Melbourne Do's and Don'ts
Do visit a pub, especially in smaller towns, for a slice of Aussieness
(you'll likely see poker machines adjacent to bars or eating areas). Even
where good restaurants are expensive, you can usually get a good, cheap pub
lunch or snack at a milk bar or coffeeshop...
Do seek out sporting clubs (motor, rugby or soccer) that allow nonmembers
to sign in. You can enjoy an inexpensive, high-quality lunch or dinner and
entertainment on the weekends...
Don't be surprised if the Australian version of English leaves you
mystified. Australians use slang liberally, and we saw a play in Sydney (featuring
rural, working-class women) in which we understood about 40% of the dialogue...
Don't count on cuddling a koala while you're Down Under. The adorable,
sleepy-looking creatures, which appear so cuddly as they cling to their eucalyptus
branches, are not fond of being petted: They've been known to piddle on would-be
human fondlers. Some places have ended the practice of allowing visitors
to handle the animals...
Do attend an Aboriginal music and dance performance. Its a great
opportunity to hear the low-pitched drone of the didgeridoo, a wind instrument
made from a small hollow tree trunk...
Don't be surprised by what they wear (or don't wear) on the beaches.
Lady Jane is the nude beach in Sydney...
Do try Vegemite, a yeast spread that has the same standing that peanut
butter has in North American cuisine. But it's best to start with a small
taste (and we mean small)...
Do visit a working sheep station. There are many outside Sydney,
Canberra and Melbourne....
Tipping: Tipping traditionally has not been required in restaurants or taxis,
but the practice is changing. Everyone you'll meet seems to have a different
opinion on the subject, so use your own judgment.
Recommended Guidebooks and reading
-
Australia: A Travel Survival Kit by Tony Wheeler (Lonely Planet).
-
Rough Guide: Australia (Penguin).
-
Aboriginal Australia: A Traveller's Guide (Angus and Robertson).
-
Frommer's Australia (Prentice Hall).
-
Outback Australia Handbook by Marael Johnson (Moon Publications).
-
Bushwalking in Australia (Lonely Planet).
-
Australia: The Outdoor Traveler's Guide by Gerry Ellis and Sharon Cohen
(Stewart, Tabori and Chang).
-
Islands of Australia's Great Barrier Reef by Tony Wheeler (Lonely Planet).
-
Stepping Lightly on Australia: A Traveller's Guide to Ecotourism by
Shirley LaPlanche (Globe Pequot).
-
The Fatal Shore by Robert Hughes (Knopf). A superb history of the founding
of Australia.
-
Triumph of the Nomads: A History of Aboriginal Australia by Geoffrey
Blainey (Overlook Press).
-
Kakadu, Looking After the Country -- The Gagudju Way by Stanley Breeden
and Belinda Wright. Provides good insight into Aboriginal history and culture.
-
The Songlines by Bruce Chatwin (Viking-Penguin) is a semifictional
journey into the world of the Aborigines and a meditation on the meaning
of Dreamtime, the Aboriginal creation myth.
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