Wecome to Australia!

Welcome, Anipals, to Australia! Hope you are all enjoying the Weekendroadtrip!

The love of field and coppice,
Of green and shaded Lanes,
Of ordered woods and gardens,
Is running in your veins;
Strong love of grey-blue distance,
Brown streams and soft, dim skies -
I know but cannot share it,
My love is otherwise.

I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of drought and flooding rains,
I love her far horizons,
I love her jewel sea,
Her beauty and her terror -
The wide brown land for me.

The tragic ring-barked forests
Stark white beneath the moon,
The sapphire-misted mountains,
The hot gold hush of noon.
Green tangle of the brushes
Where lithe lianas coil,
An orchids deck the tree-tops
And ferns the crimson soil.

Core of my heart, my country!
Her pitiless blue sky,
When sick at heart around us
We see the cattle die -
But then the grey clouds gather
And we can bless again
The drumming of an army,
The steady, soaking rain.

Core of my heart, my country!
Land of the Rainbow Gold,
For flood and fire and famine,
She pays us back threefold;
Over the thirsty paddocks,
Watch, after many days,
The filmy veil of greenness
That thickens as we gaze.

An opal-hearted country,
A wilful, lavish land -
All you who have not loved her,
You will not understand -
Though Earth holds many splendours,
Wherever I may die,
I know to what brown Country
My homing thoughts will fly.

-- "I love a sunburnt country", Written by Dorothea MacKellar (1908: written 1906)

Join me on a tour of this wonderful land which I call home!

Stop 1: Tasmania

Tasmania is Australia's only island state. It is actually an archipelago of more than 300 small islands, located 240 kilometres (150 miles) south-east of the mainland. The main island, a heart-shaped island of lush green valleys, uncrowded towns and villages and still undeveloped coastlines, compares in size to West Virginia, the Republic of Ireland or Hokkaido. Tasmania is home to about 500,000 people. More than 40% of the island is protected national parks and reserves.

Our first stop is Mount Wellington - see, My Person and I are here to meet you!

Rising 1270 metre (around 4000 feet) above Hobart's harbour and Derwent River, Mount Wellington is often snow-covered - even in the middle of Summer!

The Aboriginal name for Mt Wellington is Unghbanyahletta or Poorawetter - and don't ask me to pronounce that!

Next we'll stop by the historical town of Richmond. I won't take you to the church - it's haunted - but I did want to stop and show you the Richmond bridge.

I know the sun's a bit bright, so here's a look at it from the other side...

This is Australia's oldest known large stone arch bridge. The sandstone arches have spanned the Coal River since 1825. Built by convict labour, the Richmond Bridge reminds us of the forced migration that contributed to the development of Australia. The bridge survives with few significant changes.

Created with convict labour, the impressive architecture, delightful gardens and chilling prison facilities survive today for you to explore.

The Port Arthur penal settlement opperated between 1830 and 1877. The land was auctioned off and became a residential area. Bushfires in 1895 and 1897 destroyed many old buildings and gutted the penitentiary, separate prison and hospital.

In 1916 the tourist potential of the site was recognised and management of the area was taken out of local hands. Conservation works began in the 1970s/early 1980s.

Cataract Gorge is a unique natural formation about 15 minutes walk from the city of Launceston. It is one of Australia's most enticing urban parks.

The river running through the centre of the Gorge is the Tamar river. We can follow a pathway along the river from Launceston to the Gorge - the pathway was originally built in the 1890s! The bridge - called the Kings Bridge, was floated into place in 1867.

Tasmania is home to many species of wildlife that are not found anywere else in Australia, such as the Tasmanian Devil and the pademellon.

Stop 2: Victoria

Time to jump on over Bass Straight now to Victoria - my home state!

Victoria is the smallest mainland state in Australia, but also the most densely populated. It is a little more than three times the size of Tasmania and only 750km accross. Victoria consists of rugged coastline and both mountainous and desert regions - and is prone to bushfires in the Summer months.

Melbourne is the capital of Victoria. It is set around the shores of Port Phillip Bay, and the city centre itself is on the banks of the Yarra River. About 3.9 million of Victoria's 5 million residents live in the greater Melbourne region - making it the second most populous city in Australia.

Between 1901 and 1927 Melbourne was the seat of government for the Australian federation.

Melbourne is recognised as Australia's sporting and cultural capital and hosts many national and international sporting events.

The Yarra Valley is set at the foot of the Mount Dandenong Ranges, less than an hour East of Melbourne. It has some of the most beautiful countryside in Victoria. Rolling hills strung with vines around Healesville and Yarra Glen meet towering trees, green valleys and pristine rivers around Marysville and Warburton. (OK, so much of it is still heavily damaged by fire, but we WILL recover!) The region is famous for its wine, fresh food and breathtaking scenery.

Parks, gardens, native fern forests and nature trails define the Dandenong Ranges. We can climb aboard Australia's oldest steam train, Puffing Billy, and travel through thick forests and lush fern gullies. Watch carefully as we go and you may see some of our native birds, such as this kookaburra!

The Grampians are located in Victoria's western region - just west of Stawell, where an important running race, the Stawell Gift, is held each Easter (My Person lived there when she was a kid). They consist of a series of five sandstone ridges running north to south with steep and craggy slopes on the eastern side and gentler slopes to the west.

Here we find kangaroos, koalas, emus, wedge-tailed eagles and more. Please be careful of the animals - they are NOT tame. (My Person says she used to feed the Kangaroos at Halls Gap when she was really little, but stopped after one knocked her over - luckily it then jumped right over her and away, because they have sharp claws and powerful legs and tail. Could have been nasty! Oh - and it is NOT fun to have an emu walking along beside your car with its head inside, so please close all vehicle windows if you see one coming!)

Let's hop on up to Echuca. This historic town is set on the banks of the mighty Murray River (or maybe not so mighty just now, after so many years of drought - but still worth a look) The Murray river forms the border between Victoria and New South Wales.

Echuca is a heritage river town, home to a fleet of paddle steamers and a great base for waterskiing, swimming, cruising or taking a houseboat holiday. It derives its name from the aboriginal word meaning "meeting of the water".

The best and worst of this part of Victoria is the weather. While we can freeze down on the south coast, and even the Grampians have been known to have snow, the northern region has a more meditteranean climate. That means it never freezes in winter, but is VERY hot in Summer!

Stop 3: New South Wales

New South Wales includes a string of accessibly, sparkling beachers stretching from north to south, a vast, colourful outback, Australia's highest mountain and meandering waterways. As is the case with all Australian states, New South Wales is big - it is 1200 kilometres (750 miles) east-west and 1000 kilometres (625 miles) north-south.

(Please note: neither I nor My Person have ever been to New South Wales - this section of the tour is based solely on research, because we know that there are some interesting places to visit.)

New South Wales' capital, Sydney, is the largest city in Australia, with a population of about 4.34 million. Established in 1788, Sydney formed the first British colony in Australia.

The iconic Sydney Harbour bridge opened in 1932 and was Sydney's tallest structure until 1967. It is the world's widest long-span bridge and tallest steel arch bridge (measuring 134 meters from top to water level).

The unique sail-like design of the Sydney Opera House makes it one of the most photographed buildings in the world. In 1957 a competition was run to design Sydney's new opera house. Danish architect Jorn Utzon won, but his design posed a variety of problems. Utzon resigned from the project in 1966, but construction contiued until 1973.

As with in many places, NSW has a number of 'big' places - about 36 of them, in fact! Some noteables include: For you kitties, we have The Big Trout (x2), The Big Prawn, The Big Oyster and The Big Murray Cod. Pups - there's The Big Blue Heeler, The Big Poo, The Big Chook and The Big Merino (for rounding up!). For others, we have The Big Beer Can, Big Bottles, The Big Wine Bottle and The Big Wine Cask.

The Big Golden Guitar can be found in Australia's 'country music capital' - Tamworth NSW. Standing 12 meters tall, it is a replica of the famous golden guitar used for Australia's Annual Country Music Awards

Stop 4: Queensland

Welcome to the Australia's Sunshine State - Queensland! You won't be needing your thick furs up here - but you might need your gumboots and canoes (it's been a little flooded up this way lately!)

Queensland is Australia's second largest state, and it's third most populous. From the Northern Territory border in the west to Sandy Cape in the east, the distance is more than 1350 km. It is 3000 km from Coolangatta (on the New South Wales border) to the tip of Cape York in the state's far north. In contrast, it is only about 160 km from the tip of Cape York to New Guinea!

There are several major world heritage sites in Queensland, including the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree National Park. Eastern Queensland has a climate ranging from subtropical to tropical. Large areas of western Queensland are very arid. Much of Queensland has a wet and dry season due to its latitude, and this is more notable further north you travel.

The Daintree Rainforest, a World Heritage listed site, is the single largest block of tropical rainforest in Australia.

From a total of 19 primitive flowering plant families on Earth, 12 families are represented in the Daintree region making the highest concentration of these plants worldwide. Idiospermum australiense (commonly known as the Idiot Fruit) one of the rarest and most primitive of the flowering plants, can be found here. Its discovery in 1970 was arguably Australia's most significant botanical find, greatly increasing scientists awareness of just how ancient these forests really are.

The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef system in the world. It is composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands and stretches for over 3000 kiometres. It is also the only living organic collective visible from Earth's orbit.

Here we will find many different types of marine life, including loggerhead turtles, stingray, zebra fish, fusilee fish and the anenome fish (made famous in 'Finding Nemo').