Australia

Australia is the worlds smallest continent and 6th largest country. It is a very large country being roughly equivalent in size to Western Europe or the 48 contiguous states plus the District of Columbia of the USA. Most of the Australian population lives in the coastal regions.

If you are planning an Australian Vacation allow for enough time for your tours in Australia or plan on multiple Australian tours to see the best that Australia offers. Both Melbourne & Brisbane are a very long days drive from Sydney and to drive to Perth will take you about a week. Australia tours will be more enjoyable if you focus on a theme or region unless you are planning an extended Australian vacation.

With a country this large as you would expect there are many landscapes and the places to visit in Australia are just as varied.

The tropical north has rain forests and world heritage listed Great Barrier Reef in Queensland and Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory. The Northern Territory, the Outback Centre of Australia with its desert sunbaked landscapes, Ulhuru (Ayers Rock) the Olgas and vast open areas of outback rangeland. The beaches of the more temperate coasts of New South Wales and Victoria. World heritage wilderness areas in Tasmania. The wine growing regions of the Barossa Valley in South Australia to the wide variations in Western Australia which stretches from the tropical north and the stunning Kimberlys to the more temperate wine regions of Margaret River in the south. The largest cities Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane are all on the East Coast, Hobart and Adelaide in the South and Perth in the West but you should make an effort to travel to regional areas where some of the lesser known sightseeing and great experiences to take home can be found.

The best time to go to Australia is dependent on what you want to do on your Australian tour. When you travel in Australia you'll generally find Australians to be helpful and friendly and the standard of available goods and services to rival any in the world.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have inhabited Australia for around 60,000 years while the rest of Australia’s people are migrants, or descendants of migrants, who have arrived during the past 200 years from over 200 countries and the Australian History of modern Australia began in 1788 at The Rocks Sydney with the arrival of Captain Arthur Phillip and the First Fleet.

Australians are a unique and culturally diverse mix of people with almost one in four of Australia’s population of more than 21 million being born overseas. These immigrants predominantly come from Europe, Asia, North Africa and the Middle East, sub-Saharan Africa and the Americas. The most commonly spoken languages in Australia are English, Italian, Greek, Cantonese, Arabic, Vietnamese and Mandarin. Marvelous Melbourne’s newest icon “The Travellers” sculptures physically represent that city’s home to people from more than 140 countries. Melbourne is a city that celebrates diversity and embodies tolerance.

The Australian domestic economy is dominated by its services sector and yet Australia’s export economy is a mix of traditional commodities such as bauxite, coal, copper, gold and iron ore and agriculture including wool, meat, wheat and wine, and services such as tourism.

For the best overall information on your Australian tour visit the Australian Tourist Commission website www.australia.com which has thousands of pages of information and maps covering the information you will need to know when planning a trip.

When you tour Australia the digital mobile phone network is compatible with GSM 900 and 1800 (used in Europe), but generally not with the systems used in the USA or Japan. Service is good but can be intermittent in the country areas outside of major towns. Buying a prepaid mobile phone is easy and short-term connection is cheap. Prepaid mobile phone systems with recharge cards are offered by all major carriers and are an excellent way of keeping in touch.

Australian Climate

The Australian climate varies significantly and the Australian weather can be very different in different parts of the continent in the same season because Australia is so large.

In the north there are tropical regions with high temperatures and high humidity and distinct wet and dry seasons. In the centre of the country are dry, desert regions with high daytime temperatures and low amounts of rain. In the south are the temperate regions with moderate rainfall and temperatures ranging from hot to cold. Visitors need to prepare for the Australian weather dependent on the region and season their visit is in.

The Australian seasons are opposite to the northern hemisphere and with slight variations are:

Summer:December to February Autumn:March to May Winter: June to August Spring: September to November

So what’s the best time to visit Australia? It all depends on where you are visiting and what you want to do. It’s probably best to plan your trip so that as you move from one area to another you are keeping in the best Australian weather. The broad regional variations in Australian Weather can be summarized as follows: