Originally Posted By debtee Well it was just a thought. Could be the climate here as well. The original pioneers had to be tough to withstand all the droughts year after year. Whatever it is they are tough! I recently had family stay with us from the Uk and they noticed it as well. They said the English are far more whiny then the Aussie's.... Their words not mine! We have a very ourdoor lifestyle as well compared to the English as our climate allows for this. I LOVE being able to have a BBQ through-out the year. In fact we eat most of a meals outside. Last night was the first time this year we have not been outside as it WAS cold Brrrrrrr!
Originally Posted By debtee Deb You would love Whistler and if you were in Whistler then Victoria is but a mere ferry ride ... Ohh my husband Barry really wants to go to Canada! I'm sure we will get there one day! I would love to hop on that ferry and meet you!
Originally Posted By debtee Noooooooooooooo TDG! I'm still having NIGHTMARES after watching that Men in Black! arrggghhh just brought back BAD memories!
Originally Posted By quincytoo ROFL......Funny story here...About 16 years ago I worked with a NASTY Aussie named Dion....Girl was 6 foot tall and scary.....Once for a surprise she baked her roommate a birthday cake and loaded it with LSD Didn't tell anyone .....I heard the party lasted an extra day. Thank goodness her circle of friends were not mine. Anyhow she hated me (thought I was too June Cleaver) and I was afraid of her. Australian Day was happening and someone asked, Why do they celebrate it today?" ((I thought that was a stupid question)I without missing a beat said, " It was the day they let everyone's grandparents out of prison".. Everyone at work was on the ground laughing including the 4 other Aussies but not Dion...Next day she brought her pet PYTHON (names Igbee) to the salon and he slithered around then curled up in my north Face fleece...
Originally Posted By debtee Any other Aussie's about?? Monique, Kez, irishfan where r u?? It's school hols here they must be out and about today!
Originally Posted By Labuda Ok, whenever I make it down Under, I am SO going to visit Featherdale Wildlife Park. I would just DIE if I could actually pet a koala! I will ALWAYS remember what happened when I was in 6th grade - the San Antonio Zoo go a koala on loan for a few months from an Aussie zoo. My mom came & got me out of school a bit early one day and took me downtown to the zoo, where I had to stand in line for about 45 minutes, but then finally got to see the koala up close in his little habitat - he was hanging out on a tree, napping. I honestly could have stood there for hours watching him if I'd been able to. Anyhow, if I can pet one at Featherdale Wildlife Park, I am SO THERE! I knew I liked Oz for a reason!
Originally Posted By Liberty Belle Oops, sorry. I'm so slack. My internet's broken at home, it's not fair! Labuda - you should definitely go. Koalas are just gorgeous and I get so excited when we go to wildlife parks where you can cuddle them! TDG, I LOVE kangaroos. Being in a city, I'm only used to seeing them in zoos but when I visited my cousin last year (he lives in a regional area) I was shocked to see kangaroos hopping around in his own backyard! They were beautiful! But yeah, it's rare to see emus, echidnas etc outside of a zoo environment - I guess unless you did live in a regional area, then it might be more common. Glad to see you're so interested in Australia, though I hope that means you can come visit sometime!
Originally Posted By FiveBearRugs I also believe the food is also richer (butter, eggs et al)... 'The Matrix' was filmed in Sydney... No, TDG, there are no Crocodile Dundees walking about... There are no longer any Disney stores in Australia, although there should be a Disneyland Down Under built about 5-15 minutes away from LiBel's home. Bernard and Bianca once traveled to Australia... if memory serves me right, LiBel was "amused" by the accents of Cody and Jake... The US did get Bananas in Pajamas for a few years in the mid-late 90s. When the FX Network debuted in '93/'94, 'Home and Away' was one of the debut shows (man, has that network changed significantly, lol). As with the Olympics and the World Cup, local news stations will send their reporters to the coveted events. One local reporter from San Francisco was interviewing some Aussies during the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, and they had said that "the only kangaroos were in zoos". They also featured some "American Mall" or something, or perhaps it was a store, that featured various American imports, like clothing lines and Starbucks.
Originally Posted By TALL Disney Guy Thanks deb and Liberty for chimin' in from "Down Under"---love to hear more, and from other Aussies too!
Originally Posted By debtee We visited some friends In Tasmania a few years ago. Their property had a billabong/dam on it and they took us up to it at night and we got to see a Platypus family in the WILD! It was Fantastic.... as they are very shy creatures and are hardly ever seen in the wild anymore! They are such busy bodies and come and go very fast. I went back every night we stayed there to visit them and fell in love with them!
Originally Posted By TALL Disney Guy Oh that's awesome Deb! I LOVE playtpuses...(platypi??)...they're so fascinating and exotic. I'd love to hear if any Aussies here have seen echidnas, emus, koalas, or other rare Aussie animals in the wild.
Originally Posted By Liberty Belle OMG, Deb, that is SO COOL! I love platypi (yup TDG, that's right, silly as it sounds!!) They're my favourite native animal and I never get to see them Are your friends in Tasmania looking for a new best friend?
Originally Posted By debtee Geez I didn't know they are called Platypi in plural! LOL It WAS so cool Kez and I will remember it forever. We didn't take pix at the time as we didn't want to scare them off with the flash. They knew we were there and were happy to carry on as usual as long as we didn't make any sudden moves or get too close and the Babies were ADORABLE!!!
Originally Posted By mj9401 We have some kangaroos and emus living in an old government site about 10 minutes from where I live. They are in the process of getting permission to cull them so they can build on the land. I have also seen an echidna on the side of the road many years ago, my youngest who is now 12 was 2 and was totally fsacinated by it. I should try and find the photos and post them for you. I have never seen a koala or playtpus in the wild. We have had a few red belly snakes in our street as we live in a a newish housing estate near a reserve and with all the new house building they keep coming out. Not a fan of snakes!! And as Deb said we have heaps of red back spiders hanging around our fences. Hey Deb, can you believe I have never been to Featherdale....it is so close I will have to take the boys!
Originally Posted By mj9401 >>I also believe the food is also richer (butter, eggs et al)... << I can't remember about these two foods but I gotta say in my personal opinion our Aussie chocolate, coffee and bread tastes so much nicer.
Originally Posted By mj9401 Oh gosh I am getting an education, I too had no idea that they were called platypi.
Originally Posted By Liberty Belle lol. Now I'm starting to wonder if I made the 'platypi' thing up. No, I'm sure that's it ... Anyway, Deb, I'm jealous! That sounds great. MJ, if you have some pictures I'd love to see them. Also on the snakes note, we had an aviary with 5 birds in it. More times than I could count we would go outside and find a snake sitting on top of the birdcage. They couldn't get in (except for one horrible time that I prefer not to think about) but we were worried they'd give our birds little budgie heart attacks, so we'd call the snake man to get rid of them. At 70 bucks a pop ... I'm not a fan of snakes.
Originally Posted By debtee Hey Monique Can we come with you to Featherdale. I would love to see the boys faces when seeing the animals and petting them, Jye will be a darling to see! I can't believe they are going to cull the Kangaroos and emu's. Is their a group going to try and stop them?
Originally Posted By debtee Well I think they can make Hot chocolate better in USA! ohhh I so want DL hot choc on this cold night YUMMMMMMMMM!!!!
