Environment

The Land of the Never-Never

People who have never visited Australia wonder why such a huge country has a population of just 21 million people. The truth is, Australia can barely support that many. About 90% of those 21 million people live on only 2.6% of the continent. Climatic and physical land conditions ensure that the only relatively decent rainfall occurs along a thin strip of land around Australia's coast. Even then, Australia is in the grip of the worst drought in a century. The vast majority of Australia is harsh Outback, characterized by saltbush plains, arid brown crags, shifting sand deserts, and salt lake country. People survive where they can in this arid land because of one thing -- the Great Artesian Basin. This saucer-shaped geological formation comprises about one-fifth of Australia's landmass, stretching over much of inland New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, and the Northern Territory. Beneath it are massive underground water supplies stored during Jurassic and Cretaceous times (some 66 million-208 million years ago), when the area was much like the Amazon basin is today. Bore holes bring water to the surface and allow sheep, cattle, and humans a respite from the dryness.

The Queensland coast is blessed with one of the greatest natural attractions in the world. The Great Barrier Reef stretches some 2,000km (1,240 miles) from off Gladstone in Queensland, to the Gulf of Papua, near New Guinea. It's relatively new, not more than 8,000 years old, although many fear that rising seawater, caused by global warming, will cause its demise. As it is, the non-native Crown of Thorns starfish and a bleaching process believed to be the result of excessive nutrients flowing into the sea from Australia's farming land are already causing significant damage.

Australia's Fauna

Native Animals -- Australia's isolation from the rest of the world over millions of years has led to the evolution of forms of life found nowhere else. Probably the strangest of all is the platypus. This monotreme, or egg-laying marsupial, has webbed feet, a ducklike bill, and a tail like a beaver's. It lays eggs, and the young suckle from their mother. When a specimen was first brought back to Europe, skeptical scientists insisted it was a fake -- a concoction of several different animals sewn together. You will probably never see this shy, nocturnal creature in the wild, although there are a few at Sydney's Taronga Zoo.

Another strange one is the koala. This fluffy marsupial, whose nearest relative is the wombat, eats virtually indigestible gum (eucalyptus) leaves and sleeps about 20 hours a day. There's just one koala species, although those found in Victoria are much larger than their brethren in more northern climes. Australia is also famous for kangaroos. There are 45 kinds of kangaroos and wallabies, ranging in scale from small rat-size kangaroos to the man-size red kangaroos.

The animal you're most likely to come across in your trip is the possum, named by Capt. James Cook after the North American "opossum," which he thought they resembled. (In fact they are from an entirely different family of the animal kingdom.) The brush-tailed possum is commonly found in suburban gardens, including those in Sydney. Then there's the wombat. There are four species of this bulky burrower in Australia, but the common wombat is most frequently found. You might come across the smaller hairy-nosed wombat in South Australia and Western Australia.

The dingo, thought by many to be a native of Australia, was in fact introduced -- probably by Aborigines, or traders from the north. They vary in color from yellow to a russet red, and are heavily persecuted by farmers. Commonly seen birds include the fairy penguin along the coast, black swans, parrots and cockatoos, and honeyeaters. Tasmanian devils can be found in (you guessed it) the island/state of Tasmania, though a virulent disease has swept through the animals and decimated the wild population.

Dangerous Natives -- Snakes are common throughout Australia, but you will rarely see one. The most dangerous land snake is the taipan, which hides in the grasslands in northern Australia -- one bite contains enough venom to kill up to 200 sheep. If by the remotest chance you are bitten, immediately demobilize the limb, wrapping it tightly (but not tight enough to restrict the blood flow) with a cloth or bandage, and head to the nearest hospital where antivenin should be available.

There are two types of crocodile in Australia: the relatively harmless freshwater croc, which grows to 3m (10 ft.); and the dangerous estuarine (or saltwater) crocodile, which reaches 5 to 7m (16-23 ft.). Freshwater crocs eat fish; estuarine crocs aren't so picky. Never swim in or stand on the bank of any river, swamp, or pool in northern Australia unless you know for certain it's croc-free.

Spiders are common all over Australia, with the funnel web spider and the red-back spider being the most aggressive. Funnel webs live in holes in the ground (they spin their webs around a hole's entrance) and stand on their back legs when they're about to attack. Red-backs have a habit of resting under toilet seats and in car trunks, generally outside the main cities. Caution is a good policy.

If you go bushwalking, check your body carefully. Ticks are common, especially in eastern Australia, and can cause severe itching and fever. If you find one on you, dab it with methylated spirits or another noxious chemical. Wait awhile and pull it out gently with tweezers, taking care not to leave the head behind.

Fish to avoid are stingrays, porcupine fish, stonefish, lionfish, and puffer fish. Never touch an octopus if it has blue rings on it, or a cone shell, and be wary of the painful and sometimes deadly tentacles of the box jellyfish along the northern Queensland coast in summer. If you brush past one of these creatures, pour vinegar over the affected site immediately -- authorities leave bottles of vinegar on the beach for this purpose. Vinegar deactivates the stinging cells that haven't already affected you, but doesn't affect the ones that already have.

In Sydney, you might come across "stingers" or "blue bottles" as they are also called. These long-tentacled blue jellyfish can inflict a nasty stinging burn that can last for hours. Sometimes you'll see warning signs on patrolled beaches. The best remedy if you are severely stung is to wash the affected area with fresh water and have a very hot bath or shower.