Australia is a country in the southern hemisphere and is officially referred to as the Commonwealth of Australia. It has a population of about 22.6 million with Canberra being its capital city. It consists of its mainland and several islands such as that of Tasmania and others in the surrounding Pacific and Indian Oceans. It has several country neighbors such as Indonesia and east Timor to the north, New Zealand to the south east and to the north east, the Solomon Islands.
Native Australians first inhabited the continent for over 40,000 years before the Europeans settled in the 18th century. The eastern half was later claimed by Britons in 1770 and possession was taken formally in 1788. With the steady growth in population 5 other colonies were established and in 1901 the six of them, currently the six states of Australia, became a confederation, to form the Commonwealth of Australia.
The country is greatly developed and is in position 13 of the world?s largest economies and ranks highly in National performance when compared to other countries. The continent is known to be the flattest and most of it is semi-arid. It has no state religion and official language though Australian English is the one commonly used followed by Italian and is more or less similar to British English. While in Australia there are many places that you can visit.
The most visited destination is Sydney which is Australia?s main entry and has several museums, shopping malls and the famous Sydney Tower. The city also offers other sites including the Sydney Opera House, zoos and the beach and an exotic night life. For beach lovers you can visit the Gold Coast which has numerous waterfalls and surrounding mountains in addition. Ayers Rock which is the biggest of its kind in the world and Fraser Island are also locations that are sought after by visitors.
Due to the size of the country, if you really want to spend time exploring, car hire is your best option for travel. Renting a car at the airport has its merits and demerits and local car hire can be great if you want it as part of one?s holiday. One can use www.anyhirecar.com to learn of the various optional car hire companies available.