From what I have read, Australia is a land of surprises and underrated
and underappreciated wonders. Most of
the rest of the world little knows nor cares about what happens in Australia,
although the internet has served to broaden people’s knowledge of this country. Although many Australians still refer to
their country as a “young country,” they are beginning to realize and
appreciate the culture of the its first occupants – the Aborigines – and the
long, long past associated with these people.
Although it is a large country, its population is small and mainly
confined to the large cities along the coast.
Much of Australia is barren desert.
It is a very peaceful, stable country where not much happens (except
perhaps some terrible wild fires in the last few years).
As most of you know, Australia is not only a country, but also a
continent – the only one that is both.
It is the sixth largest country and also the only continent that is an
island (oh and by the way—Australia is the largest island in the world). As we prepared for this trip, I read a very
fun, interesting, and easy to read travel book – In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson. It is not like most travel books, but it does
recount his journey across the country and is filled with a lot of fun-filled
facts and anecdotes of people and places that he encounters along his
journey. I highly recommend it.
Some of the interesting facts that he mentions about Australia include:
- · It is home to the largest living thing on earth – the Great Barrier Reef
- · It is home to the largest monolith – Uluru (formerly known as Ayers Rock)
- · It has more poisonous and deadly living things to include
o The most poisonous snakes – of the world’s ten
most poisonous snakes all are found in Australia. Australia has 14 species of poisonous snakes
with the Taipan being the deadliest – it is 50 times more lethal than the
cobra. Now, those that really know me, must
be wondering why in the world I would go there, and after reading this book and
all those posts on Facebook and on news feeds about the snakes of Australia, I
am also questioning my sanity. But it is
on our bucket list, so I will persevere.
o The funnel web spider, box jellyfish (the
world’s most-deadliest animal), blue-ringed octopus, paralysis tick, and the
stone fish are all the most lethal of their species, and you guessed it – they
are all found in Australia.
o Even certain species of caterpillars and
seashells pack a potent punch.
o
The seas and oceans around the country contain
sharks and very hazardous rip currents.
And many rivers are no better as they are infested with crocodiles.
- · Temperatures in the barren outback and deserts can reach 118 degrees F, although just a few weeks ago during an extreme heat wave, the temperature in Adelaide was a sweltering 121.1 degrees F. (snakes were trying to cool off in people’s showers and toilets!).
- · Many of the oldest objects found on earth (fossils, animal tracks, rocks) have come from Australia.
- · About 45,000-60,000 years ago (long before Europeans conquered the oceans), Aborigines sailed from the Polynesian islands across the ocean in small boats to settle in Australia.
- · 80% of all animals and plants that live in Australia do not exist anywhere else.
- · With the exception of Antarctica, it is the most climatically challenged continent – the driest, flattest, hottest, most desiccated, and infertile.
- · And everything about Australia is polar opposite from us – its seasons are reversed, its constellations are upside down, and you even lose an entire day on your journey down-under. You do, however, gain back that day on your homeward trek – you can even arrive at your home destination before you take off from Australia (or New Zealand in our case).
Australia is comprised of 6 states (listed with their major city) and
10 federal territories – South Australia (Adelaide); Victoria (Melbourne); New
South Wales (Sydney); Queensland (Cairns or Brisbane); Western Australia (Perth);
and Tasmania (Hobart). The best known
of the territories are the Northern Territories (Darwin) and Australian Capital
Territory (Canberra, the capital of Australia).
Australia has more species of native flora and fauna than any other
country. In fact, Western Australia and
the outback are so isolated and basically unexplored, that there very well may
be many more undiscovered species. One
of the greatest problems facing the eco system of Australia today was the
introduction of non-native animals and plants into the country. In the state of Victoria, the introduction of
24 rabbits (for sporting purposes by one landowner) so decimated the plants and
trees, that much of Victoria today is a barren wilderness. Blackberries, introduced in the late 1800s,
are now Victoria’s most pernicious weed – literally taking over the
landscape. And the introduction of
animals such as fox, goats, pigs, water buffalo, and dogs have had a devastating
effect on the native animals – about 130 native mammals are now on the
threatened and endangered list. The
lesson to be learned here – non-native species seem to thrive in Australia.
Most of the original cities in Australia (with the exception of
Adelaide) were founded as penal colonies for convicts from Great Britain. The Gold Rush of the 1850’s finally put an
end to the penal colony era of Australia.
However, after the Landing Flat riots in 1861 where white citizens beat
up Chinese immigrants over rights to a gold mine, Australia adopted the White
Australia policy that forbade the immigration of non-European people until the
1970’s. During WWI, Australia, fighting
with New Zealand and the British, had a casualty rate (in proportion to their
population) of 65%, the highest of any country participating in the war. Out of a population of just under 5 million,
60,000 soldiers were killed and another 150,000 injured. And until 1949, Australians were not citizens
of Australia, but citizens of Great Britain.
So, with all this “important” information firmly implanted in our
minds, we bravely walked off our airplane in Melbourne after a 24-hour flight
from Chicago (Melbourne is 18 hours ahead of Denver). We are ready to enjoy the wonder and beauty
that is Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand, but I may be enjoying it from the
train or the bus if I encounter any of the slithering reptiles. And yes, I did bring a 2-gallon zip-lock bag
and lavender to put my shoes in overnight lest a spider or one of their very
small (but deadly) snakes decides my shoe makes a good bed! Arrival in Melbourne went very smoothly. They have a system similar to our Global
Entry called Smart Gate kiosks. The
scanner reads your passport (as long as it is an e-Passport, gives you a ticket
to turn into the Customs officials) and then you go and get your luggage. Because we had declared that we had our
medicine with us, our bags had to be sniffed by a Customs’ dog, but that only
took 5 minutes. Then it was off to the
SkyBus for our trip into the city to the Southern Cross Train Station. That is only 2 short blocks from our hotel,
the Quality Hotel on Batman Hill located within the CBD (Central Business
District). As our room would not be
ready until 2 PM, we decided to take a ride on the free Central City
trolley. It makes stops at many
locations on the border pf the CBD so it was a good orientation of
Melbourne. Then we had a quick lunch at
a restaurant near the hotel before returning to our room for some much needed rest/sleep
(even with lie-flat seats, you do not get a very restful sleep). Tomorrow we
will begin our real exploration of
Melbourne.
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Pre-Tour
of Australia
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4
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1
US to Melbourne
2
Melbourne to Adelaide
3
Adelaide to Darwin (The Ghan)
4
Darwin to Melbourne
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OAT Tour of
Tasmania and Australia
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To New Zealand
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Melbourne to Hobart 5
Uluru to Great Barrier Reef
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Launceston to Melbourne 6
Great Barrier Reef to Sydney
3
Melbourne to Alice Springs 7
Sydney to Wellington, NZ
4 Alice Springs to Uluru
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4
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