The Great Outback: Australia. The land of kangaroos and koalas. Home to the largest coral reef in the world. There is more to Australia than just the desert, the unique animals, and the diverse coral life. There are mystical rainforests, white beaches, and environmental mysteries.
Sometimes we forget that Australia is not just desert. It happens to be on the same latitudes as many South America countries, known to have thick rainforests. The Blue Mountains National Park of Australia is the most well known park in Australia. There is a multitude of trails to walk along as well as canyons like the Clasustral Canyon to repel into. Walls lined with moss and ferns and trickling streams provide much needed cool as well as beauty to the eye.
A mystical park located in Victoria, Australia is the Dandenong Park (even the name gives a mystic feel). The forest is filled with ash trees and ferns, letting enough light in to be misty. There are intriguing statues carved into the stones and weaved in with the tree roots throughout the park.
Outside of Sydney, there is an old train track. Along the track one comes along a tunnel forgotten about. Moss grows on the rocks and the stone. In the corner there is small waterfall that trickles down the side and over the entrance of the tunnel. While there is not much else to do here, the scene is worth the walk down the forgotten train tracks.
A day's trip and hooper plane trip away from Queensland is Whitehaven Beach, part of the Whitesundays, a group of islands. The beaches are a pure white and the water is a crystal blue. The best place on the island is a little cove called Hill Inlet. Here you can easily watch the tide coming in and out mixing water and sand, playing with the colors.
Lastly, there is the Pink Lake, aptly named for its color. Yes, this lake is pink! Scientists have been wondering why the water is this color despite its being relatively close to the blue ocean since it was first discovered in the 1800s. It is quite safe to swim in if you can bring up the nerve to swim in non-blue water, but is very salty.
Australia is a very diverse land with unique and inspiring landscapes. Many of them difficult to understand like the Pink Lake. But that is just part of the intrigue that draws us to the down under!
