Issue link: http://viewer.e-digitaleditions.com/i/541568
Welcome to Australia 5 welcome to australia Cairns Canberra Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Perth Adelaide Alice Springs Darwin Townsville Coffs Harbour Byron Bay Mackay Cooktown Kalgoorlie Katherine Broken Hill Geraldton Exmouth Albany Broome Kununurra Uluru (Ayers Rock) Kangaroo Island Fraser Island W E S T E R N A U S T R A L I A S O U T H A U S T R A L I A N O R T H E R N T E R R I T O R Y Q U E E N S L A N D N E W S O U T H W A L E S V I C T O R I A T A S M A N I A 0 400 miles 0 400 km Tropic of Capricorn I N D I A N O C E A N S O U T H P A C I F I C O C E A N Timor Sea S O U T H E R N O C E A N Gulf of Carpenteria Arafura Sea Coral Sea Awe is everywhere in "Oz"—as local Aussies call it—a continent so fantastically beautiful that its Technicolor counterpart pales in comparison. The roads of one of the world's largest producers of gold may not be paved with yellow brick, but dense rainforests like the Daintree—the oldest on earth at over 135 million years old—create cities as emerald as you'll find in this world, an oasis away from the blazing Outback's desert lands. Keep going in any direction to reach 31,000 miles of coast: soft, white winter wonderlands where the seasons are reversed and water sports and sunbathing are best done as the snow falls back home. Follow the shores to find 80% of Australia's nearly 23 million residents…and hundreds of types of corals, jellyfish, sharks, and rays and thousands of forms of mollusks and glittering fish. The Great Barrier Reef, stretching from Queensland to Bundaberg, is the largest in existence, but on land, pocket-dwelling joeys; chubby wallabies and koalas; comical platypuses; spiky echidnas; and penguins on parade are only a few of the unique natives found throughout the country and its Greater Blue Mountains. It's not all wild Down Under, though. Minutes from mountain, ocean, river, and bush, superb galleries, museums, theaters, nightlife, shopping, and 120 sports organizations make the cities hubs for cosmopolitan entertainment. The fine dining in the capital of Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth is well complemented by vintages from Australia's more than 60 designated wine regions. History and culture can be experienced firsthand with Aboriginal—a civilization considered the world's oldest—encounters. Then close your eyes and say: there's no place like Australia.