Visit Australian Beaches Alps and Deserts Down Under<<>> Visit Australian beaches is almost one area every one ticks on their things to do list when travelling here. This is a big country and mostly populated around the edge. It is the sixth largest country in the world. It's about the same size as mainland USA and 50 per cent larger than Europe. The mainland is the largest island in the world and its smallest and flattest continent. It has the lowest population density in the world with only two people per square kilometre.
The original Aboriginal people lived here at least 50,000 years ago. Known as New Holland, in the 17th century and then in 1770 Captain James Cook claimed it for Britain. The new outpost country was put to use as a penal colony and on 26 January 1788, 11 ships carrying 1,500 people, half of them convicts, arrived in Sydney Harbour. When the penal transportation system ended in 1868, 160,000 men and women had come to the land as convicts. From the early 1790s free settlers also began to arrive. At the time of the British settlement, up to one million Aboriginal people lived across the continent as hunters and gatherers. They were scattered in 300 clans and spoke 250 languages and 700 dialects. Over time they became displaced and dispossessed of land and fell sick and died with the European diseases that were introduced.. Over time the convicts, soldiers and settlers turned the land they received from the British government into flourishing farms.
In 1851 gold was discovered in New South Wales and central Victoria this brought prospectors from all over the world. In their wake came other traders and services and by the 1880s Melbourne and Sydney became stylish modern cities.
After the Second World War ended in 1945, hundreds of thousands of migrants from across Europe and the Middle East arrived in Australia. Today Australia is home to people from more than 200 countries and enjoys the diversity that that brings. 20 per cent of the population are foreign born and more than 40 per cent are of mixed cultural origin.
This may be a big country but it is easy to get around. You will find untouched beautiful beaches that stretch for miles, Australian deserts burning red and the Australian Alps are all within your reach. Here you will find not only the world’s longest piece of straight railway track stretching 478 kilometres across the vast, treeless Nullarbor Plain. But also the longest stretch of straight road at 148 kilometres on the Eyre Highway that is just a tiny section of the 2,700-kilometre road from Perth to Adelaide. You will also find the world's longest continuous fence that was built to keep sheep safe from the wild dogs it runs for 5,531 kilometres. The coastline stretches almost 50,000 kilometres and is linked by over 10,000 beaches, more than any other country in the world.
Eighty per cent of Australians live within fifty kilometres of the coast, so the beach has become an integral part of our famous laid-back lifestyle. On Christmas Day you will find up to 40,000 people on Bondi Beach in Sydney wearing Santa hats and swimming costumes ready for their ‘barbies’ or barbeques. On New Year’s Eve, revellers see in the New Year dancing in the sand and watching fireworks around the country. Many beaches host citizenship ceremonies on the 26th of January, which is Australia Day.
Out in the desert is Ayers Rock, which is more than 318 m (986 ft) high and 8 km (5 miles) around. It also extends 2.5 km (1.5 miles) into the ground. It is also known by its Aboriginal name 'Uluru'. Depending on the time of day and the atmospheric conditions, the rock can dramatically change color, anything from blue to violet to glowing red.
The Australian Alps are mede up of three vast National Parks, Alpine National Park and Snowy River National Park, and Namadgi National Park and Mount Kosciuszko at 2228 meters is the highest peak.
Australia is home to a wealth of wildlife not found anywhere else in the world. The iconic kangaroo is unique to Australia. There are an estimated 40 million kangaroos in Australia, more than when Australia was first settled. The koala is unique too. Koalas are only active for around two hours a day and get all their fluids from eating eucalyptus leaves. The Tasmanian devil is a carnivorous marsupial with the appearance of a small, stocky dog. It has a broad head, thick tail and coarse, black fur. It is far more than a computer game avatar. Platypuses are small, dark-brown, furry, egg-laying mammals with webbed paws and a duck-like beak. Platypuses live in burrows that they dig into the banks of rivers. They are diving animals, and can stay under water for up to fifteen minutes. Unlike a duck's beak, the platypus' beak is rubbery and flexible. The wallaby looks very similar to kangaroos but are smaller. Possums are small marsupials with brown or grey fur. The dingo is a wild dog and not native to the continent. Dingoes are medium-sized, with broad heads, pointed muzzles, erect ears, bushy tails and red to yellow coats. The Australian kookaburra bird is the world’s largest kingfisher. The emu is a large, brown, soft-feathered, flightless bird. Emus grow up to two metres tall and have three toes and long legs that allow them to run very fast at up to 50km per hour.
Australia is big and diverse and is waiting for you to visit.
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