G'Day Mate! Happy Australia Day! - All Kids Can Travel

G’day mate! Tomorrow commemorates Australia Day. We thought we’d take this opportunity to get your kids familiar with some fun facts. Australia is a place for everyone to explore with its diverse landscape, unique animals, and culture. What are some of the things that we could learn?

So what is Australia Day?

It’s their National Holiday also referred to as “Anniversary Day” or “Foundation Day”. January 26, 1788, marked proclamation of British Sovereignty, they were then known as New Holland.

Australia Facts

Australia is the sixth largest country in the world with a population of 24.8 million. Desert landscape covers two-thirds of the country called the Outback, not the restaurant. It is also home to the biggest coral reef in the world, The Great Barrier Reef in Eastern Australia.

Australian Language

Their Language is English, but they do have funny sayings and expressions. Like these:

G’day Mate – Hello

Buggered – Exhausted

Brolly – Umbrella

Chockers – Filled to the top

Crikey – An expression of mild surprise.

Animals of Australia

If your kids are anything like mine, they love the show Wild Kratts, which is all about animals. Well, it’s guaranteed that Australia will be on our bucket list. They are home to some crazy cool animals. Australia houses more than 10% of the worlds’s animals and plant varieties. Sam and I picked our top 10 for your kids.

Kangaroo – It’ a marsupial which means it carries its babies around in a pouch. There babies are called Joey’s. Not be confused with a Wallaby, which is a smaller member of the kangaroo family.

kangaroo, australia, australia day, outback — Photo by Fidel Fernando on Unsplash

Wombats – Also marsupials, but interestingly their pouch faces backwards so when they dig burrows with their rodent teeth they don’t get dirt in their pouch.

Koala – I love them! I just want to give those fuzzy little ears a kiss. They can sleep up to 20 hours because of their leafy eucalyptus diet is low in calories. Can I be a Koala for a day, I need the sleep.

koala, australia — Photo by David Clode on Unsplash

Sugar Glider – Amazing little creatures that glide through the air like flying squirrels. I didn’t know it was actually a nocturnal gliding possum.

Taipan – Australia is home to this guy which is the most venomous land snake found.

Thorny Dragon – Only species found in Australia. It’s thorny exterior is perfect for battling off predators.

Goana – Largest living lizard found on Earth

Tasmanian devil – Not the kind from the cartoons. They pack a wallop with the strongest bite.

Echidna – Spiny anteaters that are the rarest in the world.

Dingo – We just love just saying that word. They are wild dogs. The earliest dingo fossil found dating back 3,450 years.

Now these cool animals have to get you excited about the country of Australia. Between Crocodile Hunter and Wild Kratts we love our animals.

What Do They Eat in Australia?

Some of the very popular Australian Food would be:

Chicken Parmigiana -I was surprised by this one. Great Pub food. Chicken in bread crumbs covered in tomato sauce and cheese.
Lamington – A sponge cake covered in chocolate sauce or raspberry sauce which is then rolled in coconut! Yum! This one screams my name.
Barramundi – Large scale river fish, the Aussie version of Sea Bass
Meat pie – Not the type of pie you’d imagine. Usually stuffed with minced meat, gravy, mushrooms, onions and cheese.
Pavlova – A meringue cake base topped with whipped cream and fruit. They believe they are the inventors.