Australia Travel Planning
Australia Geography 101
Australia is huge! You could drop the whole state of Texas into New South Wales. And drop Germany, New Zealand and Great Britain into Western Australia — and have heaps of room to spare!
Most of the 23 million residents live along the southeastern coast. For over a century, the population of the outback has been a mere 500,000.
What’s So Special About Australia?
Australia has some of the most sophisticated cities in the world. But if you don’t go “out bush” you’ll miss what is unique about Australia: sleeping in a swag under the stunning swath of the Milky Way spread across the outback sky. Being awakened by kookaburras and smelling breakfast sizzling on the barbie. Climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge to view one of the world’s great harbors filled with ferries hauling people to work. Feeding a kangaroo, diving into a bush bbq. Seeing the Sydney Opera House bathed in moonlight.
Spotting a cassowary in a tropical rainforest. Snorkeling over a clam as large as my coffee table. Having freshly made damper and a cuppa tea after a hike up a hill scattered with fossilized jelly fish that are 500 million years old. Sitting at the feet of Aboriginal women telling a dreamtime story while huge desert crows are cawing in the trees around you.
Aboriginal Culture
From the beginning, EDUT has focused on high quality Aboriginal cultural experiences. We like the non-touristy small group experiences, where you have personal time with each Aboriginal guide. Guides who learned not from books, but from traditions and stories handed down by their elders – male and female – for thousands of years. Central to Aboriginal culture is the significance of land: it is their “Bible,” their law, their environmental rules. Since Australia has lush rainforests, broad savannahs and immense deserts, the methods of bush tucker (food) varies but the environmental law is the same: take care of the land and it will take care of you.
The Weather is Important!
Their seasons are the reverse of ours. Their winter is our summer, and so on. Just as most folks don’t tour Montana in February, we prefer that you don’t tackle the outback in February.
Explore the Regions of Australia
Start Your Journey!
Australia has roughly the same land mass as the continental United States.
So imagine – Sydney is in Charleston. Melbourne is in Mobile. Adelaide is in Houston. Cairns is in Maine. Darwin is in North Dakota. Alice Springs is in Kansas. Broome is in Oregon. Perth is in southern California. The Great Barrier Reef is as long as California!
There are so many ways to see the many beauties of Australia. Take it from us…we’ve been there countless times and still see something new on every trip.
Choose from one of the seven area maps you’d like to learn more about.
Tasmania
Sydney &
New South Wales
Queensland &
the Great Barrier Reef
South Australia:
Adelaide & Kangaroo Island
The Northern Territory:
The Top End & Red Centre
Melbourne & Victoria
Western Australia
