26th January is Australia Day - How Australian Are You?

26th January was Australia Day, the day when we celebrate what it is to be Australian, enjoying time with family and friends, and celebrating multi-culturalism, and everything that makes Australia the wonderful place it is to live.  

On Australia Day lots of Aussies celebrate with barbecue (BBQs), go to the beach, play sport, spend time with family and friends, and enjoy fireworks if they are being held in their city.  The Australia Day Awards are also presented to Australians and groups who have contributed significantly to our country and communities, and there are also Citizenship ceremonies for those migrants who are wishing to become Australian citizens today.

 Surrounded by ocean we live in a landscape that is very diverse from snow capped mountains to deserts. We also have unique plants and wildlife. And we live in relative safety and can enjoy fresh air and wide open spaces, whilst enjoying everything that a mix of cultures brings with it.

 Please click here to discover how Australia you are....

  The other day I saw a Quiz on  Middle Aged Mama blog, and I thought I would share it with you. My apologies to all you non-Aussies out there that might follow my blog. But keep reading as you may find it enlightening!  

Quiz: How Australian are You?

How many of these have you done? Instead of ticking them off, I’ve highlighted the ones I’ve done in bold red …. Sorry the numbers mucked up when I added the photos - there should be 100 questions.

1. Heard a kookaburra in person.
2. Slept under the stars.
3. Seen a koala.
4. Visited Melbourne.
5. Watched a summer thunderstorm.
6. Worn a pair of thongs (flip-flops for the non-Aussies).
7. Been to Uluru (Ayer’s Rock) (you can see Uluru in the rh-corner of the collage above)
8. Visited Cape York - tip of Queensland.
9. Held a snake. (no thanks! but seen lots in the wild! and been right up close to one in a controlled environment) 

10. 

    Highly venomous, Western King Brown, in the wild

11. Sang along with Khe San. (Khe Sanh (The last plane out of Sydney) lyrics from Cold Chisel's 2011 Light the Nitro tour - Cold Chisel - Khe Sanh)
12. Drank VB. (Might have had a taste - but no I don't like beer - very un-Aussie!)
13. Visited Sydney.
14. Have seen a shark.
15. Have used Aussie slang naturally in a conversation.
16. Had an actual conversation with an indigenous Australian.
17. Eaten hot chips wrapped in butcher's paper at the beach.
18. Walked/climbed over the Sydney Harbour Bridge. (or I will be soon!)
19. Used an outside dunny (toilet - also known as a "long drop" because everything just drops into a deep hole under the seat), and checked under the seat for spiders before sitting down.
20.  

    

    Out back dunny

21. Seen Chloe in Young & Jackson’s.  (it’s an old nude painting in a bar in Melbourne - haven't seen it in person, but have see a picture of the painting)
22. Slept on an overnight train or bus. (I've slept in the front seat of car in a carpark)
23. Been to Sydney’s Mardi Gras.
24. Have gone bush-bashing. (driving through the bush in a 4-wheel drive)
    
25. Taken a sickie (day off work when you are not sick).
26. Been to see a game of Aussie Rules football.
27. Have seen wild camels.

28. 

    Wild camels

29. Gone skinny dipping. (swum in the nude)
    
30. Done a Tim Tam Slam. (ie drank hot chocolate up through a Tim Tam biscuit - ask Mr Google and you will know what I mean)
31. Ridden in a tram in Melbourne.
32. Been at an ANZAC day Dawn Service.
33. Watched a sunrise or sunset.
34. Held a wombat. (not held - but seen in the wild)
35. Been on a road trip of 800km or more.
36. Seen the Great Australian Bight in person.

37. 

    The Great Australian Bight

38. Had a really bad sunburn. (well - redder than I should have been anyway)
39. Visited an Aboriginal community.
40. Seen a redback spider.
41. Have watched Paul Hogan.
42. Seen Blue Poles in person. (Blue Poles by American painter Jackson Pollock was one of Australia's most controversial art acquisitions)
43. Wandered barefoot in the bush/outback. (wandered but not barefoot)
    
44. Eaten Vegemite.
45. Thrown a boomerang.
46. Seen the Kimberleys, Western Australia

47. 

    The Kimberley from the air

48. Given a hitch-hiker a lift.
49. Been to Perth.
50. Have tried Lemon, Lime and Bitters.
51. Tried playing a didgeridoo.
52. Seen dinosaur footprints.
53. Eaten Tim Tams.
54. Been to Darwin.
55. Touched a kangaroo.
56. Visited the Great Barrier Reef. (no, but been to Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia)
57. Listened to Kevin Bloody Wilson (unfortunately).
58. Killed a Cane Toad (no but my husband has, horrible things they are)
59. Gone to a drive-in theatre.
60. Have read and own books by Australian authors. 
61. Visited Adelaide.
62. Been camping (lots!)

63. 

    Camping on the Nullabor

64. Know the story behind the movie “Eternity”.
65. Visited Brisbane.
66. Been in an outback pub (yes on the Oodnadatta track)
    
67. Know what the term “Waltzing Matilda” actually means.
68. Gone whale watching
69. Listened to Slim Dusty.
70. Own five or more Australian movies or TV series.
71. Sang along to Down Under by Men at Work. Down Under
72. Have stopped specifically to look at an historic marker by the side of the road.
73. Eaten a 4 N 20 pie.
74. Surfed at Bondi. (been there but didn't go in)
75. Watched the cricket on Boxing Day. (Probably, but not by choice)
76. Visited Hobart.
77. Eaten kangaroo.
78. Seen a quokka

79. 

    Quokka at Rottnest

80. Visited Canberra.
81. Visited rainforests.
82. Used a Victa lawnmower.
83. Travelled on a tram in Adelaide.
84. Used a Hills hoist.
85. Visited Kata Tjuta (the Olgas)
86. Used native Australian plants in cooking.
87. Visited the snow.
88. Chosen a side in the Holden VS Ford debate.
89. Visited the desert.
90. Been water skiing.
91. Read The Phantom comics (why – is it Australian? I never knew that!)
92. Visited Parliament House.
93. Gone spotlighting or pig-shooting.
94. Crossed the Nullarbor.

95. 

    Eyre Highway, the Nullabor

96. Avoided swimming in areas because of crocodiles.
97. Listened to AC/DC.
98. Called someone a dag. ( An Australian slang term. A dag is technically the matted wool on a sheep's tail, but in typical usage throughout Australia, it refers to people who don't have a neat, tidy or cultured appearance. It can also refer to a person who tends to be quite informal. It is not necessarily a derogatory term in modern usage)
99. Voted in a Federal Election.
100. Have been swimming and stayed between the flags.
101. Had a possum in your roof.
102. Visited the outback. 

103. 

     views from the Kennedy Ranges, Western Australia

104. Travelled over corrugated roads.
105. Hit a kangaroo while driving (no - but close!)
106. Been well outside any mobile phone coverage.
107. Seen an emu in the wild.
108. Have woken to the smell of bushfires.
109. Patted a pure-bred dingo. (no - but have seen them in the wild)
110. Seen Australian rock band, Midnight Oil, live.

I’ve managed 83 out of 100  …
Now it’s your turn  Aussies – are you more Australian than me?!

Many thanks to  Middle Aged Mamma's blog for this quiz, who in turn found it on a blog several years ago and kept it. Evidently it was doing the rounds at that time …

 You might have noticed a few Australian slang words in the list above. Australian slang or strine - is a language all of it's own. Check out this dictionary over on  KoalaNet. Phew - there are more Ozzie slang words than I realised mate! 

Kangaroo or as we do, shortened to "roo"

Or check out this brilliant U-Tube video from Josh Hawkins and Rhys Keir on How to Speak Australian  "If you've ever wondered what to say when Tommo asks if you "wanna go down the bowlo sarvo for a schnitty and a bevvy before watching some soapies on the telly", this explainer is for you"

There's other examples on You-Tube - like "Aussie American words" by Mark Brown. 

So that is my little look at some things unique to Australia. I hope you have enjoyed it. To my overseas readers, have you been to Australia? Perhaps you'd like to tell us what you enjoyed about it the most. Did you find our Aussie Slang difficult to decipher? Perhaps you'd like to tell us about your experience of Australia in the comments. 

 You might also enjoy my previous blog posts about Australia Day - 

2015 - Australia Day on the Beach

2014 - Celebrating Australia Day and Waltzing Matilda 

 2013 - Celebrating Australia Day - and fireworks

Thank you so much for stopping by. I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week.

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Mosaic Monday 
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Our World Tuesday
Through My Lens 
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