Travelling in Australia: a Brazilian view
Brazilian Denise Frizzo talks about her newly found home in Australia, exploring the diverse landscape and adapting to life down under.
Living in Melbourne for just six months, my husband Cristiano and I planned a six-day car trip with my family to Adelaide, South Australia. My parents came from Brazil in August 2012 to spend four weeks in Aussie land. We are from Rio Grande do Sul, South Brazil, where the culture holds similarities to Australia such as its taste for barbecues and wine.
The trip was a good opportunity to try some Australian wine at Barossa Valley. Also, we had a chance to explore the Great Ocean Road and the Grampians National Park. Our first stop was in Princetown near the Twelve Apostles, which is, in my opinion the most impressive landmark in Victoria. It is amazing to see how strong the nature is in forming pillars through erosion up to 45 metres high.
We stayed in a motel surrounded by trees and had our first Aussie BBQ, which made my parents start falling in love with this beautiful country I now live in. When someone asks me “why Australia?” it is easy to answer: because of the vibrant lifestyle, the beauty, and the culture. But Brazil has all those features, doesn't it?
Yes and no… It is hard to compare these two marvellous countries, despite the fact there are huge differences between wealthy and poorer classes in my country town. Unfortunately, it affects the population negatively in terms of education and the quality of life. Perhaps this imbalance is the main reason Brazilians decide to live abroad and my parents understand this entirely.
Back to our trip, we got to Adelaide after about seven hours driving on a nice road with beautiful views. I noticed a few similarities between Melbourne and Adelaide, in particular, the contrast of modern and old architecture in both cities. We all loved the variety of products at the colourful Adelaide Central Market – good food and great prices!
Barossa Valley made me feel at home because of its vineyards and landscapes. South Brazil is also full of wineries and the quality of wine is pretty much the same. The difference is the main red grape, which in Australia is Shiraz, and in Brazil, Merlot.
We were all impressed with the quality and safety of the roads. Many traffic signs placed on roads help drivers and these were particularly helpful for us Brazilians (we’re still not used to driving on the other side of the road).
On the way back to Melbourne we stopped one night in Halls Gap, at the Grampians National Park. It was time to introduce my parents a bit more to Australia by spending some time playing with kangaroos. Actually, I was the most excited one because a kangaroo, who was already full, pushed me when I tried to come close to feed it. At least I amused everyone around. It is peculiar how these wild animals become so friendly with humans.
Later, in our accommodation, one cute kangaroo surprised us by joining our evening BBQ as if it was a dog or a cat. I could not tell it to help itself as we did not even have enough food for five!
From their experience in Australia, I am sure my parents got a sense of the freedom and happiness in this country as I spend every day living here. Travel for me is part of living.
There is nothing more exciting than being in a new place, to stay for a while learning about local traditions and to enrich one's cultural knowledge. I am grateful to have the opportunity to travel often and happy to have my family with me sharing the adventurous spirit of travel to unknown places around the world.
Denise Frizzo is a Brazilian journalist and Portuguese language teacher. She lives in Melbourne and writes about travel for 'The Brazilian Association for Social Development and Integration in Australia' (ABRISA Newspaper) as a volunteer. Her interests include travel, food, culture and language.
Denise Frizzo is a PhD candidate at Swinburne University of Technology and a Journalist volunteer at Brazilian Association in Melbourne – Abrisa. She is Brazilian and has been living in Melbourne since 2012. Her interests include migration, politics, language, culture and travel.
Sue Ellson
January 28, 2013 at 11:42 pm
Travelling in Australia
There is an expression that is well known in Australia – to blow away the cobwebs when you travel – this is how it is when you travel our vast countryside – a time to enjoy the fresh air, local hospitality and our big skies.
Many years ago I travelled between Adelaide and Perth – and could not believe how I could be deafened by the silence. It was truly incredible.
Happy trails to you Denise, Cristiano and family!
Sue Ellson
David5
December 3, 2013 at 12:53 pm
Australia is beautiful
Australia is a very beautiful coutry and it is the sixth largest country of the world by area. Moreover it is the wealthest country in the world. There are beautiful places around the whole country.
Tom
January 29, 2013 at 1:31 pm
Love your writing
Thanks for sharing your experience in Australia. I have been in this country for couple of years, and yes I agree the lifestyle, beauty and culture makes people love to stay.
JackWitson
July 5, 2013 at 7:28 am
Thanks for sharing
Your tips give a lot of ideas which is good, because most of the time I travel to different places. Thanks, I’ll be visiting again. Keep up the good work.
dineshkumarsme
July 9, 2013 at 11:19 am
Australia – Travelling in Singapore
Thank you for sharing your experience in Australia. Yes I agree the lifestyle & culture.I living in Australia.
Now i want to share my experience in Singapore. Last two months before, i went business trip in Singapore. I have contact SAEx, Singapore Tour Guide & provided a whole range of tourist related services such as tour guide, charter bus travel, hop on hop off bus tours, Hotel reservations, & etc., i saw a lot of tourist places like bird park, night safari Singapore zoo, science park, flyer, universal studios Singapore, botanical garden and temple in marriamman. But I liked My (Australia) Culture and Lifestyle. In Tourism, I liked Singapore only.
JackWitson
July 19, 2013 at 4:49 am
Thanks for sharing
Very notable article I would say, mixing the blend of Australia and the Brazil, so informative brillaint concept.
Albertsteve
November 2, 2013 at 1:40 pm
Traveling away from home can
Traveling away from home can be equally scary or delightful. On the one hand, it can mean leaving the comforts of home and security of knowing the area you are in. On the other hand, travel means getting to see new places and do new things. The outcome of a trip is often determined by the preparation and knowledge going in.
DavidHawk
December 28, 2013 at 9:19 am
This all depends on…
This all depends on our interests. If we are interested in traveling then it is fine for us. I just love to travel all over Australia.
NeerajShah
April 5, 2016 at 12:48 pm
Back to our trip, we got to
Back to our trip, we got to Adelaide after about seven hours driving on a nice road with beautiful views. I noticed a few similarities between Melbourne and Adelaide, in particular, the contrast of modern and old architecture in both cities. We all loved the variety of products at the colourful Adelaide Central Market – good food and great prices!