We finally saw a koala! And then the next dozen. Once you spot one and learn where to look, you find them all over!
We are in our last few days in Australia and I thought it time I provided my key to speaking Australian – it’s a whole different language.
Having eggs benny for Brekky. Then grab bathers and sunnies for a day at the beach. Just watch out for kangaroo poo. There’s a whole lot of words I never thought I’d string together. Talking Australian is a simple language to master: shorten the words and add a “y”. And there is quite a lot of kangaroo poo around, especially near the beaches.
For a key to Australian:
Brekky = breakfast; Eggs Benny is eggs Benedict
Swimmers or bathers or togs = swimsuits
Or budgie smugglers = speedos
Devo = devastated
Sunnys = sunglasses
Hamburger paddy = fizzoles (I have been told only old people say that though)
Schnitty = schnitzel
Parmy = Chicken parmesan. Which we have come to find out is Schnitty with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese on top
Posty = the postman(woman)
Isky = ice chest
Say “you reckon” a whole lot
G’day really is the only way to say “hi” or good morning. Everyone is your “mate”
You don’t have screws loose here, instead you have “a couple roos loose in the top paddock” (paddock is a grazing field, we’d call it a pasture).
We are staying in a suburb about a 30 minute train ride from Melbourne. Melbourne has just about the best, most efficient public transport system anywhere. The trams are free within the CBD (Central business district = downtown), and they extend (economically) out into the suburbs with amazing frequency and efficiency.
When we went on our sailing adventure last year in Croatia, we met a couple from Melbourne. Do you remember the 3 guaranteed dance moves video? This was the guy. So they had us over for dinner the other night. It was so great meeting up with new friends. As much fun as meeting up with old ones. And after commenting on the fantastic public trans, I should mention he is that guy too. He is the officer in charge of the operations of the entire train, tram and bus system for the Melbourne vicinity. Way to go, Brett!
Melbourne has 2 other claims to fame of interest to us and worth mentioning: It is the live music capital of the world, boasting more live music shows per year than anywhere in the world. Live music is a big part of Australian culture everywhere. And Melbourne has a big street art culture; it is a street art destination to rival Valencia Spain and Bristol. We visited a lot of street art as we hiked, urban style. Even found, with help from a local, and old, faded Banksy rat. I guess we are hunters are heart. When in the wilderness, we are hunting to find elusive birds and animals, and I am always on the search for interesting old trees to snap photos of. In cities we like to sort through the graffiti to find nuggets extraordinary art, usually depicting the culture and mindset of the locals. Street artists, like all artists, are really just communicating thoughts of the time through painting. Some artists are well traveled and we see their work all over: Vader is one and Banksy of course. Crisp is an artist we see a lot; he happens to be Australian, so there is a ton of his art here. Every city has their local standouts that we get to know by style. My favorite in Melbourne is LushSux. He does mostly faces, very large scale. Really good art. There was one of the kardashians. A few years ago there was Hillary Clinton in a bikini. When people complained, he covered her in a hijab. Making no friends. Meme-based they say. Although I keep asking young people what a “meme” is and I never hear the same definition twice. Pictures re-tweeted on Instagram is the best I can say.
We are saying goodbye to Sarge and Hunter, a couple of good souls, and new friends Marcia and Allan. We are headed on a breakneck Kiwi adventure. I don’t know how often we will have connectivity, so communication may be sparse.