Wednesday, 2 September 2015

Why You Need to Visit Australia

1. So you can drive on the Great Ocean Road

Great Ocean Road
‘The Apostles’ along the Great Ocean Road, Chris Ford
It didn’t get the “most beautiful road in the world” title for nothing.

2. So you can hire a turtle guide to watch new-born turtles scamper to the ocean at the Mon Repos Conservation Park

Mon Repos Conservation Park


3. So you can hike along the outer rim of the Wilpena Pound

Wilpena Pound

You even get to stay in nice tents with proper beds and bathrooms!

4. You get to hang out with these guys…

koala


5. And spend your afternoons longing with these guys

wombat


6. So you can sample the fine wines of the Yarra Valley

yarra valley


7. So you can hike the weirdly wonderful “rock bubbles” of the Bungle Bungles

bungle bungles


8. So you can swim in this pink colored lake

lake hillier

That’s not Photoshop. That’s just Hillier Lake.

9. You get to taste some delicious, delicious pies.

australian-pie

From meat pies to Thai green curry pies, Australia loves its pies.

10. So you can be one of the only 400 people allowed in Lord Howe Island

Lord Howe Island

Australia doesn’t kid around when it comes to sustainability

11. Because where else will you find more kangaroos than humans?

kangaroo
Number of people in Australia: 22.8 million
Number of kangaroos in Australia: 34.3 million

12. You get to feed the crocs at the zoo started by this legendarily awesome man:

Steve Irwin Australia Zoo

13. So you can eat all the vegemite you want

vegemite
Vegemite on toast for breakfast is about as Australian as it gets. Sure, it is an acquired taste, but once you get it, you’re never going back to bland old butter on toast.

14. So you can sit around and watch the Ayers Rock (or ‘Uluru’) change its color with the setting sun

uluru

The Ayers Rock – or ‘Uluru’ in the local language – has fascinated people for thousands of years. A huge chunk of rock sitting in the middle of a vast flatland has the capability to do that.

15. So you can fill yourself up with huge slices of the Pavolova

Pavlova cake

This crunchy cake made to honor Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova is something of a national icon.

16. So you can swim in this swimming pool inside the ocean

oceanpool


17. So you can ride aboard the spectacular ‘The Ghan’ train

the-ghan

The train runs right through the heart of the Australian outback, which makes it one of our 23 most scenic train rides in the world. But let’s be honest: the real reason to ride it is to tell everyone that you rode a train called The Ghan.

18. You get to look at some cool Aboriginal art

aboriginal-art

Kakadu National Park has some 5,000 Aboriginal art sites many dating back 10,000 years or more.

19. So you can take the best ‘land-surfing’ photos on the planet

surfing-wave-rock

At the Surfing Wave Rock

20. You can hike up the Cradle Mountain and camp by the side of Lake St. Clair

Cradle Mountain, Australia


21. So you can swim with 30-foot whale sharks at Ningaloo Reef

whale-shark at Ningaloo Reef


22. You get to actually see the strangest mammal on Earth in the wild

lifesciences-platypus

It’s a duck! It’s a fish! It’s a furry little mammal! Nah, it’s just the platypus, found all over Eastern Australia and Tasmania.

23. So you can watch the march of the million crabs on Christmas Island

Red Crabs on Christmas Island

Numbering over 100 million at a time, the march of the red crabs is a sight to behold.

24. So you can cruise along Kimberley’s rugged coast

kimberley1
kimberley2
kimberley3
Craggy cliffs, rugged ridges and beautiful coastlines, Kimberley is Australia’s most scenic destination

25. So you can drink some great Australian beer in Melbourne

aussie-beer

And no, Foster’s doesn’t count.

26. You get to swim in the blue waters of the Great Barrier Reef

great-barrier-reef


27. You get to sunbathe next to seals on Phillip Island

seals


28. So you can climb the summit of the Sydney Harbor Bridge

bridge-climb

Locals call the BridgeClimb the “Coathanger”. No one really knows why.

29. So you go kayaking in the ocean and end up on a mountain

creek
Start kayaking in the ocean off Gold Coast in the village of Currumbin. Head towards the Currumbin Creek which runs 15 miles into the jungle towards Mount Coungal.

30. So you can get a photograph with these little guys

Little Blue Penguins at Phillip Island

The Little Blue Penguin is the smallest penguin in the world. You can find them aplenty on Phillip Island.

31. So you can spend a lazy week watching a cricket test match

Fans relaxing at cricket match

7 hours a day, for 5 days straight. That’s how long a normal cricket test match runs. Great if you have tons of time to sit in the sun, drink a beer, and cheer the odd wicket or run.

32. So you can do a pub crawl like the local bogans…

pub-crawl
“Bogans” is the Australian equivalent of “redneck”, though without the same prejudice. Bogans love their beer and there is no better way to do a pub crawl than to tag along with a bunch of Aussie bogans.

33. And cure the hangover with a big serving of “pie floater”

Pie Floater
This meat pie drenched in thick pea soup is the perfect hangover food. Only something a nation that loves its pies almost as much as it loves its beer could’ve invented.



 So you can drink a beer at the Fortune of War in Sydney

Fortune of War, Sydney

Round off your Australia tour with a tipple at Australia’s oldest pub in Sydney, named after the even more famous ‘Fortune of War Public House’ in London (which was mentioned in both Vanity Fair and A Tale of Two Cities).

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