The Aussie sense of humour – ie laconic crossed with off-beat crossed with extreme larrikinism – sometimes manifests itself in unusual, weird and downright bizarre ways. And that means ‘Quirky’!

But … be warned! There’s a fine line between ‘Kitsch’ and ‘Quirky’ – and an even finer one between ‘Quirky’ and ‘Tasteless’!

So I’ll leave you to decide into which category these examples of Aussie Quirkiness fall!

1. Signs and Symbols

We get that not everyone else speaks either English OR Aussie English – our brand of it. So we put some of the most incomprehensible graphics in the world on our signs.

This Kanyaka historic site sign (above) in South Australia’s Flinders Ranges has a number of strange and bizarre symbols that mean – what, exactly?? When I asked my readers to identify them in the original blog post (HERE) they came up with a surprising array of responses!

Although sometimes those world class ambiguity skills aren’t used! THIS sign just says it like it is!!

But … when crystal clear meets iconoclastic Aussie attitude, you get something REALLY quirky! Like this sign at the western entrance to Queensland Outback town Isisford!

Want MORE?

• What’s the story behind the Isisford sign?
• Have a look at the quirky Aussie travel signs I’ve found!

2. Talking Strine*

We Aussies generally have no trouble understanding both the US and UK forms of English.  But our quirky interpretation of some of its finer points – a translation of ‘English’ to ‘Strine’ – means those who’ve learned either the US or the UK version find it difficult to understand us! In fact, they often think we actually ‘talk funny’.  Who knew?

But that’s a minor detail compared to what we’re actually saying. That’s FAR more incomprehensible! Here’s a short test to see how Aussie you REALLY are:

1. Your friend Davo and his girlfriend Shazza are coming to visit. What are their real names?

2. Translate ‘Put another snag on the Barbie’

3. ‘Stubby’, ‘Tinny’, ‘Pot’, ‘Slab’ and ‘Schooner’ are all different ways to order WHAT common beverage? AND for an extra point – how do you keep it cold??

4. ‘How are ya?’ asks your mate. ‘Flat out like a lizard drinking’, you reply. What do you mean?

5. You suspect your boss has a couple of ‘roos loose in the top paddock. What’s wrong with him?

Answers at the bottom of the post!

Want MORE?

Check out my guest post about Australian slang HERE!

3. What’s on the Menu?

Where else can you get a food item colloquially known as a ‘rat’s coffin’? Usually served with a dose of ‘dead horse’?? A meat pie with (thanks to our adoption of the British habit for rhyming slang) tomato sauce doesn’t sound anywhere near so interesting, does it?!

So sometimes we serve it on a bed of pea soup and call it a ‘pie floater’.

But then we go one better.

Neither the Kangaroo or Emu are physically able to move backwards, and that’s why they’re on the Australian Coat of Arms! Admirable, yes?

BUT … apparently we’re the only country in the world to kill and eat the wildlife on our national Coat of Arms. Then we feed them as good Aussie ‘tucker’ to hapless tourists!

When you consider, however, that Australia is home of the AWESOME Tim Tam, I think you’ll agree that balances out all our other food faux pas combined!!

Want MORE? Here’s 40 foods we Aussies call our own (via CNN Travel)

4. A Day at the Races

In a country full of people who love having a wager but with only ~0.029 horses per km²**, we’ve got creative AND quirky with what we race. And bet on!

And that means racing whatever is at hand. Like Cockroaches. Or Camels. And arguably the quirkiest racing creature of all – the Cane Toad!

Despite – or perhaps because of – being an introduced pest with numbers now thought to exceed 200 million, the ugly cane toad has reached cult status downunder. With its very own line of novelty gifts, a documentary about its infamous beginnings in Australia AND Cane Toad World, a celebration of its quirky appeal, its unique qualities have made it popular on the informal sports and racing circuit!

Want MORE?

• Destructo – The most famous racing Cockroach of them ALL!

• My day at Bedourie’s Camel Races!

• Kununurra – where I lost my Cane Toad Race Virginity!!

• Cane Toad World in Gordonvale, Queensland

5. Size DOES Matter!

I once read that you know you’re Australian when it seems perfectly normal to wander a landscape littered with enormous representations of everyday objects, most commonly fruit and animals.

Aussie Big Things are in a quirky class of their own!

Yes, the Kangaroo, Koala, Crocodile and even the Aussie Galah are obvious targets.

But whoever thought of the Big Malleefowl?

Big Wool Bales??

Or the Big Ned Kelly???

And if you take a look at The Little Book of BIG Aussie Icons you’ll find MY picture of the Big Prawn!

Quirky? More like BEYOND Quirky!

Want MORE?

• Aussie Big Things

• The Little Book of BIG Aussie Icons

6. Bizarre Buildings

While weird and wacky buildings exist in Aussie urban areas too, why is it that the most ornate, thoughtfully constructed AND intriguing are found in the middle of nowhere?

Maybe it’s the relative lack of building materials, or a yearning for the luxuries of another country, or just a response to the landscape! Whatever the reason behind them, I say these bizarre buildings qualify as Quirky with a capital Q!

Maybe we just need to redefine ‘civilisation’! OR … perhaps we Aussies already have?!?!

7. Aussie Loos with Views!

I’m a loud and proud contributor to the pantheon of Aussie quirkiness with my book ‘Aussie Loos with Views!’ But I wouldn’t have been able to produce such a book without the vast selection of quirky Aussie dunnies all around the country.

My personal pick for the quirkiest of quirky Aussie dunnies is Gunnedah’s amazing Lyrical Loo!

There’s a lot of Australian Scenic Public Toilets on my blog AND more than 60 in my book!

Elevating the humble Aussie Loo to the Dunny of Distinction AND getting a book about them published (thanks to the team at Explore Australia) is Australia at it’s quirkiest!!

And if you want to prove me wrong, just buy my book and tell me EXACTLY where my reasoning is flawed!!

Go on! You KNOW you want to …

Want MORE?

See ALL the Scenic Public Toilets I’ve ever featured on my blog!

So does the evidence I’ve shown you prove Australia’s Quirkiness? Or is it all just kitcsh and/or tasteless?? Whatever you think, I’m calling Q for Quirky right here!

See RedzAustralia’s other Aussie ABC posts:

• A is for Alice Springs

• B is for Bushranger

• C is for Crocodile

• D is for Dune

• E is for Emu

• F is for Fossils

• G is for Gorge

• H is for Holiday

• I is for Islands

• J is for Jabiru

• K is for Kangaroo

• L is for Lookout

• M is for Mt Kosciuszko

• N is for Nullarbor

• O is for Opal

• P is for Patriotic

* Strine = just say ‘Australian’ REALLY quickly (ie like a true blue Aussie) and you’ll find it sounds almost like ‘Strine’

** 221000 horses according to horsetalk.co.nz divided by Australia’s landmass of 7.692 million km² according to australia.gov.au (and they should know, yes??!!)

Answers to Strine Quiz:

1. Davo = David (or MATE!); Shazza = Sharon (or ‘Luv’ if you can’t remember her name)

2. Put some more Sausages (Snags) on the Barbecue (ie Barbie)

3. Beer; keep it cold by putting it in the Esky!

4. You’re really busy

5. A couple of kangaroos loose in the top paddock = a bit mad!

The post Aussie ABC: Q is for Quirky appeared first on Australia by Red Nomad OZ.

As this FAAAABULOUS January 26 gets under way, the ozone layer prepares itself for a high carbon emission onslaught and the planet’s remaining trees breathe a sigh of relief.

It’s Australia Day and almost compulsory to have a barbecue and PROVE your Aussie pride.  Do this by putting Aussie flags on every conceivable product from toothpicks to tablecloths; serviettes to stubby holders; picnic plates to paper cups.

For Aussies like me, there’s a LOT of things that make Australia so Australian.  So I’ve chosen 26 of those special Aussie things that top MY Australia Day Patriotic Aussie Pride list!

Australia Day!

Congratulations to anyone who’s ever been on the Australian of the Year and/or Australia Day Honours list, and a BIG welcome to our newest citizens!

BIG Things!

Love ’em or LOATHE ’em, for us Aussies it’s quite normal to wander a landscape littered with BIG fruit, animals and other random objects!

Country Towns! 

Around 90% of Australia’s population live in urban areas. So I’m calling Country Towns the next BIG Thing in Aussie tourism.

Where else can you see the quirks, the oddities, the beauty and the colours of Australia?

Dry!

Australia is the driest continent on earth, and South Australia its driest state.

Eucalyptus!

Most of the 700 species in this genus are from Australia.  It’s also the only genus in the world with species across ALL habitats.  That makes Eucalyptusa mini-masterclass in adaptation.

Even though down here we call them Gum Trees!

Floral Emblem!

Golden Wattle (Acacia pycnantha) is the famed Green and Gold that represents Australia. Although each Australian State and Territory has a unique floral emblem, not many Australians can name them all! Can you? Test your knowledge HERE!

Gold!

Australia is home of the Welcome Stranger.  At over 71 kg it’s the world’s biggest alluvial gold nugget and was found at Moliagul near Bendigo in the Victorian Goldfields. It’s tempting to see if Son of the Welcome Stranger is lurking nearby, right?!

High Country!

At 2228 metres, Mt Kosciuszko, highest mountain in OZ, isn’t that high by, say, Everest standards. But the OZ High Country around the New South Wales Snowy Mountains and Victoria’s Alps makes a HUGE change from the Coastal fringe and Outback that usually characterises OZ!

Indigenous Culture!

Australian colonial history started just over 200 years ago. Australian Indigenous history goes back for over 50,000 years. This means Australian Aborigines have occupied the same area continuously for longer than any other culture in the world!!

Jump Up!

In a land so (mostly) flat, sometimes the only feature for hundreds of kilometres is a small hill called a Jump Up. My favourite is Swanvale Jump-Up near Stonehenge … the Aussie version.

Kookaburra!

Nothing says ‘Australian Bush’ like the sound of the Kookaburra– largest Kingfisher species in the WORLD!

If you’re unsure why they were once called Laughing Jackass, click HERE for a Kookaburra Sound Clip!

Lingo!

Understanding Australian Slang Dictionary is the REAL citizenship test, as Google translate is a FAIL for true Aussie lingo.

See how you go with this Australia Day ‘conversation’:

‘G’day mate, ayagorn?’
‘Stone the crows, she’s a hot one, mate! Chuck another coupla snags on the barbie and pass the dead horse, whaddayareckon, eh mate?’
‘No worries, tinnies in the esky mate, go for your life!’
‘Orright mate, cheers’
Translation below …*

Murray River! 

Australia’s longest river system, the Murray-Darling, stretches from it’s headwaters near Mt Kosciuszko to the sea at South Australia’s Goolwa.

National Parks!

Of Australia’s 516 National Parks, my most visited is the Grampians National Park in Victoria.

What’s yours?

Outback!

The huge and otherwise undefined ‘middle’ section of Australia.   There’s WAY more than the ‘nothing much’ of popular opinion out there. Don’t believe me? Have a look at my Outback adventures!

Poets!

The ultimate accolade to Australia’s poets is Scenic Public Toilet #8 at Gunnedah, NSW.  It’s also home of Dorothea MacKellar author of My Country – a personal favourite.

Another is Clancy of the Overflow by the extraordinarily prolific A. B. Paterson. He also wrote Waltzing Matilda – one of the 10 most recorded songs in the world.  The song is the subject of the only museum in the world (the Waltzing Matilda Centre in Winton, QLD) dedicated to a song!

Quirky!

You don’t have to look very hard to find something strange and bizarre downunder. Like a singing, piano-playing dingo. Or a sign telling you exactly what the locals think of the government. Or a gilded church steeple in the middle of nowhere. Or the world’s first ride-on lawnmower. Or a Cane Toad Race! Or the World Moon-Rock Throwing Championships! Haven’t heard of these things before? They’re ALL on my blog!!

RED!

Well, what did you expect for ‘R’?? In my opinion, Australia’s REDDEST place is Karijini National Park, although you can find RED pretty much anywhere in Australia – both the colour AND the blogger! Me!!

Surf!

Yep, that’s what we’re known for! And a whole lot of other Coast-related ‘S’ words as well … like Swimming! Sun!! Sand!!! Sunsets!!!!

Tasmania!

Often forgotten as part of Australia, the ‘Apple Isle’ is the second-largest island in the Australia group. I’ve only been to Tasmania once, an oversight I hope to rectify soon!

Uluru!

Australia’s RED heart. Do I really need to give you a photo or link??

Vegemite!

Vegemite is an acquired taste. Who knows how much longer this Aussie icon will survive with the competition from Aussie legend Dick Smith’s OZEMITE? But whatever happens, the Vegemite TV commercial from the 1950’s is a classic!!

Whales! Stretches of Australia’s extensive coastline are perfect for whale-watching in the right season. The Southern Right Whale nursery in the Great Australian Bight is a good place to start, but there’s opportunities all around OZ.

Xanthorrhoea!

A Xanthorrhoea by any other name is Australia’s most well known wildflower – the Grass Tree, able to withstand bushfires and live for hundreds of years!

Young and Free!

From the first stanza of Advance Australia Fair, the Australian National Anthem – ‘Australians all let us rejoice/for we are young and free’. Nicely ironic, considering the longevity of the Aboriginal race (see above).  But … I’d like to think I was young and free – however old I become!

Zoo!

Yeah … this is the lazy person’s Z-word. So sue me. Australia’s Zoos are pretty good though – Adelaide’s Monarto Zoo, Dubbo’s Great Western Plains Zoo and Sydney’s Taronga Park Zoo. But my all time favourite Zoo-like place is the Alice Springs Desert Park!

That’s just some of what makes Australia so Australian, and ME patriotic. But what have I missed?? What’s YOUR favourite Australiana??

Want MORE?

• Check out the rest of my Aussie Alphabet HERE!
• AND … if this has got your travel juices flowing, check out some travel deals and get exploring!

*Lingo Translation:

‘Hi, how are you going?’

‘Gosh it’s hot! Can you put a couple of sausages on the barbecue and pass the sauce? What do you think?’

‘OK, help yourself to a can (of beer) in the portable cold bin.

‘All right, thanks!’

The post P is for Patriotic: 26 Reasons to ROCK Australia Day! appeared first on Australia by Red Nomad OZ.