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Australia has come a long way since the days when Captain Cook stumbled ashore to find an Aboriginal way of life that went back some 40,000 years. Indeed, Australia must really be divided into 'modern Australia' and 'indigenous Australia', since there is a wealth of disparate elements that constitute this compelling country.The continent was first known to Europeans as Terra Australis. The first European settlements were initiated by the Dutch East India Company in 1606. By 1868, Britain had sent more than 160,000 convicts to Australia and several of modern Australia’s biggest

cities around the coast grew from the penal settlements. Eventually, the British crown claimed the entire continent. The colonisers unfortunately treated the Kooris, the indigenous population, with appalling brutality, which only worsened following the gold rush and the first wave of voluntary migration that spilled into the interior, where many Kooris had fled to.The inaugural National Sorry Day was held in 1998 and has become an annual fixture on the Australian calendar. The day is a symbolic event that heralds modern Australia's willingness to face its inception. The didgeridoo and the boomerang have become modern Australian icons. Tourists flock to the breathtaking, epic monolith of Uluru (Ayers Rock) to watch the sun soak it in reds and oranges. This assimilation of Aboriginal culture has both negatives and positives, and the aim must be to harmonize rather than homogenize.Many struggle to reconcile Aboriginal Dreamtime with the stereotype of carefree people in cork hats, swigging beer around a barbeque. But it is not difficult to 'take it easy' amidst miles of sun, sea and sand. You could even do the Aussie thing and ride some waves, with surfing schools on offer all over the country (website: www.surfingaustralia.com). Nevertheless, Australia may be an island, but it is also the world's largest one, and its size encompasses a range of stunning landscapes, from vast, barren deserts, where kangaroo and emu bound through the arid surroundings, to tropical rainforests and rugged mountains. Isolated from other continents, Australia has an abundance of unique plant and animal life.Just as the surroundings surprise, so too may the people. Crocodile Dundee types have long been replaced by fashionistas browsing for bargains in Australia's world-renowned cities. Australia embraces its Pacific Rim location, with multicultural influence throughout, from Sydney's great harbor that welcomes worldwide visitors, to Melbourne's European ambience and lively Chinatown. Australia is a real hotchpotch of elements, catering for every kind of holidaymaker. This is the perfect time to discover the 'real' Australia, whatever you may find that to be.GeographyAustralia is bounded by the Arafura Sea and Timor Seas to the north, the Coral and Tasman Seas of the South Pacific to the east, the Southern Ocean to the south, and the Indian Ocean to the west. Its coastline covers 36,738km (22,814 miles). Most of the population has settled along the eastern and south-eastern coastal strip. Australia is the smallest continent (and the largest island) in the world. About 40 per cent of the continent is within the tropics and Australia is almost the same size as the mainland of the United States of America. The terrain is extremely varied, ranging from tortured red desert to lush green rainforest. Australia’s beaches and surfing are world-renowned, while the country is also rich in reminders of its mysterious past. These range from prehistoric Aboriginal art to Victorian colonial architecture. The landscape consists mainly of a low plateau mottled with lakes and rivers and skirted with coastal mountain ranges, highest in the east with the Great Dividing Range. There are rainforests in the far northeast (Cape York Peninsula). The southeast is a huge fertile plain. Further to the north lies the enormous Great Barrier Reef, a 2000km (1200 mile) strip of coral that covers a total area of 345,000 sq km. Although Australia is the driest land on Earth, it nevertheless has enormous snowfields the size of Switzerland. There are vast mineral deposits. More detailed geographical descriptions of each State can be found in the individual State entries.





Australian Portfolio offers a premium collection of travels through Australia on behalf of Wilderness Australia, a small privately owned travel company. We specialize in quality tailor made safaris and small group departures throughout our diverse environment. The majority of accommodation is hosted on outback properties, homesteads, small bush camps and lodges, each carefully chosen by us for its wilderness location, and for the unique insight that each offers into Australia’s natural environment.

New South Wales: The inhabitants of New South Wales are never far from adventure for the main focus of outdoor sports here is the Great Dividing Range, which runs parallel and close to the densely populated eastern seaboard for the entire length of the state. Many parts of the Great Dividing Range are rugged enough to have escaped the clearing that occurred as European settlers spread westward from the coast, and today patches of magnificent virgin forest still cloak peaks and escarpments and fill valleys. Although eucalypt forests predominate, alpine heaths cover high peaks in the south, and scattered pockets of subtropical rainforest become more common as you travel northward. The Great Dividing Range offers almost unlimited challenges for adventures, including cliffs for rock climbers, vast tracks of bushland for walkers, and scenic fire trails and rugged back roads for mountain bikers. The highest peaks and plateaus of the Snowy Mountains are a winter playground for ski-tourers. The rivers that have carved their way through the ranges offer opportunities for canoeing, kayaking and rafting, while the narrowest gorges provide a venue for the exciting sport of canyoning. Further west, New South Wales offers entirely different landscapes including semiarid plains and the red-sand deserts and dramatic rockscapes that characterize classic outback country. Adventure Further!

Northern Territory: Renowned for its outback scenery, Aboriginal culture, the great landmarks of Uluru and Kata Tjuta, and the wetlands of Kakadu, the Northern Territory is an enticing but daunting adventure-travel destination. Services are often few and far between, with many towns consisting of little more than a cluster of houses, a shop and a pub, and extreme weather can turn even a short outing into an ordeal. It is for these reasons that some of the Territory’s parks impose strict regulations on visitors. At Uluru-Kata Tjuta, for example, walking is not permitted away from approved tracks and camping is not allowed anywhere with-in the park. Other national parks have less rigid rules but do request that visitors make their plans known to rangers. Despite these restrictions, however, well-prepared travelers can take advantage of a wide range of adventure activities and almost unlimited potential for wilderness exploration. Adventure Further!