Indigenous Australians
The Aborigines of Australia are one of the oldest human populations and cultures
on earth, stretching back some 50,000 years. In that time, these original peoples
of Australia have reshaped the Australian landscape. Through hunting and burning
of forests and grasslands, in combination with natural climatic changes, the
arboriginal peoples have changed Australian eco-systems, driving some species
into extinction while paving the way for the unique adaptation of others.
Aboriginal Culture
The aboriginal peoples, spread widely across Australia, speak a large number of
different languages, but are found to share many cultural and technical similarities.
Modern Australia
Modern Australia is a continent and nation that has once again, been subject
to the dynamic forces of change. This time, the arrival of European colonists
lead to a reshaping of Australia's land and eco-systems in ways that today
impress upon the visitor to many parts of Australia that it 'Looks like
English Countryside'.
Jorn Utzon's Opera House
Australia's modern cities, from Perth, to Sydney, Melbourne and Hobart, are in
lock-step with the trends of contemporary civilization. Short on land in places
where people concentrate to find work and share society, the tendancy is to build
toward the sky. And yet, Australia's cities reflect a cosmological diversity
similar to the melting pot which is the United States of America. Fine food,
parks, entertainment and the high ideals of great cultural exchange and values
centered on education and prosperity are evident in Australia's cities. And any
description of Australia's cultural heritage should not fail to note that the
citizens of Australia, like Canadians, honor the British Monarchy.
Jorn Utzon's Sydney Opera House has long been a splendid reflection upon the
living soul of Australia's cultural heritage. Jorn, a Dane, who designed the
opera house, is recently deceased, in 2008. But this mixed heritage survives,
from the Aboriginie to the those who came later as European and Asian settlers
to a land that, though enormous, is mostly rugged and uncompromising in climate
and topology. Most of Australia's inhabitants live along her coasts and it is no
accident that Utzon's beautiful opera house is located in one of Australia's
large coastal cities, Sydney.
Yet the civilizing forces in modern Australia are still at a disadvantage when
it comes to gaining ground on the southern continent. Natural factors such as
climate, topology and accessibility reign supreme and hinder the progress which
the human hand might prefer to invoke. Even today, the actions of humanity on
the landscape of Australia are answered by severe dust storms, reminiscent of
the dust-bowl days in 1930s America. If you're not fond of crowds, no problem.
The greater part of Australia is known as The Outback.
The Great Barrier Reef
The largest living structure on the planet, the Great Barrier Reef is easily
visible from space. The reef is remarkable in many ways, a complex eco-system
which has already demonstrated incredible resiliance after rebounding from an
episode of coral bleaching which lead many of the world's top scientists and
biologists to believe that the reef was headed toward total demise. Yet the
enormous diversity of marine life that inhabits the barrier reef would not
succumb to demise and quite quickly re-established its awe inspiring pattern
of life and renewal, bringing the scare to an end.
The Great Barrier Reef Satellite Image
If you're a diver or a sports fisherman ... or if you simply want to go swimming
or snorkling on the reef, the small coastal town of Cairns is the unrivaled place
to visit. This is the water sports mecca of Australia and Cairns businesses
thrive on introducing visitors to the reef and the coral sea, beyond.
Coral Garden
The Outback
There's something about those wide open spaces like Wyoming, for example, the
interior of Alaska or perhaps even the Lybian Desert (well, perhaps that's
stretching things a bit beyond the distance to Pluto ...) that just seem to be the
places to go when people get sick and tired of the concrete and asphalt. Look
no further, because Australia is about 89 percent outback. And The Outback
is the Australian version of getting away for the weekend. Of course, the true
outback is a region west and over the mountains from Sydney. Whether its getting
lost in Australia's rain forests, out in the dry arid desert interior or off
into the plateaus and featureless wastes which are blowing away on the wind,
the outback is a place to escape to, only later to escape from, and hopefully,
not via a flight in a rescue chopper.
Uluru
The most visited place in the outback? That's probably Uluru or
Ayer's Rock as most people know it. Uluru is the Aborigine name for the
place and it's a drop dead gorgeous outcrop of red sandstone in the middle of a
wide open nowhere, in the very center of the Australian continent. A vacationer
in Australia can't get much closer to the heart of Australia, than Uluru.
Satallite View of The Outback
That was easy ... wasn't it?
Australian Wildlife
Continental isolation has preserved an impressive variety of unique animals and
plants down under. Australia's marsupial fauna are often spoken of, to include
Wombats, Tasmanian Devils, Kangaroos, Koalas and many
other unique species. And it doesn't stop there. Australia is home to many unique
reptiles, birds, insects and other mammals. And the flora of Australia boasts one
of the oldest and most unique trees, still extant today. Fossils of the
Wollemi Pine are found in Jurrassic rocks and today, there are only 40
living specimens left.
Virtual Australia
Australia's Deadliest
Australia, though known for the diversity of its wildlife, is also well known for
the deadly nature of some of those species. Many of Australia's wild inhabitants
are extremely venomous. Even the Platypus, a mammal, shares in this
distinction. Among the most venomous of Australia's animal wildlife are snakes
and spiders. Sea Snakes and Krates are well known for their neural-toxin
venoms, but Australia hosts a large number of venomous snakes which are not at
all shy about making their home ground in Australia's suburban neighborhoods.
And the spiders are numerous and large! In the marine
environment, tiny box jellies, 'Chironex Fleckeri', rank as one of the
world's most deadly killers. But there are also poisonous octopus, cone shells
and other varieties of coelenterates which sport toxic defenses and weapons for
subduing their prey.
Yet by far, the most notorious and well known of Australia's deadly creatures is
not venomous. The 'salty' or Salt Water Crocodile sports a huge maul lined
with sharp teeth and jaws that can clamp down with incredible force. Salty's
do not simply pose a deadly threat to humans; they are man-eaters and in Australia,
when poeple go missing, it's no use to put their pictures on milk cartons. Unless
the salty responsible for their disappearance is found and disected, those folks
commonly are never heard of or seen again and the locals can only hint at what
happened to them.
Salt Water Crocodile
If you love crocodiles, the wonderful thing is that with all this global warming
that has folks jabbering up a storm, these big bullies are expanding their range
southward into communities that are for the first time seeing these huge man-eaters
lurking in their neck of the woods and the red flag is definitely up. There's a hot debate wether
or not to allow hunters to cull the numbers of these great reptiles. They are
feared more than are sharks and as odd as it might seem, folks fear these reptiles
more than venomous snakes and spiders. Go figure. Perhaps, the mortal spirit of
humanity harbors a strong concept to leave something behind to bury. Australia's
killer salties aren't exactly obliging of mankind's mortality, nor human spiritual
concerns. The funny thing is that it's easier to avoid a salty than it is the tiny,
but all too deadly, box jelly.
Name Your Poison
Dealy Animals and Plants
