Australia's first or indigenous people, are usually referred to as the aboriginal people of Australia. They make up 2% of Australia's population today. The indigenous Australians are said to be direct descendants of migrants from Africa who left the African continent about 75,000 years ago. They have migrated over the Australasian continent until they settled in Australia around 60,000 years ago.

Today aboriginal people live in all main cities in Australia but most of them still live in the desert areas of the Australian outback. The aboriginal people are highly skilled in arts and crafts and share with visitors their vast knowledge about the land and the environment.

The 'outback' is the vast, dry and remote inland parts of the Australian continent. Some aboriginal people live still in the sacred area around Uluru.

Indigenous art is centered on story telling. It is used as a chronical to convey knowledge of the land, events and beliefs of the Aboriginal people. The use of symbols is an alternate way to writing down stories of cultural significance, teaching survival and use of the land.

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Uluru is located in the centre of the country is the largest alone standing rock in the world.  Uluru is in the Northwestern Territory, where UNESCO maintains a biosphere reserve.  It rises 863 meters (2,831 feet) above sea level. Traditionally, these formations were owned by the Anangu Aboriginal people, one of the oldest human societies in the world.

The rock was called Uluru a long time before Europeans arrived in Australia. The word is a proper noun from the Pitjantjatjara language and doesn’t have an English translation.  In 1873, the explorer William Gosse became the first non-Aboriginal person to see Uluru. He named it Ayers Rock after Sir Henry Ayers, the Chief Secretary of South Australia at the time.

Ayers Rock was the most widely used name until 1993, when the rock was officially renamed Ayers Rock / Uluru.

As it’s one of the most scenic drives in the world, the Great Ocean Road.  The road hugs the Victorian coastline .The highlight of the drive is the 12 Apostles, which are twelve limestone monuments that jut out from the Southern Ocean.  These rock formations are 15 to 20 million years old.

From the sky, the Bungle Bungle Range is a truly unique and eye-catching Australian landmark, with distinctive “beehive” formations that are considered the most outstanding example of cone karst in sandstone anywhere in the world.

The “beehives” are striking orange and black striped karst sandstone domes that look like giant beehives from the sky.

They form a jaw-dropping landscape of sculptured rocks that rise 250 metres (820 feet) above savanna grasslands.

Although its Aboriginal custodians have revered the Bungle Bungles for over 40,000 years, it was only known to the rest of the world in 1983.

There are so many interesting animals in Australia! Four out of five animals that live in Australia only can be found there. 

Among the animal species that can only be found in Australia are the monotremes, which are mammals that lay eggs! The platypus and two species of echidna are the world's only egg-laying mammals, so called monotremes. 

Australia has almost 400 mammal species and about 140 species of marsupials. A marsupial is an animal that carries the young in her pouch.

Half of the birds that live in Australia, can only be found there. Among the typical Australian bird species are the kookaburra, the emu and the rainbow lorikeet, an especially colourful parrot which has a red beak and a multicolour plumage.

Australia houses more than 10% of the world's biodiversity (animals and plant varieties).  Among the most well-known Australian animals are kangaroos, wombats, koalas and the dingos.  

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