Australia- Land of contrast

Lovely postcard along lovely stamps, including one to commemorate the birth of Prince George, Cocos Islands and platypus! (remember you can click on the images to make them bigger)

Since there's so much to say about Australia, let's talk a little bit about each of it's regions:

• New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory (Canberra)

New South Wales is Australia's most populous state. The Harbour City of Sydney is Australia's largest city. The coast of New South Wales is lined with beach side communities, each one offering experiences for the traveller. A little inland are the mountain ranges of the Blue Mountains and Snowy Mountains, as well as the purpose built capital city of Canberra, excised from New South Wales. 

• Northern Territory 

From the red deserts surrounding Uluru and Alice Springs up to the tropics of Darwin and Kakadu National Park, the Northern Territory is stunningly beautiful, and easier to access than you might think.

• Queensland  

Famous for its sunny warm weather, Queensland offers coastal exploration from the vibe of the Gold Coast to the tropics of the Great Barrier Reef to the bustling city of Brisbane. It is also home to tropical rainforests of the Daintree National Park, and the island resorts of the Whitsundays.

• South Australia 

Renowned for the fine wines of the Barossa Valley, the beauty of the Flinders Ranges and the outback, the wildlife and nature on Kangaroo Island and the beaches and events and culture of the City of Churches, Adelaide.

• Tasmania 

Separated from the mainland by Bass Strait, Tasmania has rugged beauty of Cradle Mountain and the west, the beaches of the east, and the complete wilderness of the south. Hobart was the site of the second European settlement in Australia, and many historic sites are well preserved. 

• Victoria 

Small, vibrant and with something for everyone, Victoria has dramatic surf beaches along the southwest and central coast, green rolling farmland and photogenic national parks. The diversity of rural Victoria is very easy to access due in part to its size and well maintained roads. Australia and Victoria's sporting, shopping, fashion and food capital is Melbourne.

• Western Australia 

A vast state. The south-west contains the state capital and major city of Perth closely surrounded by the wildflower, wine growing and scenic destinations of Margaret River and Albany. In the far north are the tropics and the beach side destination of Broome. Small townships, roadhouses, mining communities and national parks scattered around the long distances between.

*Source 

Thank you Xue!

Australia

The Kangaroo Hoppet is the Australian long distance cross-country skiing race in the Worldloppet Ski Federation. It is held in Falls Creek, Victoria. It debuted in 1991, and is held annually on the last Saturday of August.

The Kangaroo Hoppet event consists of three races:

• The Kangaroo Hoppet is a 42 km race, and for the purposes of the Worldloppet counts as a main race.
• The Australian Birkebeiner is a 21 km race, and for the purposes of Worldloppet counts as a short race.
• The Joey Hoppet is a 7 km race, and does not count as either a main race or a short race.

The Kangaroo Hoppet has its origins in the Birkebeiner Nordic Ski Club's 21 km Australian Birkebeiner, first held in 1979 in Falls Creek. The race was based on the original Norwegian Birkebeiner. In 1989, the organization extended the race to a 42 km race, and added the 21 km race and 7 km race (which would originally be known as the Birkebeiner Lite). They then petitioned the Worldloppet in 1990 to allow a race in the southern hemisphere, and as part of its petition the race format was changed to a freestyle event. The first race as part of the Worldloppet circuit was held in 1991.

*Source

Thank you Sheri!

Australia

Lovely map from Australia!

Covering a total area of 7.69 million square kilometres, mainland Australia is the world’s largest island - but smallest continent.

In distance, the continent stretches about 3700 kilometres from north to south and 4000 kilometres from east to west, making it the sixth-largest nation after Russia, Canada, China, the United States and Brazil.

Australia is also the only continent that is governed as a single country. It is sometimes informally referred to as an 'island' continent, surrounded by oceans.

Their ocean territory is also the third-largest in the world, spanning three oceans and covering around 12 million square kilometres. Australia also has one of the most urbanised and coast-dwelling populations in the world, with more than 80 per cent of residents living within 100 kilometres of the coastline. Australia currently has a population of almost 23 million people.

Australian society is made up of people from a rich variety of cultural, ethnic, linguistic and religious backgrounds, and this is a defining feature of modern Australian society. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have inhabited Australia for tens of thousands of years. Most Australians are immigrants or the descendants of immigrants who arrived during the past two hundred years from more than 200 countries. The most commonly spoken language in Australia is English, and the most commonly practiced religion is Christianity, although foreign languages and other religions are also common.

*Source

Thank you Penny!