Growing Pineapples in the Outback

Download Growing Pineapples in the Outback PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Univ. of Queensland Press
ISBN 13 : 0702262323
Total Pages : 247 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (22 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Growing Pineapples in the Outback by : Tony Kelly

Download or read book Growing Pineapples in the Outback written by Tony Kelly and published by Univ. of Queensland Press. This book was released on 2020-03-03 with total page 247 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When Rebecca Lister and Tony Kelly move from Melbourne to Mount Isa to care for Rebecca's elderly mother, Diana, they have no idea what they've signed up for. The isolation, sweltering heat and limited employment opportunities make settling into the mining town a challenge. While Rebecca deals with her mother's declining health and delves into her own past, Tony takes on a new role in native title law.However, caring for Diana &– a witty, crossword-loving 92-year-old &– proves to be a more enriching experience than either Tony or Rebecca thought possible. As they make deeper connections to the land and community, they find themselves flourishing in a most unexpected place. Growing Pineapples in the Outback explores the highs and lows of caring for an ageing parent, while also celebrating the rewards of a simpler life.

Australia

Download Australia PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Capstone Classroom
ISBN 13 : 9781403482525
Total Pages : 36 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (825 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Australia by : Jane Bingham

Download or read book Australia written by Jane Bingham and published by Capstone Classroom. This book was released on 2007 with total page 36 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Describes the geography, climate, natural resources, and wildlife of Australia.

The Story of Australia

Download The Story of Australia PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Black Inc.
ISBN 13 : 1743822065
Total Pages : 228 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (438 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Story of Australia by : Don Watson

Download or read book The Story of Australia written by Don Watson and published by Black Inc.. This book was released on 2021-07-02 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A modern classic: Don Watson’s history of Australia for children of the twenty-first century History told so well it gives us a better idea of who we are – and what we might become. The Story of Australia weaves together the many strands of our nation’s past – ancient and indigenous, colonial and contemporary – to create a fascinating history for all readers, young and old. In clear, succinct language that both children and adults will appreciate, Watson guides readers from the ancient lands of Gondwana, through human settlement, colonisation and waves of migration, to the challenges facing our diverse nation today. Each era is brought to life in a series of beautifully illustrated spreads that capture a particular event or development – or give a snapshot of ordinary Australians at the time. Each chapter ends with a profile of a person, from the oldest Australian ever discovered, Mungo Woman, to pop icon Kylie Minogue. The Story of Australia will be treasured by children and families for years to come. Don Watson is the author of many acclaimed books for adults, including Caledonia Australis, Recollections of a Bleeding Heart, American Journeys, The Bush and Watsonia. This is his first work for children.

Alone Near Alice

Download Alone Near Alice PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : iUniverse
ISBN 13 : 0595634443
Total Pages : 212 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (956 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Alone Near Alice by : Harold Harbaugh

Download or read book Alone Near Alice written by Harold Harbaugh and published by iUniverse. This book was released on 2008-12-01 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On their second trip to Australia, Ruth and Harold met a couple during a Great Barrier Reef cruise. They and their children eventually became great friends. Lynette and Rob had lived in Washington, DC and had traveled all over the world, but they had never been to the Outback. So when the opportunity to explore it under the sponsorship of the highly respected National Trust appeared, they seized the chance and invited the Harbaughs along. The almost three week journey involved one widely traveled American couple, 14 reserved Aussies, and a driver named Dave. Together they explored deserted telegraph stations, hidden water holes, and compelling Outback attractions rarely seen by outsiders. The well educated Australians aboard were expecting a university scholar to conduct this 8,000 mile circle that included 5 of the 7 Australian States and 1 Territory, but they ended up with Dave, a mate whose favorites subjects were beer, fishing, and lame, politically incorrect jokes.

The Colonial Kitchen

Download The Colonial Kitchen PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN 13 : 144224982X
Total Pages : 208 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (422 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Colonial Kitchen by : Charmaine O'Brien

Download or read book The Colonial Kitchen written by Charmaine O'Brien and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2016-09-22 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first Europeans to settle on the Aboriginal land that would become know as Australia arrived in 1788. From the first these colonists were accused of ineptitude when it came to feeding themselves: as legend has it they nearly starved to death because they were hopeless agriculturists and ignored indigenous foods. As the colony developed Australians developed a reputation as dreadful cooks and uncouth eaters who gorged themselves on meat and disdained vegetables. By the end of the nineteenth century the Australian diet was routinely described as one of poorly cooked mutton, damper, cabbage, potatoes and leaden puddings all washed down with an ocean of saccharine sweet tea: These stereotypes have been allowed to stand as representing Australia’s colonial food history. Contemporary Australians have embraced ‘exotic’ European and Asian cuisines and blended elements of these to begin to shape a distinctive “Australian” style of cookery but they have tended to ignore, or ridicule, what they believe to be the terrible English cuisine of their colonial ancestors largely because of these prevailing negative stereotypes. The Colonial Kitchen: Australia 1788- 1901 challenges the notion that colonial Australians were all diabolical cooks and ill-mannered eaters through a rich and nuanced exploration of their kitchens, gardens and dining rooms; who was writing about food and what their purpose might have been; and the social and cultural factors at play on shaping what, how and when they at ate and how this was represented.

Perth, Western Australia & the Outback

Download Perth, Western Australia & the Outback PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Hunter Publishing, Inc
ISBN 13 : 1588437809
Total Pages : 110 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (884 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Perth, Western Australia & the Outback by : Holly Smith

Download or read book Perth, Western Australia & the Outback written by Holly Smith and published by Hunter Publishing, Inc. This book was released on 2010-09-14 with total page 110 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Following is an excerpt from this extensive & highly detailed guide by a lifetime resident of Australia. The guide covers all the hotels, restaurants, sights to see and activities, from beachgoing to hiking, kayaking to exploring the Outback and the cultural attractions. Australia's largest state takes up nearly a third of the continent, filling some 2,525,250 square kilometers with a diverse mix of extreme and wonderful landscapes. The balmy seaside capital of Perth and its thriving southern suburb of Fremantle, where 1.4 of the state's 1.8 million residents live, are spread along Australia's southwest edge, just north of the Cape Naturaliste hook. South of here, lush river valleys and coastal parks stretch east for more than 1,620 km, while north of Perth, along the rough edge of the Indian Ocean, towns are far and few, with vast natural parklands coloring in the empty spaces between them. The country's westernmost town, Coral Bay, lies halfway up the coast, from where the land cuts back east and north toward Port Hedland and Broome. And still the state sprawls on, further northeast through the great, dry plains of the Kimberley, and south through endless expanses of gold and red desert. Within these great, barren stretches and along the coastlines, however, are hidden treasures that for the past century have fueled much of Australia's economy. The famous goldfields, where fortune-seekers thronged in the late 1800s, surround the southern Outback city of Kalgoorlie-Boulder. Mineral sands and deposits of bauxite, the source for the country's massive aluminum industry, are tucked along the state's southwest edge. Around the Kimberley, or the far northwest, natural gas is the abundant resource, tapped in enormous quantities from the Northwest Shelf. The Pilbara, along the north-central coast, has the world's most extensive iron-ore deposits. And this is all not to mention the world-famous pearls found offshore of Broome, which rack up some US$200 million in yearly exports alone, or the Argyle Diamond mine of the same region, which produces more diamonds a year than anywhere else on the planet. In short, this is a massive state where riches and resources are only just being discovered. Million-hectare cattle stations stretch far and wide; broad national parks with million-year-old natural phenomena take their places in patchwork fashion around them; and thousands of kilometers of desolate, unexplored lands fill the gaps in between. You could wander here for a year and not run into a soul if you were well-prepared, or you could skirt between desert, ocean, and river excursions. There's plenty of history and culture surrounding every settlement, too, providing for a well-rounded adventure experience that delves deep into a very unique blend of environments. With more than 63 national parks, bushwalking is the number-one activity, followed closely by four-wheel-drive adventures. The entire state is edged by the ocean, with magnificent reefs around the center, so diving and snorkeling, boating, windsurfing, and other watersports are all possibilities. Historic cultural excursions take place in the center and the far north Aboriginal lands, while modern encounters might have you wine-tasting through the southwest Margaret River vineyards. You can cycle around the coast, rock climb and abseil in the rugged mountains, explore caves in the central region, camel trek in the desert, kayak the southern rivers, dive and snorkel along remote reefs, and surf chic Perth swells or lonely Pacific bays. The possibilities are as endless as the land, for the state is only just being chiseled into a major adventure destination, and it's a place where you truly have the chance to trail-blaze, get lost, and discover something entirely new about the world - and your own character within it.

The Farmers' Advocate and Home Magazine

Download The Farmers' Advocate and Home Magazine PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 892 pages
Book Rating : 4.E/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Farmers' Advocate and Home Magazine by :

Download or read book The Farmers' Advocate and Home Magazine written by and published by . This book was released on 1944 with total page 892 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Thumbs Up Australia

Download Thumbs Up Australia PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Nicholas Brealey
ISBN 13 : 1473645158
Total Pages : 228 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (736 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Thumbs Up Australia by : Tom Parry

Download or read book Thumbs Up Australia written by Tom Parry and published by Nicholas Brealey. This book was released on 2011-06-14 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On the Road meets Down Under in this really rough guide to the adventures of an enthusiastic hitchhiker and his reluctant girlfriend on their quest for the real Australia. Hitching lifts with the desert's dodgiest drivers and taking breaks in the roughest roadhouses, this is Tom Parry's witty, warts-and-all tale of hitchhiking 8,000 miles across - and around - the Australian outback with his thumb, his backpack and his French girlfriend, Katia. As the couple hitch their way around the near empty highways, they encounter as wide a cross-section of Aussie society as you could ever hope to meet. In cattle stations, Aboriginal communities, remote waterholes, caravan parks, hippy communes and roadhouses, they see a country that remains as extraordinary today as it was for the first nineteenth century settlers. Loosely following the routes carved out by the legendary explorers who first traversed the great continent, the couple get to grips with the country's fascinating history. Set against a backdrop of the real Australia - not 'as seen on TV'- "Thumbs Up Australia" is full of wonderful anecdotes and endearing tales of some of the country's most idiosyncratic characters, from the grizzled Aboriginal elder with his tales of dreamtime, to an amphetamine-swallowing road train driver. And at the end of their journey, it is ironically Katia who suggests thumbing a lift to the airport!

Sydney & Australia's New South Wales

Download Sydney & Australia's New South Wales PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Hunter Publishing, Inc
ISBN 13 : 9781588437754
Total Pages : 120 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (377 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Sydney & Australia's New South Wales by : Holly Smith

Download or read book Sydney & Australia's New South Wales written by Holly Smith and published by Hunter Publishing, Inc. This book was released on 2011-04-15 with total page 120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Following is an excerpt from this extensive & highly detailed guide by a lifetime resident of Australia. The guide covers all the hotels, restaurants, sights to see and activities, from beachgoing to hiking, kayaking to exploring the Outback or the cultural attractions of Sydney. Flying into New South Wales, it''s undeniable that Sydney''s spectacular setting is simply one of the world''s best: A melding of lushly green parklands, classic historic buildings, and polished modern architecture set back from the glistening water. Gliding above the city shows the spider''s web of highways and bridges linking the sprawling mass of civilization, which extends more than 12 mi/20 km along the Port Jackson inlet. Some four million Australians live here, and 10 million more tourists flood into Sydney each year; little wonder, with attractions ranging from famous museums, gardens, and zoos to dozens of dazzling beaches. And the activities are endless: Bush hiking and bike tracks, harbor cruises and water excursions, and high-powered flights above the whole scene. In short, Sydney is the country''s showpiece for holiday and adventure. The continent''s most active port city, Sydney actually sits inland of the Pacific, around nine mi/15 km inland from the coast along the Port Jackson waterway, which itself is carved into numerous smaller islands and bays. Surrounding the harbor are great patches of pine and semi-tropical forests, which quickly lead up into the bumpy foothills of the Great Dividing Ranges. This is eucalyptus territory, where the arid environment of blue gums is colored by a heated haze given off from the leaves; hence the region''s name OCo the Blue Mountains. Also, of the more than 70 national parks throughout New South Wales, more than a handful are settled right around Sydney itself OCo the coastal Royal National Park, the northern Wollemi National Park, and the western Blue Mountains National Park among them. With its diverse personalities, multicultural flavors, and sophisticated yet down-to-earth airs, Sydney offers something for every traveler. It''s a place where history, culture, activities, and adventure are blended into a well-run and engaging metropolis where locals take pride in their heritage and guests are welcomed like friends. Massive transport systems provide a choice of city-wide links that are clean, quick, and cheap; food runs from simple Australian to worldly gourmet, and endless accommodation options spread from ocean to mountains. With 224 million acres/80 million-plus hectares, the large state of New South Wales has a continually changing landscape which delves into some of Australia''s best scenes. The classic, golden-sand beaches form a string along the east coast, getting more tropical the farther north you travel toward Queens land, or becoming more rocky and chilled the farther south you head toward Victoria. The mighty Murray River forms the southern border, stretching a watery band of blue along the northern edge of Victoria, and providing sustenance to some of both states'' richest farms, grazing grounds, and wine regions. The Darling and Murrumbidgee also feed the dry western plains, and offer a string of charming settlements to explore along their edges. The Great Dividing Range runs parallel to the continent''s edge, curving down all the way from the far north tip of Queensland through New South Wales and on down to Melbourne. Included within the peaks are the Blue Mountains just outside of Sydney, as well as the Snowy Mountains in the far south of the state. And the mountains are indeed a dividing factor in the country''s atmosphere, not only in visual landscape from eastern beaches to western plains and deserts; they also form a border between the balmy ocean settings and the scorched western Outback. Fertile farmlands and orchards are tucked into the folds of the mountains, while the state''s famous vineyards spread out through the glistening river valleys."

Outback Penguin

Download Outback Penguin PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Black Inc.
ISBN 13 : 1925203859
Total Pages : 443 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (252 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Outback Penguin by : Stuart Kells

Download or read book Outback Penguin written by Stuart Kells and published by Black Inc.. This book was released on 2016-02-29 with total page 443 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Richard Lane was one of three brothers who founded Penguin Books in 1935. But like all great stories, his life didn't start there. After sailing to Adelaide in 1922, Richard began work as a boy migrant - a farm apprentice living in rural South Australia as part of the 'Barwell Boys' scheme. In Australia, he deepened his appreciation for literature, and understood how important it was to make good writing widely accessible. Richard's diaries - the honest and moving words of a teenager, so very far away from home - capture vividly his life and loves; the characters he met; the land he worked; the families he depended on; and his coming of age in a new land. A remarkable social record and one of the best first-hand accounts of the child migrant experience, the diaries also capture the ideas and the entrepreneurship that led to the founding of the twentieth century's most famous publishing house. With a foreword by eminent Australian historian Geoffrey Blainey, Richard Lane's diaries are an important document for the history of rural Australia and global publishing 'One of the most revealing stories yet written about rural life in Australia.' Geoffrey Blainey

Kasai: Outback

Download Kasai: Outback PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Xlibris Corporation
ISBN 13 : 1456863932
Total Pages : 310 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (568 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Kasai: Outback by : Brian D. Wood

Download or read book Kasai: Outback written by Brian D. Wood and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2011-04-14 with total page 310 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Its been six months since Dr. Jackson ONeil discovered dinosaurs living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; and now hes at it again, this time heading to the outskirts of Sydney, Australia, to help out his childhood hero, Dr. John Tice, and his daughter, Maya, when mysterious disappearances start to occur out in the bush. But what Jackson and his best friend, Dr. Marshall Fredericks, and his girlfriend, Dr. Lauren Kimble, discover is a creature almost too terrifying to comprehend: a beast which was thought to have gone extinct thousands of years ago. And when Jacksons suddenly needed in Africa again, he will be on a race against the clock as a deadly force of nature appears to destroy a city. Jackson will be racing the police to fi nd a murderous animal smuggler before he comprehends Jacksons task of return to Africa and prevent a group of rebel soldiers from destroying Kasai forever.

Pineapple Growing

Download Pineapple Growing PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 47 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (15 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Pineapple Growing by : Peter Henry Rolfs

Download or read book Pineapple Growing written by Peter Henry Rolfs and published by . This book was released on 1901 with total page 47 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Chinese Market Gardening in Australia and New Zealand

Download Chinese Market Gardening in Australia and New Zealand PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 3319518712
Total Pages : 327 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (195 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Chinese Market Gardening in Australia and New Zealand by : Joanna Boileau

Download or read book Chinese Market Gardening in Australia and New Zealand written by Joanna Boileau and published by Springer. This book was released on 2017-07-27 with total page 327 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book offers a fresh perspective on the Chinese diaspora. It is about the mobilisation of knowledge across time and space, exploring the history of Chinese market gardening in Australia and New Zealand. It enlarges our understanding of processes of technological change and human mobility, highlighting the mobility of migrants as an essential element in the mobility and adaptation of technologies. Truly multidisciplinary, Chinese Market Gardening in Australia and New Zealand incorporates elements of economic, agricultural, social, cultural and environmental history, along with archaeology, to document how Chinese market gardeners from subtropical southern China adapted their horticultural techniques and technologies to novel environments and the demands of European consumers. It shows that they made a significant contribution to the economies of Australia and New Zealand, developing flexible strategies to cope with the vagaries of climate and changing business and social environments which were often hostile towards Asian immigrants. Chinese Market Gardening in Australia and New Zealand will appeal to students and scholars in the fields of the Chinese diaspora, in particular the history of the Chinese in Australasia; the history of technology; horticultural and garden history; and environmental history, as well as Asian studies more generally.

Fodor's Australia

Download Fodor's Australia PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781400014989
Total Pages : 292 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (149 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Fodor's Australia by : Fodor's

Download or read book Fodor's Australia written by Fodor's and published by . This book was released on 2005-03 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Presents a comprehensive travel guide of Australia and contains full-color maps and photos and information on its history and culture, accommodations and restaurants, architecture and art, and other interesting sites and tourist attractions.

Australia - Exploring Guides

Download Australia - Exploring Guides PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780676901740
Total Pages : 290 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (17 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Australia - Exploring Guides by : Fodor's

Download or read book Australia - Exploring Guides written by Fodor's and published by . This book was released on 2002-03-05 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fodor's Exploring Guides are the most up-to-date, full-color guidebooks available. Covering destinations around the world, these guides are loaded with photos; essays on culture and history, architecture and art; itineraries, walks and excursions; descriptions of sights; and practical information. Fodor's Exploring Australia gives you great tips on dining and lodging for all budgets as well as tips on basics such as getting there and getting around and when to go and what to pack.

Australia

Download Australia PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780376060600
Total Pages : 152 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (66 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Australia by : Sunset Books

Download or read book Australia written by Sunset Books and published by . This book was released on 1973-12 with total page 152 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Melbourne, Victoria & Tasmania

Download Melbourne, Victoria & Tasmania PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Hunter Publishing, Inc
ISBN 13 : 9781588437792
Total Pages : 140 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (377 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Melbourne, Victoria & Tasmania by : Holly Smith

Download or read book Melbourne, Victoria & Tasmania written by Holly Smith and published by Hunter Publishing, Inc. This book was released on 2010-09-14 with total page 140 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The author, a native Australian, covers everything you might want to know about Australia - guaranteed! The places to stay, from budget to luxury, rentals to B&Bs, the restaurants, from fast food to the highest quality, the beachwalks and bushwalks, the wildlife and how to see it, exploring the country by air, on water, by bike, and every other way. Following are a few excerpts from the guide: The gathering of landscapes within the compact state of Victoria seem as if a giant had taken different pieces from around the continent, squashed them together and shaken them up, and then tossed them to let them fall where they may. The awesome, wave-lashed coastal edges are among the state's classic sights, with crumpled pillars of orange rock stacked tall out in the water. Where the shores aren't rough, the beaches are silky and white, as soft and tame as a kitten, with cold but gentle waters. Behind this edge are thick patches of temperate rainforests leading up into drier locales, including inland deserts, an unmade bed of mountain foothills and folds, and smooth river marshes and plains. You'd never expect that much of the terrain here was once actually volcanic, resulting in wild peaks, bluffs, and valleys throughout the center. There's 227,600 sq km of land in the state, and the Great Dividing Range arches through the center of it, with major collections of peaks in the Dandenongs and Macedons. The highest summits are in the east, at 1,986-m (6,514-ft) Mt. Bogong and 1,922-m (6,304-ft) Mt. Feathertop, and snowfields are found throughout the northeastern Australian Alps from June to September. Hemming in the land are 1,800 km (1,116 mi) of coastlines along the Bass Strait and the Southern Ocean, with Melbourne and Geelong fronting the central cut inland to Port Phillip Bay. This is a cool state, akin to the Pacific Northwest or the lower New England states of the U.S., with warm summers but chilling, wet winters. Some regions do dip below freezing, namely the northeastern mountains, while the Gippsland highlands in the east and the western Otway Ranges see more rain than anywhere else. Skip a couple hours south or west and you'll hit the arid Mallee region, and the Little Desert and Big Desert national park areas. Farmlands fill in the gaps, where orchards and vineyards are filled with apples, grapes, oranges, and other citrus fruits. Main crops are grains and vegetables, the fields fronting huge dairy farms or sheep and cattle ranches. Tasmania is offshore from Victoria. The name "Tasmania" is one of the world's most intriguing, and it rightfully sounds such as one of the most fascinating places on earth. And, yes, it's a heck of a journey to reach this offshore Australian state - but once you're here, if you're adventurous, you won't want to leave. Indeed, the island state of Tasmania is ripe for adventure. A heart-shaped, mountainous landmass 298 km (185 mi) southeast of the main Australian continent, it's covered with forests, threaded with rivers, and edged by wild, rugged beaches and bays. Its wilderness comprises an international Heritage Site of its own, filled with some of the world's oldest and most unusual plants, animals that are found nowhere else on earth, rock formations that span every geological era, and among the longest underground tunnels ever found. The capital of Hobart, where almost half the island's residents live, is tucked into the southeastern edge, and the sleepy northern ferry town of Devonport brings in visitors from the mainland. No one ventures far, though, which leaves the majority of the island open to exploring and free of crowds, even at the loveliest of national wonders such as Tasman National Park in the southeast, Freycinet National Park in the east, and Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park in the west.