Comments by "Andy Dee" (@AndyViant) on "American Reacts to 50 Things That Are Only Possible In Australia" video.
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Snowstorms can happen in the Australian Alps even during mid summer, although very rare. Snow can also fall as far north as Brisbane, although it never seems to reach the ground here. Toowoomba gets snow too, enough to fall on the ground. Given that this is only 27 degrees south of the equator and not that high, it's rare and disappears quickly, but it certainly does happen. Uluru (Ayres Rock to some) also occasionally gets snow. In the middle of the desert.
Of course, prevailing temperatures except in the Alps mean that snow doesn't stay around very long. A good snow season in the Alps sees the best snow resorts keeping their snow cover for 4 - 5 months, but a really strong year can exceed 6 months. As high as 15 feet of snow can fall in some of the colder places during that time, although obviously some of it will melt during the days. Temperatures can fall as low as -10 farenheit.
If you're a skiier or snowboarder it is really expensive but a certainly unique experience, especially if you're out skiing and you can see kangaroos. A lot of the staff at Whistler are Aussie expats who work here during our ski season.
80% by the coast? Well Inland Australia is basically a high plateau and once you get up through the Great Dividing range temperatures tend to be a lot more extreme - colder in winter and hotter in summer. Droughts galore. Much of the inland is like Death Valley, so it's barely habitable, and full of the most venomous animals on the planet, too. There's very few big cities inland in Australia, in fact outside of the capital cities there's few cities over 100,000 people even on the coast too. Stick to the coasts to live, go see the bush on holiday is the rule of thumb.
As far as the beach scene goes, the size of some of these beaches has to be seen to be comprehended. There's the Coorong in South Australia, which is 140 miles long. 90 mile beach in Victoria, and it's named that way because it's 90 miles long. There's 80 mile beach in Western Australia and 75 mile beach in Queensland, because hey we have too many beaches to name and we used to use miles to measure distance.
Of course, many beaches are probably chokkers with sharks, sea snakes, jellyfish, blue ringed octopi, saltwater crocs and so on. Don't swim on jellyfish beaches during stinger season, or crocodile territory EVER. Salt water crocodiles are MUCH bigger than gators. Buy a wetsuit that isn't dark blue or black and the sharks and orcas PROBABLY won't confuse you with a delicious seal. Do your research first, and read the warning signs on any beach. Swim between the flags, too.
Melbourne was the richest city because of the huge amount of Gold found in Victoria in the 1850's. Look up Welcome Stranger nugget. Of course, back then the city was far from liveable. That changed late in the 19th century with a lot of slum clearance, and the 1880 Melbourne International Exhibition.
No Taco John, no Jack in The Box, Hardys etc. We do have some very rare Carls Jr and Taco Bell now. Taco Bell has attempted to launch here previously and failed. Australian tastes and American tastes are different and you will see plenty of American tourists critiquing KFC, Maccas, and Hungry Jacks/Burger King and saying that much of the Aussie Menu is better.
As you can see, we do have something like McDonalds. It's kinda the same, but we call it Maccas. The stores even use that name on a lot of their signs and promos, but it does have the golden arches. Wendy's is a LOT different too. We've got Starbucks, Subway, Domino's, Pizza Hut and so on, all with their little differences.
Failing that we have our own fast food chains too - Oporto, Red Rooster, Nando's, Guzman Y Gomez, Zambreros, La Porchetta, Miss India, Grill'd, Roll'd, Burger Urge, Noodle Box and so forth. What you'll notice is how many different cultural backgrounds we see there - Portugese to Vietnamese, Mexican to Indian.
Then of course there is the HSP or Halal Snack Pack, avaliable from most kebab shops. Combine hot chips (not fries, much thicker and crispier outside, soft and fluffy inside) with the meat of choice from a kebab, and covered in your choice of sauces. Some similarities to Carne Asada Fries or Poutine, yet very different and very multicultural Australian. Bliss.
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