Outlier, I suppouse it has to do with where they're made? I'm not sure. Ugg boots are Aussie made, or at least used to be - not sure what country owns them now. I hope it's still an Aussie product. I'm not happy when other countries (namely America) buy us out.

I love Clarks shoes (they're so comfy and nice looking) and they are extremely expensive here in America. Probably because they're imports like Converse are over there?

I think Clarks are expensive anywhere because they're well made with real leather.

I hope it's still an Aussie product. I'm not happy when other countries (namely America) buy us out.

That's terrible! Well, I'm going to do my part by going out of my way not to buy anything Australian, and hopefully that will decrease demand and thus make it unpalatable to consider buying said companies out. I'm going to miss lamb meat, but I'm willing to give you all the support I can with this! With any good luck, perhaps some other country will be willing to buy those companies out and then we can all have a hearty chuckle together at the end of the day.

Aha! Shadowlander, I expect you are joking. How would you know which product is made in Australia and which isn't? Globalisation can mean products, especially complicated items like cars, can have components from all over the world? German design, Japanese or Korean body, nuts and bolts from somewhere else, rear-view mirror from yet another place, brake pads from a third country, and all put together in an Australian factory. Or some other similar arrangement. There might be an Australian gadget or invention lurking just about anywhere.

You might even have a koala or a kangaroo in a zoo near you. You wouldn't visit the zoo and not visit poor Skippy because he/she is Australian, would you?

Does anyone do their groceries online, and how do they find it as a method of shopping, as opposed to going to a supermarket? In what state do the goods arrive, for example? I know online grocery shopping is possible, but haven't tried it.

You might even have a koala or a kangaroo in a zoo near you. You wouldn't visit the zoo and not visit poor Skippy because he/she is Australian, would you?

HaHaHa Every time I went to the zoo "Skippy" was always sleeping! What kind of animals do you have in your zoos? We have normal stuff like elephants and rhinos and lions ans stuff like that. I don't like zoos very much the animals they don't smell very nice.

We have many different animals in zoos here. Many of the zoos specialize in different animals. We have crocodiles, fairy penguins, tiger cubs, polar bears, emus, kangaroos, koalas, wombats, all types of birds, a huge reptile enclosure that has cages which include venomous and non-venomous snakes, goannas, frill-neck lizards, blue-tongue lizards and many other species of lizard. Suprisingly, there is a lot of different types of lizard

To anyone from Engand, do you really speak as politely as you are portrayed in movies? I mean, do teenagers still say 'oh my gosh' and 'awesome'?

I think Shadowlander is joking - he's a funny man! I was referring to specifically Australia products like Ugg boots, Akubras, Vegemite etc.

StrawberryLicorice, you have goannas and frilled-neck lizards in your zoos? Awesome! We don't have them here but we have the rest. I used to love the zoo as a child but now I just feel so sorry for all the animals, they look so depressed. Monarto Zoo, just past Murray Bridge (SA) is very good though. They have their animals roaming the plains in a similar manner to Africa (except with fences and the fact that it's based in South Australia.

I don't know what English movies you watch, but in the movies I've seen, it's more likely that British teenagers will generally swear more than Americans. The overly polite talk is probably more of a stereotype than anything else but I'll let Shatih set me straight.

I used to love the zoo as a child but now I just feel so sorry for all the animals, they look so depressed.

I though the same when I went to the zoo last summer. All those poor animals that we are paying to look at. I wonder how they feel about that?

We have many different animals in zoos here. Many of the zoos specialize in different animals. We have crocodiles, fairy penguins, tiger cubs, polar bears, emus, kangaroos, koalas, wombats, all types of birds, a huge reptile enclosure that has cages which include venomous and non-venomous snakes, goannas, frill-neck lizards, blue-tongue lizards and many other species of lizard. Suprisingly, there is a lot of different types of lizard

Do yall have those zoos that you drive through and feed the animals that come up to your car? Those are so much fun! The only animal that we would not feed was the really big scary birds who bite. You open you car windows and you feed them special food that you buy at the gift shop. They animals pretty much roam free. That was the only zoo I liked!

Heh Of course I'm joking. I would like to try vegemite out one time, although I get equal reports of its being gross or delicious. I'm told it's "vegetable matter" in a jar. What's the truth on that? Who knew we had so many Men At Work fans here?

Ah yes, Shadowlander, the Vegemite debate. Basically Vegemite is a concentrated yeast extract, that is fat-free, and which has become an Australian dietary staple. According to the label on the jar, Vegemite is particularly rich in the following vitally important Vitamin B groups, such as Riboflavin, Niacin and Thiamine. Unfortunately, it also contains 8% Sodium.

Vegemite sandwiches, however boring a school lunch they are, don't promote salmonella poisoning, unlike ham or chicken sandwiches. Unlike USA or UK schools, apart from the usual money-raising school canteen, food is not provided at our local schools, so students have to bring their own tucker.

Vegemite on toast is a breakfast standby, which is particularly good for those people who have butterflies in their tummies, who are facing a long journey (travel sickness) or who are recovering from nausea or an upset stomach. It is often the only thing that desperate parents can rest assured their children will eat when on holidays, staying at motels, especially overseas.

I expect that you are familiar with MacDonalds over there in the States. Our version of MacDonalds in Oz does breakfast meals which include toasted English muffins or even toast, if you prefer. Including the usual tiny sachets of Vegemite to put on them with butter or margarine, as an alternative to jam or marmalade. I have it on good authority that at various times, overseas visitors have tried to spoon Vegemite onto their breakfast cereal or tried to eat a spoonful neat, both ideas being somewhat disastrous.

I used to love the zoo as a child but now I just feel so sorry for all the animals, they look so depressed.

....

Do yall have those zoos that you drive through and feed the animals that come up to your car? Those are so much fun! The only animal that we would not feed was the really big scary birds who bite. You open you car windows and you feed them special food that you buy at the gift shop. They animals pretty much roam free. That was the only zoo I liked!

At Taronga Western Plains Zoo, yes you can drive through the animal compounds where the animals can roam free in their areas. This zoo at Dubbo in NSW's west, where there is plenty of room for animals to roam, is a long-standing government establishment, like its sister establishment, Taronga Park Zoo, in Sydney.

I did go to Taronga Park a few times quite recently, and found they had reorganised the cages and areas, landscaping the tigers' den so that they had the perception of more room to move in than they did, and putting play equipment into a den adjacent to the monkeys' cage so that they were quite as well equipped for young primate brains than some pre-school facilities here. The tigers were behind perspex barriers, not bars, and I had to laugh when one of their number did what male tigers, in particular, do very well, mark their territory against the perspex barriers, right in viewers' faces.

Melbourne Zoo has long been proud of its gorilla inhabitants, whilst Adelaide Zoo has become the host of a Chinese Panda or two. I agree that I have seen depressed-looking animals, like polar bears, marooned in Australia's heat. But otherwise, I am reasonably satisfied that there are enough regulations and inspections to see that in Australia, at least, to ensure that the animals are well-cared for in our zoos.

Well thanks for the answers on that Wagga. I guess I have two all-encompassing questions for ya' then.

1. What's vegemite taste like?
2. What's it look like?

And is there anything we might have over here in the States that might compare to it? And if it's some sort of yeast extract, would that make it taste something akin to bread? Please forgive me, it's something I've always been curious about but have never had anyone actually explain to me before.

I agree that I have seen depressed-looking animals, like polar bears, marooned in Australia's heat.

You know, there were polar bears on Lost Island too. They were CG polar bears, of course, but still...and one tried to eat Walt. "Waaalt! Waaaaalt!". Sorry, Lost reference.

Shadowlander, no worries mate, you can never have too many Lost references.
I suppose I was talking mostly about the polar bears and other animals that are adverse to Australian weather. No doubt they're well looked after but I can't help thinking they'd love to be free. That said, they probably wouldn't know what to do with it.

What does Vegemite taste like? Hmm... it's hard to describe. The spreading is rather salty and has a smooth texture not unlike butter (I don't know what would be a comparable taste that you guys eat). Vegemite is like a salty version of Marmite, but that reference is only helpful to the British and Aussies. What does it look like? Let's just say it's not visually appealing. It looks more or less like smoothed axle grease (black as pitch) but it tastes better.

Wagga, yes, we have red panadas at our zoo. They're awesome! I've visited Dubbo Zoo and really enjoyed it. I haven't tried Taronga Zoo though.

Vegemite is awesome.

Foreigners make the mistake if trying to eat it out of the jar with a spoon, which will only make you sick. I only eat it on my toast in the morning, which is delicious. The taste is quite hard to explain, but the appearance is rather like an un-runny nutella. I've heard that they use nutella in movies when the actors have to eat the supposed vegemite from the jar.

As for the English teenagers, I am quite aware of the 'chavs' and such. I just meant that in movies, the higher class kids never seem to say 'but' or 'like'. Is this too steriotypical or do some English teens actually speak this properly?

Thanks for all the info on Vegemite. I don't know how I'll get my mitts on a jar of it, but I'm willing to give it a go.

Shantih, quick question for you. I see sometimes on TV shows and the movies that there's a large white Ferris wheel in London (I'm guessing by the Thames). Have you ever ridden on it?