Archive for the ‘Australia’ Category

All Change

Monday, January 15th, 2007

I got some Aussie change after buying lunch today and was reintroduced to just how heavy the coins are here. Despite the brilliance of virtually unrippable, washable plastic notes, coins are still the size of England’s in the 80s. The 50c piece is so big I can’t fit more than 3 in my wallet at the same time. It’s a good job Seinfeld was set in America, not Australia, cos this could’ve been the last coin that broke Costanza’s back.

Then again, both the Kiwis and the Aussies have already done away with 1c and 2c coins, and the Kiwis have just started the process of withdrawing 5c coins from circulation - In England we still have 1p and 2p pieces and notes that get destroyed in the wash!

Tourism By The Numbers

Tuesday, January 2nd, 2007

Another day, another world-famous beach, this time Manly. But, honestly, it’s hard to see why. The ferry ride out from Circular Quay was lovely but the place itself is a cove and a beach connected by a mall with shops by the hundreds designed to bleed you dry as efficiently as possible. The beach was certainly nice, but no-one was in the sea because it was ‘too cold’ (and they call Poms soft!), so the visitors who were there by the thousands all crowded onto the sand, fighting for some space to lay a towel. It didn’t feel relaxing at all and doesn’t compare to somewhere like Jurien Bay on the West Coast.
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