Magpies suck, spiders scare me, 90% of the country is too hot 90% of the time. I first saw kangaroos at a school camp when I was thirteen. The next time was at a caravan park where one got within five yards of me - a rather scary experience.
I oscillate between thinking that the stereotypes of Australia and the seemingly alien perception of the place by Americans and others is entirely bullshit and thinking that Australia really is an insane place. I suspect neither is really true/