Travel to Australia
Browse Home Exchange, Vacation Rentals, B&B , Homestay (furnished apartments, villas, cottages, condos, farmhouses and other types of accommodations) by regions of Australia:
Last Minute Tips Before you Travel to Australia
- Time ZoneGMT/UTC +10 (Eastern Standard Time), GMT/UTC +9.5 (Central Time), GMT/UTC +8 (Western Time)
- Electricity: 220V-240V, 50 Hz (bring an adapter/transformer for your hair drier, laptop, cellullar phone etc.)
- Weights & measures: Metric
Must See - Properties on UNESCO World Heritage List
- Kakadu National Park (Northern Territory)
- Great Barrier Reef (Queensland mainland)
- Willandra Lakes Region (New South Wales)
- Tasmanian Wilderness (Tasmania)
- Lord Howe Island Group (New South Wales)
- Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves (New South Wales/Queensland)
- Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park (Northern territory)
- Wet Tropics of Queensland (Queensland)
- Shark Bay, Western Australia (Western Australia)
- Fraser Island (Queensland)
- Australian Fossil Mammal Sites (Queensland/South Australia)
- Heard and McDonald Islands
- Macquarie Island (Tasmania)
- Greater Blue Mountains Area
- Purnululu National Park (Western Australia)
- Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens (Victoria)
Australia
Location
Oceania, continent between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean
Regions
Australia consists of 6 states and 2 territories*;
6 states and 2 territories*; Australian Capital Territory*, New South Wales, Northern Territory*, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia
Dependent areas:
Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Macquarie Island, Norfolk Island
Capital
Canberra
Population
21,262,641 (July 2009 est.)
Climate
generally arid to semiarid; temperate in south and east; tropical in north
Ethnic groups
white 92%, Asian 7%, aboriginal and other 1%
Religions
Catholic 25.8%, Anglican 18.7%, Uniting Church 5.7%, Presbyterian and Reformed 3%, Eastern Orthodox 2.7%, other Christian 7.9%, Buddhist 2.1%, Muslim 1.7%, other 2.4%, unspecified 11.3%, none 18.7% (2006 Census)
Languages
English 78.5%, Chinese 2.5%, Italian 1.6%, Greek 1.3%, Arabic 1.2%, Vietnamese 1%, other 8.2%, unspecified 5.7% (2006 Census)
Government type
federal parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm
Background
Aboriginal settlers arrived on the continent from Southeast Asia about 40,000 years before the first Europeans began exploration in the 17th century. No formal territorial claims were made until 1770, when Capt. James COOK took possession in the name of Great Britain. Six colonies were created in the late 18th and 19th centuries; they federated and became the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. The new country took advantage of its natural resources to rapidly develop agricultural and manufacturing industries and to make a major contribution to the British effort in World Wars I and II. In recent decades, Australia has transformed itself into an internationally competitive, advanced market economy. It boasted one of the OECD's fastest growing economies during the 1990s, a performance due in large part to economic reforms adopted in the 1980s. Long-term concerns include climate-change issues such as the depletion of the ozone layer and more frequent droughts, and management and conservation of coastal areas, especially the Great Barrier Reef.
Australia Travel and Accommodation – Your Tips for Travelers
If you would like to share your experiences of traveling to Australia or to any other country, please send us your article and we will gladly post it at this website.
Sydney, Australia by Mark Moxon
Hanging Out in Melbourne by Mark Moxon
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