath away
The picture that….makes me laugh or smile
The picture that….makes me dream
The picture that….makes me think
The picture that….makes my mouth water
The picture that….tells a story
The picture that….I’m most proud of
We hope you enjoyed looking at our pictures and now it’s your turn…….
Our nominees
We nominate…….no-one!
If you want to show off your 7 Super Shots with Hostelbookers on your own blog, go ahead and say we nominated you then hit us up on Facebook or Twitter so we can see your pictures!
