Wendy Palmer

An overview of Australia as a holiday destination

A travel tip article providing an overview of Australia as a holiday vacation destination

Australia is a land with a unique flora and fauna that is found nowhere else on earth. It is also a land of many contrasts and a wide variety of climate that ranges from tropical to sub alpine. It is easy to forget that this vast island – continent has only been known to the rest of the world for just 250 years.

Australia is roughly the same size as the U.S.A. (if you exclude Alaska) whilst its population is only one tenth of the U.S.A.’s That means there’s plenty of room for both the Aussies and their visitors! It also makes the Australian continent the world’s most sparsely populated continent - with the obvious exception of Antarctica.

Overall, Australia is the driest continent in the world, but the lush and fertile area that makes up its eastern seaboard provides the majority of its population with a much more hospitable place to live.  Separating this fertile land from the vast, barren outback region is a mountain range named the Great Dividing Range. At its southern end you will find the Australian Alps or SnowyMountains as the Australians call them. Both names are equally apt because these mountains receive as much snowfall as Switzerland.

In addition to these amazing variation of climate and terrain, there are also large regions of savannah grasslands and a distinctly Mediterranean climate around the coastal areas of the south west. Many areas of northern and eastern Australia experience a tropical climate and there are both tropical and temperate rain forests to be found. Yet despite all of these huge areas where water exists in abundance, the vastness of Australia’s interior is what makes the continent the world’s driest. This enormous area is what is referred to as the Outback and it is perhaps the very heart of Australia in terms of feeling as well as in physical location. It is probably a picture from the Outback that pops into most people’s mind when they think about Australia. There is something so awe inspiring and unique about the total emptiness of this landscape as it seems go on to infinity, that it demands to be experienced by every visitor no matter what else they have come to see.

1. Tasmania – an island with a temperate rain forest south east of the Australian mainland and on the same latitude as central New Zealand.
2. New South Wales - Australia's most highly populated state and located in the south-east of the country. It is here you will find Australia’s biggest and probably best known city, Sydney.
3. Victoria - the smallest mainland state but also the one with the highest density of population. Australia's second largest city, Melbourne is located near the south coast of this state and as well as enjoying a Mediterranean climate it boasts the World’s largest Greek population outside of Greece!
4. South Australia - bordered by the Southern Ocean and the home state of Adelaide, Australia’s capital city.
5. Western Australia – This vast area is Australia's largest  and, covers the whole western third of the Australian mainland, thus making Perth, its capital city, one of earths most isolated large cities.
6. The Northern Territory– This state is very sparsely populated and is tropical in the north and desert in the south. The capital of this state is Darwin and its other  main city is Alice Springs. Alice lies in the heart of the Outback, and is the city every tourist sets off from to visit Ayers Rock
7. Queensland– This state occupies the north eastern corner of Australia, and experiences both tropical climate and subtropical climates. Its principle city is Brisbane which has 1.2 million inhabitants. The great barrier reef is located off the coast of Queensland and the state has some of the finest beaches in Australia.

With so much to see and do in Australia, the visitor needs to select his destinations and tours with careful planning. The travel articles found on the best travel tip website are aimed at helping him in this process.

Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR