I was going to do some real, in-depth, serious research about Australia before I headed out there; main political parties, news channels, main newspapers, the overall consensus on the plight of the aborigines, food preferences, demographics and minorities, music scene, popular culture etc but, with only two weeks to go until I leave the UK, I decided it was too much effort so I just did some other stuff instead.
Here’s what I found useful:
1) Watched a lot of Neighbours and Home and Away, perfected my “Flamin Galah” and learned all of Karl Kennedy’s sweet, sweet tunes, because life on Ramsay Street is identical to that of the average Australian.
2) Went running in a bin liner in 22+degree heat….gotta start aclimatising somehow…
3) Learned to cook the perfect shrimp on a barbie, because clearly that’s all Australians do, have BBQs.
4) Drank a lot of Fosters, because according to those adverts I keep seeing on the tele, Fosters is the drink of choice down under. Watch this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4AvLnt3P6Q
5) Tried to master balancing on a skateboard in preparation for all the surfing I’ll be doing, because obviously, all Aussies surf.
6) Wore a lot of board shorts, bikini tops and thongs (that’s flip-flops to you) because of course, that’s all I’ll be wearing for the next year or so.
7) Gone on three hour drives for fun, ‘cos that’s how long it takes to get to the shops in Australia.
8) Brushed up on my boxing, ‘cos you never know when a chance encounter with a kangaroo will take place, and it’s always good to be prepared.
9) Bought a load of travel books/guides…didn’t read a single one. Oops.
10) Got to grips with nature…by this I mean I spent a lot of time outside, in the garden, hunting giant spiders. The biggest one I came across was about three inches long, so I fed it a few flies and named it Sheila.
11) Listened to a lot of INXS. The greatest Australian band. Ever.
12) Learned how to wrestle a shark and a crocodile…ok, this one’s a lie but one can dream.
So, as you can see, I’ve fully prepared myself for life Down Under. All that’s left to do now is jump on that plane in two weeks time. What could possibly go wrong…?
Chasing Amy-Lou 