Ways To Be A Local

• Change your accent -to sound like a real Aussie, draw out the vowels, so that, for example, `park' becomes `pahk'.
• Relax, Australia is not the place to go in for excessive formality, and `no worries' is not a popular expression for nothing.
• Use `g'day' instead of `hello', and call virtually everyone `mate'.
• Dress casually - summer shorts and sandals are acceptable in nearly all places.
• Go to a cricket match, or an Aussie Rules football game in winter, to soak up the atmosphere of the national sports.
• Get invited to an Aussie barbecue, where you will enjoy a relaxed meal and a unique cultural experience.
• Wear a hat, not just for fashion, but as a necessity to avoid the sun's harmful rays.
• Head for an Aussie pub or two to sample the excellent local beers and wines.
• Learn the basic facts about convict, colonial and Aboriginal history, and remember that racist jokes are in extremely bad taste.
• Spend most of your time outdoors, particularly on the beach or bushwalking.

Good Places To Have Lunch

• Arintji (Moderately priced) ADDRESS: Federation Square, Melbourne PHONE: (03) 9663 9900. An excellent café in the heart of the lively Federation Square precinct.
• City Gardens Café (Inexpensive-Moderately priced) ADDRESS: City Botanic Gardens, Brisbane PHONE: (07) 3229 1554. Good lunchtime fare in a delightful location.
• Doyle's on the Beach (Moderately priced) ADDRESS: 11 Marine Parade, Watsons Bay, Sydney PHONE: (02) 9337 2007. Fine seafood with wonderful harbour views.
• Fraser's (Moderately priced) ADDRESS: Fraser Avenue, Kings Park, Perth PHONE: (08) 9481 7100. Modern Australian dining in Perth's parklands.
• Jolleys Boathouse (Moderately priced) ADDRESS: Jolleys Lane, Adelaide PHONE: (08) 8223 2891. Modern Australian food in a delightful setting.
• Juniperberry (Moderately priced) ADDRESS: National Gallery of Australia, Parkes, Canberra PHONE: (02) 6240 6666. Fine Modern Australian cuisine is served in the gallery's sculpture garden.
• Mures Upper Deck (Moderately priced) ADDRESS: Mures Fish Centre, Victoria Dock, Hobart PHONE: (03) 6231 1999. A great seafood menu in the perfect waterfront spot.
• Nudel Bar (Inexpensive) ADDRESS: 76 Bourke Street, Melbourne PHONE: (03) 9662 9100. Enjoy noodle and pasta dishes from all over the world.
• Pee Wee's at the Point (Moderately priced-Expensive) ADDRESS: Alec Fong Lim Drive, East Point, Darwin PHONE: (08) 8981 6868. On the Darwin beachfront, specialising in Modern Australian cuisine.
• Sydney Fish Market (Inexpensive-Expensive) ADDRESS: Bank Street, Pyrmont, Sydney PHONE: (02) 9660 1611. A wide range of seafood styles and venues.

Top Activities

• Boating: sail a yacht around Queensland's Whitsunday Islands, or rent a houseboat on the Murray River.
• Bushwalking: there are countless places to go hiking, but try Tasmania and the Blue Mountains near Sydney.
• Cross-country skiing: the conditions are ideal around the ski fields of Victoria, Tasmania and New South Wales (Jun-Oct).
• Fishing: from trout fishing in Tasmania's lakes to big-game marlin wrestling off Cairns.
• Four-wheel-driving adventures: the Pinnacles in WA is an ideal venue.
• Golf: in Australia golf is a sport for everyone. There are excellent courses everywhere, but those on the Gold Coast are particularly recommended.
• Horse riding: the south-east is ideal - around the Snowy Mountains of NSW and Victoria's alpine areas.
• Scuba diving and snorkelling: there is nowhere better than along the Great Barrier Reef.
• Surfing: the quintessential Aussie sport - Sydney's coastline, Bells Beach in Victoria and Margaret River in the west are all good spots.
• Tennis: you will find day/night courts in every major city.

Exceptional Lesser Known Destinations

• Bathurst and Melville islands, Northern Territory: the home of the indigenous Tiwi people and their traditional culture.
• Coober Pedy, South Australia: an opal mining town with most buildings underground.
• Jervis Bay, New South Wales: white sands, clear blue waters and unspoilt bushland.
• Ningaloo Reef, near Exmouth, Western Australia: the diving here rivals that of the Great Barrier Reef.
• Norfolk Island: an external territory of Australia, packed with fascinating convict and colonial history.

Great Views

• From the Sydney Tower, Sydney.
• Brisbane - from Mount Coot-tha.
• From Mount Wellington, Hobart.
• From Melbourne Observation Deck, Melbourne.
• From Telstra Tower on Black Mountain, Canberra.