Facts About Australia
Australia is the only continent covered by a single country with truly unique landscapes, natural wonders and extraordinary experiences for travellers.
Here are a list of facts that you may not know about Australian animals, culture, people and iconic landmarks in preparation for your visit to Australia.
Australian Wildlife

Zoos & Aquariums
Buy tickets to Australia and New Zealand's best zoos including Taronga Zoo, Australia Zoo, Adelaide Zoo and more online with NO booking fees at Experience Oz!
From $22
Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary Tickets
Buy tickets to the Gold Coast's popular Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary attraction and receive EXCLUSIVE in-park discounts!
From $39.95
SEA LIFE Sunshine Coast Entry Tickets
Book online here & save on your SEA LIFE Sunshine Coast Aquarium tickets! Includes FREE Unlimited Digital Photo Pass, book now & save!
From $35.20
Australia Zoo Tickets with BONUS Wildlife Hospital Entry
Buy your Australia Zoo tickets online and skip the queue to Sunshine Coast's famous zoo plus receive a sneak peek at the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital.
From $59
Featherdale Wildlife Park Entry Tickets
Featherdale Wildlife Park is one of Australia's top wildlife attractions just a 45 minute drive from the Sydney CBD with over 1700 native Aussie animals.
From $35- Melbourne was the capital city of Australia for 26 years between 1901 and 1927 before the capital shifted to Canberra
- There are three times as many sheep than people living in Australia
- The Australian Emu – a large, flightless bird – can run as fast as 45km/h (28mph)
- Platypus are highly poisonous, and have enough poison to kill a dog or make a human seriously ill
- Wombat poo is shaped like a cube!
- The Box Jellyfish – which is found in the waters of the Great Barrier Reef – is responsible for more deaths than snakes, sharks and saltwater crocodiles combined
- The record jump recorded by a kangaroo is a whopping 9 metres (30 feet) in a single leap!
- Two native Australian animals, Platypus and Echidnas, are the only two mammals in the world that lay eggs to give birth
- Koalas sleep for about 20 hours per day
- Tasmanian Devils have the strongest bite per body size of any mammal
- There are 4 different species of kangaroo in Australia, with the Red Kangaroo being the largest. The largest Big Red ever seen was 2.1m tall (6ft 9in) and weighed 91kgs (200lbs)!
- The Australian Thorny Devil is one of the longest-lived lizards of its size in the world, with a lifespan of up to 20 years
- The Kangaroo and Emu were chosen to be the two animals on the Australian Coat of Arms because they can't walk backwards, reflecting a forward-thinking culture
- 17 of the world's most poisonous snakes can be found in Australia
- Australia is home to around 1,500 types of spiders, 4,000 types of ants and 350 types of termites
- While Kangaroos are considered a national icon, with over 40 million estimated throughout the country, they can also be considered a pest in some locations and are sometimes culled
- Australia has a larger population of camels than Egypt
Australian Laws

Popular Australian Activites
Both Australia and New Zealand serve as wonderfully diverse hubs for adventure, and the active traveller will be overwhelmed with opportunities to get out and enjoy a range of experiences both outdoors and inside all over each country.
From $20
Sunshine Coast Go Karting
The Big Kart Track on QLD's Sunshine Coast is the largest commercial go kart track in Australia. An international standard race track with new technology!
From $45
Aquaduck Gold Coast City Tour and River Cruise
Experience Gold Coast's Surfers Paradise by land & sea with Aquaduck! Enjoy Aquaducks entertaining commentary, & watch while your kids get to drive!
From $40
Kuranda Scenic Railway + Skyrail Rainforest Cableway
This is a self-drive package combining a one-way journey up on the Kuranda Scenic Railway and a one-way journey down on the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway.
From $117
Gold Coast Express Jetboat Ride - 30 Minutes
Book a 30 minute express jet boat tour on the Gold Coast and enjoy some fun, high speed thrills along with a dose of lovely scenery on the Broadwater!
From $40- Voting in elections in Australia is compulsory (you don't have a choice) for everyone 18 years of age and over, with an initial fine of $72 issued for non-voters. Despite this, only around 81% of eligible Aussie voters cast their vote
- Australia was the second country in the world to grant women the right to vote; this occurred in 1894
- In 2005, the government issued a ban on saying the word 'mate' at Parliament House. The ban lasted 24 hours before it was overturned
- Swimming at public beaches in Australia during the day was made illegal for 64 years
- The legal drinking age in Australia is 18 years old
- Australia officially became a federation in 1901
- Australia's first police force was made up of 12 convicts who were judged to be the best behaved
Australian People

Australia Tours & Day Trips
Whether it's the majestic natural beauty of such nature-centric icons as the Great Barrier Reef and Ayers Rock (Uluru) or the famous architecture of cities like Sydney and Melbourne, there is a tour here to suit all tastes.
From $20
Moreton Island Dolphin and Tangalooma Wrecks Snorkelling Adventure
View some of QLD's best marine life up close with this dolphin cruise headed for the Moreton Bay Marine Park and see dolphins, turtles and more.
From $159
Noosa Dolphin Viewing Sea Kayak Tour
Departing Noosa your adventure will begin with a picturesque 4-wheel-drive beach drive into the Great Sandy National Park and up to Double Island Point.
From $125
Remote Fraser Island Full Day Tour
Fall in love with Fraser Island in this adventure packed Remote Fraser Island Full Day Tour.
From $195
Picnic Among the Vines
Take a self guided tour of the award winning Audrey Wilkinson museum in the Hunter Valley followed by masterclass wine tasting and picnic in the vineyards!
From $80- 49% of Australians were born overseas or have at least one parent who was born overseas and moved to Australia
- Someone from Sydney is typically referred to as a Sydney-sider
- A person from Melbourne is called a Melbournian
- Former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke once held the Guiness World Record for the fastest beer sculling, downing 2.5 pints of beer in 11 seconds (he recreated the legendary feat at the SCG in January 2017)
- Despite being a massive continent, 90% of Australia's population live on the coast due to the majority of the interior being a vast desert
- Australia's Aboriginal people are estimated to have lived here for roughly 50,000 years, yet they now make up only 1.5% of the total population
- The average Australian will eat the equivalent of 18 full cows and 90 full sheep in his or her lifetime
- After Athens, Melbourne has the world's largest Greek population
- Australia has one of the world's lowest population densities – it's size is only a bit smaller than the USA, yet the population is only around 23 million, as opposed to 313 million in the United States.
- The average Australian drinks 83 litres of beer per year
- In Aboriginal culture, women are not permitted to play the didgeridoo
Australian Cities & Natural Attractions

Experience The Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is good to go. Unearth the hidden beauty of the Great Barrier Reef with a range of unforgettable experiences available to book online today.
From $40
Fitzroy Island Full Day Trip
The quickest and most effective way to get to unspoiled Fitzroy Island, this option includes ferry transfers from Cairns.
From $85
Green Island Full Day Cruise - 9am Departure
Enjoy a scenic cruise to the popular Green Island and spend hours exploring the beautiful coral cay with a full day cruise from Cairns departing at 9am.
From $99
Whitehaven Beach and Hamilton Island Tour with Lunch
Join this day cruise to visit two fantastic locations from the Port of Airlie: Whitehaven beach and an afternoon on Hamilton Island PLUS lunch.
From $189
Whitehaven Beach Northern Exposure Tour
Join our guided walk to the stunning views at Hill Inlet Look Out, overlooking the silica sand of Whitehaven Beach.
From $169- Australia is the driest of any continent on earth other than Antarctica
- The Great Barrier Reef is regarded as the world's largest living organism, and is often listed as one of the Seven Wonders of the Natural World
- Australia is the only continent covered by a single country
- The highest mountain in Australia is Mt Kosciuszko, which stands 2228m high. Australia as a whole is a fairly flat country, with relatively few mountain ranges given its size.
- The Daintree Rainforest, found in tropical north Queensland, is the country's largest and covers around 1,200 square kilometres
- The Aussie state of Tasmania has the world's cleanest air
- While mining is one of Australia's biggest industries, more land is covered by pubs than mines
- Uluru (Ayers Rock) is known as the largest monolith in the world and is over 8km wide at its widest point
- Australia is home to the world's largest cattle ranch – which is bigger than the entire country of Belgium
- Australia is the 6th largest country in the world in terms of land area
- Australia's dingo fence is longer than the Great Wall of China
- The Nullarbor Plain is home to the longest straight road in the world, at 146km long
- Australia is the only continent in the world without an active volcano
- The termite mounds that can be found in Australia are the tallest animal-made structures on Earth
- Melbourne has the largest public tram system in the world
- The Gold Coast has the world's largest canal system, which is larger than those of both Venice and Amsterdam combined
- Canberra was built specifically to be Australia's capital city as both Sydney and Melbourne had reasons for being denied
Australia is truly a beautiful place to visit. If you're looking for experiences within Australia - visit our home page for information on tours, attractions, activities, information and much more.
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