White-bellied Sea Eagle
The superlatives are endless suggesting we should be proud of Australia’s natural history.
We inhabit the most ancient of lands dating back 4.5 billion years, a continent separated from Antarctica and Gondwanaland 45 to 180 million years ago.
It is the world’s largest island continent with 60,000 kms of coastline surrounded by 8,222 other islands and 12,000 iconic beaches.
Home to the world’s oldest living culture, connected to country, surviving 65,000 years, once encompassing over 500 different clan groups or “nations”.
It is the second driest continent supporting 7 distinct varieties of landscape.
It possesses the world’s oldest geological features and the most ancient of rivers.
“Recent” fossil discoveries from the Ediacaran Era, 635 to 541 million years ago, have revealed soft body creatures and the earliest evidence of life.
Discovering Ediacaran Fossils dated 635 – 541 million years old
By global standards it has the largest wilderness region in the world
Ecological functions are largely unaffected by the transgression of humans.
20 UNESCO World Heritage Sites protect the oldest rain forests, largest sand island, remnant ancient stands of Antarctic Beech trees, 3000 coral reefs and 300 coral cays, the birthplace of song birds, the oldest human skeletons of man and woman discovered outside of Africa.
Some of the world’s largest National Parks are protecting the wild, popularly described as lush and beautiful, harsh and inhospitable, untouched and inspirational.
One of the largest land based mountain ranges and interior river catchments cover much of the continent.
The largest artesian water basin (equivalent to 130,000 Sydney Harbours) contains pure water two million years old.
570,000 or 5% of the world’s animal and plant species make Australia a mega-diverse stronghold.
Australia is the sixth most biodiverse country in the world. However, 2,224 species and ecological communities are listed as threatened with extinction.
Seasonally, monsoonal rains give rise to a flooding event stretching thousands of kilometres along the wildest untouched inland river and wetland system bringing life to one of the most amazing landscape transformations.
Attracting tens of thousand of migrating birds in a frenetic feeding and breeding cycle.
Cape Barren Geese – unique to Australia
“How proud must we be, to be Australian? Compelling reasons to head outback in search of life enriching experiences”. Escaping to the wild, in search of life balance.
