Background: Aboriginal settlers arrived on the continent from Southeast Asia about 40,000 years before the first Europeans began exploration in the 17th century. No formal territorial claims were made until 1770, when Capt. James COOK took possession in the name of Great Britain. Six colonies were created in the late 18th and 19th centuries; they federated and became the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. The new country took advantage of its natural resources to rapidly develop its agricultural and manufacturing industries and to make a major contribution to the British effort in World Wars I and II. In recent decades, Australia has transformed itself into an internationally competitive, advanced market economy. It boasted one of the OECD's fastest growing economies during the 1990's, a performance due in large part to economic reforms adopted in the 1980's. Long-term concerns include pollution, particularly depletion of the ozone layer, and management and conservation of coastal areas, especially the Great Barrier Reef.
March 31st 2008Oceania » Australia » Northern Territory » Kata Tjuta Today I started my tour at Heavitree Gap, meeting up with the Connections crew there. Many of the people (about 1/2?) had started the tour in Sydney and gone up to Cairns, and were now doing the Cent ... [full story]
March 20th 2008Oceania » Australia » Northern Territory » Kata Tjuta Breakfast was a dark affair to start with as we arrived very early for the sunrise. After tucking into weetabix and an excellent cup of coffee the washing up had just begun as the sun started to rise ... 9 photos[full story]
March 16th 2008Oceania » Australia » Northern Territory » Kata Tjuta Kata Tjuta and Uluru walk
5:30 comes early but we don't feel too bad. The backpack gets loaded with fruit, granola bars and water that we picked up at the grocery store as well as the camera. We ge ... 8 photos[full story]
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