Travelers' Tales Australia : True Stories

Platypuses, billabongs, ancient song lines, deserted islands, camel treks, surfing, scuba diving, rock climbing — all come to life when readers travel from outback to rainforest, from the red center to the great barrier reef, as they learn about outrageous adventures, mystical encounters, and endless vistas from some of the world''s finest travel writers. Taking a step off the tourist track, Travelers'' Tales Australia collects sometimes dramatic, sometimes humorous, and always compelling true-life tales set in a country that is also an island and a continent. Highlights of the book include Jan Morris reflecting on the joys of world-class Sydney, Jill Ker Conway exploring "shearing time," Pico Iyer taking readers "five thousand miles from anywhere," and Ronald Wright leading a heady tour of the outback to Uluru, Ayers Rock. Travelers'' Tales Australia gives readers a vibrant introduction to the country and its people with fascinating stories that encompass the whole Oz experience.

For the many thousands of visitors who head to Australia each year, and the millions of armchair travelers who want to learn more about the land Down Under, this collection of stories will captivate and enchant. Australia is too big to comprehend. It''s too barren, too rich, too foreign, too far away—which of course is also why it''s so appealing. The island-country-continent baffles the imagination through its mere presence—it''s age, aridity, the searing red of its deserts, the luminescent green of its rain forests, the deep blues of its tropical seas, the crisp clarity of its ethereal light. Australia entices, sedues, and seeps into the bloodstream until there''s no choice to go see for yourself.

In this book:

• Walk a songline with Bruce Chatwin
• Learn to "Speak Oz" wth Tim Cahill
• Discover an ancient place, and ancient knowledge, with James G. Cowan
• Probe "The Red Center" with Susan Storm
• Travel aimlessly with a purpose with Tony Horwitz
• Deliver the mail by air with Andrew Tarica...and much more.