Lessons learned in Australia

1.There is no penny or quarter, and frequently no change is given for less than ten cents.
2.Campervans (either vans or rvs) are popular and painted with various icons like Scooby Doo or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
3.Emus are very scary looking.
4.Sweet chili sauce is served with everywhere.
5.The date of the election changes each year and is named by PM. $30-35 fee if you don’t vote.
6.Australians eat lots of fruitcake and beets. (There is a whole fruitcake aisle in some grocery stores.)
7.No shrimp on the barbie or Foster’s beer. We were told that they send that “crap beer” to America.
8.Sausage Sizzles are excellent fundraisers. (Cindy’s Sausage Sizzle benefited the Square Dance foundation of Rockhampton)
9.Any word longer than 4 letters abbreviate by adding an “o” or “ie” to the end of it. Some examples include: Fremantle = Freo, registration = rego, Brisbane = Brizzie
10.Kingston Station in the outback has had 2 inches of rain since 2004
11.Australia is home of the ute. (looks like a version of an El Camino)
12.Clubs are very strict on entry and by no means will accept people in street wanting to come in even if the bar is empty and they aren’t closing for 2 hours.
13.Trading hours = opening hours
14.Flies gravitate towards eyes and mouth.
15.No fruit/veggies/sugar cane/horses can be transported between states.
16.Sand is better kept on beach rather than tent/car.
17.Cask wine (goon) is evil.
18.Toohey’s products were very good to us. Much better than cheap American beer.
19.When driving on the left, the wipers and signals are located where they are when driving on the right. (much more confusing than it sounds!)
20.Everyone traveling in Australia is either Irish or German.
21.Iced coffee milk is a healthy way to start the day. Milk is also available in double shot, cappuccino, mocha, chocolate, mint, strawberry, vanilla malt, banana, pineapple, as well as standard. Samples of milk are given in the grocery store. Lauren’s favorite brand was M or Big M.
22.Kangaroos eat grass. Koalas live in eucalyptus trees.
23.2 million feral camels are in Oz. The population doubles every 8 years.
24.One place sand always collects even if you are very careful: bellybutton.
25.Back packer towns really know where it’s at!