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Does the water really swirl the other way?We didn't notice. The toilets all flushed so forcefully that the water never had time to swirl.Did you drive on the left down there?Yes. I was pretty scared at first. Luckily the traffic in Australia is lighter than in the US. I asked Kelly to frequently remind me, "Drive on the left!" the first few days. The hard part was when we were the first in line at an intersection -- I had to think hard about where the car was supposed to go before the light turned green. I made sure that I got all the supplemental rental car insurance that I could; luckily I didn't have to use it. I also made sure to get cars with automatic transmission.The steering wheel is on the right, that wasn't too bad. The brake and accelerator pedals were thankfully not switched. The really screwey part was that the turn signal and the wiper lever were switched. Every time I wanted to make a turn I ended up cleaning my windshield. Worse, when I returned to the States my mind was still in swap mode and I did the same thing the first few times! How big is Australia?Australia occupies about the same amount of area as the United States if you don't include Alaska.What's the weather like?Queensland is about as far away from the equator as Mexico. So the climate is similar with the farther north (towards the equator) you go, the warmer and more unchanging the weather is. Note also that because they are in the Southern Hemisphere, their seasons are reversed. October is the beginning of spring for them. They usually experience a hot Christmas!How expensive was it?When you look at the prices in Australian dollars of the accomodation, tours, souveneirs, etc, they are comparable to prices in the US. However, the exchange rate was about 2:1. This meant that we got 2 Australian dollars for every 1 US dollar we traded. Put another way, a AU$100 evening at a nice bed and breakfast was really only US$50!! So thanks to the exchange rate, our trip ended up being cheaper and fuller.Did you scuba dive?No, we didn't scuba dive. I am a certified diver, but my wife is not. However, on Kelly's previous trip to Australia she took part in a few resort dives and loved them. Personally I fond snorkeling a whole lot easier and convenient. Funny how I'm certified and I'd rather snorkel while Kelly is not certified and would rather scuba.Did you go into the outback?No. I doubt we strayed more than 50 miles from the coast at any given time. We had too much to see on the water and in the rainforests to venture into the outback. Perhaps next time.
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