Everyday I seem to walk by a hundred souvenir shops. Struggling to find something touristy has never crossed my mind, so today I went in search of an Australian sticker to add to my (extremely) limited travel collection. This was inspired by my recent post The sticker on my laptop. I had a wander around Circular Quay and The Rocks as these are easily two of the most tourist-friendly areas of the city.
I couldn’t find a great sticker anywhere.
I found some good ones, but none that really stood out. I looked for koalas and kangaroos (I know many of you wanted this as my choice!) however the ones I found looked very cheap and pretty bland. I guess tourists simply want a sticker of a kangaroo and they will always be bought by passers by, so quality is not an issue for the seller. I looked in convenience stores, tourist information centers and everything in between. What originally looked like too much choice turned out to be not much choice at all.
So I found one place in the CBD. I like the look of it, so I bought it.
I was hoping for a kangaroo with the flag on it, however I didn’t see a cool enough kangaroo. I was also tempted by a couple of aboriginal style designs, however I haven’t researched aboriginal culture enough to know whether what I had bought was a true reflection of their art. I am sure it wouldn’t look good if I was to promote aboriginal art and be so far from what it is. It is much easier to admit ignorance here.
I also like the shape of Australia. There aren’t too many countries in the world able to boast about not having to share borders, we Brits can (for now, who knows if we will break apart one day) but for an island the size of Australia, that is pretty special. There also aren’t too many countries in the world that bother displaying the outline of their nation on stickers or t-shirts. Going back to Texas, which isn’t a nation (yet 😉 ), this is a state that really enjoys displaying their borders wherever they can. It is a unique shape that is easy to remember, an interesting article on this can be read here. Whether the state border is used for breakfast waffles or as the layout of a local swimming pool, the shape is used everywhere. I like that some places use their geographical layout and this is why I like this new sticker.
What do you think? As I grow my collection, I will try to find a sticker different to the last. I guess I will have to find stickers that are smaller to fit… maybe have sizes that are relative to the length of time I stayed in the country. Both US and Australia are year long stays, so these are accurate so far.
Looks great.
Thanks! Great to hear from someone else 🙂
Awesome! I collect flag pins, but more often than not I have to order them online when I get back, haha! I also collect postcards and keep them with other souvenirs like maps, tickets, rail cards, etc.
Haha, I’m sure the ones you order are as good if not better quality than the ones you could have bought at the time! Postcards are nice, romantic and old fashioned, although they are still sent quite a lot by guests in the hotel I work at! I have tried to keep rail cards and tickets etc… Although I worry how long they will last. I need somewhere that will preserve them for life haha
Looks good to me 😊
Thanks! I’m happy with that 🙂
I think it’s great!
Thanks for your words of appreciation! 😀
All made in China. You need to venture out to towns and buy Made in Australia stuff.
I buy my gifts from here
http://www.stonehousegallery.com/
They are in Melbourne .
There must be some in Sydney?
Possibly, I’ll take a look. Everything is made in China! I probably was xD
I don’t mind if it’s just a sticker, however if I buy an actual gift, I’ll try to buy an authentic and Australian made one.
Thanks for the link.
I buy stickers when I travel and do try to find good quality ones because I put them on my water bottles and travel coffee mugs. I also buy art whenever I can because looking at a piece hanging on my wall always takes me right back to the country where I bought it. I look at buying stickers and art as an adventure and I usually find perfect pieces 🙂 Good luck with your stickers!
Nice 🙂 Art is a good one, I think when I finally find a permanent place to live I will consider that more. I bought a lovely deck of cards in Sao Paolo with individual pieces of art on each card, I can’t wait to display that at some point!
I bet those cards are gorgeous!
They are, and the best thing was that there were a few varieties of decks. It really made them pretty unique!
For some reason when you posted about your Texas sticker, I thought you had more stickers. But I’m loving your Australia one! I think you should try to stick with country or state-shape on it. I personally collect postcards and I’m going to put them up on a dedicated wall when I manage to settle into a life 🙂
Yeah, I should have more haha, I will soon! I will be willing to consider that… I’ll see if I can find more of the same. The thing is, some nations will be harder to find stickers of this nature for. We shall see!
I hope your wall collection develops nicely when you start it 🙂
Glad you found a sticker you like! How much longer are you in Australia for?
Thanks! I’m here until September, longer if I do the 3 months farm work. I’m still considering this 🙂
Oh that must be an amazing experience!!!!
It is! It’s a country that you really need a good amount of time to explore. I will keep exploring and blogging updates!
Yay!
Maybe you will eventually run across a smaller kangaroo or koala sticker you could add to the edges of the Aussie one.
Yeah, at least I can add to it if I wish 🙂
Hi Sam, Why no consideration of a British sticker? Vince
Hey Vince! I guess it’s because I am from there, so I have only thought about the places I will travel to and collecting stickers on my travels. I would like to have one though, as I think the Union Flag is the best looking flag in the world! Next time I’m in the UK 🙂
Good point about the shape of countries! I never thought about its uniqueness, having grown up and seeing that outline EVERYWHERE 😂
Haha yeah, I mean some states/countries just don’t have a good enough shape xD although I’m sure they make up that in other ways!
You guys do share a border with Ireland, don’t you? 🙂
Nope! Ireland shares a border with Northern Ireland on a separate land mass, so you could say that the United Kingdom shares a border with another country as Northern Ireland is a part of the UK, however Great Britain has no shared borders.
It can get pretty confusing when talking about the nations within GB and the UK!
I see! Yes, it does get confusing 🙂 thanks for the explanation!
No worries. There are some great diagrams to help with this online too haha, visuals always help!
Texan here! 😊 We very much love our iconic geographical shape. But somehow my long board has a sticker from every other place I’ve been (including the Underground logo), yet it still lacks a single longhorn or Texas flag. I’ve found a new task to complete!
Do it! Vince in the comments above asked me why I don’t have a sticker from home… I guess it is because we are always looking for things to take away as a reminder of the places we don’t live. If we live there, when would we ever enter a souvenir shop?
Ps. I do like the Longhorns logo, I would definitely get that 🙂
I also asked myself that question when buying gifts for my penpals! I’ve lived here all my life but no one would know if I didn’t say so. If I find a longhorn sticker here, I can post it your way for an Aussie sticker in exchange 🤔
I am sorry it as been over a year since I have responded to this, I don’t how I have missed it however I am more than willing to do a sticker exchange. Let me know if you have one yet! :p
I love collecting maps. I mostly only get tourist maps when out, oh well… but I have grand plans of filling up an entire wall with really detailed maps from all over the world someday! Someday. While I’m not lazy.
Life is too short to be lazy! Start now 🙂 Cities have pretty cool maps, the hotel I worked at in Newcastle had great ones of the city and so does Sydney. Gotta catch ’em all!
I collected magnets from my travels for the longest time, and then I accumulated soooooo many magnets and wanted to switch to something easier. I was debating on postcards, but I like your sticker idea too. hmmmmmm. I’ll have to give it some more thought.
Haha, was your fridge about to tip over? :p
I like stickers, as I now take them everywhere with me and is a constant reminder. Let me know what you decide on 🙂
Haha, was your fridge about to tip over? :p
I like stickers, as I now take them everywhere with me and is a constant reminder. Let me know what you decide on 🙂
Love it. Padre Island just south of Corpus is one of my favorite earthly locations. Pristine beach if you’re ever in the vicinity.
Thank yo for the suggestion, I may well be if I go back to Texas, I would love to one day.