04/07/2015
There is Nothing Like Australia
There’s nothing like Australia – Location facts
Kangaroo Island
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There's nothing like the Bungle Bungles
The Bungle Bungles in World Heritage Listed Purnululu National Park rise up to 578 metres above sea level and standing 200 to 300 metres above a woodland and grass covered plain, with steep cliffs on the western plain.
More than 350 million years of nature’s forces have created in Australia’s far north-western reaches one of the most outstanding example of a cone karst in sandstones anywhere in the world. The orange and black stripes across the beehive-like mounds, encased in a skin of silica and algae, are clearly visible as you approach from the south.
The park covers nearly 240,000 hectares and is home to other natural phenomena including the Echidna Chasm, Cathedral Gorge and the soaring Piccaninny Gorge. Despite being made of soft sandstone the range has survived for more than 20 million years.
Rich in Aboriginal art and sacred burial sites, the Bungle Bungle also has great Indigenous cultural significance dating back more than 20,000 years. Few Europeans knew of its existence until the mid-1980s.
Purnululu National Park was established in 1987 and inscribed as a World Heritage Area in 2003, due to its outstanding geological value and natural beauty.
In the Kija Aboriginal language ‘purnululu’ means sandstone.
There's nothing like Cape Leveque
Remote Cape Leveque is situated on the tip of the Dampier Peninsula north of Broome, and is only accessible by air or a 3.5 hour four wheel drive trip.
Cape Leveque is called Kooljaman by the local Bardi Aboriginal tribes who originally inhabited the area some 5000-7000 years ago. It means “place of no grass.”
Kooljaman at Cape Leveque is a unique wilderness style luxury camp on the tip of the Dampier Peninsula, 220km north of Broome. It is jointly owned by Djarindjin and One Arm Point Aboriginal communities.
It is thought the Aboriginal people may have come to this part of the continent somewhere between 5000-7000 years ago after the last ice age. The sea level rose and formed King Sound and the many hills and mountains became islands of the Buccaneer Archipelago. The local inhabitants, the Bardi Aboriginal people are people of the sea. Turtle, dugong and fish make up a large part of their diet. Aboriginal people of the Cape Leveque area would have had contact with visitors such as Indonesian and Macassan fishermen and they might have sighted European explorers such as William Dampier when he sailed into what is now King Sound. Names like Cygnet Bay, Swan Point and Buccaneer Archipelago all belong to this time.
Dampier's visit was the earliest known white contact that foreshadowed an industry two centuries on that was to play a large part in the region's development. He too discovered the lustre of the pearl.
There's nothing like the Gold Coast
Situated in Queensland, Australia’s Gold Coast boasts 70 kilometres of beautiful beaches and 100,000 hectares of world heritage-listed rainforest.
It has a sub-tropical climate and an average of 300 days of sunshine per year.
The Gold Coast has 70 kilometres of white, sandy beaches. The most famous is Surfers Paradise beach, a mecca for local surfers and visitors alike. The entertainment capital of Queensland, Surfers Paradise also has an array of nightclubs, pubs, bars and restaurants all within a two kilometre range.
The Gold Coast is also the gateway to some of Queensland’s best natural attractions. Whale-watch, island-hop and discover the area’s Aboriginal culture. Just half an hour from the renowned beaches is the Gold Coast hinterland, which consists of more than 100,000 hectares of National Parks and reserves, including Lamington National Park and Springbrook National Park.
There's nothing like the Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef, off the east coast of Australia, is one of the wonders of the natural world - it is the world's largest coral reef ecosystem and the only living organic collective visible from Earth's orbit.
Stretching over 2,300 kilometres along the coast of northern Queensland, the Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest reef system comprising more than 2,900 individual reefs; more than 600 continental islands, 300 Coral Cays, thousands of square kilometres of sea grass beds and important mangrove habitats.
At 344,400km2, the Reef is bigger than New Zealand, larger than the total area of the United Kingdom and Ireland combined, and roughly equal to the size of Japan.
Around one third of the world’s soft coral, more than 150 species, as well as more than 400 species of hard coral can be found here.
Over 1,600 species of fish, 215 bird species, 30 whale and dolphin species, and six of the world’s seven marine turtle species have been recorded within this landscape.
The reef receives almost two million tourism visits a year. Many of these visitors actively contribute to its conservation by exploring it with quality accredited operators and participating in volunteer conservation programs.
The Great Barrier Reef was listed as a World Heritage Area in 1981 as an outstanding example of a reef system, representing the major stages in the earth’s evolutionary history; as well as for its important biological diversity.
There's nothing like the Great Ocean Road
Constructed by returned soldiers from WW1 and the largest war memorial in the world; at the end of the journey you’ll be in no doubt why the Great Ocean Road is one of Australia's icons.
Work started on the Great Ocean Road on 19 September 1919. The 75 kilometre stretch between Anglesea and Apollo Bay was completed in 1932.
Along with the world-famous Twelve Apostles, another popular landmark is the historic London Arch, which was considered one of the world’s most remarkable natural bridges, until the arch closest to the shoreline collapsed from natural erosion in 1990.
The Great Ocean Road, located along Victoria’s Southern Ocean, is a memorial to Australians who fought and died in World War 1. Many towns along the Great Ocean Road maintain their own memorials to honour those who lost their lives in the Great War. |
There's nothing like Kangaroo Island
Kangaroo Island is Australia's third largest island after Tasmania and Melville Island. It was separated from mainland Australia by a rise in sea level about 9,000 years ago.
More than one-third of Kangaroo Island is declared Conservation or National Park and it has five significant Wilderness Protection Areas. Flinders Chase National Park is one of Australia's largest, covering 74,000 hectares.
The Island is approximately 155 km in length and 57 km at its widest point, covering a total area of 4,405 sq km. More than half is native old-growth vegetation.
Half the native bushland is just as it was when explorer Matthew Flinders named it in 1802; more than a third is protected as a National or Conservation Park; and the wildlife here is far more varied than its name suggests.
The Seal Bay Conservation Park is one of the only places in the world where you can wander within metres of hundreds of rare Australian Sea-lions as they lollygag on the beach, afterwards sample honey flavoured ice-cream which comes from the only remaining strain of pure Ligurian bees in the world.
There's nothing like The Kimberley
The Kimberley region of Western Australia is one of the world’s last true wilderness areas. Covering more than 423,000 square kilometres, 13,000 kilometres of coastline and more than 2,500 islands and reefs, the Kimberley has estimated population of just 30,000 - fewer people per square kilometre than almost any other place on Earth.
Its dramatic landscape dates back to the dinosaurs, with some rock structures and formations older than 350 million years.
Although the 1960s town of Kununurra is young, the landscape is not, some of the oldest rocks here formed around 20 million years ago.
This is the place for an authentic outback adventure – go four wheel driving on the 660 kilometre Gibb River Road; take a scenic flight over the extraordinary rock formations of the Bungle Bungles and Mitchell and Horizontal Falls; swim in the coral gardens and abundant marine life of the Rowley Shoals; or paddle a canoe and fish for barramundi the Ord River, keeping an eye out for the crocodiles.
This wild rugged range also covets gems of a different kind, being the world’s largest supplier of diamonds, exporting around one quarter of the world’s supply of these sparkling beauties.
The Kimberley’s Lake Argyle is the largest man made water storage structure in the Southern hemisphere and holds, in water volume, the equivalent of 22 Sydney Harbours.
There's nothing like Melbourne
Victoria’s capital, Melbourne, is an exciting blend of old and new. The elegant and fashionable city is set on the banks of the Yarra River. The distinctive mid-1800s gold-boom era architecture blends with modern glass skyscrapers to create an exceptional cityscape. The river is at the heart of Melbourne’s charm with rowers skimming the water; scenic cycle tracks alongside, and outdoor cafes lining the banks in the Southgate precinct.
Melbourne showcases the best of Australia’s laid-back lifestyle, but it also revels in a more old-world sense of sophistication and style. With its diverse inner-city villages, chic fashion stores, over 3,000 restaurants, bars and cafes and an excellent transit system you have all the ingredients of a great destination.
A quirky web of over 180 tiny laneways and side streets make up Melbourne city, bursting with one-off fashion boutiques, art galleries, hole-in-the wall cafes and secret bars and restaurants.
There's nothing like Saffire Freycinet/ Freycinet Peninsula
Saffire Freycinet is a luxury coastal sanctuary situated on Tasmania’s east coast overlooking the Hazards Mountains, Freycinet Peninsula and Great Oyster Bay.
Featuring twenty luxurious suites, an exclusive day spa, restaurant, and guest lounge and bar, Saffire allows guests to truly relax, indulge and be inspired.
The Freycinet Peninsula is a 38 kilometre long promontory of pristine coastland on Tasmania’s east coast. The entire Peninsula, comprising of Friendly Beaches, Wineglass Bay and Schouten Island, is encompassed in the Freycinet National Park.
The Freycinet Peninsula has formed over 400 million years. It is effectively two eroded blocks of granite (known as the Hazards Mountains and Mt Graham/Mt Freycinet) joined by a sand isthmus between the internationally acclaimed Wineglass Bay and Hazards Beach.
Aboriginal people have known this area for at least 35,000 years, substantiated by the presence of middens found today around the coastline. Almost all evidence of the lives of the earliest Tasmanians was lost when the sea levels began to rise about 10,000 years ago. What remains of this dramatic period is amongst the most ancient evidence of human culture anywhere in the world.
The first European to sight the Freycinet area was Dutchman Abel Tasman in 1642. He named Schouten Island and marked down the adjacent peninsula as a chain of three islands. This myth was finally dispelled 160 years later when Nicholas Baudin, the French explorer, renamed Tasman’s “Vanderlins Eylandt” as Freycinet Peninsula in 1802, after the brothers Henri and Louis de Freycinet, lieutenants on the expedition.
Sapphires are fairly widespread in alluvial tin areas of the North East. They vary in colour from green (oriental emerald), blue, yellow (oriental topaz) and purple (oriental amethyst).
The area was reserved as a national park in 1916, making it (along with Mt Field) the oldest national park in Tasmania.
Wineglass Bay also regularly features on the most illustrious “world’s best beaches” lists.
There's nothing like Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of New South Wales, and also the oldest and largest city in Australia.
Sydney began life as a penal colony back in 1788, and was the site of the first British colony in Australia.
The oldest, largest city in Australia, Sydney is renowned for much more than its famous landmarks. The city has first-class restaurants, fresh seafood, myriad harbour experiences, sparkling beaches, pulsing nightlife and fantastic shopping.
Sydney is Australia’s oldest and largest city, and is equal in geographic size to London and almost double that of New York.
4.57 million people live in Sydney and its surrounding suburbs, representing almost a fifth of Australia’s population.
Sydney’s residents hail from 180 nations and speak 140 languages.
Sydney was voted the world’s number one city in the Conde Nast Traveller Reader’s Choice Awards in 2011.
The city was declared World’s Best Festival and Event City 2011 for the second consecutive year by the International Festivals and Events Association.
There's nothing like The Whitsundays
The Whitsundays is a group of 74 islands, located in the heart of Australia’s natural wonder, the Great Barrier Reef, on the tropical coast of Queensland. While only seven of the islands are inhabited, the region offers a diverse range of world famous resorts, ranging from luxurious and romantic getaways to eco-lodges, camping facilities and family friendly accommodation, including Daydream Island, Hamilton Island, Hayman Island, Hook Island, Long Island and South Molle Island.
The name of Australia’s largest group of offshore islands was bestowed by Captain Cook who sailed through the passage on Whitsunday in 1770.
Formed millions of years ago, when rising sea levels transformed a coastal mountain range into islands surrounded by aquamarine sea, the name was bestowed on Australia’s largest group of offshore islands by Captain Cook who sailed through the passage on Whitsunday in 1770.
There's nothing like Uluru
The world’s largest monolith and iconic symbol of the Australian outback environment.
Uluru extends six kilometres below the ground’s surface, more than 17 times its height above ground.
While Uluru is often referred to as a monolith, the correct term for the formation is an inselberg - an isolated remnant of a mountain range that has survived the slow erosion of its surroundings.
One of the world’s largest monoliths, it is more than three kilometres long; two kilometres wide; 348 metres high; and more than nine kilometres around its base.
It’s an island mountain, a geologic remnant left after an original mountain range eroded away. Like an iceberg, most of its bulk is below the surface.
The National Park in which Uluru is located, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, has a remarkable geological history. Five hundred million years ago, the entire area was covered by an inland sea. Uluru is now an isolated remnant of an original mountain range that has eroded over millions of years.
Uluru is one of the few UNESCO World Heritage properties listed for both its natural and cultural values. The international recognition of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park for meeting both of these standards represents correlates with the Anangu peoples’ belief in Tjukurpa, which is an ancient law relating to existence and the relationship between people, plants, animals and the land.
The monolith also has great Aboriginal cultural significance for the traditional custodians of the land the Anangu. The Anangu, believe the Central Australian landscape was created at the beginning of time by their ancestors. Their descendants have been protecting these sacred lands for thousands of generations since.
