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This summer, I intend to take a 18 day trip to Brisbane Australia; while I've got how to get there figured out, I haven't been able to find many folks who've been there, and anyone who has was usually there on business.
A lil' bit of information about me; I'm 23, have been an active-duty United States Marine for four+ years, with three years left on contract. Served twice in Afghanistan, currently not awaiting a deployment (First time that's happened in awhile) and find myself with free time and a desire to expand my knowledge of the world; particularly countries of the Anglo-Saxon/Norman/Celtic Diaspora; Australia being at the top of my list. I've some college (currently using an online program for International Relations BA) under my belt, and consider myself decently well read.
All of that above aside, I'm traveling to Australia for one reason: I need a vacation.
So, that being said, I have the following questions:
1. What's the Australian attitude towards Americans, particularly the Queensland attitude?
2. Should I keep my military occupation to myself over there?
3. What are some things to read or find out about before I get there? I'm brushing up on my Australian history for kicks (being a history nerd, this sort of thing is my forte) but there are whole cultural behaviors and such I'm sure I'm not aware of, and I'd rather not be 'that guy'.
4. Things to do in/around Brisbane?
5. Recommendations? Any good ideas, suggestions for one wayward traveler to know before he goes Down Under?
Hopefully I can get some much needed ground truth about the locale here; it's a-little lacking locally, and the Brisbane city website, while informative, does tend to leave out alot.
Thanks, and hope to get some knowledge from ya'all soon!
1. Australians overall like Americans. We do think they can be a bit loud (but unlike us, they don't need alcohol!) and sometimes a bit over eager to tell everyone about their accomplishments. You will have no problem as an American in Australia. Do expect though to have the ***** taken out of you. It really is an Australian past-time. If you get offended then you'll be considered a bit precious.
2. Not at all. We are allies. We've fought in pretty much every war since Australia came into existence together. While people may have particular views about American foreign policy (as many Americans do) we have our troops serving in the same theatres as you guys. I'm not saying wear your medals on your tshirt but don't be afraid if someone asks what you do to say you're in the military. That being said, you may get asked questions about foreign policy etc, as long as you're ok with that.
3. Don't talk yourself up. This is as much a British as an Australian thing. We don't go in for titles. While you'll probably be going a bit over the top calling people mate, you definitely don't need to call anyone sir. Australia is quite an egalitarian society. Probably try and avoid discussion about aboriginals unless you know the person. If someone buys you a beer, then you need to return the favour "your shout".
4. Head North or South and get the f*** out. Seriously, there's heaps to do around Brisbane but not much in Brisbane itself.
1) Generally positive, I would just say come with a good fun attitude, accept that Australia is not the USA and things are a bit different (including the language), and try your best to keep politics out of your conversation.
2) That is tough, most people will have no problems at all (we are their with you remember), you might get unlucky and find some antiwar idiot who makes things hard for you, i suppose you will have to judge the situation for yourself.
3) I suppose Google or someone else might help you there, I’ve never being the USA myself, so I am not really an Authority on cultural differences between the two countries.
4) 18 Days is a long time, a lot will depend on your budget and what your interests are etc. For Brisbane city/South Bank etc. you would only really need 2/3 days max. A tour to Fraser Island is well worth the trip (take the 3 day tour any shorter and you won’t be doing much else than sitting in a 4WD). You can go mountain climbing on the Glass house mountains, visit Steve Irwin’s Zoo (its way overrated in my opinion I’d just go to Lone Pine in the west of the Brisbane if you want to see the cute and cuddly aussie animals) You could also spend some time on the Sunshine and Gold Coasts including the hinterland which has some good mountain and rainforest areas, Byron Bay and the Northern Rivers of NSW is only 2 hours to the south of Brisbane.
A side trip to Sydney would be easy if you want to go. It takes about 1 1/2 hours to fly down, and a ticket with Jet Star costs about $60 each way (it will come to about $100 once you add all the extra costs). Keep in mind that you have two possible departure points Brisbane and Cooloongatta (Gold coast).
Of course if you need to know anything more specific about a certain area, just let me know.
Last edited by danielsa1775; 12-17-2012 at 12:24 AM..
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
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18 days is quite a long time. Like others said, I doubt you'll want to spend all that time in Brisbane. In fact 5 days is more than enough to cover Brisbane. If I were you I'd take a Greyhound up to Cairns, making a stop at Airlie Beach to check out the Whitsunday's. Spend at least 5 days in Cairns, more to see than Brissie. Then fly down to the Gold Coast, something to keep you entertained there. You'll probably have a few more days you could probably do a side trip to Sydney, or else check out the Gold Coast hinterland, e.g. Lamington NP, and northern NSW.
I hate Americans who lecture all us 'little people' on how better things are back in the States. Having taken the time to ask this question I m presuming you aren't like that.
Lot's of good information, I appreciate this, it'll help with the planning process.
Oh yeah, Aussie boys were crazy-brave; I liked working alongside 'em the rare times I got the chance. Still, it doesn't hurt to ask the question.
And as for politics, the great thing about my career is that it allows me the opportunity to be completely a-political; and I know less than nothing about Australian politics so I think I'm good.
My budget is about 5-6 thousand USD; I've heard quite abit about how high the cost of living is in Australia so I don't know how much bang I'm getting for my buck.
That being said, recommendations specifically about Cairns would be great! I've had a few people recommend it to me, and while I'm not a huge outdoorsy person (since going 'camping' is work, not fun, for me) places to go there would be nice....also, if you can recommend a good pub in Brisbane/Cairns, that'd be nice too, as I've been led to understand American beer is garbage compared to Australian beer, and I'd like to sample the local hops.
Also, youth hostels; recommend or no? I've read some stuff online about Palace Backpackers (Or Base Brisbane Central, whichever) and it seems like a great cheap way to stay. What's their reputation over there?
Yeah, and with my budget being probably only 5-6 grand, I don't know how much that really gets me, just because I know the exchange rate will probably fluctuate and I don't know what the cost of living is like.
As an American who has been to Australia a few times, I'd say get down the coast to Sydney and Melbourne if you can. There's more going on there than in Brisbane, not that there aren't things to do in Brisbane -- just not 18 days worth, especially if you don't have friends or family there. If you're going to stay only in Queensland, don't forget to see the Great Barrier Reef. It would be a shame to go all that way and not see some of the landmarks (the Sydney Opera House, the Reef, the Outback, etc.)
As for books on Australian history and culture, "The Fatal Shore" by the late, great Robert Hughes, and the lighter, funnier "In a Sunburned Country" by humorist Bill Bryson are good places to start. They'll give you the basics but there are lots of other books out there if you're interested.
As for the cost of living, it's high. But since you're going to be there less than 3 weeks, you should be OK, especially if you're going the backpacker/hostel route. You also might want to consider Couchsurfing as well. (www.couchsurfing.org)
I hate Americans who lecture all us 'little people' on how better things are back in the States. Having taken the time to ask this question I m presuming you aren't like that.
It's a bit too long to stay in Brisbane.
there are a fair number of aussies who think things are better back in Oz.. they're easy to spot even here on CD.
So I must pose the following , though it might seem abit ignorant;
For years, there has been a constant rumor in the armed forces, particularly on the naval side of things (And the Marine Corps is a part of the Dept of the Navy) that Aussie men/women have a thing for Americans; the same way American men/women find British/Australian/Irish men/women attractive; the stories I have heard, while I would rather not repeat them here, have been telling. I'm more interested in getting away then getting myself involved in chasing women about, but I've heard this or similar to this often enough that I'm curious.
The military has a way of generating rumors and legends; I was prepared to believe this was also a legend (I think Americans these days believe that everyone hates them, and while Intellectually I realize that's not true, culturally it's something that has been reinforced) however, I have it on good authority from a great many persons that for an American Service Member, Australia simply cannot be beat; that we (Americans, and American Military in particular) maintain a rather popular image over there. Men from the ages of 40 to 18, having traveled there as long ago as 20 years or as recently as six months, from a variety of backgrounds, educational levels, etc, etc, have all agreed on this idea.
So, is there any truth to this? If so, is it mostly a regional thing (Most of the people I've spoken to had been either to Perth or Darwin, rarely anywhere else)? I'm prepared to believe it's bullcrap, but then again...
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