Think of Australia and you might have an image of people enjoying the outdoors and putting another ‘shrimp on the barbie’.
The outside spaces are incredible. But that is only part of the story… The country’s favorite hobbies range from beach sports and long-distance hiking to afternoons at the cricket ground and evenings spent catching up with friends at local venues.
Many of the hobbies on this list have evolved with technology and found a whole new (often global) audience online. Together they paint a pretty interesting picture of what Australians enjoy doing when work is finished and the weekend rolls around.
Camping Fits The Australian Lifestyle
The outdoor vibe means that Australia almost seems built for camping.
There are stunning national parks and huge stretches of countryside. This means there is no shortage of places to park a campervan or pitch a tent.
Camping has also become far more comfortable than it once was.
Modern caravans often include kitchens run by solar panels. There are more comfortable beds and solutions to bring more home comforts. There’s enough technology to feel surprisingly close to home. A weekend away no longer has to mean giving up every modern convenience.
Pokies, Pub and Grub
It would be difficult to talk about Australian leisure without mentioning the humble pub. For generations, the local has been where Australians go to unwind — a place built as much around a parma and a cold beer as anything else. Pub and grub culture runs deep here, and for plenty of people, “meeting at the pub” is really shorthand for a proper feed with mates.
Walk into most pubs and entertainment venues around the country and you’ll find a similar formula: hearty food, a good beer garden, live sport on the big screen, and usually a gaming room tucked off to the side. Pokies have been a familiar sight in these venues for decades, sitting alongside the counter meals and trivia nights as just another part of the furniture. Catching up with friends over a schnitzel, sinking a few pints, and maybe feeding a few coins into a machine on the way to the bathroom — it’s a fairly ordinary combination of a Friday night for many Australians.
Pub food itself has come a long way from the days of a soggy chicken parma and a bowl of chips. Venues now compete on their menus as much as their atmosphere — think wood-fired pizzas, proper Sunday roasts, craft beer pairings, and kitchens run by chefs who take the “pub grub” title seriously. It’s become a hobby in its own right for a lot of people: chasing down the best steak sandwich in town, comparing parmas across suburbs, or making a weekend of visiting a new brewery pub.
The gaming side of pub culture has evolved too, if a little more quietly. People assume “pokies” just means poker machines, but the term has broadened to cover all kinds of slot games found on machines around the country. Instead of only playing in physical venues, plenty of people now also play Australian online pokies from home, opening a platform through a browser on a tablet or phone. With faster internet reaching even rural areas, it’s just another option sitting alongside the pub visit rather than replacing it — something to do after a big lunch out, rather than the reason for going out in the first place.
Whether it’s a counter meal, a beer garden catch-up, or a casual flutter on the pokies while waiting for the mains to arrive, pub culture in Australia has always been about the whole package — food, company, and a bit of fun on the side.
Cricket Is Almost A Way Of Life
Cricket is the sport that feels woven into Australian summers.
Back gardens become makeshift pitches. Parks fill with local teams. Cricket’s a unique game that can last for days. So the coverage often runs for hours as people leave matches playing in the background while barbecues sizzle outside.
Big Bash matches or the Australian international teams games can attract tens of thousands of spectators (many of the biggest cricket stadiums in the world are in Australia). Aussies compete with England for The Ashes every couple of years. Hundreds of thousands of people flock to watch the matches and reignite a rivalry started hundreds of years ago.
The same game can be enjoyed with a battered plastic bat and a few wheelie bins standing in as wickets. People go to their local parks and have a friendly competitive game.
Few sports bridge that gap quite so naturally.
Bushwalking Never Goes Out Of Fashion
Australia has some of the world’s most spectacular scenery. It is hardly surprising that bushwalking remains one of the country’s favourite hobbies.
There are rainforest trails in Queensland and rugged mountain walks in the Blue Mountains. We see dramatic coastal paths in Victoria and huge national parks stretching across the country.
The attraction is undeniable. Lots of people love the wide open spaces and the chance to escape busy towns for a while. There are opportunities for solo hikes or even stunning romantic getaways. There is something wonderfully uncomplicated about spending a day following a trail through the Australian landscape.
Life Is Never Far From The Water
Australians have always had a close relationship with the sea. A lot of the big cities in this massive country are close to the shore.
Surfing is definitely one thing people associate with the country. There are also other hobbies like paddleboarding that can be as relaxed or competitive as people wish.
Australia’s coastline offers easy access to coral reefs and some unbelievable underwater scenery that are not easy to find in most countries. These are some of the most popular attractions the country offers. Plenty of people travel halfway around the world to enjoy the Great Barrier Reef or other snorkeling opportunities.
