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It's a place where the light changes everything. From thefriendly attitude of its people， to the breathtaking blue ofits skies and glistening gold of its sandy beaches. A placeunlike any other， with animals and scenery you'll findnowhere else on earth and an unmatched diversity offlavours， scents and sights. It is Australia， where the pos-sibilities are only as endless as your imagination.

Facts

Wide Open Spaces

Australia is the sixth largest countryin the world. It's about the same size asthe 48 mainland states of the USA and 50per cent larger than Europe， but has thelowest population density in the world -only two people per square kilometre.

Beaches Galore

Australia boasts over 7，000 beaches -more than any other nation.

Opal Capital

Australia produces 95 per cent of theworld's precious opals and 99 per cent ofblack opals. Coober Pedy in South Aus-tralia is known as the opal capital of theworld. Its population is made up of morethan 40 nationalities and， with year-roundextremes in temperature， more than 50 percent of the population live in below-ground'dugouts'.

Golden City

Kalgoorlie in Western Australia is notonly Australia's largest producer of gold，but has the world's largest political elec-torate - covering a mammoth 2.2 millionsquare kilometres.

Aussie Icon

The kangaroo is unique to Australiaand one of our most easily recognisedmammals. There are more kangaroos inAustralia now than when Australia wasfirst settled. Estimates suggest around 40million.

Merinos en Masse

Australia's 140 million sheep (mostlymerinos)， found on around 53，000 proper-ties， produce more than 70 per cent of theworld's wool.

Beef Exports

With 24 million head of cattle， Aus-tralia is the world's largest exporter of beef.

Flourishing Flora

Australia supports at least 25，000 spe-cies of plants， while Europe only supports

Unique wonders

Uiuru

Located in the centre of Australia，Ulum (Ayers Rock) is the world's biggestmonolith. It's 3.6 kilometres long， 2kilometres wide and has a 9.4 kilometrecircumference. Made of arkosic sandstone，Uluru changes colour in different lights，particularly at sunrise and sunset.

Sydney Harbour Bridge

Opened in 1932 and affectionatelyknown as the 'coathanger，' the bridge is1，149 metres long， weighs 52，800 tonnes，has six million rivets and needed 272，000litres of paint for its initial coat. Paint main-tenance is a continual process. It takes 10years and 30，000 litres of paint before theystart all over again!

Sydney Opera House

A short walk from the Harbour Bridge，the Opera House is one of the world's pre-mier performing arts centres. Taking al-most 15 years to build， it was officiallyopened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1973.

The Blue Mountains

Dramatic canyons， sheer valleys， thun-dering waterfalls and gum forests all makeup Australia's most recent World Heritagearea - the Blue Mountains National Park.Also part of this latest listing is nearbyWollemi National Park - the home of theprehistoric Wollemi Pine.

The 12 Apostles

Located along the spectacular GreatOcean Road in Victoria， the 12 Apostlesstand as sentinels against a dramatic back-drop of sheer cliff face and wild ocean.Formed over thousands of years by theaction of the sea， only eight of the original12 Apostles remain.

The Great Barrier Reef

Australia's most famous natural won-der， the Great Barrier Reef， will stun youwith its magnificence. It's as big as the to-tal combined area of the United Kingdomand Ireland， and contains more than 1，000islands， from sandy cays to rainforest isles.The beauty of the waters and the prolificlife it supports enraptures visitors. You canreach coral sites by air and water taxi andscuba dive or snorkel for intimate reefviews. Or choose comfortable accommo-dation on some secluded reef islands.

Fraser Island

Stretching 120 kilometres longand 10 kilometres wide， World Heri-tage listed Fraser Island offers vastwhite beaches， beautiful headlandsand rainforests， and the best camp-ing ever. You can mingle with kan-garoos， wallabies and other uniqueanimals， or stay in style at a resort!Daintree RainforestReef and rainforest touch in thisregion of World Heritage protected beauty.The Daintree River winds gently throughtangled woodland through jungle homesof unique birds， pythons and crocodiles，north to Cape Tribulation， a spectacularnational park.

Kangaroo Island

Limited development has ensured anabundance of wildlife on this island locatedclose to the tip of South Australia's FleurieuPeninsula. Here， sea lions， penguins， dol-phins， koalas and of course， kangaroos， livein a protected natural environment. Pureair and clean water provide one of the lastunspoiled wonders of the world.

Thsmanian Wilderness

The Tasmanian Wilderness WorldHeritage area is one of the largest conser-vation reserves in Australia， covering 1.38million hectares. This stronghold of tem-perate rainforest and alpine vegetation pro-vides pristine habitats for plants and ani-mals found nowhere else in the world， in-cluding many rare and endangered species.

Kakadu National Park

In Australia's tropical Top End， thedelicate pink beauty of the waterlily andthe prehistoric brute strength of the croco-dile merge in stunning Kakadu NationalPark. Rivers with roaring waterfalls and alandscape of towering sandstone escarp-ments cradle some of Kakadu's treasureswaiting to be explored.

Bungle Bungles

The Bungle Bungle Range， inPumululu National Park， is one of the mostfascinating geological landmarks in West-em Australia. Orange and black stripes ofsilica and algae across the beehive-likemounds are clearly visible as you approachfrom the air. Closer up， a hidden world ofgorges and pools is revealed， with fanpalms clinging precariously to walls andcrevices in the rocks.Sydney Tour

Sydney， a free spirited， vibrant citybuilt around one of the world's most beau-tiful harbours， with scores of sparklingbeaches within easy reach of its cosmo-politan heart - that's Sydney， capital of NewSouth Wales， Australia's largest and old-est city， sparkling jewel by the harbourpulsing with energy and a dazzling city life.

Situated on Sydney Harbour， adjacentto Circular Quay， The Rocks lies beneaththe giant arch of the Sydney HarbourBridge and overlooking the famous sailsof the Opera House. This historic quarterof Sydney was the site of the first colonialsettlement in Australia in 1788. The Rocksis a waterfront precinct is where you willdiscover beautifully restored historic build-ings and lose time as you admire displaysin one of the many galleries and museums.This historic precinct offers a wide selec-tion of dining， shopping and entertainment.The Rocks is the \"must do\" part of everyvisitor's enjoyment in Sydney.

Sydney Opera House， a landmarkbuilding at Bennelong Point， is home toAustralia's opera， ballet and theatre com-panies and the Sydney Symphony Orches-tra. There are a number of restaurants lo-cated in the complex and guided tours areavailable.

Sydney Tower Observation Level islocated in the AMP Centrepoint Tower. Thetower provides compelling 360-degreeviews of Sydney from both the observa-tion level and its revolving restaurant.

Darling Harbour is a place whereSydney celebrates. This modem watersideharbour， five minutes from the city centreis accessible by car， ferry， bus， lightrail andmonorail. Browse through the 200 shopsin the Harbourside Shopping complex andeat in one of the waterfront restaurants atHarbourside or the all new Cockle Baydevelopment. You can visit many worldclass attractions including the AustralianNational Maritime Museum， the Panasonicrelax i neatre， The Chinese Garden， andThe Powerhouse Museum.

Manly is a seaside resort on the northeastern corner of Sydney Harbour withboth ocean and harbour beaches. FromCircular Quay take the ferry or JetCat， anexpress ferry， to Manly or visit as part of aharbour cruise. The area around Manly isideal for scenic walks and the famousbeach offers a range of water activities.

To the north and south of the city，you'll find white sand beaches， minutesaway by bus， ferry or taxi. Within theharbour are Balmoral， Nielsen Park andCamp Cove. For surfing， there's Bondi，Bronte or Coogee in the south; Manly，Collaroy or Palm Beach in the north.

In the city itself， enjoy Sydney's livelytheatre， dance， opera， concert and pub en-tertainment. Kings Cross offers late-nightentertainment in bars and discos. For amovie and bite to eat head to George Street.The nearby Sydney Entertaimhent Centreis the venue for concerts.

Almost every cuisine is available inSydney and the quality is very high. Trythe local seafood or taste the best from in-ternational cuisines. Some of Sydney's besteating can be enjoyed in a number of pre-cincts - Chinatown， The Rocks， Balmain，Leichhardt， Darlinghurst， Newtown andKings Cross.

With four national parks， Sydney of-fers a superb environment to get back tonature with opportunities for bushwalking，picnicking， and adventure activities， andare all easily accessible from the city.Sydney Harbour National Park incorpo-of the harbour foreshore， while the RoyalNational Park， Botany Bay National Parkand Ku-ring-gai National Park offer an in-sight into Aboriginal culture through pre-served rock and cave art.

Visit the site of the 2000 OlympicGames at Homebush Bay. Experience theSydney International Aquatic Centre，popular with locals， and Stadium Austra-lia， a major venue for entertainment includ-ing concerts and sporting events. Take atour of the whole Olympic Park to gain agreater insight into what was Sydney'sOlympic Games. t3

(Photo by Australian Tourismmission)