Australia is country big enough for its own continent, so big in fact that I've been three times and still don't feel like I've done more than scratch the surface. Two immediate impressions come to mind: nearly everyone lives along the coast, leaving thousands of miles of emptiness in the interior. And the country looks and feels young. The Australian people are very much into adventure and the outdoors, and their energy for life is infectious. Figuring that most people who have been to Australia have kept to its big cities on the southeast coast, I have deliberately chosen to concentrate the pictures below from the much-less traveled northeast, center & western parts of the country.
Sydney's famous Bondi Beach, which was littered with Portuguese man o' war jellyfish on the
day we visited.
Needless to say, we opted to enjoy Bondi from the safety of the sand.
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Riding aboard the Cairns-Kuranda Rail on the way to Kuranda National Park, Queensland
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One of the many critters encountered on an excursion into Cape Tribulation Rainforest,
northeast Queensland
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Australia's Great Barrier Reef, the largest living organism in the world
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It didn't take long to start enjoying Australia's underwater wonders once jumping overboard.
This photo was taken directly under our boat anchored at the Great Barrier Reef.
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Swimming with whale sharks off Ningaloo Reef in the country's remote northwest.
click here for more pictures of whale sharks!
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Eerie pinnacles of Nambung National Park, Western Australia
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One of Australia's most photographed natural wonders, Ayer's Rock
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The spectacular scenery of Australia's Red Centre is best taken in by helicopter.
The photo
below is of Ayer's Rock as seen from the air.
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Colorful rock formations known as the Olgas.
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More enticing views of the Olgas.
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A pre-dawn climb up the face of Ayer's Rock finds a breathtaking sunrise as a reward.
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Darwin, at the tip of Australia's tropical "Top End", is the only place in the country that you can swim with massive saltwater crocodiles. Here's a few shots of the excitement at Crocosaurus Cove in the heart of Darwin.
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South Australia is one of the only places in the world where it is possible to cage dive with Great White Sharks. Shark charters leave from Port Lincoln and sail a few hours south to the Neptune Islands, where Great Whites congregate offshore near the seal colonies. Not the easiest place to get to, but well worth the trouble of getting there!
