What's the point of visiting Australia?

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oceangirl78

Some things that are unique about Australia :
Great Barrier Reef
Uluru
Dessert places in Western Australia
Beautiful rainforset places like Kuranda and Daintree
The country side areas
Coober Pedy
Broom
Exmouth

Don't forget the wildlife.

Australia has a lot to offer but you need to keep your eyes open for the things that are unique.Check out some of our real culture such as a true country lifestlye.

Basically you don't have to stick to the city.Australia is not all about shopping and eating in MCDonalds or going to the movies.

oldemystic

Yeah, that's right. Why visit anywhere? You can sit at home on your **** and see it all on TV anyway, right?
Or you can just sit around imagining that everywhere is just like the US.
Why bother actually finding out for yourself. Who cares anyway?
With your level of apparent negativity I don't think you'd see anything new anywhere, so you might as well stay home.

Elliot

Australia is completely different to America. Over here you move a light switch down to turn it on, and up to turn it off. And our door handles are significantly higher on average than door handles in the US.

Auzzie-Jay

well i am Australian and i can tell you there is alot of things you can do over here you can go back packing and see all the native wildlife , rainforests, the beautiful mountain ranges, climb the sydney harbour bridge,

Paul S

Yeah Asia would be better but Australia still has alot of differences in culture. You will see malls, theatres and McDonalds in China too, but doesnt mean there isnt anything more.

Something like 90% of the most poisonous animals live in Australia too.

(:elcie;

there's more to Australia then the metropolis cities.
that only makes a small portion up of the country.
i mean, i don;t reallly live in the country,
i live in a beachy town and have kangaroos and koalas in my backyard all the time.
you really gotto explore the country to see the real side of it.

Elaine R

hi. im australian. if you come, visit the outback. its virtually uninhabitable and not many people live there, other than natives (aboriginies) and farmers. its like desert and its really hot and filled with kangaroos. pretty much everyone in australia lives around the coastal regions and yes ure right its very americanised in those parts. you could also try tasmania, its off the mainland and its tiny. pop of 500 000 and quite different from the mainland of australia. sydney is very busy violent gangs and filled with racist tensions between lebaneese peeps and aussies etc. so avoid that too.

Syrian Stud

At least you cant blame us if you get SARS or Bird Flu when visiting China.

Innit

Hey, if you don't want to go, can I have your ticket? I have friends and family there whom I'd love to visit!

tit4tat

Although I completely understand your hesitation, I don't agree with you. I am Australian and I have lived in the U.S - there are lots of similarities and just as many differences. Not every English speaking country is a replica of America, you do not need to go to Asia to experience culture - trust me, we Aussies have a culture all of our own.

If you came to Australia and expected it to be just like home then you would probably end up being disgruntled when you discover that many of the conveniences or products that you are accustomed to are not available. So if you do decide to come then please leave behind your expectations of home and I know you will have a fabulous time.

A trip to the Great Barrier Reef would be an experience you would not forget in a hurry. (see it before we lose it!!!)

There must be a reason your girlfriend wants to visit, why not ask her what the attraction is? Personally given the opportunity I would visit the U.S again in a heartbeat, or anywhere else for that matter - especially if someone I loved asked me to join them.

I hope you have a wonderful holiday wherever you decide to go.

cc_of_0z

If you go to downtown Beijing, Shanghai, Hanoi, Bangkok you will find all of those things you mentioned that you see every day in the United States. You will find Coca Cola, McDonalds, overpriced malls and lots of people ready and waiting to rip off ignorant Americans. Most cities of the world are much the same as every other city in the world. That is the price we pay for globalisation. In spite of this, you might be quite surprised at just how different Australia is.

Some things you can do in Australia that you can't do in America:

1. See at boat race on a river with no water in it. (Henley-on-Todd regatta, Alice Springs.

2. See a boat race where every boat is constructed of only one material - beer cans (Beer can regatta, Darwin)

3. Visit an island where most of population consists of extremely cute foot high rat like creature that are practically tame. The island is the only place in the entire world you can find them. (Quokkas - miniature Kangaroos - Rottnest Island, 12kms off the coast of Perth).

4. Walk on a beach no person in history has ever walked on before. (Pilbara and Kimberley regions, north Western Australia.

5. Visit a farm bigger than most European countries where they use helicopters to round up sheep or cattle. (outback Australian sheep/cattle stations.

6. Take a trek on a barely visible road for 3000kms through the outback and be somewhere nobody else is for hundreds of miles around you. If you don't go properly equiped it could be the last place you ever see alive. These roads can be called highways (Gunbarrel Highway) or something else again (Canning Stock Route). Some of these roads take you through the most untouched wilderness scenery in the world with some of the most exclusive places to stay at the end of what is little more than a goat track (Gibb river road, Kimberley - at the end of which you can find El Questro Station).

7. Climb down deep and colourful gorges (each one with unique colours and attributes than any of the others) that remain un-touristified. You have to find you own way down and own way back. (Red, Hancock, Knox, Python Pool and others in Karijini national park, Western Australia).

8. Learn to play a Didgeridoo (probably THE most difficult musical instrument to play) from the people that invented it. See Aboriginal culture for yourself in a modern context. Visit Uluru and walk and talk with the Aboriginal custodians about their life there. Ayres Rock is still a cultural strong hold of Aboriginal culture .

molly

You will never never know if you don't go and we have some wonderful places off the beaten track to visit.
To be fair though I wouldn't visit USA for the same reason there is not one thing there that interests me at all I would rather go to Europe and soak in some real culture.

fj1687

Hey, I'm from Australia, and while I agree it's more "Americanised" than I would like, you could say that about just about every other country in the world (even Ethiopia has "Kit Kat" huts these days!)

The difference between Australia and America is that here you can escape the "Americanisation". As someone suggested above, try the outback, that is certainly NOT Americanised. We also have untouched rainforests and national parks (such as Kakadu) in the north (Queensland and Darwin), as well as the Great Barrier Reef. And in Darwin you can go swimming with the crocs!

On the other hand you may not want to see natural wonders, in that case I would say go someplace quiet out in the more rural areas, you'd be very surprised to know that people here are VERY different to those in America, and we don't have a McDonald's on every block everywhere you go here (some places don't have blocks!). Otherwise you might want to come down here and meet our indigenous people - who are awesome! Come see Uluru (Ayer's rock) and meet the locals in Alice Springs. They certainly have their own culture, beliefs and ideas and aren't Americanised at all!

Check out some of the sources below, you'd be surprised what you can find here, considering that this is a continent with just over 20 million people!

Having said that, I think China is a great place to go. Personally I'd like to go to Europe, I've been to the Middle east and some Asian countries, and America doesn't interest me at all (sorry!)

Good luck!
Funky

D R

totally agree just like when they stay in big national hotels where the food is the same here in the uk as it would be in china or india and thailand or south america you got to live in the small establishment that is so much better than just moving your bedroom all you got to is persuade her good luck

Amy

I can see your point, but i live in Australia and although some Aspects seem very american, many bits aren't also.

I Australia you can go into the outback, where you wont find any McDonald's and the culture is different also, it really does depend on where you go.
like you can go on aboriginal tours, stay overnight outside.
Australia doesn't have heaps of History, or heaps of it own culture because we are multi cultural, so you get many different kinds in one.
But it truly is worth visiting, and its as much like america as you think.

maybe also compromise with your girlfriend do half half
some australia and some china then your both happy

zoe j

i sort of agree. i'm planning a trip and i live in australia and people have suggested i go to the U.S or England etc but although i'm sure those countries are lovely and will offer lots of interesting things to see, i'm leaning towards somewhere like Thailand, Vietnam, India and i've heard that Micronesia and Tahiti are stunning. Friends have just returned from Vietnam and they travelled by train from one end to the other, not fancy trains but they used transport that the locals use and can not stop talking about the people and sights they saw and the different way of life they witnessed. Sounds tempting.

Krisis

I think as much as Australia is becoming Americanised, I think that if you came here your experience wouldn't be as though you were still at home. There are differences between Australia and America. I know when I go overseas, even if it's somewhere Westernised, I like to look at the small differences that make it unique. You would find we have a different sense of humour, different food, amazing bushland, flora and fauna. Even though we are becoming Americanised, we still have our own Australian twist, and I think if you take on an attitute to find things different from the US, you will find a lot of things.

Like other posts have said, if you stay away from the cities, and head out into the small towns, you'll be amazed at how different it is.

Super Saiyan

mate Australia isnt the sterotypical country that aot of the western world think it is

we dont have pet crocodiles nor do we ride kangaroos to work/school

we are a advanced country just liek USA

u shud come for our native flora and fauna

and the guy who said 90% of aussie aniamls are poisinous well he's right but they are in the outback
u wont get bittne by anything if you stay away from outback areas which are isolated

our beachs are some of the best in the world

Bell Beach is home to a international surfing competition Rip Curl Pro ( i think it is)

melbourne the sports capital of the world home to AFL (Go Cats)

our culture is similar yet different to other countries

and there is definately not a McDonalds on every block ( i think i know .. i live here) in my city which is Victorias( a state of Aus) second largest city and in the city there are 1 McD's int he city centre

one down the highway

one down the other highway

and one heading towards the great ocean road

oh yeah the GOR ( great ocean road)

amzing scenery a long windy road that heads down to the surf coast

down there you have the 12 apostles , shipwreck coast and many beautiful natural landmarks

so give australia a go mate

if you dont liek it so be it youdont have to return f you dontr want to

so head over here and pat a koala, feed a kangaroo

and enjoy the beauty of my home country Australia

Surely your missing the point is not meeting the girlfriend more important. I don't like Australia but if someone special asked me to meet them there I would go.

Rawr!

visit the Aussie outback, maybe?

I've never been to Aus. I would if i could though.

Ashlea

Lol love the question...I live in Melbourne..and honestly Australia is great for maybe a relaxation trip but it would be like America...maybe the accent is different (obviosly) and some animals (if u go to the wild life park) but if u want a holiday with some spark and cheap ways go Thailand or somewhere Asian there always full of suprises...Australia is just the same as the US

Just reading the guy below me lol.....we dont say mate sorry but we dont..... Australia is a great country but we're just like most english speaking countries..you want more adventure or different scene..... i wouldnt vist the US simple because it would be like here...true

oh forgot to add....there is a maccas on every street.. i too live in melb and work in the city...if it isnt mcdonalds its kfc or hungry jacks.....in my suburb we have 2 mcdonalds, hungry jacks and 3 kfc's and in the city i know of about 12 different ones lol...

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