Spectacular beaches, mile after mile of unspoilt outback and its vibrant, cosmopolitan city life; just a few of the things for which we know and love Australia. But what about some of the interesting stuff we never get to hear about?

Here are a few of the lesser reported facts about the land down under you might not have heard before:

Land of the giants

As recently as 20,000 – 40,000 years ago, Australia was home to an impressive array of now extinct species of megafauna. Aboriginal Australians co-existed and hunted animals like the Diprotodon, a giant marsupial the size of a rhinoceros, carnivorous kangaroos and Procoptodon – the largest species of kangaroo that ever existed, which stood up to 3 metres tall.

There is some argument over what caused the extinction of these animals; it could have been climate change, human hunting or a combination of factors.

I’ll drink to that

Aussies are famed for enjoying a tipple or two, particularly when watching the cricket or having a barbie, but you might be surprised at the extent of the Australian affinity for drinking.

Bob Hawke, 23^rd Prime Minister and the longest serving PM of Australia’s Labor party, set a Guinness world record for drinking a yard of beer in 11 seconds. He reckoned that this achievement endeared him to the Aussie public more than any other throughout his political career.

Honourable mention goes to five-times Premier of News South Wales, Sir John Robertson (1816-1891). Legend has it that Robertson drank a pint of rum every morning for 35 years, saying “none of the men who have left footprints in this country have been cold water men.”

Night swimming

From 1838 to 1902, it was illegal to swim at public beaches in many parts of the country during daylight hours under decency laws.

Women’s swimming costumes, which covered everything from the neck to the knee (no bikinis in those days), were thought to be indecent, whilst it was common practice at the time for men to swim in the nude.

Sporting endeavours

Everyone knows that sport is taken seriously in Oz, but did you know that the day of their most prestigious horse race, The Melbourne Cup, is declared a public holiday in the city and surrounding area?

Australians are also famed for their love of cricket. It’s widely known that Don Bradman’s batting average of 99.94 runs was by far the best ever (the next highest is 60.97), but their cricketers also hold the record for the fastest bowler of all time. Jeff “Thommo” Thompson reached speeds of 160km/h and once controversially said “I enjoy hitting a batsman more than getting him out. I like to see blood on the pitch.”

Don’t let this put you off visiting though; as ultra-competitive as they are on the sports field, Australians are as laid-back, friendly and welcoming off it.

What better way to kick off our new blog than hearing from a couple of tour groups who have just got back from ‘Once in a Lifetime’ escorted tours of Australia:

“Hi Stephen & Jayne,

Hope you are both fit & well. Many thanks for the most amazing trip/adventure of our lives.

Links to some photo albums below from the OLA32 trip.

Love,

Martin & Pauline (Young Ones)

xxxxxx “

Album 1

Album 2

Album 3

Album 4

Dear All,

Marilyn and I would like to express our thanks to you all for turning a great holiday into a fantastic one.  Your companionship, friendship and good humor made this a truly memorable ‘holiday of a lifetime’. I trust that the bonds of friendship forged during the last 6 weeks will continue and thrive in the future.

We are unfortunately both suffering badly from “fresh fruit and full English” withdrawal symptoms, as it is not the same when you have to prepare it yourself!

Hope to hear from you soon.

Best wishes and kind regards,

Alan & Marilyn Carroll

Only one cure for withdrawal symptoms I’m afraid – come and see us again! We still have some availability for late 2010 and we’ve now released the tour dates for 2011.

If you haven’t toured with us before and are interested to hear what our other holidaymakers have had to say about their experiences you can find more personal accounts on our testimonials page.

We hope to see you soon,

Stephen & Jayne