The sun has risen on our last full day in Australia to find us glad of our many new experiences and eager for more in South East Asia. Although Oz hasn’t been the most different culture we have visited, after all they were all Brits till not too long ago, it has exposed us to a lot of new sights, sounds and flavours for which we are grateful:
First, and probably foremost, there is the local wildlife, rightly considered some of the greatest and most unique in the world today. We’ve walked open mouthed through lush Gondwanaland rainforests growing since before Oz split from Africa. We’ve gotten surprisingly close to Kangaroos, Koalas, Wallabies and Possums not to mention the ever present, ever scrounging wild Turkeys. And lets not forget the sea-life; the whales we saw breaching at Coff’s harbour, the dolphins that I swam with or, more accurately, swam away from fast after mistaking the playful fellas for sharks.
Some of the more unique wildlife witnessed on our trip … and a kangaroo
New sounds are everywhere too. Whether they be Kookaburras chuckling in the morning sun, or utes (weird Aussie pickup trucks with loads of power) roaring and doing very little else they’re all new to me. We had our first visit to the opera within one of Australia’s greatest buildings; the great Sydney Opera house, a sight for sore eyes in itself where we enjoyed wine and snacks overlooking the famous harbour and its bridge. Opera isn’t our cup of tea, whether Aussie or otherwise though but one Australian sound that could teach Britain a thing or two is the radio: An ever-present accompaniment on a road trip like ours, the stations here effortlessly mix classics from years gone by with modern tunes from the top of the charts and the bottom of the pile. This compares to modern UK stations which blurt out the same 20 songs from a narrow trench of the last month’s ‘chart’ music all day long, come on Pommies!
Being a gastronome or a greedy gnome depending on your point of view, the flavours of Oz were always going to excite me. In the end it surprised me as well. The Australian love of the Avocado for example was unexpectedly lovely; salmon and Avocado on toast and BLATs (BLTs with avocado) are both yummy. Being a coffee lover the quantity, quality and variety of coffee on offer was eye-widening, sometimes literally thanks to caffeine. Mugachino anyone? How about a Viennese? Dirty Chai? Filthy Chai? … Don’t ask. Anyway there is also a variety of muesli and granola unrivalled anywhere else in the world as well as things done with sweet potatoes that haven’t been done anywhere else in the world. Oh and the Eggs Benedict! Did I mention that they call Peppers Capsicums?
So if you think that Aussie tucker consists of tinnies, pies and ‘shrimps on the barbie” then you are wrong. Here’s to the food wizards of Oz as well as their music makers their furry movers and their feather shakers.
Writing Down a Dream 