Australia is a massive country, nearly the size of the continental United States. Within this large land mass is amazing beauty: from the stark and barren landscape of the desert to the lush and dense rainforest, Australia has so much to see. It has some of the best beaches in the world and the world’s largest coral reef. In addition to all this, it can boast some beautiful mountains and unique wildlife that exists no where else.

The Australian desert takes up the majority of the interior of the country. For people from Europe, Asia, the Subcontinent or the USA, it is unfathomable just how much space exists out there. One can drive for hours and see no signs of human life apart from the roads carrying you from here to there. As you leave one town headed for the next, signs will tell you how long before you reach the next place, specifically highlighting how long until the next petrol station is reached. Heed these signs as getting stranded in the desert can be dangerous, if not fatal. When you’re really in the ‘outback’ a full tank of petrol is a necessity.

The desert landscape is so barren that the eyes can get tired of attempting to see something that just isn’t there. Miles upon miles of flat, pebbly land heading to the horizon has a strange effect on people. It is hard not to love it; so much space seems to tap into something primeval in the human psyche. Many of us now come from a world where houses, cars, office buildings, street signs, shopping malls, landscaped gardens, neon signs, and billboards clog up so much of our visual space that the scarcity of the desert is soothing. To look out and see flat land with little more than a gum tree or two to interrupt (or enhance) the scene reminds us of how our ancestors lived. Romantic as it is, life is not easy in such a dry place. Water is scarce and therefore so is vegetation. It is dry and during the summer, blistering hot and the winter is witheringly cold. There is little to sustain life, yet somehow a few people and animals manage it.

To see and compare the lushness of the Australian rainforeststo the barrenness of the desert, it is difficult to believe that one is still in the same country. Here the visual space is crowded, however not with human rubbish, but nature’s abundance. Vines climb everything that holds still long enough, birds skitter from tree to tree singing or screeching their varied tunes, great buttresses of tree roots support giant masses of trees reaching for the sky, ferns and fungi hide in the shade of other plants desperately seeking the filtered light from above. It defies belief how many shades of green the rainforest can produce, from the delicate spring green of freshly sprouted leaves to the deep, almost black forest green of more established plants. From amongst the green, one can catch a glimpse of color: the brilliant red of a hibiscus, royal purple of a ­­­violet, or the yellow or blue flash of bird.

There are many places in the tropical north of Australia where this lush, green rainforest opens out onto aqua waters and white sands of some of the best beaches in the world. On many of these beaches you won’t find a lot of (or any) people and to have a beach this beautiful all to yourself is quite amazing. If you’re lucky you’ll see dolphins leaping and playing in the waves. If you visit at the right time of the year to the right beaches you’ll see giant sea turtles laying their eggs on the beach or even better, the babies hatching and making their way across the sands to the sea. Some of the most awe-inspiring beaches are on the sand islands off the coast. Two of the world’s largest sand islands, Moreton and Fraser, are located off the east coast of Australia and they are incredible. Rolling white sand dunes carry you to the sea where if the season is right, you’ll see whales making their annual migration.

In the summer up north don’t swim in the water no matter how refreshing it may look as this is the season for box jellyfish and should you be stung by one you will experience what has been said to be one of the most painful deaths humanly possible. Also, up north avoid going near rivers and streams that flow into the ocean as salt-water crocodiles live in these and if there is one creature you don’t want to run into in Australia, it’s the salt-water croc.

Off the northern east coast of Australia is the Great Barrier Reef. Do yourself a favor and go snorkeling in the reef. The variety of coral and fish is incredible, the colors defy belief. Every color of the rainbow is well represented and there are even those that the rainbow forgot about. Giant clams with purple, green or blue ‘lips’ embed themselves in the ocean floor, spotted and stripped sea slugs lay alongside them, giant sea turtles glide along in the water occasionally surfacing for a drink of air, clown fish dart in and out of multi-colored sea anemone, parrot fish munch away on algae growing on forests of coral and every once in a while a sting ray will cause a flurry of dust as it moves from place to place seeking food. Photos cannot do it justice, neither can words. Just go and see it for yourself before the great reef is damaged beyond repair by global warming and irresponsible tourism. Ensure you go with registered operators and follow their instructions about behavior in the reef to ensure that it is protected from further harm.

Australia has all this and mountains to boot. Because it is such an old continent with little seismic activity the mountains won’t blow your mind like the Himalaya, but they are beautiful and the wildlife that lives within them is unlike anything you will see anywhere else in the world. Kookaburras laugh as you walk by, rock wallabies bounce down to streams to get a drink and koalas snooze the whole day long in majestic gum trees.

It shouldn’t be surprising how varied the landscapes of Australia are once its size has been considered, but to truly believe the beauty of it all, one must see it. Months, even years could be spent exploring the vast lands and even then, it is unlikely you could see it all.

by: Tabatha Smith