Sports in Australia



Australian Rugby Team

When you think of sports in Australia, the first one that might come to your mind is probably surfing. Although surfing is very popular, competetive surfing is not the most popular sport in Australia. Rugby is actually one of the most popular sports. Some other common sports in Australia are cricket, golf, cycling, even martial arts. Because of Australia's year-round warm climate, many sports are outdoors or water-related, for example, rowing, sailing, and swimming. Spear-fishing, although some people don't even consider it a sport, is actually practiced by some Australians! These "warmer" sports are much more dominant in Australia than the "cold" ones (like snowboarding, hockey...etc.). Like I mentioned before, surfing is very popular in Australia. With warm weather, so many beaches and lots of great waves, Australia has the perfect conditions for surfing.

Surfing!

http://www.yesaustralia.com/estilo-esportesing.htmhttp://www.australearn.org/destinations/australia/country_information/sport/Australia's



Tourism in Australia

Almost 95% of the Australian population lives very close to the coast and therefore much of the tourism in Australia has to do with the ocean. Australia has miles and miles of beaches, and no shortage of ocean to swim, boat, surf, fish, dive and snorkel in!

Bondi Beach crowed on a hot day

Some famous beaches in Australia are Bondi Beach, which is about a kilometer long and probably the most popular and well-known beach in Australia, Bells Beach, Surfers Paradise Beach, and Cape Tribulation. Cape Tribulation is really interesting and unique because the shoreline comes out right on the edge of a tropical rainforest!

The Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef is a big tourist attraction in Australia as well. It is made up of 900 islands, nearly 3000 individual reefs, and it stretches over 3000km! It’s actually one of the 7 wonders of the natural world!

Some of the interesting animals in
Australia: a tasmanian devil (bottom
left), kookaburras (top left), a wombat
(top right), and an emu!

Australia is also home to many animals that you won’t find in many other places in the world. People come from all over to see these animals in zoos as well as their native habitat. Kangaroos, koalas, platypuses, emus, wombats, kookaburras, and Tasmanian devils are examples of these unique Australian animals.

Another popular place to visit in Australia is Sydney Harbour. The Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge are all located there, while the harbour itself is a popular tourist destination. Sydney Harbour has 240 kilometres of shoreline and the harbour is 54 km²! Since there are so many bridges crossing the harbour, it is very common to travel by ferry there.   

Perfect picture of Sydney Harbour. You can see the Sydney
Opera House, the Sydney Harbour Bridge in the background,
and the water is full of boats!

There isn't much at all in the large interior of Australia, let alone tourist attractions, since most of it is desert. There are tours of the Australian outback that are common for tourists. There is also one massive rock, called Ayers Rock that is over 300 meters tall! It can even be seen from outer space!

Ayers Rock

http://www.sydney.com.au/harbour.htm

http://www.greatbarrierreef.org/about.php

http://www.gold-coast-australia-travel-tips.com/main-tourist-attractions-in-Australia.html