背著大登山袋，帶著指北針，搭機前往南半球的澳洲．為期五個禮拜崇尚原始自然的心靈享宴，就此揭開序幕．澳洲，一次心曠神怡的大自然之旅．
飛機上略看一下報紙，剛好報紙裡有我需要的資訊，刊出澳洲資訊從業人員的薪資待遇．澳洲的資訊從業人員的平均待遇，換算成台幣，比我國高出許多，但又比美國低許多．不過，在社會福利國家，稅率又特別高，物價、消費水準又不同，將匯率直接換算不能充分表現經濟狀況．
飛機進入澳洲領空，看一下指北針，方向為東方．空服員在走道上走來走去，向上噴殺菌劑，以求環境衛生，檢疫衛生的謹慎程度，令人印象深刻．歡迎來到澳洲，這塊遠離世局戰亂的大陸．
這塊大陸，在1770年四月28日，四十一歲的英國皇家海軍上尉詹姆士．庫克(James Cook)在雪梨(Sydney)灣登陸澳洲，首開英國文化到有原住民居住之處的先例．
因為庫克船長登陸之處，觸目盡是奇花異草，於是就把它命名為植物灣(Botany Bay)．聚集在灘頭的原住民不是舞動矛槍，就是相應不理，從此這一幕不斷地重演，西方人文明就此登場．英國的航海天才，把夢想化為真實，把歐洲印記蓋上去的地方，以風、海潮、礁石和鄉野奇譚為號召，因人的體能脆弱，澳洲才能隱匿了許久，使按圖索驥的人和許多後繼者徒勞而返．
1787年五月，“第一艦隊”的11隻小船在船長亞瑟．菲力浦(Arthur Phillip)率領下，於朴茲茅斯(Portsmouth)啟航．1788年一月，一千名乘客，包括四分之三是犯人，抵達植物灣．殖民人士跌跌撞撞地展開了新生活，他們被拋棄在世界另一個角落，遠離了上帝、英國國王和祖國．
至1868年為止，殖民到澳洲的罪犯達十六萬人，其中女性只占二萬五千人，這種畸型的狀態影響所及，使往後數十年成為粗礦、男性主導的邊疆社會．
一塊為叛徒、盜獵人、妓女和殺人犯所放逐的不毛之地，澳洲的前途一不點也不像上帝允諾的迦南地．
不過，由一票囚犯和英軍在1788年把歐洲峻法下的十字架和絞架移植到這片被時間所遺忘的土地，一個多元的社會從此殿下了根基．
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Fauna, flora and folks Australia is the smallest, flattest, and driest inhabited continent in the world. It is the only country which is also a whole continent. 18.6 million people live here. |
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Compared to the other great zoogeographic regions--Eurasia, Africa, Southeast Asia and the two Americas--the Australian zone is small and in large part arid and inhospitable. But this flat, drought-plagued land supports a magnificently rich and strange collection of wildlife. Many of its principal groups of plants and animals have evolved on their own, independent of trends in the world at large. Others have found sanctuary in which to vegetate and survive as relic types similar to forms which elsewhere on earth vanished millions of years ago. |
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Some places have all the luck. Australia conjures up instant images of friendly people, calm oceans, glorious sunsets and sweeping grassy plains covered with sheep. You can visit the best that Down Under has to offer.
The island worlds of Australia has always attracted explorers and adventurers. Eden-like stretches of beach, cozy harbors, and landscapes that surpass the imagination with their other-worldly beauty.
The Opera House, Harbor Bridge and Darling Harbor bring instant thoughts of Sydney and hosting the 2000 Olympics testifies to the city's dynamism. Visit the colorful fully restored Rocks area, where Sydney's history began. Three million people live in Melbourne, Victoria and their main means of city transportation are the colorful green trams. Victoria is the smallest and prettiest of the mainland states and is known as the garden state. See Sovereign Hill, and, visit the Fairy Penguin Parade at Phillip Island. Enjoy this experience in the bush country outside of Canberra -- the capital city.
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