Going to the Land Down Under

Before reading I insist you watch the video below before reading. It sets the mood...





Turns out that myself and my mom are headed to Australia in November. The land of Kangaroos, Koalas, the Great Barrier Reef, Sydney Opera House, the Outback, and good ol' Vegemite. But we aren't going to site see. We're headed there because there are a bunch of 25k's that I intend on winning. I can't wait to get there but not looking forward to 23 hours on a plane. But I'm going to be playing 4 tournaments at each end of the continent. Two in the West near Perth and two near Melbourne in the Southeast. But I can't wait to go. I've never been there but only heard great things.

Now here are a few fun facts about the country courtesy of AboutAustralia.com.au and every other website on the Internet featuring Australian facts.

~Australia's capital is Canberra.

~Australia's population of 21 million is mostly concentrated along the eastern and southeastern coasts.

~Australia's climate is generally arid to semiarid; temperate in south and east; tropical in north.

~Australia is the sixth largest nation after Russia, Canada, China, the United States of America and Brazil. (It's roughly the same size as the United States excluding Alaska).

~Australia is the lowest, flattest and, apart from Antarctica, the driest of the continents.

~The Australian federation consists of six States and two Territories*
(Australian Capital Territory*, New South Wales, Northern Territory*, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia)

~Australia is the world's largest exporter of coal, accounting for 29% of global coal exports.

~Australia’s national day, Australia Day, is celebrated on January 26th, which happens to be my sister's birthday.

~The Great Barrier Reef off the northeast coast, is the largest coral reef in the world. It is comprised of over 3000 individual reef systems. It is home to the world's largest collection of corals (more than 400 different kinds of coral), over 1500 species of tropical fish, more than 200 types of birds, around 20 types of reptiles.

Now that I feel a bit more intelligent from finding all these facts all I have to do now is practice yelling my Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi.

I hope you enjoyed your free geography lesson.

Hooroo (I guess it's the Australian way of saying goodbye)