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General
Population
Weather and seasons
Postage
Currency
Time differences
Australia is quite large that a two week holiday is not enough. It is sparsely populated with only about 20 million people covering an area half as big as Europe. The population is higher along the coast, with the centre and west sparsely populated. It was the last large land to be discovered by Europeans. Though Australia was discovered in the 1700s, the country was inhabited by Aboriginals (meaning 'indigenous') with history going back as far as 24,000 years ago. The country is divided into six states and two territories: New South Wales (NSW), Victoria (Vic), Tasmania (Tas), Queensland (QLD), Western Australia (WA), South Australia (SA), Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and Northern Territory (NT). The capital of Australia is Canberra.
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Australia is sparsely populated with around 20 million. Britain contains around three times the population in less space. There is a high number of people of ethnic origins, mostly from Asia, concentrated in cities. There is a high number of Aborigines in Northern Territory, which comprises a fifth of Australia but contains just 1% of the entire population.
The seasons are opposite that of the Northern Hemisphere so Australians
spend Christmas at the beach in the summer. Weather varies from city to city,
suburb to suburb. As you go further up north, the fewer seasons - the Wet
and Dry seasons. The seasons are the opposite that of the Northern Hemisphere:
summer falls during November to February with January being the hottest month,
winter being around May to July. Winter is warm in north Australia while it
is colder the further south you go - it is freezing in Tasmania.
Sydney is hot and humid during the summer with temperatures in the 30s, sometimes
over 40. Rainfalls are heavy and may last for only a minute at times, other
times may fall for days. Temperatures fall around 15 degrees C when it rains
but it is still warm. Night time is warm in the summer, but cold in the winter.
Thunderstorms and lightning are frequent.
Melbourne is not humid but can be hot during the summer. Thunder and lightning
occur in the summer. In winter, it may be mild with temperatures of 15C. Rainfall
is not as heavy as Sydney. Victoria is cool in winter, while in the summer,
some parts may be cold. Night time is cool during the summer but cold in winter.
Tasmania varies from region to region in the winter: while I was there, it
was freezing in Hobart, warmer but wet in Launceston, hot in Coles Bay. Winters
are cold in Tasmania.
Alice Springs is hot and dry during the Dry Season. Northern Territory is
hot and dry during the winter, so plant life seems to be lacking in colour
in places. In the summer, rainfalls are heavy and frequent, bringing life
and colour to plants.
Due to the hot weather, the forests are at risk of catching fire. There may
be days of Total Ban which means NO lighting or fires, smoking or anything.
Obey this otherwise there are heavy fines. Check out whether the ban is in
effect before you go camping
Postage for letters are $0.45 to anywhere in Australia even from one state to another. Postcards cost $1.00 while letters sent overseas by airmail cost $1.50. If you ever want to post your excess stuff home, you can have a box sent home. The post office will do this for you - airmail, economy airmail or by sea. You can also check out backpacker places who will ship your contents home but it takes about 3 months to send your stuff home at the cost of under $200 for a large box. At the post office, airmail takes 7-10 days, economy takes 2-3 weeks while seamail takes about 2 months. The costs are lower the longer the delivery. If you do not have much to post home, you may use the Post Office.
The currency of Australia is the dollar ($) which has been in existence since 1966. One dollar consists of 100 cents (¢). Coins are in the following denominations (amounts in cents): 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 while notes are in the following denomations (amounts in $s): 5, 10, 20, 50, 100. To check the value of the Australian dollar, check exchange rates. $1 is approx €0.60. As there are no 1 or 2¢ coins (they were withdrawn in 1991), prices are rounded to the nearest 5¢ when you pay for goods. If you pay by EFTPOS or credit card, prices are not rounded.
There are three different time zones in Australia, namely Western Standard Time which is GMT plus 8 hours, Central Standard Time (GMT+9) covering NT and SA, and Eastern Standard Time (GMT+10) covering NSW, Tasmania and Victoria. Example: wen it's 12:00pm in WA, it is 1:30pm in NT and SA, 2:00pm elsewhere. Daylight savings do not operate in WA, NT and QLD. More confusing is that Tasmania daylight saving starts a month earlier and finishes a month later thant SA, Vic and NSW.
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