I love lots of things about Australia. Obviously I loved the usual stuff: Western Australia’s deserted white-sand beaches, Sydney Harbour’s iconic skyline, the perpetual sun. But there are also lots of small things I love about Australia that are simply the icing on the cake. Here’s my list.
1. Excellent supermarkets
First, supermarkets. Australia has brilliant supermarkets. They are impressively well-stocked, even in city centres and small towns where I’d have thought there would be more limited choice. All produce seemed to be fresh and of good quality, prioritising produce grown in Australia. I wondered if this was something to do with Australia’s strict biosecurity rules about what you can and can’t import, to the extent that any foreign competitors don’t stand a chance. But either way, you feel as though everything you’re buying from Australia’s supermarkets is local, fresh and largely healthy.
There also seem to be free toilets in every Australian supermarket but I’ll come back to toilets shortly.
2. Granola self-service
Continuing on the subject of Australia’s excellent supermarkets, many of them have what I had only ever seen functioning as a pick’n’mix counter. By this I have in mind structures with compartments of which you open the little plastic lid and scoop up a quantity of sweets from the compartment and put them into a little striped paper bag for which you pay by weight.
In Australian supermarkets, those compartments are filled with granola. And not only that, but there is also a wide choice of granola. Like penny sweets in England in a time gone by, you scoop your granola into a bag, weigh it, stick the barcode sticker on it and scan it at the checkout. It’s a great way to reduce waste as you don’t have to buy a full bag, as well as being super convenient and healthy.
3. Great public toilets
I mentioned earlier that there seem to be free toilets in most supermarkets in Australia. But I must also mention that Australian public toilets are excellent on the whole.
First, they are free. Secondly, many public toilets near beaches also have showers. And finally, they are mostly clean and well-maintained. This is a far cry from the countless station toilets I’ve been to around Europe where you pay €1 or more only to have to hover over the toilet seat to avoid… well, let’s put it this way: Australian public toilets are far superior to most of the European ones I’ve used.
4. Widely available free parking
Moving on from toilets but continuing with free services, another small thing I loved about Australia was that free parking is widely available. Even if it can still be a faff driving around looking for a parking space, there’s a good chance it’ll be free to park there. Australia isn’t necessarily a car-focused society but being able to park for free just makes the experience so much easier.
5. Great coffee culture
This isn’t so much a secret as an affirmation that the stereotype is true. You can always be sure of high-quality and delicious coffee wherever you go in Australia. Even the coffees I bought from remote petrol stations in the middle of nowhere in Western Australia weren’t bad. Or at least I am sure they were far tastier than what I would have had to settle for in an equivalent location in England.
6. Great cake scene
Coffee goes hand in hand with cake. And the cake is equally excellent. There seems to be a wide selection of options, seemingly in every café. I had to remind myself every single time I went into a café that I don’t have to get a cake just because it looks good.
7. Alcoholic ginger beer
Finally, on the subject of food and drink, I have to mention alcoholic ginger beer. Of course, ginger beer is a nice refreshing beverage to sip in the sun. So is normal beer. Why not combine the two and have a pint of alcoholic ginger beer? Frankly, whoever came up with this is a genius.