Australian Hospitality

Originally Published on March 15, 2024 under the title "New Friends"

Australia has a similar reputation to Canada when it comes to friendliness*. Since we have been here for three weeks now, we would say it goes further than simple friendliness.

The people we have met while in Sydney have been gracious, interested (and themselves interesting), enthusiastic and deeply helpful. 

There’s been many smaller interactions that have left us with very positive impressions, such as Amo, who sold us our Hilux, or even a couple we rented an Airbnb from who gave us their personal parking pass to a garage while we were at their apartment (this might not sound like a big deal… But if you understand the dire parking conditions in the congested areas of Sydney, you get a it.) 

But the reason we’re posting about this now is because of our experience on Monday. 

After a quick breakfast overlooking Sydney Harbor (some of those credit card points at work) we headed off across the bridge to the north side of Sydney. At 10:30 we met a couple named Michael and Anne who Ethan met online via the Grenadier Forum. Car nerd. 

They graciously provided a nice starting point for places to visit while heading towards Melbourne from Sydney. Anne is from Victoria so she was telling us about some of her favorite spots growing up as a kid in the region. Michael loaded us up into his INEOS Grenadier and took us around Mosman, showing us old fortifications that were built in the 1800s. During WWII, these fortifications and batteries were put back into use, even firing upon Imperial Japan’s midget submarines during the attack on Sydney Harbor. 

Then, Michael, who is an electrical engineer, ran through some methods for Tori and I to properly wire up our refrigerator in our truck as to not kill the main truck battery. We wrapped up by chatting about Jackson Hole where they have skied several times, as well as various other adventures. They often do long (like really long— 250+ Km) walks through the alps or outback. Pretty impressive. After some thank you’s and well wishes, we were off. 

We grabbed some salads and schnitzel from a nearby grocer and ate lunch at a park Michael suggested overlooking the bay. 

That afternoon, we visited with Jamie, a connection we had made a couple of weeks earlier through Ethan’s parents. 

When we arrived, Jamie greeted us with a big smile and a pile of equipment: tow straps, fuel can, maps, traction boards (used to get out of sand and mud) and a large air compressor. He generously loaned us all of this equipment for our journey, and we hope we don’t need to use the tow strap. 

After gifting us some of his very own honey, we sat down to look through his own book and photos from a similar 8-month trip he did during Covid with his wife and a couple of friends. We took notes about parks, landmarks, campsites and cattle stations and enjoyed stories from his trip of meeting all kinds of folks along the way. 

As we leave Sydney for the time being, we take with us all of the tips, experiences and suggestions that has been shared with us while we were there. We’re very thankful for the hospitality we have enjoyed this far given to us by some wonderful people. 

Now, just some housekeeping. The HiLux now was a name— “Sheila,” taken from Crocodile Dundee. Worth seeing the movie if you haven’t. Humor similar to Airplane, but less outrageous. 

P. S. 

Since we wrote the first part of this message, we stopped into a bait shop to ask about fishing spots and techniques. When the folks there heard we were headed for Melbourne, they told us about the great squid fishing there. Squid fishing... right. Odd to us, but totally normal here—Actually a popular activity. They threw in a few squid fishing lures for free. 

Yep, great people here. 

*Leslie read that and commented that she always thought the Irish were stereotypically friendly, not Canadians... Tori and Ethan thought they were stereotypically quick to anger...

Tori and her catch of the day: a Smooth Toad fish, of the pufferfish family.