ID Australia ID Australia Logo

Australia Information

  • Conferences and Meetings
  • Creative Event Delivery
  • Incentive Programs
  • Full Logistics Management
  • Over 200 years combined experience

Australia Map

Introducing Australia

- Eyewitness Travel Guides "Australia"

Australia is the world's oldest continent, inhabited for more than 40,000 years by Aborigines. It was settled by the British just over 200 years ago, in 1788, and since then has transformed from a colonial outpost into a nation with a population of more than 20 million. For visitors, its ancient, worn landscape contrasts with the vitality and youthful energy of its inhabitants.

Covering an area as large as the United States of America or the entire European continent, Australia's landscape is highly diverse, encompassing dry Outback, the high plateaus of the Great Dividing Range, the lush woods of Tasmania, the rainforest and coral reefs of the tropical north and almost 18,000km (11,000 miles) of coastline. The Great Dividing Range forms a spine down eastern Australia, from Queensland to Victoria, separating the fertile coastal strip from the dry and dusty interior.

Dominating the vegetation is the eucalypt, known as the "gum tree", of which there are some 500 varieties. Australian trees shed their bark rather than their leaves, the native flowers have no smell and, with the exception of the wattle, bloom only briefly.

Australia has a unique collection of fauna. Most are marsupials, such as the emblematic kangaroo and koala. The platypus and echidna are among the few living representatives in the world of mammals that both lay eggs and suckle their young. The dingo, brought to Australia by the Aborigines, is considered the country's native dog.

Australia's antiquity is nowhere more evident than in the vast inland are known as the Outback. Once a huge inland sea, its later aridity preserved the remains of the creatures that once inhabited the area. Some fossils found in Western Australia are 350 million years old, the oldest forms of life known on earth.

Australia... A Different Light

- Tourism Australia

Australians are known as a friendly and open bunch of people, who generally love a chat, and welcome any excuse to party. Say hello, and experience the warmth of an Australian handshake, a cold beer, and an invitation to return.

Australia is land of rich and rare treasures, a place of truly amazing contrasts and unforgettable experiences. The urban sophistication of its cities is enjoyable yet unpretentious; while its outback is vast and often mysterious. Its endless miles of beaches deliver year-round fun, while the country's quirky wildlife - including its kangaroos and cuddly koalas - never fail to intrigue.

 

Cities and people

Australia's cities offer the visitor new experiences in urban living. Some are known for their outdoor lifestyle, others for fabulous dining, fashion or art. Each has its own sense of history and charm.

Sydney is the shining star of the southern hemisphere: it's sunny, sophisticated and sexy. The Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge are the city's pride and joy, but there's much more to discover in this harbour city of fine restaurants, relaxed beaches, and shopping emporiums. Brisbane's easygoing, subtropical ambience is a perennial delight, while Melbourne is the cultural hub which excels in the good things in life - fashion, food and sport. Canberra, the nation's capital, is home to many of Australia's most important public buildings and art works, while visitors to the west coast discover Perth as a scenic city with plenty to do. In South Australia, Adelaide nestles between seas and hills. It is a graceful city of wide streets and elegant buildings, where cultural pursuits are high on the agenda.

In the Top End, Darwin is a vibrant, tropical capital city perched on a deepwater port, offering a blend of cosmopolitan and city pleasures. It also acts as a gateway to key natural and cultural attractions. And not to be forgotten is Hobart, island Tasmania's capital, with its stunning harbour and historic buildings.

 

Food and wine

Fine wines and dining are now as Australian as warm sun and booming surf. Visitors to Australia are often dazzled by the sheer quality and variety of Australia's food, and the local food markets in every major city are a great place to sample the harvest.

Glance in the window of one of the gourmet food stores scattered throughout Australia's capital cities and you'll get a surprise. Chevre and proscuitto from Western Australia, brie and cold-pressed olive oil from South Australia, balsamic vinegars and snails from Victoria, milk-fed lamb from New South Wales, wood-fired bread from just about everywhere - the line-up is as startling as it is sophisticated.

Then there are the bush foods that are native to Australia - lemon aspen, bush tomatoes, Illawarra plums, lemon myrtle, lilli pillies, and muntari berries - ingredients that allow chefs with skill and imagination to create truly Australian dishes. What Australia eats now is often described as fusion food - a collage of culinary influences that uses a splash of olive oil with one hand while tossing in a handful of chopped coriander and chilli's with the other.

This rich diversity of ingredients has wrought a revolution in the kitchens of Australia's restaurant and homes, sparked by successive waves of immigration from Eastern Europe, the Mediterranean, and Asia. This cultural intermingling shows in the national diet, and today Australia is fuelled by croissants, espresso coffee, octopus salads and stir-fry meals.

 

Aboriginal heritage

The Aboriginal people are Australia's original inhabitants, and have lived here for over 50,000 years. It is an ancient culture that is deeply connected to the land. At the heart of the continent is Uluru (named Ayers Rock by the colonial settlers), a monolith of great spiritual significance. This great rock reaches 348 metres tall and measures nine kilometres at its base. Take a guided walk around Uluru or visit the Aboriginal Cultural Centre to find out more about the history of the area.

More than 30,000 Aboriginal items are on display at the Australian Aboriginal Cultures Gallery in the South Australian Museum. Visitors can also drive along the Aboriginal Dreaming Trail in the Flinders Ranges.

Burrinja, located forty-five minutes east of Melbourne, Victoria, provides a distinctive view of contemporary and traditional Aboriginal art. Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park in Cairns offers a stunning theatrical interpretation of Aboriginal culture from the beginning of time into the future.

Traditional Aboriginal food, now called bush tucker, has gone mainstream. These new tastes can be sampled at specialist restaurants throughout Australia like Edna's Table in Sydney.

 

Wildlife

Australia is a land full of powerful experiences. Our incredible wildlife is truly unique, and definitely worth seeking out. Animals such as the kangaroo and the platypus exist nowhere else on earth, and one of the most memorable experiences you can have is to see a koala. Lone Pine Sanctuary, south of Brisbane, is home to one of Australia's best-known collections of native animals, including about 130 koalas. Visitors to Koala Park Sanctuary, on the outskirts of Sydney, can hand-feed koalas and get a close-up view of some of the majestic wildlife species unique to Australia. At Cohunu Koala Park, a natural bushland park just a 30 minute drive from Perth, visitors can have their photo taken with one of 25 resident koalas and hand-feed many of the free-ranging animals.

With just a little effort, visitors can also see Australian native animals in the wild. Beyond the cities, in rural and outback Australia, it's not unusual to see mobs of kangaroo grazing in the late afternoon sun and see the flightless emu going about its business.

Just remember to tread softly within Australia's pristine rainforests, its marine environment and desert ecosystems. Australians and visitors value the unique qualities of this country and over the past decade, Australians have become increasingly aware of the value and uniqueness of their natural environment.

 

Relax

Bliss out in a rainforest? Stretch on a tropical beach? Watch the snow fall from a spa? Relaxation comes naturally in Australia, a country where locals sometimes refer to as 'the land of the long weekend'. Within the protective breakwater of the Great Barrier Reef outer reef is a 250,000 square kilometres maritime province, a vast labyrinth of smaller reefs, coral cays, lagoons, rocky inshore islands, deep channels and underwater caverns. As well as a habitat for an amazing treasury of marine life, this area is also home to an astonishing variety of tropical island resorts. They cater to just about every taste - from families to singles to well-heeled sophisticates who demand fine dining and a beauty parlour from their island paradise.

Some resorts are on the small coral islands of the outer reef. These include Heron Island Resort off Gladstone, a 19 hectare, egg-shaped island ringed by sand. It is everything a coral island should be, surrounded by luscious swirls of opal colours crowded with marine life - a paradise for divers and snorkellers. Another resort surrounded by the Great Barrier Reef is Lizard Island, the most northerly of the Queensland resort islands.

 

Adventure

Swim among the largest sharks in existence. Sail the challenging seas off Tasmanian's rugged coast. Abseil down a cliff and descend into awesome rainforest. If you are after adventure, your choices are many and varied. Australia's 36,735 kilometre coastline, bordering two oceans and four seas, is basically one big, long beach - punctuated by spectacular cliffs, headlands, inlets, rivers and waterways. Aquatic activities range from swimming, diving, surfing to underwater hockey.

Australia's vast coastline provides enough beaches, coves and ports to keep surfers and marine enthusiasts happy all year round. Diversions include whitewater river rafting along the rivers that run through tropical rainforests and canoeing through the Northern Territory's tranquil and majestic Nitmiluk (Katherine) Gorge. Australia is tailor-made for adventure travel. Vast tracts of wilderness and dozens of national parks offer bushwalking, rock climbing, mountain biking and abseiling to satisfy even the most energetic outdoors junkie.

 

Top