“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” (Colossians 3:12, NIV)

We are planning to visit Australia, and as we are going through the planning stages, we are learning that Australia is quite different from Canada. In Sydney, for example, we have been advised that if we can avoid using a car, it’s way better. Instead we can use an Opal card to access the local busses and trains, and once we are finished in Sydney, we will rent a car to visit other parts of Australia.

We’re also learned that rental cars in Australia come worth some unusual rules: We cannot drive the car from dusk to dawn, for example. This is, of course, for our own safety, as the “roos” (Australian for kangaroo), along with other wildlife, tend to take over the roads at dusk.  As the Australians say (Kangaroos) and other animals take over the roads. However, we can, apparently,  drive the rental car in the cities after dark, for the wildlife tends to avoid the cities for singe reason.

Another rule about rental cars is that we cannot use them on”unsealed” (australian for unpaved) roads. And apparently this will limit our sightseeing, as there are apparently many unsealed roads in Australia…

It is also quite interesting that rental car companies don’t like to have their cars on ferries. We have to get their special permission. We also have permission to take a rental car onto Kangaroo Island, and in car of accident on the island,  we are liable, even if we had coverage.

There is way more examples, but you get the idea. As this is our first trip to Australia, we had a lot of questions. I have emailed so many Visitor Centers, and everyone has been so courteous and helpful. At one time, the clerk at the Visitor’s Center on Kangaroo Island asked me where we were staying. She told us not to depend on google maps for diving times, but that we would need to add 20 minutes to all the driving times on the island. Then she proceeded to tell me exactly how long it would take to get from point A tho point B.

Sometimes we can’t tell if a road is sealed or not. Again on Kangaroo Island, there is a place called the “Little Sahara”, with huge dunes, perfect for sliding. However, the last kilometer of the road is not sealed. We told her we would walk, and she responded with,  “Incidental exercise is the best!  Enjoy your time on KI and visiting the little Sahara!”

Through email we have made friends half a wield away. That is so cool!

Not everyone is that open. Some rental cars like to focus on accidents. They say,  for example,  “If you have an accident, even if it isn’t your fault, we will withdraw 4,500$ from you credit card.” However, we prefer to focus on the myriads of people who are so nice to us.

Yes, it is a bit scary to go to a country that is quite different than ours, but at the same time we are excited to learn about their culture.

I am also quite excited about some of their churches. I will be able to learn quite a lot about worship in Australia. Wow! I can’t wait!

No matter where we go, we will find people who are genuinely nice. May we be like them as well, at all times.

Rob Chaffart