Australia – the land of hope and glory?

The most striking thing about Australia is that if feels a lot like America. This was apparent the first moment I arrived into Melbourne with its yellow taxis, grid system, skyscrapers and fast food joints. Like America it was a colony and so its people are mostly immigrants with a once self-sufficient indigenous population cast adrift to the margins of society and a life of government hand-outs. Unless they got with the ‘programme’ of course. The history of both countries seems relatively recent, marked by the arrival of maritime explorers Columbus and Cook. Now that colonisation is considered a dirty word the history of Native Americans and Aboriginal people has retrospectively been included in each country’s identity.

Regardless of the past there is definitely a West Coast of America vibe to present-day Australia and the theme of immigration remains constant. Melbourne is adding two thousand people a weeks as an ever increasing stream of Asians and Indians join the flow of Irish, British and Germans wishing to sample the more relaxed lifestyle, better weather and greater opportunity. It is worth saying at this point that it does rain in Australia. I suffered nothing but rain for five days of a surf camp up the coast to Byron Bay and I almost drowned in the wettest November on record in Melbourne.

Population in Australia pretty much only occurs near the coast, this means that the people have a very close relationship with the ocean and this is ultimately what differentiates Australia and gives it its own identity. Fish-bait, dolphins, whale-watching, sting-rays, beaches, surfing, boating, snorkelling, diving, lighthouses and fish ‘n’ chips pretty much sums up a tourist’s impression of Australia. While I have not been to the outback, the desert or the Snowy Mountains, the bush and rolling hills are pretty monotonous only made interesting by trees shedding bark instead of leaves and kangaroos for road-kill. Having said all that, the real purpose of my trip to Australia was to visit Melbourne and Sydney as so many people over the years have told me that these are places I should be living in. Consequently the great debate over which city I preferred would prove to be intriguing (for me at least).

Happy New Year

giller

Comments

[Vinny]

Happy new year to you Marko!! Great to read the blog....I have started a new one myself.....http://www.vinnymulveyfitness.com/training/category/blog/