Beth's Babbles: 10 Things Australia Taught Me

There are many things to learn from Australia. Here's my top 10 list of things Australia taught me during my year travelling the country, and some differences between the UK and Australia. Some are pretty surprising!

1. Cockatoos are noisy. I always wanted one as a pet but now I've heard them in the wild, I'm rethinking.

Cockatoo in flight, Hervey Bay QLD

2. Geckos are noisy too. Surprising little buggers.

3. Christmas should be in summer. Screw the snow and being cosy by the fire. Wintery Christmas in the UK mostly just means shopping in the cold rain and having to don an ugly jumper. Give me a warm beach and cold cocktail and I'll be happy.

Ok, so Christmas day was cloudy. But warm!

4. Europe is tiny in comparison. Driving to France is like driving to the next town over in Australia, so now I've no excuse not to travel Europe.

Here's a little driving distance comparison between the Australian east coast, and the UK and Europe.

Melbourne to Sydney
9 hours - 542 miles

Melbourne to Brisbane
18 hours - 1,032 miles

Melbourne to Cairns
32 hours - 1,830 miles

Brighton to London
2 hours - 52 miles

Brighton to Sheffield
4 hours - 229 miles

Brighton to Inverness
10 hours - 618 miles

Brighton to Moscow, Russia
30 hours - 1,812 miles

Admittedly, until I google-mapped that, I had absolutely no idea that it was actually quicker to drive from my house in the UK to RUSSIA than it is to drive a portion of the east coast of Australia. Crazy!

5. How to survive a deadly snake bite. Thankfully never needed this info, but a snake bite bandage really can save your life. We learnt this at an informative presentation at the Townsville show, which also brought out a display of deadly snakes for our viewing!

Step 1: Call an ambulance
Step 2: Get an antivenom
Step 3: If, like most people, you don't have an antivenom handy, get a snake bite bandage and learn how to apply it properly. These are special pressure bandages that do not restrict the blood flow but help stop the spread of venom. Do not apply a tourniquet or suck the poison out. If bitten by a deadly snake, you have 15 minutes to get an antivenom. If one of these bandages is correctly applied, you have 1 hour.

My favourite moment from snorkling the Great Barrier Reef

6. Certain experiences can give you a legal and healthy high. Watching a sunrise over the sea.
Swimming face to face with sharks, turtles and dolphins. Witnessing a breathtaking view - of which Australia has many. So many times this year my whole body has felt an immense ecstacy just from experiencing something new and exciting.

7. To see the best views, you'll have to climb. At almost every waterfall and scenic route, there's a path with sign stating "This walk requires a medium level of fitness". Well, my less-than-medium fitness level was challenged a few times this year, but every time has definitely been worth it.

Wallaman falls was a tiring 2km climb down to this point, and back up again!

8. Australia is hot. The bushfires are a bit of a giveaway, but so is walking out of your house unsweaty, and 2 minutes into your journey, you're a soggy mess. Australian winter is the equivalent of a British summer (although it can get chilly in the south).

9. Pretty much everything can kill you. Sharks, spiders and snakes are common. We've come across redback spiders (deadly), eastern brown snakes (deadly) and reef sharks (harmless) during our time here. In the north you have an even higher chance of dying, with their population of crocs - and the deadliest coming in a form most of us wouldn't even think of - blue ring octopuses, and marine stingers. The Irukandji jellyfish is the world's smallest jelly, measuring at just 1cm, but a sting from one of these badboys almost certainly ends in death if not treated immediately. Sufferers will experience severe vomitting and pain within about 10 minutes. However, across the water in New Zealand, there are almost no dangerous animals whatsoever!

10. Travel is worth it. It's worth the effort. It's worth the money. It's even worth the struggles just to experience the good times. And there WILL be struggles. There will be times where you'll cry, get angry, feel uncomfortable, lose your money or lose your mind. But this will always be heavily outweighed by the times you experience ecstacy, feel youthful, get excited, and drop your jaw in awe.