Australia - some facts.

Geography

A long way from the western world, but not too far from South East Asia, you will find - as did Captain James Cook in 1770 and countless others less famously before him - Australia. A big island continent - the only island continent, in fact. About the size of mainland USA or one and a half Europe's.

The bulk of the country is desert - “the outback”, go past “the bush”, it's just beyond “woop-woop...” However, it is a huge country, so there is a huge diversity of landscape such as rain forest in the tropical north and a mountain range (The Great Dividing Range) running all the way down the east coast.

And then there are the beaches - lots and lots of fabulous white sandy beaches - and next to the beaches you'll most likely find the surf and/or reef. Move away from the cities and these will be very uncrowded.

Population

Australia is the least densely populated continent, with two people per square kilometer - though like anywhere, most people like to share the same similar square kilometers. So the cities are just that (cities) - with Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide taking well over half over the 22 million or so population. Like the rest of the world, the trend towards urban living away from a rural lifestyle is reflected, as is a trend for coastal living.

Infact the vast majority of the population (almost 80%) live on the East Coast, with just 10% living in Western Australia, 7.5% living in South Australia, 2% in Tasmania and 1% in the Northern Territory. Relatively speaking - no-one lives in the middle - which is probably why it makes such a fantastic place to visit.

Weather

Australia has a deserved reputation for good weather. That said, to enjoy “good” weather year round requires that you keep moving!

Basically, in summer (December through to February) the north is bad (too hot and wet) and the south is pretty good (very hot and dry.) Conversely, in winter (June through August) the north is good (hot and dry) and the south is bad (cold and wet.) Spring and Autumn generally tend to be the best time to visit anywhere. More about the weather - including stats from eleven cities and “where to go when.”

If some-one tells you that Cairns in February is - “quite hot/humid with the chance of rain but it doesn't stop you going to reef or rainforest...” - they are probably selling you a holiday and what they really mean is - “It's too hot, there's torrential rain with the chance of a cyclone and by the way you could catch dengue fever - so be careful...”

History

Australia has become increasingly aware that it's culture stretches back 50,000 years - which is a bonus - as this is about 200 times longer than we recently perceived it to be.

It is thought that at the time of settlement (i.e. British transportation beginning in 1788) that there was over a million aboriginal people living throughout the nation. They lived in different clans and spoke hundreds of different languages - however they shared (still do) a united spiritual belief in the Dreamtime - spirit ancestors whom created the world and continue to mould the environment in which we live.

The original, western, purpose for Australia was as a British penal colony, with over 160,000 people arriving courtesy of HRH the king/queen of England, between 1788 and 1868. However, the game was increasingly up for the UK government as the nineteenth century progressed and as the early settlers discovered firstly rich farmland and later, in 1851, gold...

Australia became an independent nation at the beginning of 1901 - which was good, because it meant another public holiday, but bad, because it created a need (excuse) for more politicians.

Other information

Our currency is the Australian dollar ($) which is worth rather a lot at time of writing - which makes traveling overseas cheap for Australians and Australia expensive for every-body else. Not ideal if you've just created a web site dedicated to Australian travel!

English is the national language - but Australia is a widely diverse nation nowadays with 20% of the population speaking their native language at home (Chinese, Greek, Italian and of course Aboriginal languages.)

The national religion is football - Aussie Rules. Other faiths (rugby, tennis, soccer) are also largely accepted (outside of Melbourne.) Australia also has the best cricket team in world - until recently...

What Australia lacks in culture (the arts) - it makes up for with money! Australia is rich in many minerals and energy sources (don't mention the coal...) The Australian stereotype (Paul Hogan, 1980's, Crocodile Dundee) is just that. Australia is a first world nation, but we do like the beach and a barbie.

The fauna and flora of Australia is largely unique, fabulous and well protected. Think kangaroos, wombats and especially koalas. Some of it bites - but that is really over exaggerated in most non-Australian's minds - many Aussie's do manage to live quite a long time!