Australia, a country of contrasts !!

Australia is an odd place.

Its one hugh country, yet, it can be completely different at times, compared to itself, its a bit schizophrenic

Philippines is a country of extremes, Australia is a country of contrasts !

Coast & inland, city & bush/outback

North & South

Night & Day


Coast & inland, city & bush/outback

As you travel around Australia and head away from the coast, the country changes dramatically.

80% of the population lives on the east coast of the country. As such, when your driving on the coast, especially the south coast, its very similar to driving in Europe.

Lots of small towns, and big cities. Electronic stores & supermarkets. Good roads and holiday villages a plenty. Theres a hugh amount of things to do, but you need lots of money to do it!

When you go inland, its completely different. Its like a whole new country. Straight roads for hours, enormous farms stretching for hundreds of kilometers, tiny towns, little more than a petrol station. Everyday things cost a small fortune. Petrol costs almost double, and you can add 50% to most products.

However, whats free is the natural beauty. Sure you can pay for cruises etc. But you can also just drive there yourself, and enjoy the view.


North & South,

South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria. They are a complete contrast to Northern Territory & Queensland.

In the south, its very similar to europe. Lots of green fields, bendy roads, mountains & farms. And very large cosmopolitan cities ! The weather is European, there are 4 seasons. Irish weather in Melbourne, not as wet, and not as cold though, and Spanish/Italian weather in Sydney & Adelaide.

Up north, its mostly tropical. There are only 2 seasons, wet and dry. Its hot, and often too humid(especially very far up), its mostly only humid in the wet season. Similar to Philippines weather, same temperature, but less humid. Its what you might call more stereotypical Australian. Its hot during the day. There's lots of mozzies(& sandflies, an Aussie thing), lots of Crocodiles, lots of deadly Jelly fish and things that want to kill you, and lots of kilometers of straight roads to get anywhere.


Night & Day,

This surprised me a little. But Australia is a completly different country by day then it is by night.

Aussies are early risers, and as such, most activities are during the day. In the outback, its a general rule, that you simply dont drive in the dark. By dusk, the roads are empty. So if your getting somewhere, you get up early, go there, and settle down early. Its not unusual to see people having their dinner at 5pm. Or drinking beer from 3pm onwards. But in bed by 9pm. In Ireland, people usually start drinking at 9pm, or thereabouts !

The temperature from day and night is a hugh contrast. You could be enjoying 25+ degrees during the day, and the temperature would drop to 1 or 2 degrees at night. It makes it very difficult to plan your enjoy the evening stars, when your freezing your ass of in a t-shirt & hoody !

The other surprising thing about night, is the night-life. And im not talking about drunken sweaty young adults, with dialated pupils, bopping to the latest hits. I mean the animal life. Most of Australia's animals are nocturnal. They sleep during the day, and go hunting/grazing at night. So Kangaroos, wallabys, bats(hugh bats) possums, you can hear them rustelling around, often you can hear them calling, and if your very unlucky, they will raid your bins, and spill all your rubbish around the place, so all the early rising other campers can see you ate beans and noodles for dinner, washed down by the cheapest beer.

Finally

Its these contrasts that make the country interesting ! As your driving, the changes are subtle and slight by the day. Its only after a week, that you think back to where you were, and realise how different it was to where you are now.