Surf lifesavers do their country proud on a beach in Western Australia.

Photo: Tourism WA

Australia is a continent best tackled with plenty of time and sunscreen.

It is the sixth largest country in the world, but one of the most sparsely populated, with the majority of its 20 million citizens living within 20 kilometres of its lush east and southeastern coastline.

Australia is a country of wide open spaces, bright sunlight and big skies. While much of the country is - to use a marvelous local expression - "dry as a dead dingo's donger", Australia features extraordinary geographical, geological and ecological diversity. It is home to killer crocodiles and cuddly koalas, coastal rainforest and unforgiving desert, ski resorts and big city skyscrapers, tropical islands and smoke-stack ridden mining towns. It has a tropical north and a temperate south and east, more than 500 national parks, 11 UNESCO World Heritage Sites and three time zones.

Although it is one of the youngest nation-states on the planet, it is home to its most ancient culture - Australia's indigenous people have occupied the land for more than 50,000 years. Nowadays, few Aboriginal people still live a traditional, semi-nomadic lifestyle and of the 200 distinct languages spoken in Australia before the British invasion in 1788, fewer than half have survived. Tragically, many indigenous communities are now afflicted by drug abuse, unemployment and poor health.

Culturally and politically, Australia still looks to Britain and the United States for validation. Despite a desire by the majority of people to become a Republic (attempts were scuttled in 1999 by conservative Prime Minister John Howard), Australia is still a loyal member of the Commonwealth, Queen Elizabeth II is still the Head of State and her ageless profile still graces the nation's currency.

The Perth skyline from Kings Park. Photo: Tourism WA

It is difficult to underestimate the impact the harsh landscape has had on the Australian psyche, yet many visitors are surprised to find most of the nation's residents are not crocodile-wrestling, snake twirling types. More than 60% of Australians are city-dwellers - living in multicultural centres like Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Hobart, Adelaide, Perth and Darwin. Australia's geographical isolation has made Aussies some of the most voracious travellers on the planet and 5% of the population live abroad, mainly in the United Kingdom.

There is no such thing as a "typical Australian", although the prevailing stereotype would have them as honest, modest, easy-going, sarcastic, beguilingly crude, sports-loving, hard-drinking and possessing a bullshit detector wider than the great southern land itself.

Australia has given the world some diverse characters - from feminist icon Germaine Greer to pouty pop princess Kylie Minogue, croc-catching nutter Steve Irwin to gruff telephone-hurtling actor Russell Crowe (although Aussies are quick to point out that he was actually born in New Zealand). Australia is a country that has a bushranger (Ned Kelly) as its national hero and a failed military venture (Gallipoli) as its proudest moment, and if you can begin to understand this, you've come a long way to unravelling the riddle wrapped in a beer can that is Australia.

Sports-mad Aussies take a pot shot at the local wildlife. Photo: Tourism WA

Survival guide

Australian English is rich in idioms and ockerisms. If you plan on heading "off like a bride's nightie" out to "woop woop" (the Outback), you'll come across the type of sun-fried characters who may well fulfill all your Crocodile Dundee fantasies.

If you want to enjoy Australia's great outdoors, remember to slip on clothes that cover as much skin as possible, slop on 30+ sunscreen and slap on a hat. Your skin will thank you for it.

Depending on where you're heading, pack insect repellent to deter mosquitoes, ticks and mites.

If you're camping anywhere between Broome in Western Australia and Rockhampton in Queensland, steer well clear of watering holes - a prime hangout for ravenous saltwater crocodiles.

To decrease your likelihood of copping a bite from a poisonous snake, wear boots and long pants when walking through tall grass. When bushwalking, tread as noisily as possible to scare snakes away.

Australia is home to two deadly spiders - the tiny redback and the black funnel-web: to avoid these nasties never stick your hand into dark holes or lift logs or rocks without gloves.

Avoid the temptation to swim in tropical waters between October and May - this is prime time for the near-invisible but highly poisonous irukanji and box jellyfish. Other swimming disasters occur when people dive into shallow bodies of water, find themselves caught up in treacherous ocean currents or - extremely rarely - end up as a shark's dinner.

Try to stay indoors during electrical storms and roll up the car windows if you are unfortunate enough to drive into the path of a bushfire.

Many tourists expect Australia to be warm all year round. Even in Australia's dry interior, the temperature drops dramatically at night. If you are travelling anywhere in Australia in winter, pack your woolens (Australia has about a dozen ski resorts) and southern coastal cities like Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Hobart definitely experience four distinct seasons. Winter is ideal for exploring Australia's tropical north - the days are balmy, humidity is low, yet the ocean is warm enough for swimming. Summer is a good time for travelling around the southern states of Tasmania, New South Wales and Victoria.

Australia has large international airports in Sydney, Perth, Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide, Darwin and Cairns, plus hundreds of regional airports.

Due to its sheer size, renting or buying a car affords the best way to see the country, although you need to be prepared for the unfortunate event of breaking down in the back of beyond. Motorbikes offer a great way to see the country - there's nothing like ripping it up in the hot wind on a desolate Outback road. Hitchhiking is a bad, bad idea, given the country's tendency to breed highway murderers.

Beyond the major cities, the rail network services the entire east coast, Sydney to Perth and through the Red Centre from Adelaide to Darwin.

Interstate bus lines offer the cheapest way to get around - the main company is Greyhound.

On the road, caravan parks make a cheap and quintessentially Australian place to get some shuteye - they are equipped with permanently-parked self-catering trailers, saving you the hassle of lugging your home behind your car! Australia also has no shortage of youth hostels, camping grounds, guesthouses, motels, hotels and self-catering apartments.