10 Fun Facts: Australia & The Trans-Oceania Cycling Tour

 

Australia is a unique place – a one of a kind destination, a once in a lifetime opportunity…well, you get the idea! This large country (6th in the world) contains some famous landmarks, like the Sydney Opera House and Bondi Beach, that the riders on the Trans-Oceania Cycling Tour will have the opportunity to visit but there is a lot more to the ‘Lucky Country’ than that.

Here are 10 fun facts that may surprise you about Australia.

1 – Tasmania has the cleanest air on earth

Yup – straight from the cold, cleansing shores of Antarctica, the air in Tasmania, delivered by strong westerly winds unimpeded by any other land mass is, indeed, the cleanest in the world.

2 – The Great Ocean Road is the world’s largest war memorial

Built between 1919 and 1932 between Torquay to Allansford to honour fallen Australian and New Zealand soldiers from World War 1, the road stretches a total of 243 km and offers some spectacular coastal views as well as sobering military history.

3 – The first Police Force in Australia was made up of the most well-behaved convicts

It is a well-known fact that many of the first European settlers in Australia were convicts, most exiled for non-violent crimes. To police them, Governor Arthur Phillip established the Night Watch in 1789, a group made up of convict volunteers with a record of good behaviour.

4 – Over 80% of Australian animals are endemic to the country

The only developed country categorized as ‘mega-diverse’, 87 per cent of mammal species, 93 per cent of reptiles, 94 per cent of frogs and 45 per cent of bird species are found only in Australia. Koalas, emus, wallabies, wombats, Tasmanian devils – it is quite a list!

5 – A beach a day…for 29 years

If you started with Bondi in Sydney and visited one of Australia’s 10,685 beautiful beaches starting on January 1st, 2025, you would reach the last one on Saturday, April 4, 2054. Probably with an amazing tan…

>>Related Post: Big, Bigger, Biggest. Is Australia Obsessed With Size?

6 – Over 1 million feral camels roam Australia’s deserts

When you think of camels, do you think of Arabia? Think again. Australia’s wild camels are descendants of animals imported in the 19th century and then allowed to roam free when they were not longer needed.

7 – Aboriginal culture is the oldest on Earth

Estimated to be over 65,000 years old, Australia’s aboriginal culture is known around the world for its distinctive art, oral histories and the haunting sound of the didgeridoo.

8 – Australia is home to 21 of the world’s 25 most venomous snakes

While Australia does indeed have many dangerous snakes, the chances of encountering one are very, very low. Most of them, like the one pictured above, are not aggressive and generally retreat from human encounters.

9 – Australia boasts 20 World Heritage Listed sites

The Royal Exhibition Palace in Melbourne (pictured here) is one of the lesser known sites, the first building in Australia to be awarded UNESCO World Heritage status. It contains elements of Byzantine, Romanesque, Lombardic and Italian Renaissance styles.

10 – There are 4 species of kangaroos in Australia

Red Kangaroo (Macropus rufus), Eastern Grey Kangaroo (M. giganteus), Western Grey Kangaroo (M. fuliginosus) & Antilopine Kangaroo (M. antilopinus). A Red can weigh up to 90kg, hop along at 60 km/hr and jump 8 m in a single bound.

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