It’s one of those stories that begins with “In a land far far away….”

Last month I shared my thoughts on what had surprised me about the UK. Most of these surprises don’t bother me all that much but while life has been more than wonderful (yes, you heard me, I am thoroughly enjoying myself!) there are times when I do miss the land down under.

Here’s 5 things I definitely miss about Australia.

1. I miss the deep blue sky

Sure, London get blue skies, but there are blue skies, and then there are BLUE skies. The English sky is like the English people – beautifully polite and a little pasty in colour.

No sky will beat the Aussie sky. It’s got that extra Uhmff, like Crocodile Dundee saying: “You call that blue sky? Now this, is Blue Sky!”

Deep, deep blue sky.

 

2. I miss the diverse landscape

Australia is big. Really big.

So that means, Australia has a myriad of landscapes, some very much unique to the continent. There are sandy beaches and dramatic cliffs along the shore, ancient burnt red dusty earth in the middle and everything else imaginable in between.

In England, going for a drive can get a bit boring, and without the quaint little towns dotted here and there, the landscape is pretty much all squared grassland, sheep and horses. It’s rolling hills after rolling hills, there isn’t a lot of variety. Whereas, if you go for a long drive in Australia, you are bound to experience the change in landscape, and it’s just absolutely wonderful, not to mention all the big things you can tick off along the way!

 

3. I miss the year round thongs wear

It has been such a novelty being cold and having to rug up, that I really didn’t mind the winter here at all (or Moscow and Kiev for that matter), for I have been enjoying my new winter fashion, with nice fitted coats warm woolly scarf, beanies with ears and calf hugging boots.

There is however, one thing I miss wearing: thongs.

In Australia, thongs (flip flop ones, not the lingerie type) can be acceptable footwear all year round. I wore them walking to work, I worn them to a stroll in the park and I wore them driving. Nothing reminds me more of home than the rubber smell and the sound of flapping thongs down the street.

 

4. I miss those darn noisy birds

Australian birds are bloody annoying. They are loud, obnoxious and at times destructive, yet strikingly beautiful with their multi-coloured features, punk hair cuts, some over-sized bodice and strangely handsome appearances.

Take the Rainbow Lorikeets for example, so adorable in their green bodies and purple heads, complete with yellow and red collars, you’d think they’ve been dipped in paint when they were born; however, they can be a nuisance in numbers.. and don’t get me started on the Cockatoos!

I will however, always think of home when I hear them on TV. I miss the lyrical morning chirps of a Magpie, the joyous laughs of a Kookaburra and the psychotic calls of Cockatoos at dusk. These are the sounds that I grew up with and I’d be quite content to hear them again.

Not that I am complaining about the birds here, there are some beautiful song birds around our flat that sings us daily lullabies, but you know what? Sometimes, when you need to make a statement about birds, Aussie birds rule.

 

5. I miss the wide open spaces

 

Went on a road trip in Victoria with a German friend of mine, and I remember him commenting just how much his father (who is a farmer in Germany) would have loved the wide open spaces there are in Australia.

Those who haven’t lived overseas may not realise but we are lucky down under. We have wider roads that can actually run the two way traffic comfortably, local parks and ovals that has enough space to kick a round of football (okay… soccer) with and national parks that are the size of an entire county in England (or an entire town/city in Germany for that matter).

Sure, cities are going to be crowded, but let me tell you, a crowd is Sydney is no where near a crowd in London!

 

5 (3/4): Let’s revisit that blue sky again…

Because it’s just so beautiful :)