The Aussie Experience

Things we didn't do:

Due to vast distances and lack of time, we had to take a pass on many things.

• Gold Coast and resort islands (Fraser, Hamilton, Whitsundays) near Brisbane - East coast of Queensland faces the 1600 miles long Great Barrier Reef, which includes 2900 individual reefs and 900 islands, and caters to tourists, honeymooners and wedding parties in style. There are people who explore/scuba dive in different locations - shallow reefs, deep reefs, inner reefs, outer reefs and so on. You can never see them all, and after a while, it would become repetitive I suppose.
• Uluru (The Ayer's Rock) - At the center of the country, and far away from everything else. Aboriginals request you to respect their religious beliefs and not climb this 1200 ft high, city of London sized rock. If not climbing, might as well see it in an IMAX movie - Right?
• Crocodiles in Darwin and elsewhere - not a fan. Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin has shown us plenty of them.
• Swiming with Sharks at Exmouth - wrong season, and too far to north west.
• Canberra - the capital. Built halfway between Sydney and Melbourne because neither wanted the other to become the capital.  Buildings and museums - seen plenty in Washington, DC.
• Travel coast to coast on Road Trains (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_train)
• Travel long distances by trains - this could be fun if you have the time. Backpackers frequently get a three or six month pass for train or bus, which is a very inexpensive way to travel.

Visa to Australia (ETA):

• Tourist visa to Australia from the U.S. and several other countries is available instantly (almost!) and free (almost!) ETA is in fact a registry that is made available by the Australian Immigration to airlines as a proof of visa. There is no stamp on your passport (only arrival and departure stamps,) and there is no charge from the government for the visa.
  - To get the ETA, of course, you have to go through one of the many agencies - mostly from the U.K. - who would charge for their services. Prices vary - so shop around. The lowest I found was USD 12. You fill out the information online and pay, and within 24 hours you get a confirmation email that provides you with the ETA information. No one ever asked us about our ETA, though I would recommend carrying a paper copy of the confirmation email with you.
• Alternatively, you can do it the old fashioned way and send your passport to the Australian Embassy. Allow one month for this process.

Airport Security:

• International security procedures seem to be consistent everywhere (100ml or 3 Oz. liquids, aerosol, etc.) though we didn't have to take off our shoes anywhere.
• Domestic security was just like it was in the U.S. prior to 9/11.  No one asked for our ID at all, and only boarding pass was required at the gates.  Local airlines had strict rules on paper about no change of passenger names within 24 hours of the flight, etc., but anyone could fly with a valid boarding pass and no ID.  Similarly, airlines insisted on the carry-on baggage size and weight limits, as well as the number of pieces of carry-on.  No one seemed to have any problems - even when the flights were full (which all of ours were.)

Language:

• I was prepared for "G'day Mate!" for the entire trip, but most of the times, I was greeted with Good Morning, and only in the rural areas, I was called a Mate - may be 6 times during the entire trip.
• Australian accent was very much influenced by the English/British (Naturally, the Queen is still the head of the Australian Commonwealth. The appointment of the elected Governor is rubber stamped by the Queen - even today.)  Some words are pronounced differently, but understanding wasn't a problem after a day or two.

Driving:

• It takes a while to get used to driving on the other side of the road - especially while turning. My rule was to turn towards Kedar (in the direction of passenger side.)  Getting used to Roundabouts (traffic circles) is tricky.  Even on a major highway, at small crossroads, everyone suddenly gets equal right of way, and that causes traffic on the major road to back up.  However, in general, traffic wasn't a huge problem even in big cities like Sydney and Melbourne.  Everywhere else, it was a non-issue.  

Airline announcements:

While we don't really seem to pay any attention to them, subconsciously we DO listen to the announcements at the airport and on the plane.  Since we are used to a certain way of announcements in the U.S., it sounded funny /different in Australia. For example,

• When paging the last few stragglers to the aircraft, they would announce "Final boarding call. Mr. and Mrs. John Doe, please proceed to Gate XX for your flight XXX to XXXX." - just like we are used to. And then they would add "All other passengers are already on board and they are waiting for you."
• When advising about opening overhead compartments after the flight, rather than "the items may have shifted during the flight," they announce, "the bags may fall on you or other passengers." I suppose that IS true.
• Other popular phrase is "Federal regulations require ..."  They repeat the phrase so many times, from keeping the window shades open during take off and landing, and having the armrest down, in addition to seat belts, seat backs and tray tables.
• Lastly, they make far too many announcements - and long ones at that.  They would advise you that all passengers are on board, about the ground crew, flight crew closing and cross checking doors, and so on. Who cares?

Other Miscellaneous:

• The conservative political party in Australia is called - guess what -"Liberal.' And the liberal party is called "Labor."
• While the Australian road system is very good and similar to the U.S. (on the opposite side of the road, of course), I didn't notice a single traffic light with motion sensors. The lights are timed, so the light remains green even if there are no cars in that direction, and turn signals will change to red even if not all cars have gone through. Annoying.
• To keep speeds and red light runners in check, they supposedly have cameras all over the place.  At least, there are signs to that effect everywhere.  If you are caught, a ticket is mailed to your home address.  No wonder, I didn't see too many traffic cops pulling people over and ticketing for speeding.  In fact, I was concerned that in the 1200 kms I drove in Tasmania, I must have amassed many, many speeding tickets.  Since I haven't received one from the rental company thus far, may be I escaped!
• GPS to the rescue - if you have updated GPS maps, your navigation system alerts you with a beep when approaching a fixed location speed camera (radar detector, of sorts.)  I haven't noticed it in the U.S. Have you?
• Process Excellence / Lean??? - To improve turnaround times at the gates, airlines - Virgin Blue, in particular - has the first 13 rows board and off-board through the jetway.  Back rows are boarded from the rear.  Yes, the back rows do get off the plane faster, but they have to climb down steps at the plane and climb back up to get into the terminal. That can be a pain, because most passengers only have carry-ons, which can be heavy.  Also, since the airlines don't seem to assign front rows to elderly or families with young children, there is always someone from the back of the plane trying to use the jetway in front, and vice versa.  Is there a better way to fill up the planes, faster???