| AUSTRALIA
Located 14.5 hours by jet from Los Angeles, Australia is an independent
Western democracy. Australia is the only nation to occupy an entire
continent. For more than 50,000 thousand years, the
Aboriginal people have lived and thrived in Australia's unique and
challenging natural environment. Today it is believed the Aboriginals are
the world's oldest civilization.
It has extremes of climate and topography. From rainforests and vast
plains in the north, snowfields in the south east, desert in the centre and
fertile croplands in the east, south and south west. About one third
of the country lies in the tropics.
Isolation of the Australian continent has created a sanctuary for flora and
fauna. Australia’s best-known animals are the kangaroo, koala,
platypus and spiny anteater. Of more than 700 bird species listed in
Australia, 400 including the large, flightless emu, are found nowhere else.
Australia has 20.000 species of plants, including living fossils such as the
cycad palm and the grass tree, and brilliant wildflowers such as the waratah,
Sturt’s desert pea, the flowering cones of banksia trees, and the red and
green kangaroo paw. The continent has 700 species of acacia, which
Australians call wattle, and 1200 species in the Myrtaceae family which
includes eucalypts or gum trees.
This smallest continent on Earth
has three distinct and excellent diving destinations. The Great
Barrier Reef stretches over 1,200 miles along the north eastern coast.
Composed of reefs, cays and islands, it is the biggest marine park in the
world. Farther north, the Coral Sea's bommies and numerous wrecks
afford excellent diving in crystalline water. South Australia is the
place to cage-dive with great white sharks. Western Australia is one
of the prime sites in the world to swim with whale sharks. Dive with
giant potato Cod, and Maori wrasse, among pristine coral gardens, excellent
for macro photography during your trip to the Cod Hole. Or dive with
schooling Trevally, barracuda, whaler sharks, and tuna on sheer walls and
towering pinnacles while visiting the Coral Sea. This is also where
you can dive the world famous Yongala Wreck. |
