When I think of Australia, sun, sand, surf and slang comes to mind.

Living in Torquay, we have mastered the sun and sand part. We have spent countless days at the beach, just down the road from our house. We have enjoyed days at the beach; days in the middle of winter when no one else is around and summer days, when it is wall to wall umbrellas.

We have spent afternoons at the beach, right after school for a couple hours before dinner, digging, burying and creating villages and landscapes in the sand.

We have spent mornings at the beach playing sports with friends. Our Saturday morning soccer club (turned little nippers, turned beach cricket) was lots of fun. Breakfast and coffee at Bomboras afterwards was just as enjoyable!

We have mastered the sun and sand here and have made the most of living so close to such stunning and beautiful beaches like Whites, Fisho’s, Cosy Corner, Surf Beach, Jan Juc, Bells Beach, Pt. Addis, and the list goes on and on.

Surfing. Shane and I have tried surfing while we have been here. Considering the number of people that surf here, I was sure that it couldn’t be that difficult of a sport to learn. I was also very curious as to what the hype is all about…it turns out that it is a lot harder than it looks! Alexis was also interested in trying it out so we signed her up for lessons during the summer holidays. As it turns out, it’s a lot easier to surf if you are 6! She loved it and did really well, so well that we got a surfboard for her so that she could continue surfing after the lessons were over.

Slang…or maybe just the Australian language, but the Aussies are masters when it comes to words and language. First, let’s address the accent. Alexis and I had trouble doing her grade 1 homework because of the accent! She had to put words that have the vowel ‘a’ in it in one of three columns, depending on the sound the ‘a’ makes in that word. There are three sounds that ‘a’ makes in the Aussie language. (For those of you that are curious…cat, fast, make, make up the 3 sounds of ‘a’).

Second, these Aussies have a way with words. They have sayings for any and all situations, millions of them and they roll right off their tongues. They also have shortened words or slang for many words in the English language. I will share some of my favourites…

• she’ll be right (sounds like: she’ll be rot): everything’s going to be ok
• slab: case of beer
• sook: sulk
• ta: thank you
• togs, bathers, swimmers, boardies, cozzie: swimsuit
• ute: pickup truck
• fag: cigarette
• bogan: redneck
• ambo: ambulance/driver
• firies: fire fighters
• Macca’s: McDonald’s
• arvo: afternoon
• bikkie: cookie (short for biscuit)
• boot: trunk of a car
• bonnet: hood of a car
• brekkie: breakfast
• bub, bubba: baby
• chook: chicken
• cook top: stove
• cuppa: a hot drink
• doona: duvet
• esky: cooler
• fairy floss: cotton candy
• feral: wild or uncontrollable
• flat out: very busy
• petrol: gas
• gas: propane
• knackered: tired, exhausted
• mozzies: mosquitoes
• icy pole: popsicle
• postie: postal worker
• prezzie: presesnt
• Chrissie: Christmas
• reckon: figure, think, assume
• rego: vehicle registration
• rock up: show up, arrive
• rugged up: bundled up
• Salvo: Salvation army
• barbie: bbq
• snag: sausage
• stubbie: bottle of beer
• sunnies: sunglasses
• tinny: small aluminum boat
• torch: flashlight
• tradie: tradesperson
• trolley: shopping cart
• Straya: Australia
• woop woop: in the middle of nowhere
• grommet: young surfer
• pash: kiss
• ripper: great

The longer we live here, the more we learn about what is typical Australian and in particular, typical Victorian. One weekend in Melbourne, we checked out Puffing Billy, a place every Aussie child goes to at least once. Puffing Billy is a century old steam train that takes tourists along its original mountain railway track between Belgrave and Gembrook through the magnificent Dandenong Ranges. The railway was built in 1900 to serve the local community that lived in the hills, carrying passengers as well as goods such as timber, vegetables and plants. Today, tourists can dangle their legs over the side of the open carriages while admiring the forests, fern gullies and farmlands of the beautiful Dandenong Ranges.

We boarded the train at Belgrave station. Alexis was thrilled to be able to sit with her legs over the edge of the train. Reid was a little more cautious.

We got off the train at Lakeside with the intention to have a picnic, enjoy the park and some of the water activities on the lake there. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate and it rained while we were there. Shortly after, we boarded the train again to return to Belgrave. The lush forest and fern gullies were filled with statuesque trees, huge umbrella-like ferns and endless greenery. The scenery was absolutely beautiful!

At some point on the journey back to Belgrave, Reid was brave enough to dangle his legs over the edge of the train as well. What a thrilling feeling!

I can see why Puffing Billy is Australia’s favourite steam train. It was great fun to sit in the open carriages and take in the amazing scenery of the Dandenong Ranges. What an excellent day out!

While in Melbourne for the weekend, we also decided to check out another Victorian icon, Healesville Sanctuary. Located on the traditional land of the Wurundjeri people, this bushland is a haven for Australian wildlife. We wandered the trails through the sanctuary to meet some of the iconic Austrailian animals such as cassowaries, koalas, kangaroos,  platypus, enchidnas, dingoes, wombats and emus.

The highlight of the day was definitely the bird show and the platypus show.

It is said that when in Rome, do as the Romans do…well, here in Oz, we are doing as the Aussies do, well minus the accent maybe…for Shane and I, Alexis and Reid are picking it up…I try but just sound ridiculous! We are loving it here, enjoying all things Aussie, especially the sun, sand, surf and slang.