Awesome Australia
From vibrant coastal cities,
rainforests and wilderness landscapes to inland deserts,
spectacular mountain ranges and some of the world's best
beaches, Australia is beautiful and varied. While well known
for its Sydney Opera House, the Harbour Bridge, Uluru (Ayers
Rock), the Great Barrier Reef and Bondi Beach, visitors
to Australia are usually surprised at the breadth of experiences
on offer whether it's watching migrating whales, touring
world class wineries or visiting dusty opal mining towns
where people live underground.
Australia's
ever-expanding catalogue of attractions caters to almost
every taste. Australia’s state capitals are cosmopolitan
cities with excellent shopping and a fabulous array of galleries,
museums, world-class restaurants, cafes and entertainment.
In the countryside you'll find classic country towns, national
parks brimming with the country’s unique native wildlife,
beautiful wine areas, secluded beaches, and the red sand
and dust of the Outback.
Explore the tropical islands
of the Whitsundays Passage in your own boat, try the galloping
whitewaters of Tasmania, the riding and hiking trails of
the Snowy Mountains and the rugged grandeur of the Flinders
Ranges in South Australia. Take a sunset camel ride in Alice
Springs, a cable car journey through a rainforest, go snorkeling
on the Great Barrier Reef or spend a few days discovering
hidden treasures along one of the world’s most scenic coastal
drives, the Great Ocean Road.
In recent times, the Aboriginal
people of Australia have become involved in the tourism
industry, giving special insights into their traditional
lifestyles and their unique relationship with their homeland.
Opportunities for close contact with Aborigines include
food-gathering and cultural tours, river cruises in the
Kakadu National park, bush-food tasting at Uluru (Ayers
Rock) and tours of 40,000-year-old art sites in Arnhem Land.
Learn to play the didgeridoo, use plants for survival and
create bark paintings, or visit Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural
Park in tropical north Queensland for insights into this
fascinating culture through theatrical interpretation, high-tech
visual effects and live actors.
The Australian experience
is also great value and most visitors, particularly those
from North America (and Canada) might be surprised to find
their currency goes a long way.
Visitors
to Australia are also surprised, often even dazzled, by
the sheer quality of variety of Australia’s food. "Australians
have one of the most extraordinary assortments of basic
ingredients of high quality anywhere in the world, and at
exceptionally modest prices," according to Barbara
Kafka, columnist for Gourmet magazine and one of America's
foremost food writers.
A glance at a catalogue from
a gourmet supplier revels a surprising repertoire of exotic
Australian produce, such as goat’s cheeses from Western
Australia, cold-pressed olive oils from South Australia,
buffalo-milk mozzarella from New South Wales, oysters, Tasmanian
salmon and other seafood ingredients that most of the world
has never even heard of.
What Australia eats now is
a hybrid diet that reflects Australia's multicultural make
up.
Traditionally, Australians
came from a single source - the British Isles - and what
Australians ate at the dinner table was derived from the
British dictum of a healthy meal - meat and two vegetables.
In the aftermath of World War II, Australia opened its doors
to a flood of migrants from non-traditional European sources.
Italians were followed by Greeks, Spaniards, Yugoslavs,
Turks and Germans, who imported their own rich traditions
of culture and food, and who sowed the seeds of a revolution
in the Australian diet.
In the 1970s these were joined
by immigrants from even more exotic origins - from Vietnam,
Cambodia, China, Africa and South. Today, Australia is one
of the most ethnically diverse nations on earth. More than
half of all Australians were either born overseas or have
at least one parent who was, and this intermingling of races
and cultures shows in the Australian diet. Today, much of
Australia is fuelled by croissants, espresso coffee, pasta,
octopus salads and stir-fry dinners.
Another
factor that has helped revolutionize the Australian diet
is the quality and diversity of Australia's produce. Australia
has been fabulously endowed by nature. Climactic diversity
alone allows it to produce rambutans as well as custard
apples, mangoes, coconuts, lychees, mandarins, strawberries
and blackberries. Its lush coastal pastures are well suited
to farmhouse cheeses, its native forests produce honeys
of exceptional fragrance and flavor and its vast coastline
is invested with a wealth of marine life.
In the 1970s, that potential
was recognized and reappraised - for the first time since
European settlement, in many cases. New species of fruits
and vegetables began to appear. The food revolution gathered
pace through the 1980s. New varieties of potato appeared,
game birds became available from butchers, a small island
in Bass Strait, off the Victorian coast, suddenly became
famous for its cheeses and from the variety of seafood that
appeared, it seemed almost as if a new ocean had been discovered.
Those producers who were sufficiently astute to sense a
sea-change were rewarded with instant markets in most cases,
ready, willing and able to pay high prices for distinctive,
high quality produce.
In the meantime, Australian
chefs were taking the taste buds into uncharted territory.
Unconstrained by notions of what was 'right', a new breed
of Australian chefs was experimenting, freely mixing the
cuisines of Asia and Europe, breaking most of the rules
and creating ripples that are still felt at the restaurant
tables. The term that has come to be applied to their cuisine
- Modern Australian’ - is a promise that the diner will
be tantalized, challenged, refreshed and always surprised
by the cuisine. Australia's food and its chefs have spread
their wings - although where it will go next is anyone's
guess.
For more
information about Australia, go to
http://www.australia.com. Here you'll find a wealth
of information about all aspects of traveling Down Under,
as well as plenty of two-week vacation packages to suit
any taste.
Photos:
Australian Tourist Commission
Other
Features in this section:
• Chef
Luke Mangan on BBQs
• Read
about Luke
•
Sydney's Cosmopolitan
Cuisine
• Smitten
by Shiraz
________
