Australia - The red continent Part 2: Impressions and anecdotes




Hi everyone!
While I was searching for some travelling advice in the internet, I felt that people either described what things there are to do, but the feeling never came across, or they only described anecdotes without giving some proper travelling information. That is why I'd like to divide my travelling advice into 2 parts, so that you can also get some solid information on what are nice things to do and also a part, where I describe how I experienced the vibe of a place. 

So, what are the first things that come to my mind when I think about Australia? I would say: wide, friendly, countryside, slightly boring and overrated (sorry for that!). 
I'm from Germany and everyone there keeps going on and on about how amazing Australia is, so maybe my expectations have been too high when I arrived there. In Germany, many people who have just finished school, are travelling through Australia for one year and obviously it is a great place for the first experience abroad. It's safe and still it's the first experience completely on their own. I guess that it why it is a little "oversold" in Germany. The landscape is beautiful and the outback is one thing that we really don't have in Europe. Apart from that I'm sorry to say that we have beaches and mountains in Europe as well, but there are many places where they are better than in Australia. For example the Blue Mountains might be nice but it's nothing compared to the Alps and the beaches are beautiful but you can barely swim in them because of jellyfish or crocodiles. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that you stay in Europe all the time. You just shouldn't get your expectations up too high. Australia has a nice landscape but it's not the nicest place on earth. It is striking how incredibly nice people are in Australia. And the smaller the city the nicer the people. In Mission Beach, when I asked two women where the next stinger net was, they even offered to get their car from home and to drive me there. It was very lovely. The thing is that I am a big city person. I don't know my neighbours and I like it that way. I admit that I was slightly annoyed by the fact that you might be stuck with one person for an hour only when you ask them a simple question. But if you want to meet new people but are a little introverted, Australians really welcome you with open arms and you won't be alone for a long time! Another thing I noticed instantly is, how wide Australia was. In Europe I always dreamed about looking at a landscape where humans didn't make any changes. In Australia you can drive for hours and hours and only see the pure and untouched landscape. On the down side, you can drive for miles and miles and only see pure and untouched landscape! :D Again, I'm a big city person and 1 hour of untouched landscape is enough for me. But I got to know many people who used to work at farms and enjoyed horse riding through the wilderness a lot. If you are one of them, Australia is great for you! 
The western culture in Australia is very young. What you don't realize when you live in Europe is, how much culture there is on every corner. Australia just doesn't have that. I felt that it is somehow lacking a certain flair or character outside from Sydney and Melbourne. It was the first time in my life that I felt very European because in Europe, even the small cities have their own flair. 
Sydney and Melbourne on the other hand were just amazing! I loved Melbourne in particular and I instantly thought that I could easily imagine to live there... if the next big city wouldn't have been about 12h away. But, as I said in the last post, the food culture there is great and you get good food on every corner and even the take aways look all very nice and clean!
So, Australia wasn't necessarily my favorite country in the world although I had a very lovely time there. And it's a great place to visit, when, you've just finished school and want to travel on your own through a safe country. It's also very safe to travel there on your own as a woman. And if you love a quiet country where you can walk on your own for hours and are immediately invited for a beer or a cider, Australia is the place to be. On the other hand, if you are a big city person like me, you will probably like it as an experience but you will not necessarily return a second time. 
In my experience, Australia is worth a visit but it is not worth a second visit. With that summary I will leave you for today.
All the best! 

Stefanie

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