"Australia - you're standing ..." a Australia Travel Page by iandsmith

Australia has much to offer but often people forget that sometimes it's a long way between attractions.
If you plan wisely and look beyond the regular tourist haunts there are attractions just as wonderful as the better known ones. My mission is to point some of these out to you to give you a better knowledge of what to look for and where to find it.
I beg your patience as I have many pictures and many locations to show and it will be an ongoing work.
First picture is one of my favourite subjects - waterfalls.
This one, Hopetoun Falls, is in south western Victoria in the beautiful Otway Ranges but you can find similar ones all down the east coast. There are thousands of waterfalls, particularly along the Great Dividing Range, largely ignored by foreign tourists, yet for me they represent some of the best Australia has to offer.
I unearthed some stats on falls that I'll share with you and maybe settle some arguments as well.
Wallaman Falls, west of Ingham in Queensland, has a height of 305 metres. Here, water from Stony Creek plunges down numerous ledges. Wollomombi Falls, east of Armidale in New South Wales, has a height of 220 metres and includes a single drop of 100 metres. It's sometimes quoted as Australia's tallest waterfall — but this is only true if measurement starts where the water does not truly fall, but instead flows against the rock due to the gentler gradient.
It's Ellenborough Falls just north of Taree in New South Wales that's regarded as Australia's tallest single-drop waterfall. This waterfall launches off the edge of the New England Tableland and has a single drop of 160 metres.

Australia has two things that get a lot of publicity, beaches and bushfires. The former are generally a pleasant experience, the latter is decidedly unpleasant because it has to be hot to start with and when the bushfires take hold, nothing will stop them. The eucalyptus oil hanging around the trees literally explodes when a big one gets going. Those who fight the fires are special people indeed and we are all indebted to them.
That leads me to perceptions. Whilst the water has a benign appeal and the fires an horrific image, over 250 people drowned in 2002, mostly males and 30% alcohol affected. Less than a handful died in the bushfires. What that amounts to is that, as a generalization, more people die in a week in the water than a whole year in bushfires. It is the water we should really fear.
This picture has a bit of both. It is a shot of Bar Beach in Newcastle but the weird colours are caused by haze from a raging bushfire in the hinterland.
Remember, if you haven't any experience of surf, take time to learn before you go in and, if you're planning a dip in our rivers, there are lots of snags in there - never jump in either place before you know how deep it is.
Australia (can you believe a university person actually went out and checked it all?) has 11,011 beaches, the longest of which is the Coorong at 210 kilometres. It's in South Australia.
Some of my best beach shots are in my Wilson's Promontory pages.

There are sights like this in Australia that most people, Australians included, never see or even hear of.
Things like Rusconi's masterpiece, Flagstaff Hill, Tahune State Forest, Albany Whaling Museum, Walhalla, Grand Ridge Road are some of the things I have included.
I've made a list of 10 places your travel agent didn't tell you to visit:-
1. Waa Gorge - Panoramic scenery en route, great gorge when you get there.
2. Kings Park - City parks don't come any better than this.
3. Comboyne - Australia's waterfall capital.
4. Pieman River Cruise - Puts the "wild" into wilderness.
5. Whalers Way - Better than the Great Ocean Road.
6. Walking the north shore of Sydney Harbour - The best view of any city in Australia.
7. Broken Hill - Art capital of Australia; stunning colours.
8.The coast road between Wynyard and Devonport - Australia's unsung (but gorgeous) coastal drive.
9. Waterfall Bay - Spectacular walk overlooked by almost all.
10. Echuca, Beechworth, Ballarat - Shining examples of how to make history work for you.