Observations about Australia

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In our 3 1/2 weeks here, I have been making observations. Many things are similar to what we are used to in Canada; many things remind me of England; and many things are just different!
TRAFFIC: Of course traffic flow seems different because driving is on the left side of the road and the controls of the vehicles are on the right hand side of the vehicle. However, the results of this can be quite comical. When we rented a car, we thought we had made the necessary adjustments in our heads, but we would keep heading to the wrong side of the car when approaching the vehicle. I would quip to Robin: "I thought you were going to drive!"
Because of the reversed controls, we kept putting on the windshield wipers instead of the turn signals.
When attempting to turn left on to a road, I waited while an oncoming truck came from the left. Robin said, impatiently: "You can go now!"
When on foot, I look BOTH WAYS before crossing the street. Phew!
When moving in pedestrian traffic, I keep finding myself going against the flow, especially when going up or down stairs. When approaching an oncoming pedestrian, I do a dance before keeping to the left. Old patterns kick in.
We notice that as in France, there are lots of roundabouts instead of traffic lights. This actually works quite well when you don't know which road to take. We just kept going around until we decided.
We found some of the road signs amusing: AGED PEDESTRIANS, CROSS HERE WITH CARE, PLEASE DRIVE QUIETLY, DON'T SLEEP AND DRIVE. And of course GIVE WAY = YIELD and OVERTAKE = PASS. One of our favourite signs is SMASH REPAIRS = COLLISION REPAIRS. We also liked LOLLY SHOP = Candy Store; BOTTLE SHOP = Liquor store; and OP SHOP = Second Hand Store.
HOMES: Since voltage here is 220, wiring is heavy duty. Most plugs are 3-prong. Outlets are individually switched. So, to boil an electric kettle, you fill it, plug it in, switch on the outlet, switch on the kettle. Once you get it all connected, it really happens fast. Toast browns fast too. Toggle switches are reversed to North American ones-- down is on, up is off. Sometimes they are positioned right on the trim of the doorways and up much higher than ours. We tourists must look silly as we search around and try out all the switches before finding the right ones!
Many of our friends have walk-in pantries right in their kitchens -- good use of large corners. And all cabinets seem to be built right up to the ceiling -- no wasted space! Drawers are popular for storing dishes, rather than opening cupboards.
Bathrooms are usually in 2 parts: toilets are separate from bath/shower/sink. Some have tiny sinks for washing hands only.
FLORA and FAUNA: I have njoyed seeing many different birds, animals, flowers, and trees here, most of which are new to me. I learned that Eucalyptus trees are gum trees and there are many different kinds of them. Most trees, although not conferous as in British Columbia, are evergreen, so they keep producing leaves all year. Something is usually blossoming all year too (at least in Perth area) -- eternal spring!
As well as seeing fields of kangaroos in the wild, we saw about 100 pelicans one day. They were hanging around some fishers who were emptying their nets. We also saw 3 red tailed black cockatoos on a mountain hike--very rare. Lots of brightly coloured parrots.
That's all for now...

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