Tourist praises Australia after spotting 'cool' detail at busy beach
An estimated seven million people touch down here every year, and many are stunned by unique Aussie features, as was the case this week.
Learning how other cultures do things is one of the great pleasures of travelling. In Australia, we see an estimated seven million people touch down on our shores each and every year, and that number continues to swell.
Though we're not quite at the level we were prior to the pandemic, tourists are again flocking Down Under to experience the Aussie way of life, and see all the wonderful things we've got on offer.
One such traveller, a Canadian national touring Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast, was amazed to find a "cool" facility along the beachfront that he'd never heard of, but for Australians, it's part of our national identity — the humble public barbecue.
Canadian impressed Australia's 'cool' public amenities
Posting a video online, Josiah Hein boasted to his followers how locals "are really being taken care of" in Australia, describing all the "free ammenities" we're given in public spaces. "In Australia, they provide free barbecues for people, they can just press a button and it's like an electric barbecue," Hein began in his vlog.
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"I'm at the beach right here, there's waves and stuff and you literally just press the button and it turns on, heats up and you can cook your meat on that surface. Picnic tables — even hot water. They're providing free hot water!"
Clearly astonished, Hein went on to explain that he found our public amenities "kinda cool" , particularly in comparison to other countries he'd toured.
"Cruising down the Californian coast a year ago, it felt like there was none of that," he said. "Australia is really taking care of the public I think, in these parklands and beachlands (sic) — it's pretty amazing here, bro, damn."
Have your say
Gold Coast mayor weighs in
Not the only one fond of Surfers Paradise and it's public amenities, Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate also weighed in, echoing many of Hein's views. Speaking to Yahoo News Australia, Tate said there are almost 500 free barbecues across the city.
"With our fantastic weather why wouldn't Gold Coasters and visitors want to do everything outdoors including cooking up snags for lunch," he told Yahoo. "It seems un-Australian to charge our community to use them. We have almost 500 barbecues across the City and they are serviced 7 days a week to keep them sparkling every day."
While it's true Australians love to make the most of public facilities, many online respondents to the video pointed out it's what our council rates and tax dollars are put towards.
"Nothing is free in Australia, we pay council rates," one person said. "We may have high taxes/rates but the amount of things that we get in return is well worth it in comparison to other countries," another argued.
A third person joked that it gets so hot here "you don't even need to turn barbecues on" to use them.
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