Bill Bryson wrote such a funny book called 'Down Under' about his travels in Australia.  In it he says that prior to coming here he did some research in his local New Hampshire library to see how much attention Australia got in the American news.  He looked in the New York Times index for 1997 and found only 20 articles on Australian issues.  There were 150 on Albania and 300 on both the Koreas.  As he very humorously puts it, "Australia was slightly more important to Americans than bananas but not nearly as important as ice-cream".

I have lived in a few different places on a few continents but have now made Australia my home.  I could write ten hubs about Australia and why I like it (and maybe I will!) but this one will just aim to give a little taste of this fabulous place.

In terms of land area Australia comes in sixth after Russia, Canada, China, the United States and Brazil but the beauty of Australia is that it has a very small population.  Only about 21 million people live here.  It has also enjoyed one of the most successful economies of the world in recent times - certainly not suffering the effects of the current financial crisis to the extent that other countries have.  It has abundant physical resources which have allowed Australians to enjoy a high standard of living for a long time.  Australia has also made significant investments in education, health, training and transport.  No wonder then that Australian cities consistently appear on lists of the world's most liveable places.

Australia is also the driest inhabited continent on earth.  Three quarters of the interior are arid or semi arid desert - the 'outback' as it is known.  As a result of this inhospitable interior, the large majority of the population live along the coasts.  In fact 70 % of the population live in the 10 largest cities - mostly along the eastern and south-eastern seaboards.

A very readable novel by Douglas Kennedy is 'Dead Heart' - set in the outback.  A short but thoroughly enjoyable read.

Modern Australia may have started out as a penal colony but immigration has been a major feature of Australian life in more recent times. Over 6 million people have come to Australia since 1945 from 200 countries.  Today people born overseas make up a quarter of the population.  This makes for a really vibrant multicultural society.  Melbourne, where I live, has large Italian, Greek and Asian populations.  A little known fact is that Melbourne has the largest Greek community outside of Greece.  

With this multiculturalism comes a great eating experience.  Melbourne and the other large Australian cities have wonderful markets and very many excellent restaurants.  

One of the things I like best about Australia is the people.  It doesn't seem to take long here for new arrivals to be assimilated into the culture.  And because most people came from somewhere else it makes for quite an open, tolerant and accepting society. The Australian sense of humor is quite unique.  They have a very relaxed approach to life and don't stand on ceremony or take themselves too seriously.  This is demonstrated in the marvelous beer advert I have included below.  The Australians had a Prime Minister, Harold Holt, who drowned in 1967.  They commemorated him by naming a public swimming pool after him!  One can't really imagine this happening anywhere else.

Another feature of Australian life is the beach, surfing and BBQ culture.  Of course the beaches are absolutely beautiful and the weather is pretty good.  It is certainly a country where you can enjoy the outdoors for most of the year.  Because it is such a large continent it has a wide variety of climates, from the tropics of far north Queensland to the rather chillier climate of Tasmania.  One can even ski in winter in the mountains close to Melbourne.

The scenery is diverse and beautiful.  There is wonderful coastline, mountains and forests as well as the desert interior.  

Of course there is a dangerous side to life here in Australia.  Nine out of ten of the world's deadliest spiders live here.  Some of them in my garage!  There are also lethal snakes and sea creatures like the box jellyfish, the stone fish and the blue ringed octopus.  None of these to be messed with.

Because the Australian continent was isolated for 55 million years, there resulted a lot of very unique flora and fauna.  Marsupials were saved from competition from more highly developed animals.  The best known Australian animals are the kangaroo and the koala - but there are many other interesting animals and plant species that are totally unique to Australia.  The Kangaroo Paw is one of my favorite Australian flowers.  See photograph below.

Australia is famous for the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Queensland.  2600 km of coral reef which has been declared a world heritage site and can be seen from outer space.  There is also Uluru (formerly known as Ayers Rock) - images of which most people are familiar with.  And of course the iconic Sydney Opera House - now a UNESCO world heritage site.

Below I have included some Australian musical contributions.  Everyone knows the 'Men at Work' song and you will enjoy listening to it again.  

'This is Australia' has some good images of Australia and the last one is Geoffrey Gurrumul who is a very talented Aboriginal singer and guitar player who has been blind since birth.

Australia has of course exported many famous people - Rolf Harris, Germaine Greer, Dame Edna and  Clive James amongst others.  Actors like Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, Toni Collette and Cate Blanchett are Australians.  Lets not forget Kylie Minogue and Elle Macpherson.   Some wonderful films have come out of Australia - absolute classics like 'Muriel's Wedding', 'Strictly Ballroom', 'Priscilla - Queen of the Desert', 'Lantana' and more recently 'Australia'.  Our TV soap operas - watched by millions in other countries include 'Neighbours'  and 'Home and Away'.

Culinary exports include the Pavlova, Vegemite and TimTams!  As well as very many wonderful and award winning wines.

And lets not forget the sporting achievements of Australia in Rugby and Cricket as well as the large number of Olympic medals won by Australians relative to the small population size.