2021 Travel the World - Week 38

I started a 50-week series in 2019 that I called Travel the World. Each week of the series I visited a randomly-selected country, sharing bits of information about that country. I then chose one tidbit of information about that week's country as inspiration for a card. As I explored those 50 countries in 2019, I knew I would continue on until I've visited every one of the 195 countries in the world, so I continued the series in 2020 and here I am in 2021, the third year of traveling the world. 

This week's country is...

Australia

Australia is the only continent-nation in the world. It means, it is a continent and an independent country as well. 

It is also the smallest, flattest, and driest inhabited continent in the world.

Australia is the 6th largest country in the world.

In the area (land); Australia is 32 times greater than that of the U.K, almost twice than that of Europe, and almost equal to that of the United States of America.

91% of the country is covered with vegetation.

Over 200 different languages and dialects are spoken in Australia.

There is a lake known as ‘Pink Lake’ in Australia. The name of this lake, which is a salt lake is named after its color. It is in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia. However, the color of this lake is not always pink, and changes as a result of the change in salinity of the water and the concentration of brine prawn in the lake.

Australia has the lowest population density in the world,

90% of Australians live on the coast.

Australia's Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world.

The world’s highest steel arch bridge – the Harbor Bridge – is in Sydney, Australia. It is recorded in the Guinness for its span.

Australia was the first country to have a seatbelt law.

Australia is the only continent without an active volcano.

The kangaroo is the national animal of Australia. There were 34,303,677 kangaroos in Australia in 2011. Kangaroos are only found in their natural habitat in Australia.

There are over 60 different species of kangaroos and 1500 plus species of Spiders in Australia.

Kangaroos can survive without water for months. They can also dig wells for water, which can be 3-4 feet deep.

Australia is the only country in the world where there are more species of venomous snakes than the non-venomous snakes. 

The world’s only white whale – they call him – ‘Migaloo’ can be seen in Australia.

The longest fence in the world is in Australia and it is nearly 3,500 miles in length. It is called the ‘dingo fence’.

The first cops in the country were all criminals. They were a band of eight of the most well-behaved convicts, formed in 1789 by Governor Arthur Philip.

An Australian man tried to sell New Zealand in an auction at a starting price of 00.01 AUD on eBay. There were 22 bids in total and it went as high as 3,000 AUD. Even though everyone knew that it was just made for fun, the foreign Minister of New Zealand did not like it.

Australian’s invented a lot of things including the ultrasound, Vegemite, the tank, football, the refrigerator, the pre-paid postage, the BlackBox on airplanes, lawn mowers with engines, smoke alarms, aspirin/aspirin, the pacemaker, and penicillin.

The world’s largest espresso machine is fitted in Australia. It can brew up to 18 cups of coffee at any given time, and at least 5 people are required to handle it while operating.

Australians eat 260 million meat pies every year, around 12 per person.

If you use the word ‘BARBIE’ (a plastic doll for kids) in Australia, you might be misunderstood to be referencing BBQ, or a party that usually takes place in the afternoon.

Australia has more than 10,000 beaches. And if you decide to visit a new beach every day, it will take more than 27 years of your lifetime.

Australians have swimming pools in the ocean.

Australians love sports such as cricket, rugby, football, basketball, and golf. It has a long sporting history but does not have officially a national sport.

There is a Christmas Island in Australia. It is a rocky speck in the Indian Ocean lying south of Java, Indonesia. Christmas Island is famous for its wildlife, such as red crabs, whale sharks, seabirds, and coral reefs. The island is close to Asia than mainland Australia. It’s home to an artful of cultures and some of the world’s most spectacular natural wonders.

120 million red crabs are living on Christmas Island

Australia won a Guinness World Record for most surfing Santa Claus. There were 320 Santa Claus at Sydney’s Bondi Beach who performed to set a new world record.

The Great Barrier Reef has a mailbox. You can ferry out there and send a postcard, stamped with the only Great Barrier Reef stamp.

Australia exports camels to Saudi Arabia.

As per 2011 census, there were 73 million sheep in Australia. 

There are more than 1.6 million dairy cows in Australia.

In Victoria, Australia, only a licensed electrician can change an electric bulb.

The highest temperature ever recorded in Australia was 50.7°C or 123.3°F. Its lowest temperature recoded was -23°C or -9.4°F. 

My inspiration for this week's card is based on this fact about Australia... Australia has more snow than Switzerland.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Stamps: Whipper Snapper Snowball Snowman (image) and CC Designs Snowy (sentiment) stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and colored with Copic Markers

Paper: Neenah 110# Solar White and SU Blueberry Bushel CS and DP from my scrap file

Dies/Punch: EK Success Corner Rounder Punch and Rubbernecker Rectangle with Pierce Dies

Embellishments: Recollections Rhinestones