Explore the Natural Wonders of Australia
Australia is an engaging nation, boasting an extraordinary history and culture. There’s so much to see and do here, from exploring ancient rock art and learning Dreamtime stories, to sampling bush tucker on culinary-focused tours – there is so much fun waiting!
Australia generally enjoys Type B climates, while parts of southeastern Australia feature more temperate Type C environments.
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It’s home to the Great Barrier Reef
Australia is an incredible country full of diverse natural wonders – from deserts in its interior to tropical rainforests along its coastline – all within its borders. Australia truly has something special waiting for its visitors.
The Great Barrier Reef, a World Treasure and UNESCO World Heritage Area, draws millions of visitors each year to this dazzling coral reef system renowned for its crystal clear waters and rich marine life.
Reef is also an invaluable economic asset to its surrounding region, supporting thousands of jobs. Unfortunately, however, its future survival requires all our collective support.
The Australian Government is dedicated to safeguarding the Great Barrier Reef through various measures, including its new Marine Bioregional Planning process that looks at whole ecosystems where species exist. It’s part of a suite of tools which will ensure its spectacular beauty will continue for many years to come.
It’s home to kangaroos
The Kangaroo, the world’s largest marsupial, has long been seen as an emblem of Australia and can be found on currency, stamps and Qantas and Royal Australian Air Force planes as a logo. Additionally, George Stubbs and Ken Done both featured kangaroo images in their artworks featuring this animal as its main subject matter.
Kangaroos play an essential role in their respective ecosystems, helping regulate vegetation and providing sustenance for other animals. Furthermore, they spread seeds while having cultural significance for Aboriginal communities and are highly resilient against climate change or other threats.
Kangaroos are under threat from habitat destruction and hunting. Estimating their numbers can be difficult given they roam vast regions – state officials use helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft to count populations annually and set annual quotas that limit how many macropods are killed while helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft count populations using state approved programs; fertility control programs don’t work since fertility issues must first be contained before working effectively.
It’s home to quokkas
Quokkas are small marsupials that resemble miniature kangaroos in appearance and behavior. Having thick fur, round ears and up to 31 cm tails, they feed on grasses, leaves and succulent plant roots as their diet; carrying and nursing their young, or “joeys”, in pouches inside their stomachs.
Quokkas may spend most of their lives on the ground, like their kangaroo counterparts; however, they are capable of climbing trees when food sources become limited. Quokkas store fat in their tails in order to survive when food supplies diminish.
Rottnest Island, 19 km off Perth’s coast, is particularly rich with quokkas that have become familiar to humans. This bodes well for Australian wildlife as quokkas act as ambassadors, raising awareness and support for conservation initiatives that protect other species that face similar threats to their habitats.
It’s home to a thriving beach culture
Australia is blessed with miles of dazzling coastline and easy access to public beaches, making beach culture a part of its national identity. Beach culture represents pleasure, freedom and independence – as captured in paintings by Australian Impressionists such as Tom Roberts and Frederick McCubbin who painted plein air portraits in Sydney Coogee or Melbourne Brighton by Tom Roberts or Frederick McCubbin en plein air portraits which depict primly-dressed beach goers who became symbolic of Australia as it emerged as an independent nation.
Australians currently reside within 30km of an ocean beach, and most Australians regularly take advantage of their local shorelines. From family holiday resorts to a booming surf industry, beaches are a source of national pride as well as sites for cross-cultural tensions and white privilege to play out. As evidenced by 2005 Cronulla race riots, beaches can serve both sacred and profane purposes: for some it serves as an avenue of connection while for others they become sites for transgression and violence.
