Outdoor - USA (2020-03)

ByBelindaSmith

There's always something new to loveand appreciateabout Australia,

even for thosewho've spenttheirlives travelling and exploring its

majesticconfines. BelSmith suggests 2020 is theprefect time to

rediscover the wonderof homegrownadventure.

B

lackskies,singedkoalas.

Patchesof forestthesizeof

smallnationsreducedto ash

andcharcoal.Red,roaring

firefronts.Tearfulpleasforhelpfrom

peoplewholosttheirhomes,

possessions,lovedones.I watchedthe

bushfiresunfoldfromtheothersideof

theplanetand,likemanyAustralians

abroad,swungbetweenfeelingsof

helplessnessandanxietyto frustration

andanger.

WhenthefiresmadetheUKnewsin

December,myneighbourscheckedwith

meto seeif myfamilyandfriendswere

okay.Theyusuallyfollowedtheirenquiry

upwitha question:whydoesthe

governmentwillinglycontributeto the

climateconditionsthatexacerbatefires

anddestroywhatmakesAustralia

unique?

TheAustraliangovernment’slackof

positiveclimateactionis appallingand,

quitefrankly,embarrassing.Justlookat

howAustraliahelpedthwarta global

dealat theUnitedNationsclimatetalks

inMadridinDecember.

Butournaturalwondersarelikeno

other.Soinsteadof dwellingonthe

negativesinthiscolumn,let’sexplore

whatmakesAustraliasobloodyspecial.

Firstup,it’sbig—roughly the size of

the 48 mainstatesof the US. It’s also the

oldestandf lattestcontinental landmass

onEarth.

Australia,asweknow it today, sits in

thecentreof theAustralian tectonic

plate.Thismeansitsrocks aren’t

recycledlikethoseat plate edges, where

olderrocksarepushed under the crust

andnewmaterialbrought up to the

surface.

It alsomeansthatAustralia contains

someof theoldestgeological material on

Earth:zirconiumsilicate crystals found

inWesternAustralia.At around 4.

billionyearsold,theyarethoughtto

haveformedwhenoursolarsystemwas

justa baby—onlya couple hundred

millionyearsold.

Overeast,didyouknow the Great

DividingRangeis thefifth-longest

land-basedmountainrange on Earth?

Whileit maynothavesoaringdramatic

peaksoricycrevasses,at 3,

kilometres—starting in the Torres

Straitandtaperingoff into the

Grampians—theGreat Dividing Range

is almost1,000kilometres longer than

theHimalayas.

OUR SHARED PLANET

The recent devastation has

affected many unique parts

of Australia, but there's still

plenty to explore (Credit: The

Vagabond/Getty Images).

Saving our unique

landscapes

12 / Outdoor