Topdeck Travel Blog

Topdeck’s Liana Szwajlyk shares her final revelations on the Land Down Under

I’ll try to wrap up my ramblings by finishing with my personal rationale for loving Australia – our food!

Our rich cultural diversity is reflected in our ‘tucker’, and while you generally won’t find Wichetty Grubs on the menu (unless you’re in the Outback) Australia does offer a vast variety of food and wine to suit every palate. A solid study of the bars and restaurants will particularly reveal our hopeless addiction to coffee, seafood and global cuisine.

Our most notable food tradition is the great Aussie barbeque, the centre of any social event – and the place where the Aussie male dominates. A lot of our entertaining is done outside, and what could be better than an ice cold beer, a succulent steak, a prawn thrown on the barbie.

Vegemite also deserves an honourable mention here, as another Aussie-food icon. It’s an acquired taste. It has to be force-fed to you from a very early age for you to acquire it. It’s a thick black sandwich spread, consisting of salt, yeast, wheat, salt, cereals, oh and more salt! Try it, by all means, but use it sparingly. Let us know if you like it!

Oh and who could forget Tim Tams?…Enough said!

If you’re not so much a food aficionado, then there’s always the great Australian fallback – the pub. Everywhere you go, you’ll find a pub or three. This Australian institution is where many Aussie blokes go when they want to spend some quality time together, away from the shielas. Not only can you get a cold beer here, spirited conversation and light-hearted banter are also guaranteed.

In all of this we mustn’t forget the Aussie people: always happy to help you out, Aussies, for the most part, are a very genuine and accepting mob, with a sense of humour which is almost certainly quite different to any you’ll have experienced anywhere else. We’d probably also have to be the most laid back people on the face of the planet and with all that sunshine and merriment, who can blame us?

Add to this the original native Australians, the Aboriginals, with their ancient culture and simple way of life and I’d say we have the most diverse population, in terms of cultural mix, of any country in the world.

So yes, it’s a big place and there’s a load to explore. You will discover that this sunburnt country is filled with excitement and immense beauty and although the length of time it takes to travel there is long, a trip to Oz is well worth the effort. It has to be one of the best places in the world to visit and I should know, I’ve been living there for the past 22 years and miss it so.

Find your Aussie adventure now! Visit www.topdeck.travel

Topdeck’s Liana Szwajlyk continues on with more endearing aspects of life in Aussie: the Weather, Wilderness and Wildlife.

If you love those golden rays, then you should definitely check out Australia – truth be told, the sun is always smiling somewhere in the country. As the seasons in the Southern hemisphere are reversed, the chance to swap a dreary British winter for high summer on a beach Down Under is hard to resist. Any weekend and often during the week as well you’ll find most beaches packed with bronzed bodies in bikinis and Speedos (that’s men’s brief swimwear) all eager to improve on their already impressive tan.

Speaking of stunning beaches, Australian beaches are the best in the world, soft and clean, so clean in fact that they “squeak” when you walk on them. Queensland has some of the most beautiful beaches (the sand on Whitehaven can be as white as a fair Englishman’s skin) but all around the 12,000 or so kilometres of Australia’s coastline you’ll find plenty of beaches to frolic, and all without any sign of a crocodile or a shark.

So, why are we so obsessed with getting some sand between our toes? With more than 80 percent of Australians living within 50 kilometres of the coast, the beach has become an integral part of our famous laid-back lifestyle.

In fact, it’s not just the sandy shores we enjoy: we really just love all unspoiled beauty. Australia is certainly a place to be discovered in its natural state. And, as much as I am a fan of Australia’s far North and the tropical regions, there is no denying that Alice Springs is the heart and the centre of the Australia, both in a geographical and a metaphorical sense. Close by lies the awe-inspiring formation Uluru which for many travellers is the most anticipated moment of their Australian adventure.

And then there’s “The Bush”, which entail the wilderness areas outside the cities. This backdrop provides home to a wealth of wildlife, some of which is found nowhere else in the world. I shouldn’t really be telling you this, but we Aussies like to scare tourists with wild stories about the dangerous animals in the Bush. The truth is: a lot of what you hear about the terribly dangerous animals is either grossly exaggerated or plain nonsense. However, the infamous kangaroo and koala, our most recognised mammals, do freely roam the land.

If you want to get up close to one of these little creatures, share the experience with like-minded 18-30 somethings and journey across one of the world’s most diverse countries.

Keep an eye out for my final instalment…

Topdeck’s Beach & Bush is currently on sale from £1717pp

Visit www.topdeck.travel

Topdeck’s Liana Szwajlyk pays homage to the motherland…

Simply searching for a new frontier and a practical launch pad for more travel, I didn’t give it much thought when I decided pack up and leave my homeland for the unknown. But, I’ve been travelling and living abroad for a while now and my time away has proved a great opportunity for me to reflect on the Land Down Under.

Without boasting, I’ve travelled to dozens of countries and while I thought all of them were amazing, there’s nothing quite like Australia anywhere else in the world. So, while I’m pining for home, I thought I’d share some of my personal highlights of living in the land of opportunity. There’s a load to mention, so without boring you, I’ll present my realisations and exclamations about Oz in a series of (hopefully) exciting instalments.

Now, where to begin? For one, we call it “The Big Country” and we’re not joking. Check it out on a map - it’s about the size of mainland US and 50 perfect larger than Europe.

We have very few major cities and they’re great distances apart. But, they’re BIG cities and you will find them full of a vibrant mix of people and filled with loads of breathtaking scenery in between. From beautiful ancient landscapes, as old as time itself, to the most modern of cities there’s something for everyone in Australia.

I’ll start with Sydney, Australia’s oldest city, the economic powerhouse of the nation, blessed with sun-drenched natural attractions, dizzy skyscrapers, superb shopping, and, of course the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House, what more could you want? Oh, I forgot, there’s also the Sydney Harbour itself. If you’re flying into Sydney make sure you have a window seat, the view of the harbour alone is worth the price of your flight - it really is spectacular.

Let’s move on to Melbourne, the vibrant, cosmopolitan city that hosts an impressive combination of old and new architecture, elegant streetscapes, harmonious ethnic communities and lavish parks & gardens. The locals claim that it’s the most enlightened and liveable city in the world and being an avid Melbournian myself, I would definitely have to agree. Melbourne has a lively passion for social eating and drinking, which is reflected by the vast array of fashionable cafes and restaurants. The city also boasts a full program of festivals, varied sporting events and a crazy nightlife - Melbourne certainly has it all.

I could drone on about each sophisticated city or quirky country town, but you get the picture! Our metropolises are huge and there’s a lot going on - it’s best you check it out for yourself!

Stay tuned for Part Two…

Convinced already? Topdeck’s Island Suntanner is currently on sale from: £1297

Visit www.topdeck.travel