AustraliaAustralia can be viewed in three ways; as an island, as a continent, and as a country. From a biologist's point of view, we often refer to it as the "island continent". If seen as an island, it is the world's largest (and no, Greenland is not larger; it just looks that way on some of the old fashioned maps that don't accurately transfer the curvature of the Earth to a flat peice of paper).
As a continent, it is the world's smallest.
It covers over 7.6 million square kilometres, and is roughly the size of the continental United States, without the state of Alaska. Like the U.S.A, it is longer than it is tall, but unlike that country (which misses out on the tropic of Cancer), Australia has a third of its land within the tropics. (Check out this image of an outline of Australia with an outline of the USA, with the upper dashed line representing the tropic of Capricorn going through Australia, and the tropic of Cancer well below Florida)
a very flat, dry counry...Geographically, Australia distinguishes itself by its extreme flatness. It is in fact the flattest of all continents. The biggest range (or a series of ranges) is the 'Great Dividing Range', which separates the wetter eastern coastal slice from the drier western majority of the continent. But these 'ranges' are small by international standards. Australia is also the world's second driest continent (Antarctica is the driest). In fact, the Mississippi/Missouri river system in the USA drains out more water than comes off the ENTIRE Australian continent.
All of this doesn't affect most Australians, however, as the majoriy of us live along the comparatively wetter, topographically varied east coast.
Travel in Australia
Australia is a very safe place to travel from a cultural point of view. It is politically stable, does not suffer from internal war, few of its citizens would ever consider owning a gun, and it has a high standard of living. Travelling costs are much higher than South-east Asia, and more similar to North America and Europe.
There are loads of places to visit, and many of these places are ideal for experiencing nature and/or wildlife watching.
where to go to experience nature and watch wildlife...The biggest city in Australia is Sydney. It is not the political capital, but it is the most scenic and visited city on the continent. But even in Sydney there is nature and wildlife to be seen.
Drive up the east coast for 2 or 3 days and you will end up in the tropics. I am based in the tropical north-east because this is where the biological diversity is the highest on the continent. The centre of this region is
Cairns.
what to look for..Australia comprises a very distinct biogeographical realm that easily distinguishes itself from the Earth's other great biological regions that roughly correlate with the other continents.
And despite Australia's reputation, it is also safe from a biological point of view. It has no native land based predators capable of eating normal humans (there are no native tigers, lions, wolves or bears).
However, Australia is infamous for having the highest diversity of dangerous
snakes.
who to go with...For much travel in Australia, you are really better off striking out and exploring on your own.
However, there are some inaccessible areas where a tour is a better, (or the only) option. Or you may have limited time and want to be efficient. If you have a bit of money, you can consider expedition cruises, which are fun and comfortable ways to explore. In 2012 there are several companies I am again working with that explore some of the more beautiful and remote parts of Australia, including:
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