For the indigenous people, the stark terrain of the Land Down Under, which had scared so many others, was actually a vibrant landscape carved and populated by sacred spirits: the deserts, canyons, rainforests, and valleys were embodied by these Dreaming creatures. The British convicts who settled this land were sent against their will into presumed desolation, a vast emptiness on the other side of the world. But the Aboriginals who had occupied Australia for thousands of years respected and honored its natural beauty. The Australia of myth is big, hot, and empty, but the reality, like the Dream, presents endless possibility. The outback—the never never—is only a little distant from the populated coasts, allowing travelers to zig zag between the underwater majesty of the Great Barrier Reef and the eerily calm beauty of the Red Centre, or seek a middle ground in the 37,000 kilometers of pristine beach. In Australia the ends of exploration are left to the limits of the individual. You can splice the mystery of the outback with a coastal journey or completely live it with a rugged bushwalk through Tasmanian wilderness or a solitary drive on the world’s longest straight-away. This problem-free paradise promises that you will be left alone as much as you want; the people aren’t pushy, and the great cities are welcoming oases of civilization in which you will never feel left out. In the end, Australia is not for someone else, it is for you—to lose and find yourself, to make it up as you go along, to travel in a pure sense that more trafficked travel destinations can no longer offer. Visitors come for a full view of it all—the outback, the coast, the Aboriginal lore, the modern culture—and leave with at least a glimpse of themselves. Australia used to be on the other side of what early explorers deemed a flat world; fear prevented them from heading over the oceans. But today we know the world is round. Never never? Now.
When To Go
Australia is big. Really big. When to travel depends on where you want to go and what you want to do. Crowds and prices of everything from flights to hostel bunks tend to be directly proportional to the quality of the weather.
In the south, the seasons of the temperate climate zone are reversed from those in the Northern Hemisphere. Summer lasts from December to February, autumn from March to May, winter from June to August, and spring from September to November. In general, Australian winters are mild, comparable to the southern US or southern Europe; snow is infrequent except in the mountains, though in winter it’s far too cold to have much fun at the beach. The north is an entirely different story—many people forget that over one-third of Australia is in the tropics, where it’s always hot. Seasons here are defined not by the almost-constant temperature but by the wildly varying precipitation. “The Wet” lasts from November to April, and “the Dry” is from May to October. During the Wet, heavy downpours and violent storms plague Australia, especially on the north coast. During the Dry, nearly every section of Australia endures a drought. Traveling in the Wet is not recommended for the faint of heart; the heavy rains, washing out unsealed roads, make driving a challenge in non-urban areas.
Diving on the Great Barrier Reef is seasonal as well; January and February are rainy months, and the water is clearest between April and October. The toxic box jellyfish is most common around the east coast between October and April. Ski season in New South Wales and Victoria runs from late June to September, and the famous wildflowers of Western Australia bloom from September to December.
Facts and Figures
Capital: Canberra
Human Population: 18.6 million
Sheep Population: 37 million
Number of Beaches: About 7000
West-to-East Distance: 4000km
Percent Larger than Britain, its Former Colonialist Ruler: 3152%
Percent of the World’s Opals: 90%
Beer Per Australian: 96L beer/yr
Kinds of Kangaroos: 60
Amount of Foliage Koalas Must Eat Each Day to Survive: 9kg (about 20lb.)
Amount of Damage to Crops Caused by Rabbits Each Year: over AUS $1 billion
Most Valiant Attempt to Keep the Bitches off Ewe: World's longest fence (5,531km/3,435 mi.) keeps Queensland’s dingoes in the north away from sheep in the south.
Number of Abbreviations Ending in the Sound “ee”: Infinite—midgie, bluey, barbie, esky, dummy, mozzie...
