Everyone coming to Australia picks up a tourist guide or a book and looks for information. It can be the Lonely Planet, or anything else. Somewhere in the book is probably a section with useful tips that you will need. For example you need a visa to enter Australia, or you should not forget your sunscreen etc. There are many things however, not covered in the travel books, that you will encounter when coming to Australia. Here are our 7 general tips that you will not find in the tourist guides.
1. Learn how to use chopsticks.
If you ask what the typical Australian cuisine is, many people will say it is bbq and some kind of Asian. Whether you like it or not, it is quite hard to avoid noodles and sushi here. Most food courts are a mix of Japanese, Chinese and Thai. You can find a sushi bar on almost every corner in big cities. We like this, because it is usually fresh, healthy and more tasty than McDonalds or other fast food. It is part of the Australian culture, and you will see that everybody here - young & old - is used to chopsticks, like Europeans to knife and fork.
2. If you do not speak English, learn Chinese.
You are probably laughing about this advice, but it is good to know that Asian culture is very lively in Australia. A high rate of the population in the big cities - especially on the east coast - originates from Asia, many from China. There are suburbs where about 90% of the population is Asian. Where we live, we would perfectly manage to do our shopping by only speaking Chinese. Therefore in general there is a need for people speaking Asian languages; even Prime Minister Kevin Rudd speaks Mandarin fluently.
3. Make friendship with cockroaches
This advice doesn’t sound very appealing… But you better get used to the thought that there is a big chance to meet these awful creatures. In Europe it means something really bad to have cockroaches in your kitchen under the sink, but here it is almost common to have them every now and then, no matter how clean your apartment or flat is. In general they are crossing the kitchen in the dark, probably when you are really tired and don’t expect them. You can get rid of them, because each supermarket has a large section with pesticide sprays and poison. Furthermore you should clean your kitchen more often than you are used to and put all your food in closed boxes. You can put “snakes” in front of your door as well to make sure no roaches or other bugs can enter your place. If you still find one running around, the vacuum cleaner does a good job.
4. Check your luggage for food
If you don’t want hassle or pay fines at your arrival, do not take any food, nuts, honey or plant seeds in your luggage. Australia is a separate continent with a very different wildlife from the rest of the world and they protect their special and sensitive fauna. Like Bill Bryson wrote in his book Down Under, this climate is so good for other plants and animals, that it is dangerous to take here anything. Someone took 24 rabbits -unknown here before - more than hundred years ago, and the result: there are so many of them here, that they can not kill them any more. And many more deceases and plagues have been brought into the country over the last centuries.
Therefore Australia is extremely careful at customs when you enter the country. You have to declare everything that can be of any risk and sometimes they check all luggage of every single person. Basically every kind of food is prohibited, so you better make sure to eat everything you brought with you before arriving. People have been fined more than 100$ for a forgotten apple in their backpack.
5. Be prepared for a cold winter in Sydney
When coming to Australia, you expect to be on the beach all the time and have eternal sunshine. The truth is slightly different, especially in the winter months. Okay, it doesn’t get as cold as in Northern Europe but you still have to dress a bit warmer. There are of course differences within Australia, because it is a large country. In the north it is always warm, and in the southern parts, like Tasmania, it can become very cold sometimes. In Sydney however it can get cold, but people just don’t seem to accept this. This means that heated houses are very rare, and insulation doesn’t exist in most apartments. Many doors have big gaps and all windows are single windows. The result is that the inside temperature is not much different from the outside temperature. So if you are here in winter and it is 5-10 degrees outside, make sure to have a warm blanket!
6. Don’t get paranoia with dangerous animals, just live and let live
Dangerous animals are favorite topics to talk about here. To say it very simplistic, almost anything can kill you here. Of course, there are the spiders, snakes and sharks, etc. But did you know that there are poisonous frogs and even some plants in the rainforest you shouldn’t touch, because they will cause serious health problems for months? It is good to know the basic things, but do not read all the books and try to prevent yourself from every possible attack. It is true that there are snakes for example, but this doesn’t mean there is one in every tree waiting for you. The animals are more afraid of you, so if you behave just like normal it is very rare to even see a dangerous animal.
7. No worries!
In general everybody here is very friendly and helpful and the Australian lifestyle is very relaxed. Wouldn’t you be with nice weather and so many beaches? You are here to enjoy your time, we are sure you will.
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