COMPILED by London Swaminathan

Post No. 14,093

Date uploaded in Sydney, Australia – 14 January 2025

Contact – swami_48@yahoo.com

Pictures are taken from various sources for spreading knowledge.

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YELLOW CRESTED COCKATOO 

(Following Information is collected from various websites)

 Fifty Wonders of Australia -Part 1 (Post No.14,093)

1. Australia is the only country that is also a continent

Australia is the only country that can be considered a continent as well. It’s also the 6th largest country in the world! Geographically speaking, Australia is part of Oceania, a region of the planet that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. There is also a subregion of Oceania called Australasia, which includes Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, and a few other surrounding islands.

2. Australia has some of the world’s most unique wildlife

Australia is home to unique wildlife, including the platypus and echidna, the only two mammals in the world that lay eggs. 80% of Australia’s mammals, reptiles, and frogs are endemic. 

Around 80% of the wildlife is endemic to Australia, meaning it can only be found here! According to the Australian Wildlife Conservancy, 87% of mammals, 93% of reptiles, 94% of frogs, and 45% of birds in Australia ONLY exist in Australia.

From iconic kangaroos and koalas, to elusive echidnas and wombats, you can see some of the world’s most unique wildlife Down Under. Australia is also home to the only mammals that lay eggs: the platypus and the echidna.

3. The Australian Alps receive more snowfall than Switzerland

Many travellers don’t know that there is snow in Australia! Visitors can ski and snowboard in the Snowy Mountains of southern New South Wales and northern Victoria. This area, sometimes called the Australian Alps, is home to the country’s only mountains that exceed 2,000 metres.

According to the National Bureau of Meteorology, around 1cm of fresh snowfall hits the Swiss Alps each year, whereas around 4cm of fresh snow falls on the Australian Alps. So although the Swiss Alps have more snow overall, the Australian Alps may receive more fresh snowfall each year!

The Australian Alps are home to unique plants and animals, including alpine daisies, snow gums, mountain pygmy possums, and Bogong moths. 

BABY KANGAROO IN MOTHER’S POUCH
4. The word “selfie” was invented in Australia

A “selfie” is a word used to describe a photo that you take of yourself. This word may be common knowledge to most people today, but “selfie” was only added to Oxford Dictionaries in 2013.

Supposedly the first recorded use of the word “selfie” was in 2002 on an internet forum by a group of Australians. So Aussies have claimed to invent the popular word! Which doesn’t come as a surprise when you consider the fun, snappy nature of most Australian slang words.

5. Australia is home to the world’s longest fence

Many places in Australia have dingo fences, which are designed to protect livestock from predatory wild dingos. Australia has a dingo fence that is roughly 5,600km long and stretches through three states, from Queensland to New South Wales to South Australia. It’s the world’s longest fence and is longer than the Great Wall of China!

6. K’gari (Fraser Island) is the largest sand island in the world

Many travellers in Australia visit K’gari, formerly known as Fraser Island, for its majestic natural landscapes and adventurous activities. K’gari (Fraser Island) is famous because it’s the largest sand island in the world.

The island is around 1,655 square kilometres and can only be accessed with a 4WD. Regular cars couldn’t handle the sandy tracks of K’gari! Though it’s a sand island, K’gari is covered in dense rainforests that mysteriously grow out of the sand. It appears to be magic, but K’gari’s forests have formed a symbiotic relationship with the sand so beautiful flora and fauna can thrive.

LAUGHING BIRD KOOKABURRA 

7. Australia has over 60 wine regions

Not many people associate Australia with wine, but the country is one of the world’s top wine producers. There are around 65 different wine regions in Australia, which combined produce approximately 1 billion litres of wine every year. Among the most famous of Australia’s wine regions include Hunter Valley, Barossa Valley, Margaret River Valley, and Clare Valley.

8. The Blue Mountains are named due to the blue haze of Eucalyptus Trees

One of the best day trips from Sydney is the Blue Mountains. Full of hiking trails, waterfalls, and charming towns, the Blue Mountains are a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a great place to connect with nature in Australia.

The Blue Mountains are named because the Eucalyptus trees in the forests release oils that combine with light and water vapor to create a blue fog. This natural mist leaves a mystical blue haze over the valleys.

PLATYPUS

9. You can find some of the whitest sand in the world in Australia

Australia has numerous beaches which may have some of the whitest sand in the world! The actual records for the whitest sand in the world fluctuate constantly, and there are lots of different ways to measure it. But Hyams Beach in Jervis Bay, NSW and Lucky Bay in Cape Le Grand National Park, WA have both been on the list for the world’s whitest sand at some point in time.

Queensland is also home to a few beaches that have spectacularly white sand. Whitehaven Beach in the Whitsundays and Lake McKenzie on K’gari (Fraser Island) both have soft, silky sand that is around 98% pure silica. This is not only beautiful to see and touch, but it’s a natural phenomenon because scientists cannot figure out how all this pure silica ended up in these areas!

10. Convicts helped form Australia’s first official police force

Great Britain sent a fleet of ships full of convicts over to Australia in the late 1700s in the hopes of setting up a penal colony. The convicts arrived in Sydney in 1788, which became the site of the first European settlement in Australia.

Eventually, as more Europeans came to Australia, the convicts were released from jail early and got themselves jobs. Supposedly some convicts were even involved in Australia’s first official police force. As such, British convicts played a huge part in the colonisation of Australia.

11. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures are some of the oldest living cultures in the world

The European colonisation unfortunately led to horrifying oppression, genocide, and displacement of Australia’s First Nations People. Prior to European invasion of Australia, the history and culture of humans on the continent spans back up to 50,000 – 60,000 years! It’s hard to estimate the exact age of native Australian cultures, but they are believed to be one of the oldest communities in the world.

A fascinating aspect of these ancient Australian cultures is their art. Aboriginal rock art is known to be one of the oldest surviving human art forms, and you can see this ancient art with your own eyes in many places around Australia. Make an effort to connect with these special cultures while you’re touring Australia and take time to acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the Land wherever you go!

12. Tasmania has the cleanest air in the world

More specifically, Cape Grim in northwest Tasmania is said to have the cleanest air in the world. According to the Cape Grim Baseline Air Pollution Station, the strong winds that blow in from the Southern Ocean near Antarctica help keep the air pure and free of pollutants. So take that much-needed “breath of fresh air” to a new level by heading down to Tassie and inhaling the cleanest air on Earth!

13. Australia is the only continent in the world without an active volcano

Another one of the most interesting facts about Australia is that it’s the only continent with no active volcanoes. Which is great, because travellers are already concerned enough about the scary spiders and snakes in Australia, we don’t need volcanic eruptions thrown into the mix!

But in all seriousness, Australia is one of the safest countries in the world to visit. Even with the notorious deadly wildlife (most of which isn’t even that deadly and is super rare to see while travelling), Australia is a safe and secure place to travel.

14. The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef system in the world

Stretching through Australia’s Coral Sea for around 2,300km, the Great Barrier Reef is the largest collection of corals in the world. It’s also the largest ecosystem on the planet, with around 2,900 individual reefs, 900 islands, and vast numbers of living organisms. Don’t miss the chance to see the glorious corals and sea creatures of the precious Great Barrier Reef when you visit Australia!

KOALA

TO BE CONTINUED………………………….

TAGS- Fifty Wonders of Australia -Part 1