This is a TBT (Throw Back Thursday) post. As we enjoy the summer months here in Canada, I was thinking back to our experiences with July as a winter month. We had this chance when we travelled to Australia a few years ago.

We decided to spend our summer school break (when I was teaching in Vietnam) in Australia. We spent the month of July in Australia.

This gave us a chance to see a lot of Southern Australia. We travelled to Tasmania, Melbourne, Adelaide and Canberra and back to Melbourne. It was a chance to travel to a new place and it also gave us relief from the heat of Vietnam.

Getting Around

We drove about 4000 km, on the left side of the road, with a manual 6-speed gear shift. At first, that was a big challenge and Craig did an amazing job, especially on the narrow and windy roads along the Great Ocean Road. I eventually got up my nerve to drive after we reached Adelaide where the driving was flatter and desert-like. It had been a long time since I’d driven a standard and an even longer time since I had driven on the left side of the road. We rented our car through Expedia and used our Ontario licences for documentation.

Australia was a nice change of pace and place from our past year in HoChiMinh City, Vietnam. Here are some of the things we did in Australia that we hadn’t done in over a year:

• drive a car
• drink tap water
• be understood, the first time, when we spoke English
• enjoyed cheap and delicious wine
• enjoyed nature walks and fresh air
• wore a jacket, scarf and socks

It’s surprising what kind of things you take for granted but miss when you are away from home;)

Adelaide, Canberra, and Melbourne

I think Melbourne and Adelaide were our favourite cities. We gave up the rental car while in Melbourne. They have a free trolley system downtown and cheap train public transportation which is easy to use. There were many sights, and lots of shopping. We enjoyed shopping and eating at the Victoria Market. I bought a couple of sweaters and a scarf for the winter temperatures.

Tasty Meals

We used Tripadvisor for all of our food options when in the cities. We enjoyed every meal that we researched! We loved the pub style- Craig celebrated his 50th- in an Irish pub in Hobart, Tasmania. If you get the chance to go to Hobart make sure you visit the Shamrock Hotel . 

The food choices in Melbourne are as diverse as the people of this large city. We enjoyed excellent Greek and Italian restaurants in the popular Lygon Street area. The cost of food is similar to Canadian prices and the wine is cheaper!!

Walking Tours

We took many free tours in Canberra, Adelaide and Melbourne. Some were tours of Parliaments (State and National ones) which helped us learn about the history of Aussie and the walking tours helped orient us. Canberra is a beautiful capital city and we thoroughly enjoyed the Parliament’s unique building and informative tour. Australians always refer to themselves by the state they live in, unlike us who refer to a city. Check out some of the tours available with GuruWalk

Tasmania

Tasmania reminded me of New Zealand. We enjoyed the abundance of natural sights as well as the kiwi pubs!

We did a challenging hike to Wine Glass Bay, which was worth the exertion.

The best part of Southern Australia that stood out for me was the ability to see wildlife! Without going to a zoo we saw; kangaroos in the Canberra city park, wallabies, a bandicoot, possums, cockatoos, several kinds of parrots, lyrebirds and unfortunately, lots of roadkill: kangaroos, wallabies, possums, wombats;(

Travelling through Southern Australia in winter was cool on some days. Most days were sunny and it  made it more enjoyable. As a Canadian, it felt more like spring than winter.

We were fortunate to spend a winter month in Southern Australia during our expat experience.
Learn more about our time in Vietnam here