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

• Blakes (Expensive), Address: GR2, Southgate, Southbank, Melbourne Phone: (03) 9699 4100. Great Modern Australian cuisine right on the Yarra River.
• Boltz Café & Bar (Inexpensive), Address: 286 Rundle Street, Adelaide Phone: (08) 8232 5234. Good-value food in the heart of Adelaide's shopping centre.
• Christo's (Moderately priced), Address: 28 Mitchell Street Phone: (08) 8941 1444. Acclaimed Greek-style seafood dishes in the heart of Darwin.
• 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 C(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 famous parklands.
• Hyde Park Barracks Café (Inexpensive-Moderately priced), Address: Queens Square, Macquarie Street, Sydney Phone: (02) 9223 1155. A smart city-centre café with outdoor tables.
• Juniperberry (Moderately priced), Address: National Gallery of Australia, Parkes, Canberra Phone: (02) 6240 6665. 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.
• Satay King (Inexpensive), Galleria Complex, The Mall, Darwin (Phone: (08) 8981 3362). Superb city-center Asian soups and satays.
• Tu Tu Tango (Moderately priced), 124 Bunda Street, Canberra City (Phone: (02) 6257 7100). Take a break in Canberra at this southwest American restaurant.

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