Situated between the Indian and South Pacific Oceans in a geographically misunderstood region of the world called Oceania, Australia is a continent nearly twice the size of Europe and also an independent nation made up of six states and two territories. The literal continental size of the country makes for travel that is diverse and exhilarating without the hassle of ever crossing a single border!
Australia has been inhabited for an estimated 45,000 years with the first recorded European encounter with the landmass not until 1606. In 1770, the English navigator James Cook claimed Australia for Britain, but it was not until the gold rush of the 1800s that Aboriginal tribes were really harmed by Europeans who were drawn into the depths of the continent’s formidable Great Dividing Range where natives had since thrived undisturbed. Today there are many trading posts, such as Alice Springs, where Aborigines sell traditional artwork and musical instruments such as the popular didgeridoo.
Wine, Waves, and Whimsical Wilderness
Most travelers anticipate a visit to the Sydney Opera House, a wild ride through the outback and then a dive at the Great Barrier Reef,...