Lifestyle

Introductory Snapshot

Ask anyone and they'll tell you that it's not hard to live the good life in Australia. It's easy to eat well, with just about any cuisine in the world being available and fresh produce on offer year-round. It's easy to get around the country's cities and towns using world-class public transport. And it's easy to shop to your heart's content, in small country markets to big city shopping strips. Best of all, it's all doable on a student budget.

Food

Australia is one of the most dynamic places in the world to eat, thanks to international culinary influences and a dining public willing to give anything new a go. Anything another country does, Australia does too. Vietnamese, Indian, Fijian, Italian – no matter where it's from, there are expats and locals keen to cook and eat the cuisine. Due to the country’s huge size, the climate varies a great deal from north to south. This means that at any time of the year there's an enormous variety of produce on offer, including Australia’s justifiably famous seafood.

Food tourism and food festivals are blossoming. Melbourne, for instance, has its own month-long food-and-wine festival in March. There are harvest festivals in wine regions, and various communities hold annual events, such as Clare Valley's (South Australia) Gourmet Weekend.

Christmas in Australia, in mid-summer, is less likely to involve a traditional European baked dinner, and more likely to be replaced by a ‘barbie’ (barbecue), full of seafood and quality steak. Various ethnic groups have their own celebrations. The Indian community brings out delicious sweets during Diwali; the Chinese annual Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) involves sumptuous banquets; and Australia’s Islamic community marks the end of Ramadan with the festival of Eid al-Fitr.

Typically, a restaurant meal in Australia is a relaxed affair. Any table that you've booked is yours for the night, unless you're told otherwise. A competitively priced place to eat is a club or pub that offers a 'counter meal'. Here you order at the kitchen, take a number and wait until it's called. You then pick up the meal yourself, saving the restaurant money on staff and you on your total bill.

A great feature of the restaurant scene, which also makes eating out less expensive, is 'BYO' (Bring Your Own). If a restaurant says it's BYO, you're allowed to bring your own alcohol. If the place also sells alcohol, the BYO is usually limited to bottled wine only (no beer, no casks) and a corkage charge is often added to your bill.

See the individual state/city guides on this website for recommendations of some of the best places to eat and drink in Australia's capital cities.

Transport

Australian cities have excellent public (and private) transport systems, making travelling around them simple. Following is a breakdown of how best to get around in each capital city:

Sydney

For information on buses, ferries and trains call Transport Infoline: 13 15 00 or visit the website at: www.131500.com.au/

Bus – Sydney's bus network extends to most suburbs. Fares depend upon the number of 'sections' you pass through. As a rough guide, short trips cost $1.60 and most other fares in the inner suburbs are $2.70. For more information, visit the website at: www.sydneybuses.info/

Ferry – Sydney's ferries provide the most enjoyable way to get around the harbour. There are three kinds of ferry: regular STA ferries, fast JetCats that go to Manly ($7.90) and RiverCats that traverse the Parramatta River to Parramatta ($7.40). All ferries depart from Circular Quay. For more information, call 02 9207 3166 or visit the website at: www.sydneyferries.info/

Metro Light Rail & Monorail – The Monorail and Metro Light Rail are good means of transport within the centre. The Monorail circles Darling Harbour and links it to the city centre. The MLR operates 24 hours a day between Central Station and Pyrmont via Darling Harbour and Chinatown. For more information on Monorail call 02 9285 5600 or visit the website at: www.metrotransport.com.au and for Metro Light Rail call 02 9285 5600 or visit the website at: www.metrotransport.com.au

Train – Sydney has a vast suburban rail network and frequent services, making trains much quicker than buses. Trains run from around 5am to midnight. For more information visit the website at: www.cityrail.info/

Melbourne

For bus, train and tram timetables, maps and fares call the Met Information Centre on 13 16 38 or by visiting the website at: www.metlinkmelbourne.com.au Metcards allow you to travel on any and all Melbourne bus, train and tram services, even if you transfer from one to another.

Bicycle – Melbourne's a great city for cycling, as it's reasonably flat and there are good routes throughout the metropolitan area. Two of the best are the bike path that runs around the shores of Port Phillip Bay from Port Melbourne to Brighton, and the bike path that follows the Yarra River from the city for more than 20km.

Bus – Generally, buses continue from where the trains finish, or go to places, such as hospitals, universities, suburban shopping centres and the outer suburbs, not reached by other services.

Train – Suburban trains are faster than trams or buses, but they don't go to many of the inner suburbs. Flinders St station is the main suburban terminal. During the week, trains start at 5am and finish at midnight.

Tram – Melbourne's trundling trams cover the city and inner suburbs. Tram stops are numbered from the city centre. There are also 'light rail' services to some suburbs, including St Kilda, which run along disused rail lines. Be extremely careful when getting on and off a tram; by law, cars are supposed to stop when a tram stops to pick up and drop off passengers, but that doesn't always happen.

Brisbane

Brisbane boasts a world-class public transport network. Information on bus, train and ferry routes and connections can be obtained from the Trans-Info Service on 13 12 30 or by visiting the website at: www.transinfo.qld.gov.au/

Boat – Brisbane's nippy blue CityCat catamarans run every 20 to 30 minutes, between 5:50am and 10:30pm, from the University of Queensland in the southwest to Bretts Wharf in the northeast, and back. Also useful are the Inner City Ferries, which zigzag back and forth across the river between North Quay, near Victoria Bridge, and Mowbray Park.

Bus – The Loop, a free bus service that circles the city area, runs every 10 minutes on weekdays between 7:00am and 6:00pm. Other buses run every 10 to 20 minutes Monday to Friday, from 5:00am till about 6:00pm, and with the same frequency on Saturday morning (starting at 6:00am). Services are less frequent at other times, and cease at 7:00pm Sunday and midnight on other days.

Train – The fast Citytrain network has seven lines, which run as far as Gympie North in the north (for the Sunshine Coast) and Nerang and Robina in the south (for the Gold Coast). All trains go through Roma St, Central and Brunswick St stations.

Perth

Transperth operates the city's public buses, trains and ferries. A single ticket allows you to travel on all forms of transport. For more information call 13 62 13 or visit the website at: www.transperth.wa.gov.au/

Boat – Ferries depart every half-hour, on the hour, from 7:00am to 7:00pm daily from the Barrack St Jetty to the zoo.

Bus – You can get to most sights in the inner city with the free CAT bus services in the city centre, running from 6:50am to 6:20pm on weekdays. There's a bit of a longer wait on weekends. On regular buses, a short ride within one zone is $3.00, two zones $3.20 and three zones $5.00. Zone 1 covers the inner suburbs (including Subiaco and Claremont) and Zone 2 extends all the way west to Fremantle.

Train – Transperth also operates the Fastrak suburban train lines to Armadale, Fremantle, Midland and the northern suburb of Joondalup. There's free train travel (in the free transit zone) between the Claisebrook and City West train stations. All local trains leave from the Perth train station on Wellington St.

Adelaide

The Adelaide Metro Information Centre (cnr King William & Currie Sts) has timetables and sells tickets for the integrated metropolitan buses, trains and the Glenelg tram. For more information call tel 08 8210 1000 or visit the website at: www.adelaidemetro.com.au/

Bus – Bee Line (No 99B) runs in a loop from the Glenelg tram terminus at Victoria Sq to the City West campus of the University of South Australia. City Loop (No 99C) runs clockwise and anti-clockwise around the margins of the city centre from the train station, passing the Central Market en route. Both Bee Line and City Loop buses are free.

Train – Suburban trains depart from Adelaide Railway Terminal, by the Casino. For more information call 08 8210 1000.

Darwin

Bus – Darwinbus (City Bus Interchange, Harry Chan Ave) runs a comprehensive service from its small depot, for more information call 08 8924 7666. The Tour Tub minibus tours Darwin's sights throughout the day and you can hop on and off along the route. For more information call 08 8985 6322 or visit the website at: www.tourtub.com.au

Taxi – As well as a regular taxi service, Darwin has two taxi bus services – Arafura Shuttle and Unique Minibus – that will take you anywhere in the central area for a flat $3.00 ($5.00 for two people), and elsewhere, such as Fannie Bay and East Point, for a fixed fee. For a regular taxi service call13 10 08, for Arafura Shuttle call 08 8981 3300 and for Unique Minibus call 08 8928 1100.

Hobart

Bus – Metro operates the local bus network; there's an information desk dispensing timetables inside the main post office on the corner of Elizabeth and Macquarie Sts. One-way fares vary according to the distance travelled (from $1.50 to $3.40). For $3.90 you can buy an unlimited-travel Day Rover ticket that can be used after 9:00am Monday to Friday, and all day Saturday, Sunday and public holidays. For more information call 13 22 01 or visit the website at: www.metrotas.com.au

Canberra

Bus – Canberra's public transport provider is the ACT Internal Omnibus Network (ACTION). The main Civic Bus Interchange is along Alinga St, East Row and Mort St in the city centre. Visit the information kiosk (East Row) or visit the website for free route maps and timetables. For more information call 13 17 10 or visit the website at: www.action.act.gov.au/

Canberra Day Tours operates a hop-on, hop-off bus service that loops around major attractions. Tickets ($35.00 for an adult) are valid for 24 hours. For more information call 0418 455 099 or visit the website at: http://www.canberradaytours.com.au/

Shopping

Australians like to shop, as evidenced by the huge variety of local- and international-brand shops, and the crowds that gather at every clearance sale. Big cities can satisfy most consumer appetites with everything from high-fashion boutiques to second-hand emporiums, while many smaller places tend towards speciality retail, be it home-grown produce, antiques or arts and crafts. Many Australian cities have really interesting shopping (and eating) strips in different neighbourhoods, especially in the inner suburbs. Be sure to check out places like Brunswick St, Fitzroy (Melbourne), Oxford St, Paddington (Sydney), Ann & Brunswick Sts intersection, Fortitude Valley (Brisbane) and Oxford St, Leederville (Perth).

Markets are a great place to shop, especially for a bargain, and most cities have at least one permanent bazaar, such as Hobart's Salamanca Market. Melbourne and Sydney have a couple – try the Queen Victoria Market in Melbourne or the Paddington Market in Sydney. Alternative markets on the New South Wales north coast, such as the one at Nimbin, are also worth a visit.

An Aboriginal artwork or artefact can be an excellent souvenir of Australia. By buying authentic items you are supporting Aboriginal culture and helping to ensure that traditional and contemporary expertise and designs continue to be of economic and cultural benefit for Aboriginal individuals and their communities. The best way to buy artefacts is either directly from the communities that have art-and-craft centres or from galleries and outlets that are owned, operated or supported by Aboriginal communities. Other great ideas for souvenirs include the seeds of native plants – try growing kangaroo paw back home (check your country’s quarantine rules). You could also consider a bottle of fine Australian wine, honey or delicious macadamia nuts.

Modern Australian fashion collections that are in demand include Collette Dinnigan, Ty & Melita, Morrissey, Sass & Bide, Tsubi and Akira Isogawa. For a rustic look, try wrapping yourself in a waterproof Driza-Bone coat, an Akubra hat, moleskin pants and Blundstone boots; RM Williams is a well-known bush-clothing brand. Surf-wear labels such as Rip Curl, Quiksilver, Mambo and Billabong also make good buys.