It’s the country of my birth, a place I’m often proud to call home. Australia is also the island-country of extremes, seen in the 2019-2020 bushfires that raged nationwide, wiping out half a billion animals. With extremes come untamed natural beauty and Australia is in no short supply. There’s the Great Barrier Reef, the Daintree Rainforest, a variety of deserts, Uluru and a whole pocket full of natural surprises in infrequently visited Tasmania. In fact, there is so much natural beauty spread across the enormous island that you’ll be hard pressed to scratch the surface in a few short weeks. Australia is large and a visit warrants time. It may be young and filled with controversy – particularly with its colonial past and Indigenous Australian mistreatment - but, for me, it’s a beautiful country that must be visited at least once in your lifetime.