Australia, a land of diverse landscapes and vibrant culture, is not only home to iconic landmarks and wildlife, but it also boasts fascinating quirks that add an extra layer of intrigue to its allure. For those who think they know all there is to know about Australia, here are a few fun facts that you might not have been aware of.
Poisonous Platypus
They may be the cutest thing ever, but the humble platypus has venom strong enough to kill a small dog. Platypuses deliver the poison via small spurs on their back legs. In one case, a 57-year-old man who grabbed one of the small mammals while fishing said the pain was “so bad I started to become incoherent.”
Land of Women
There are almost 100,000 more women than men in Australia, with six out of the eight states and territories experiencing a “man drought.” But it's starting to even out, with almost 105 baby boys currently being born for every 100 baby girls born in Australia.
Hump Day
An estimated 750,000 camels roam Australia's deserts, the largest number of pure-bred camels in the world. Australia even exports them to the Middle East. They were initially brought here in the 1800s to help open the interior to several outback settlements and were integral in the building of telegraph lines spanning the country.
Opening Credit
The movie business began in Australia. The world’s first feature film was made in Australia in 1899 by the Salvation Army. Soldiers of the Cross focused on the lives and deaths of early Christian martyrs and ran for 2.5 hours. Its first screening was in 1901, although there is some dispute as to whether Soldiers of the Cross was a movie per se as the Salvation Army referred to the project as a lecture. Nevertheless, the world unquestionably recognizes the 1906 film The Story of the Kelly Gang as the world’s first feature film.
What do the experts say?
Tasmania is under the radar for many travelers, but it’s great for hikes, natural landscapes and now modern art!
Sydney and Melbourne are a great combination for first-time visitors to Australia, with Brisbane, Adelaide and/or the Outback added in, depending on how much time you have. Returnees should take in Perth, Darwin and the Kakadu National Park area and/or Tasmania if they can, plus spend some time in the cities they loved the first time around
It might sound cliche, but you really can visit year-round. Australia is a big country, so there is always somewhere with amazing weather!
Goway’s trips to Australia are not stock itineraries. We can put together trips of a few weeks or a few months, allowing you to see as much of the land Downunder as you can. And we offer a mix of travel options, from self-drives to train journeys to long stays.
Goway has partnerships with many unique inns and hotels in Australia. Among the most memorable are Qualia on Hamilton Island, Longitude 131 at Uluru and Southern Ocean Lodge on Kangaroo Island.
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ExcellentBased on 5,179 ReviewsThe tour was very well planned out and provided many incredible experiences! Alice Teramoto was very helpful while we were planning this trip.Sheryl RadetskyWe recently enjoyed a tour around Australia arranged by Natasa Jarik at Goway Travel. The trip lasted 10 days, too short to do justice to all of Australia, but enough to give us a taste of a fascinating country.
The trip was excellent, exactly what we were looking for. The complicated logistics all worked out smoothly and perfectly. Everything was on time and as advertised. The individual tours were excellent, the guides were absolutely first rate, the accommodations all worked out well (especially the central location of Swissotel in Sydney), and we thoroughly enjoyed the trip. One of the really enjoyable days was day 1, when we arrived early in the morning after a long plane flight from the US and spent the day walking through the parks and gardens and around the harbor in Sydney, visiting a couple of museums, and having a wonderful dinner at a little restaurant around the corner from our hotel. Sydney is a beautiful city! We missed spotting a cassowary in the rain forest, but we saw lots of roos and koalas and emus and dingoes and wombats and crocodiles and wallabies at Kangaroo Island and the Daintree rain forest, snorkeled at the Great Barrier Reef, and enjoyed a very interesting tour around Sydney. The arrangements were handled efficiently and easily. Thank you, Natasa, for arranging a perfect tour for us!Mike CherryGoway Travels makes planning easy!! Every detail is included and they will taper your tour as you like!maureen von mindenGoway Travel has been a great partner to work with as a Travel Advisor and Travel Agency Owner. They are constantly providing excellent and fast service to ensure I can help customize the perfect itinerary for my clients with amazing destination specialists. I recently worked with Aylin Esin for an Alaska trip for a client and we are finalizing the details for my clients trip in July!Nick BryanThis is an excellent tour agency that provides an excellent, all inclusive safari experience in South Africa, especially in the renown Kruger National Park. The agency will provide a very detailed, day-by-day itinerary of the trip, which, for the most part, describes exactly the order of activities that a customer will experience from start to end of the reserved trip. Our safari trip included a hotel pick-up in Cape Town in the beginning of the safari trip and drop-off at the end of the trip. Flights to and from either Johannesburg or Mpumalanga airport are included. We reserved a 3-day safari trip which included an afternoon safari the first day, a full day safari the 2nd day, and a morning safari the 3rd day. The lodge where we stayed was very clean with modern and convenient accommodations, including WIFI and breakfast. The guides are well trained and very knowledgeable about all animals we came across during our trip, and were also very courteous, polite and easy to engage in conversation. They made our safari trip exciting but safe! I would highly recommend this safari tour agency. Christos PatriotisI had an amazing trip. It was more than I could have expected. I got to see everything I wished to see while I was abroad. All the guides were lovely and provided me with excellent knowledge on their cities/tours. Especially in China where it was their holiday week and they all took time away from their families to make me around their cities. The tour company in Japan made sure I got to every tour destination and knew what the plan was for each day.
This is the second time I have used Goway for traveling and it has exceeded my expectations. katieahotmail.comWe just returned from an incredible 2-week trip to Brazil, and it exceeded every expectation. This was our first time using Goway, and RuthAnne absolutely knocked it out of the park.
What Made It Special:
Exceptional Guides - Every guide RuthAnne selected was outstanding. Our Rio guide was probably the best we've ever had anywhere in the world. Our Iguazu Falls guide was equally fantastic—knowledgeable, personable, and made the experience unforgettable. Every guide was excellent throughout our journey.
Amazon Experience - The Amazon River portion was breathtaking. Incredible venue, exceptional staff, and truly memorable excursions.
Perfect Planning - Every detail was thoughtfully arranged. Timing, accommodations, activities—everything flowed seamlessly.
RuthAnne clearly knows Brazil inside and out and matched us with the perfect experiences for our family. We felt taken care of every step of the way.
Bottom Line: We'll absolutely be using Goway again for our next adventure.
Traveled as a family of four - would recommend for couples, families, or anyone seeking a hassle-free, world-class experience.Ethan DavenportWe just returned from a 2 week tour of South Africa, Zimbabwe(Victoria Falls) and Botswana, and had a fabulous time! This was the third tour I've used Goway, and as usual, it was such a positive experience! The accommodations that were booked were awesome! The hotels were luxurious, clean and the staff, all so warm and welcoming! Our travel agent, Vanessa Lloyd, did a fabulous job arranging everything, and was always available to answer my many questions! We'll be using them again, next year when we take a family trip to the Greek Islands and Turkey! They are always consistent in the quality of the hotels and experiences, and I highly recommend them for your travel needs!Fran Nitta BarnesWe are still on our journey in Italy. At Capri now and heading to the Amalfi Coast. So far, we can’t thank Goway enough for putting our itinerary together so quickly. Everything is going well and hope the next 10 days are perfect too. Gladys VivianCan't say enough good things about Goway Travel. From the very start, our travel rep, Harpreet, listened carefully to what we were hoping to see and do on our first trip to Japan. She asked great questions and then came back to us with a detailed itinerary packed with adventure and fun, and all within our travel budget.
From the moment we took off from LAX, Harpreet had made sure we had every tour voucher, hotel voucher, plane ticket, train ticket, literally every detail covered. All we had to do was follow our itinerary.
Also, Harpreet booked us into terrific hotels. Each one was spotlessly clean, comfortable, included a full (and delicious) breakfast and, most importantly, was centrally located to all of the activities she had planned for us. So everything was a 5 or 10-minute walk away.
In three weeks' time we were able to visit six cities and so many fascinating shrines, temples, castles, imperial palaces - most of which were World Heritage sites. Harpreet also tucked in fabulous "experiences" like learning how to make sushi with a professional chef, enjoying a tea ceremony and watching graceful Geishas dance.
My husband and I are seasoned travelers. But we don't speak Japanese and we really knew very little about the country. There is no way we would have been able to see and do all of the fascinating things we did in Japan if we hadn't chosen Goway Travel to be our guide. Many thanks for an unforgettable trip! Bobbi Fagone
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