Because that is the reality when one lives in a country that is 7,688, 287 sq kilometers. Going for a Sunday session drink, 200km "down the road". Esperance to Kalgoorlie, 8 stubby trip.
@SirNedKelly @Nimbus well, Nimbus lives in a country that's smaller than 31 of the U.S. states. I'm sure that's tough to fathom when taking a drive. It takes me four hours to drive to the Atlantic coast and not leave the state. And I live in one of the smaller states. And that's leaving from roughly the middle of the state.
Just to put things in perspective... Most Aussies live in an urban environment so shops are close, mostly 10 to 20 minutes away... In the country, it's different... To help you understand. The distance Perth to Sydney, West coast to East coast is further than London to Moscow... So yeah, the 5 hour drive to ALDI is true but only for a few
We live in Queensland and my husband works in the same state. Their flight from one airport to the next is 3 hours and then they have to catch a bus to site for 45mins. When we travel to Sydney by land it takes us 10 hours. It's because Australia is so big it takes forever to get to your destination.
More that 90% of Australians live in ten coastal cities scattered around the coast of Oz. So for the vast majority the situation you quote doesnt arise. However, it is the case that one state capital to the next is maybe a 10 hour drive. I recently undertook a drive from Perth to Melbourne. A little over 4,000km. But took the "scenic route"stopping an extra day to see several seaside towns on the way I had always wanted to see. And the whole thing took 11 days. But only the last day was over 500km.. Having done that, I am planning a longer loop next year heading inland up north and coming back via the coast. But I will be stretching that one to stop many places and take maybe 3 months..I see no reason to do more than 500km per day..Maybe 5 to 6 hours drive..😷
It's what comes of being in a very large country with distributed development. Russia and Canada are even bigger, but their development is pretty concentrated in the west and the south, respectively. Australia's all over the coasts (well, except Alice Springs, but no one outside of Australia even knows that exists). You see the same thing in the US.
The difference, the saying goes, between a European and an American is that an American thinks a hundred years is a long time, while a European thinks a hundred miles is a long way. It's not hard to see where Australia falls.
We have a similar problem where I live in NY. Depending on the time of day I’d say it can take over an hour to drive 15 kilometers , 2 hours to drive 25 kilometers. I tell my rural friends that and it makes their heads explode.
