Australia is, no doubt, one of the most mysterious and interesting English-speaking countries in the world. Being situated far away in the Southern Hemisphere, the country is a wonderful mixture of a unique nature and original traditions.
Australia is the only country on our planet that occupies a whole continent, though the smallest one. Its total area is more than 7,6 million square kilometers and it is 30 times bigger than the area of Great Britain. Despite that, the population of Australia is not a large one — about 23 million people which is almost three times smaller than the population of the UK.
The climate of Australia cannot be described as a pleasant one: it's hot and wet in the South, generally mild in the centre and hot and extremely dry in the North. The climate differences are mainly formed by the long mountain range that stretches across almost the whole continent and divides the hot dry lands of the mainland from the juicy lands close to the coasts. However, Australia is one of the oldest lands of our planet and no wonder that the landscape is mainly flat. But it is not boring at all — incredible colours of Australian deserts, salt lakes and strange rocks are really fascinating.
Australia is a part of the British Commonwealth and it consists of six states and two territories. The nation's capital is Canberra — a beautiful green city with numerous parks and squares. The modern history of the continent dates back to 1770 when Terra Australis Incognita was discovered by Captain James Cook. The first British settlements appeared there in 1788. But the old history of the Native Australians is much older — the archeologists discovered paintings on the rocks that are about 40 thousand years old. The unique culture and traditions of their ancectors are carefully kept by the Aboriginals till nowadays.
The country is a wonderful tourist destination. Millions of people visit the upside down world every year to experience the extraordinary nature of the continent which is really worth seeing. Thousands of unbelieveable unique species of flora and fauna can be met only in Australia. Kangaroos and koalas, platypuses and kookaburras can be seen in the wild.
No matter how long it takes to get to this distant land, Australia is just a great place to enjoy!