curious Mez

[deird1]

So, I'm wondering:

For all you overseas folk, when you start planning your Exciting Trips To See Australia, what things do you think of seeing?


(brief digression approaching...)

When I went to Munich, everyone said "Oh, you've got to see [exciting landmark]! It's the best!" ...and they were always talking about
1) Neuschwanstein
2) Ludwig's (other) castles
3) Oktoberfest
4) Dachau

Whereas, when I got there, my favourite bits were
1) the Deutchesmuseum
2) the Residence
3) the English Garden

And, in fact, the vast majority of things I found interesting were barely mentioned in guidebooks at all.

(...back to Australia)


Anyway, it occurs to me that there's a big difference between:
a) What tourists want to see in Australia
b) What I think tourists want to see in Australia
c) What I think tourists should actually see in Australia

My answer to b would be the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Uluru, and possibly surfing.
My answer to c would be much longer and more rambling, but would definitely include an Aussie-animal sanctuary, the Great Ocean Road, Sovereign Hill, and Port Arthur.

But, for a? Not a clue.


So - when you think about the stuff you'd like to do as a tourist in Australia, what's on your list?

Comments

[trouble]

I had absolutely no interest in the Sydney Harbour Bridge or surfing when I decided to go to Australia. I wanted to see the Great Barrier Reef, go snorkling, and maybe lie on a beach. Definitely Uluru, but most of my travel literature calls it Ayer's Rock still.

I also wanted to see Kangaroos and Koalas.

[pthalo]

The love of my life and her kitties and all the books on her bookshelf!

We want to go to Perth zoo and Jolie is obsessed with kangaroos, so she wants to see one. We also want to see quokkas and kookaberras and black swans. And we want to learn an Aboriginal language, but that's not really a touristy thing to do, but we're interested in languages that have few speakers (it feels more meaningful to learn a language like Croatian than a language like French). And we want to see Alice Springs in the Northern Territory sometime.

We're not big on touristy things, though. We like to just go somewhere and try to fit in. Several of the times we've gone to Belgrade, we just borrowed a book from the person we were staying with. The first time we were there, we learned the cyrillic alphabet. Sure, we've seen the castle in Belgrade. But we're happiest just wandering around aimlessly.

[pthalo]

Oh, and there's the Syndey Opera House. Even we've heard of that. But that's on the other side of the country. I suppose that's something people should see, if even we've heard of it.

[jl-in-the-lane.livejournal.com]

Meh. It's a building. It sits there with the Sydney Harbour Bridge, looking architecturally interesting together. Woo.

[deird1]

I'd kinda like to see it, just so I can remember seeing it.

I currently remember that I have seen it, which isn't quite the same thing.

[pthalo]

I suppose the opera house would go under option B -- things tourists have heard of and therefore would want to see. I'm not particularly big on going to places and having a picture of myself taken in front of them to say "I was here!"

Uh, I suppose the Great Barrier Reef should be added to the list of things a tourist should see.

[deird1]

Jolie is right to be obsessed with kangaroos - they're awesome. (Does she know about wallabies, though? Like kangaroos, but teeny and cute.) Mind you, she should also check out echidnas and platypuses. They're so fun!

If you ever end up in Melbourne, you are welcome to hang out with me. :)

[pthalo]

She likes to play that she's a joey and our inner world is the pouch. Also, when she was younger, she didn't say the l in her name, and called herself Joey. So she liked that play on words.

She knows about wallabies, and has a toy kookaberra that Kate brought her. Kate has told her stories about echidnas and platypuses. Jolie does call echidnas "kidneys".

We've never been to Australia before, but we're likely to move there someday on a prospective marriage visa. Kate lives in Perth (which is why we specified the Perth zoo -- I imagine the other major cities have zoos as well). If we're ever in Melbourne, though, we'll look you up for sure, and if you're ever in Perth while we're living there, you're welcome to hang out with us. :)

[deird1]

I've never actually been to Perth - but I've always intended to go at some point. I hear it's nice. :)

[slaymesoftly]

When we were thinking about a trip a year or so ago (until we decided we couldn't afford the time or money) we tried to figure out what we wanted to see for sure. The thing is, the country is so big - we finally decided there was no way we'd see it all anyway, so we settled for Sydney (Opera House, bridge, boat tour of harbor?), Ayers Rock (as it's still called on most info sites) and then to Queensland to see Always_jbj. There would some beach time, and some Australia Zoo time, and then whatever else she would suggest that was not an airplane ride away. I figure if two weeks in England wasn't enough to see/go everywhere we wanted to see/go, then it was pointless to even think about doing a place the size of Australia in that amount of time. Perhaps after I've retired and time is less of an issue...

[stormwreath.livejournal.com]

I hope this doesn't hurt your feelings... but one of the reasons I've never visited Australia was because I couldn't really think of much I wanted to see there. ;)

(In justification, my main interest in visiting Forn Parts is out of an interest in their history, and places like Italy and China were higher on my priority list. Though I did make an exception for the US on grounds of a) language b) distance/cost/time.)


Still, if I were planning a trip now then the Sydney Opera House and Bridge would definitely be on the list. Botany Bay. I assume there are museums of (a) Australian colonial history (b) Aboriginal history (c) natural history and wildlife. Uluru if it's still considered a legitimate tourist destination these days. An excursion to the Great Barrier Reef. Somewhere I can see kangaroos in the wild, just to say I've done so.


If I went to München I'd want to visit Neuschwanstein because of memories of playing the Gabriel Knight games back in the day. :)

[deird1]

I hope this doesn't hurt your feelings... but one of the reasons I've never visited Australia was because I couldn't really think of much I wanted to see there. ;)

*weeps piteously*

I kinda agree, though. If your idea of tourism (like mine) includes lots of old buildings, Australia isn't really that interesting...

I assume there are museums of (a) Australian colonial history (b) Aboriginal history (c) natural history and wildlife.

a) definitely; b) probably; c) probably. I'd certainly recommend Port Arthur and Sovereign Hill for colonial stuff.


As far as kangaroos in the wild goes... pick a caravan park, somewhere in a country town. There will be kangaroos. Almost definitely.

[next_to_normal]

I hope this doesn't hurt your feelings... but one of the reasons I've never visited Australia was because I couldn't really think of much I wanted to see there. ;)

Heh, yeah. Although some of that is ignorance on my part... I really don't know what there is to see, so I don't know whether I want to see it.

My criteria for travel: (1) GOOD FOOD, (2) old stuff - ruins are A+ but really old intact buildings are okay, too, (3) something really cool you can't find in the US, and/or (4) natural beauty.

I'm sure Australia has some of that (kangaroos, Great Barrier Reef, etc.), but in general, it hasn't intrigued me enough do the research to find out what's there...

[deird1]

My criteria for travel: (1) GOOD FOOD, (2) old stuff - ruins are A+ but really old intact buildings are okay, too, (3) something really cool you can't find in the US, and/or (4) natural beauty.

1) Definitely. Melbourne is rather renowned for its cuisine. (Huge Italian/Greek population, mixed with huge Chinese population, mixed with huge Anglo population...)

2) Not much, but we've got a fair few things from a couple of hundred years ago. If you're interested in convict-era stuff, or gold rush stuff, we've got plenty.

3) Kangaroos? Coral reefs? Rainforests? Cute penguins? Huge rocks in the desert? Vegemite?

4) Lots and LOTS. We are, in all modesty, a gorgeous country. We've got spectacular beaches, the outback, beautiful coastal regions, lovely valleys, nice mountains, and fun ski slopes.

Plus, I live here. What could be better? :)

[next_to_normal]

Hee! The Australian travel and tourism people should be paying you for the publicity! :)

The main deterrent for me, I think, would be the distance/cost/time thing stormwreath mentioned. Because the flight's so long, it'd have to be a long enough trip to make it worth it. And it's expensive.

[deird1]

Or, to elaborate...

We have great food.

We have gorgeous scenery.

We have interesting old stuff.

[stormwreath.livejournal.com]

The picture of Port Arthur had me thinking, "Hmm. That looks exactly like where I grew up, if you ignore the trees and lake in the background." Dilapidated Victorian industrial architecture is... well, technically it's what I left home to get away from. :)

But admittedly, England is short of rainforests, coral reefs, big rocks in the desert, desert, penguins, kangaroos and you. We also have Marmite instead of Vegemite.

[stormwreath.livejournal.com]

Addendum: that's 'Victorian' as in Queen Victoria, not the Australian region. Just realised the double meaning. :)

[jl-in-the-lane.livejournal.com]

*think about her overseas travel*

Singapore: I had NO IDEA what I wanted to see.
They took us to the zoo. I have no idea why. We'd all seen zoos before, and there weren't any different animals there.
So, here are the things I saw that I fouind interesting:
1) An island with little monkeys charging around and stuff about WW2;
2) The temples end of town (saw a mosque, a Chinese temple and a Hindu temple)
3) A Malaysian fishing village.
Those were the 'sightseeing' bits.
Otherwise, I got the most out of:
1) living with the family
2) going to school
3) attending a Malaysian wedding.

England:
Other than all the stuff about living there, I've 'done' the sightseeing stuff twice.
(gave up on listing that as it got too extensive)

Hmm.

The stuff I was most interested in was basically
- anything that was very different from what I'd seen before or that gave me insight into the culture
- anything I'd seen / heard of all my life in books, films, etc, and wanted to SEE
- anything I could specifically relate to (I'm thinking like Gran visiting her family's street, or seeing Poet's corner in Westminster Abbey)

Depending on where a visitor's coming from, obviously that can be different.
But I'd say:
- animals
- beaches (we take these for granted, rather) or other Spectacular Scenery

Pretty much anywhere is going to give you both options, so then you pick which bit of the country interests you based on the other stuff, like what history you're into.
eg. NT if you don't want beach but want to see Scenery and aboriginal culture and cuisine, etc.
Qld if you want the Great Barrier Reef
Tassie if you want convict history
Sydney if you're into architecture
Melbourne if... you're friends with Mez. Or into gold rush stuff.

How's that?

[deird1]

- beaches (we take these for granted, rather)

I certainly do. Everyone is always talking about seeing Australia's beaches, and my reaction is "Huh. I guess..." But, not having seen the beaches anywhere else, I've really got nothing to compare ours to.

[vass]

b) What I think tourists want to see in Australia
The pub, judging by my experience with US exchange students. Particularly the ones who are drinking age here but not in the US. It did not help matters that our beers are stronger than theirs and they hadn't yet learned moderation.

An awful lot of tourists also seem to want to see our tesseract, judging by the number of them who think they can drive from Melbourne to Darwin in a few hours.

c) What I think tourists should actually see in Australia
Depends heavily on who they are. There's plenty of live music in a wide variety of genres. As you mentioned, the food is good. More expensive than a USian would expect, but you don't have to tip, and it's all fresh, and the meat is grass-fed unless stated otherwise, and high fructose corn syrup is virtually unknown.

For fans, there are some local cons, and every now and then Worldcon comes here. For people who want a more energetic tourist experience, there's the Great Victorian Bike Ride, or a variety of marathons (the prettiest being the Great Ocean Road Marathon, which is technically an ultra, but only just - it's 45km.) There are lots of really lovely camping spots. And if I were a tourist, I'd take the opportunity to read as much local literature as possible.

[deird1]

An awful lot of tourists also seem to want to see our tesseract, judging by the number of them who think they can drive from Melbourne to Darwin in a few hours.

Heh. Yes - when I was in Germany, no-one could quite understand how large our country was until I drew a map of Germany, and then superimposed a map of Australia over the top...

[bobthemole]

Definitely a wildlife preserve, possibly one where I can live for a couple of days and learn more than I would at a zoo.

Tasmania.

Great Barrier Reef.

Uluru also, though I'd be content to see it from a distance.

Other than that I'd focus on museums and just traipsing about the cities, soaking up the culture.

[guy-who-reads.blogspot.com]

Hmmm. Uluru, of course. I also want to see the parliment buildings built underground (I know, they aren't really), the Sydney opera house, kangaroos and koalas and duck billed platypodes and there's a submarine somewhere out in the hinterlands that Dad has photos of, and I want to see the beach where the prime minister disappeared from, and there's a forest that's supposed to be pretty neat. I've read Bill Bryson's In a Sunburned Country, and that drives some of my thinking about Australia.

Ooo, I also want to see Tasmania - I gather that there's some interesting honey producing going on there. And, and, there are indigenous bees that produce a completely different sort of honey - I'd like to see that too... and the Great Barrier Reef, while there's still time.

[klme.livejournal.com]

I like this list!
I wonder which forest you mean...
I've been to that beach, and...it looks like a beach. Nothing particularly interesting to see. I could also take you to a swimming pool named after that Prime Minister, which always seemed to me to be in particularly poor taste!
And I've lived here all my life and have never seen a platypus, despite spending hours staring at tanks where they are supposedly housed at two different zoos. They're shy little critters!

[redsixwing]

What to see in an ideal, money and time are no object Australia trip. Oh geez, what a great question.

Uluru, from a respectful distance.

Lightning Ridge, most especially if pay-prospecting sites exist there like they do here (I still want to go after Nevada opal, too, which is much closer and much less spectacular).

Wild cockatoos at sunup. (Or any other time, really.)

Wallabies, platypodes, echidnas. Probably an Australian-animal sanctuary would be the way to go here.

Weird reef animals. I can watch them for hours.

[deird1]

Wild cockatoos at sunup. (Or any other time, really.)

You're in luck - they're everywhere. My mum has a number of cockatoos eating seed in her backyard every day.

[redsixwing]

*jealous!*

[deird1]

The one thing I really did miss when I was overseas was the birds...

[klme.livejournal.com]

In my neck of the woods cockatoos are a pest :) But a flock of them is pretty spectacular!

[lonespark]

I would like to see veeeery old rocks. And I would fangirl at them. Oh, and stromatolites, just because.

I would be interested in also learning more about Aboriginal culture, but since I'm sure there are many ways to do that that are full of fail, I would approach such a thing tentatively.

I guess I'm also interested in ancient history, like the first people who came and the technology they had and the technology they developed. But I don't know whether that's a sightseeing thing or a read some books thing.