Down Under

Australia is an upside-down, crazy, funny, wonderful kind of place. It is an island, a country, and a continent. It is the world’s sixth largest country in terms of size (similar to the U.S.), but has a population of only 19 million people (India grows by the same amount every year). It is the lowest, flattest, and warmest landmass on the globe, yet it has many popular ski resorts. It has the oldest soils, the oldest fossils, and the oldest human culture, yet it is one of the youngest westernized nations in the world. Except for Antarctica, it is the driest continent on Earth, yet it has vast tracts of pristine rainforest, carpeted with moss and ferns. It has heaps of unique and fascinating animals, yet it has more extinct species than any other country. It is home to the world’s ten most venomous snakes. Eighty percent of living things in Australia exist nowhere else in the world. Whoa.

Kangaroos, Dingoes, Wallabies, Wombats, Koalas, Platypuses, Saltwater Crocodiles, Penguins, Emus, and Tasmanian Devils. These are the animals of Australia.

Uluru (the world’s largest monolith), the Great Barrier Reef (the world’s largest living thing), and the vast Australian desert. These is the geography of Australia.

The many Aboriginal cultures of Australia date back at least 50,000 years (some estimate 100,000 years), while the European settlers (convicts from England) have been there for 217 years. This is the history of Australia.

This place is nuts. This is going to be fun.