Australia

Australia is the largest country by area in Oceania and the world's sixth-largest country. Australia is the oldest, flattest, and driest inhabited continent, with the least fertile soils.

It is a megadiverse country, and its size gives it a wide variety of landscapes and climates, with deserts in the centre, tropical rainforests in the north-east, and mountain ranges in the south-east.

The offical Tourism Australia website is at australia.com

General Information

 * Tipping is not part of the Australian culture. Here you do not tip your waiter/ress, taxi drivers, tour guides, etc. You may choose to provide a tip, but it is not necessary.
 * Advertised pricing always include tax.
 * When walking on a busy footpath (sidewalk) or escalator, stick to the left.
 * When crossing the street look right first (cars drive on the left side of the road)
 * Brown signs usually indicate a tourist attraction (viewing spot, interesting shop, etc.)
 * Although Australia has water parks and theme parks (including Warner Bros), they really aren’t great compared to the ones in North America.
 * Power here is different (240v) than in North America, appliances you bring may not work and blow up if plugged in. For appliances that take 240v you will need an adapter. Electronics such as laptops and phone chargers are likely to be compatible and just require an adapter, check on your devises before plugging in.
 * Clothing sizes here are not measured the same as in North America. If you’re usually a size 10 in North America, you may be a size 12 in Australia.
 * Toilets here have two buttons for flushing. The small one is for a half flush, the big one is for full fush.
 * We use the metric system (mm, cm, m, km)

Driving

 * Driving is done on the left side in Australia with the driver’s seat on the right side of the car.
 * Speed is measured in KMs
 * Freeways are 100 or 110
 * Main roads are 60, 70 ot 80
 * Residential streets are 50
 * School zones are 40 (but usualy only for hours before/after school)
 * There are lots of roundabouts, priority is to the cars coming from your right.
 * In Melbourne CBD (Downtown) there are streets with hook turns (there will be signs where this is applicable), this means that you turn right from the left lane (the turn is done on the orange/red light)
 * Most rental cars will be automatic unless it specifically says manual
 * Fuel price is per litre (not gallons. 1 litre is about ¼ gallon )
 * Be aware of animals on the road, especially around dusk/dawn. Kangaroos can jump in front of the lights. (not so much in builtup areas)
 * if you hit a wild animal, call 1300 596 457
 * Lane markings are usually all white.
 * A white line does not necessarily mean oneway traffic.
 * yellow lines are NOT used to mean oncoming tracfic.
 * yellow lines can also be use to set bus/tram only areas
 * yellow lines next to to the curb means no standing / no parking

Telephone

 * +61 is the international country code for calling Australia
 * Australia uses eight digit local phone numbers preceded by a two digit area code.


 * as a result if this mobile to mobile calls are considered "local"
 * Australia uses the free call prefix of 18/1800
 * There are also 13/1300 numbers which are charged at the cost similar to a local call. Charges for calls to 13/1300 numbers from landline and mobile phones are different. Calls from mobile phones may incur a higher charge.
 * Similarly, 190x is the prefix for premium rate services such as recorded information, competition lines, etc. These types of calls often have very high rates.


 * Telstra is the largest mobile tower operator in Australia and covers 97% of the populated areas. NB: this means in country areas there are still large sections that have no cell service. this is noticeable when driving.
 * All major cities and towns will have 4G, 5G service is being added.

Sim card / Mobile plans

 * If you have an unlock mobile(cellular) phone, it is recommend you purchase an Australian sim/e-sim for your travels
 * A number of providers provide lowcost "monthly" prepaid sims that will include unlimited calling to nearly all australian numbers
 * Most will include Gigabytes of internet also
 * You can get data only plans.. but often it isn't much cheaper
 * Some will also includ a number of "minutes" of calls to a number of international countries (USA, Canada, UK, NZ and India are all common)
 * You can buy sim cards/prepaid sim cards from most supermarkets (Woolworths, Coles) and 7-Eleven stores.
 * Recommended providers: Telstra, Vodaphone, Optus, Virgin.


 * Highly Recommended: Aldi mobile offers Pay As You Go sim and monthly pre-paid sim plans, and uses Australia's largets network of cell towers (Telstra).
 * The $15 mobile plan is a great deal, includes 2GB of data, and is hard to beat
 * You can buy a sim card from Aldi supermarkets.

Important Information
Australia is a great a beautiful country with lots to do and see but it does have many dangers too. Although these safety tips should be observed at all times, some of these are not really applicable in the cities. Note that although there seem to be many dangers in Australia that it is quite safe and that the most dangerous thing in the world are humans.

EMERGENCY NUMBER: 000 (equivalent to 911) When calling this number make sure you know which city you are located and if you require police, ambulance or firefighters as these are the questions you will be asked before being transfered to the correct department for the city you are in.

A few Safety tips:


 * Wear Sunscreen! I cannot understate the importance of wearing sunscreen in Australia (a minimum of SPF 30 is recommended, 50+ is available)
 * Try to buy/use "marine friendly" sunscreen, the Great Barrier Reef will thank you. :)
 * DO NOT swim in un-patrolled beaches (even at knee deep you can get swept away by a rip or unexpected wave)
 * Always swim where there are life savers (lifeguards) and stay between the flags
 * Unless told it is safe by a local, DO NOT get close to lakes, rivers, etc. keep at least 2m away from the edge (this is especially thrue if you are in the outback)
 * DO NOT approach wild animals or insects (such as spiders, fire ants, etc.), although not all animals are deadly some can attact humans to protect themselves.
 * If you come across an injured wild animal call 1300 596 457 - Do not approach an injured wild animal
 * If you are or someone in your party is bitten by an animal, keep the person who has been bitten as still as possible. If possible, lie the patient down to prevent walking or moving around. Apply a pressure immobilisation bandage (preferably use a wide elasticised bandage if available)
 * BE AWARE of swooping birds (October/November is mating season for birds so they will swoop and may even attack to protect their offspring)
 * If bush walking, always stay on designated paths
 * BE AWARE of poisonous plants, some are poisonous to the touch (ex. The Nettle family, the leaves are green and look completely innocent but some species have little hairs that stings and will cause excruciating pain which will take years to subside)
 * Tap water isn't safe to drink outside of cities (especially in small towns in the outback)

If visiting the outback (note that there isn't cellphone or internet reception in most areas of the outback):
 * Make sure someone know where you are going, what routes you will be taking and how long you will be gone
 * Bring more water than you think you will need (I would recommend enough for at least 3 days).
 * If your car breaksdown, stay with your car.
 * If you do decide to leave your car (please don't), leave a message on your windscreen with details of where you are going.

States
 category = Australia category = State ordermethod = title order = ascending 