What is Australia Known For?

When you think of Australia, what comes to your mind? Do you think of wildlife, famous people or attractions? When I think of Australia, I think of all of the three.

Wildlife

Left to right: Kangaroo, Kookaburra, Koala

Kangaroo
The kangaroo is Australia's national symbol and the logo of the country's national airline carrier, Quantas.

Koala
They are found along the eastern coast of Australia from near Adelaide to the southern part of the Cape York Peninsula, where there is sufficient rainfall to support suitable forest. The Koala eats the leaves of the eucalyptus tree.

Kookaburra
This kingfisher is nicknamed as the 'laughing jackass' because of its unmistakable call, which sounds a lot like human laughter.

Famous People

Crocodile Dundee

When people think of Crocodile Dundee, they would link it to Australia. A fictional hero of an Australian comedy film which was filmed in Australia was number one worldwide in 1986.

Steve Irwin
In the television series, The Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin came face to face with dangerous animals on a regular basis. However he died from a fatal piercing by a stingray. Whenever I hear the name 'Steve Irwin', I would think of all the animals he had encountered and I would also think of Australia.

Kylie Ann Minogue
A Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter and occasional actress, Minogue is one of the few Australians who have made it big in Hollywood.

Attractions

Blue Mountains National Park
A vast national park in Katoomba, New South Wales is famous for the 'Three Sisters' peaks with the Jamison Valley and Mount Solitary behind them, surrounded by the Blue Gum Forest. It is said that the 'Three Sisters' rock formation are actually really three sisters turned to stone.
The story goes like this. Three Gundungurra sisters loved brothers from the neighbouring Dharruk people, but the ancestral law did not allow them to marry these men. The brothers attacked the Gundungurra people to forcefully claim the women. To protect the three sisters, the men took them to the top of a cliff and turned them into stone planning to return after the battle to change them back. however he was killed and no one knew how to turn the stones back into living women.

Great Barrier Reef

The video above tells us abit more about the Great Barrier Reef and all the speices found there. The world's largest coral reef system which can be seen from space is found right here in Australia! With over 3000 individual reefs, the Great Barrier Reef was designated a World Heritage Site in 1981.

Uluru (Ayers Rock)

A major tourist attraction and a World Heritage Site, the Ayers Rock is a large sandstone rock formation in central Australia which is sacred to the Aboriginal people of the area.

Sydney Harbour Bridge
The world's biggest steel arch bridge, the Sydney Harbour Bridge has become an iconic image of both Sydney and Australia linking traffic between the central business district (CBD) and the North Shore.

Sydney Opera House
One of the most striking and famous buildings and a major tourism attraction, the Sydney Opera House is host to many performance. In the movie 'Finding Nemo', Nemo's father, Merly, swims pass the Sydney Opera House. This just shows how prominent this attraction is.

Bondi Beach

Bondi Beach is one of the world's most famous beaches located along Sydney. The word "Bondi" is an Aboriginal word which means water breaking over rocks. On 6 February 1938, known as 'Black Sunday', the beach was packed with 35000 people when huge waves swamped the beach, dragging hundreds out to sea. The famous Bondi lifesavers pulled 250 people from the water and amazingly only 5 lives were lost.

These are just some of the few attractions or icons I feel that Australia is well known for. There are definitely other well-known attractions of Australia, but I just pointed out these few as I think they are the more well-known attractions/icons.