Of course, many people think of animals if they think of Australia, especially the most famous symbols: koalas, kangaroos and emus. Yet these are not the only animals which attract tourists. What do you think you might find at Monkey Mia, in the middle of the coast of Western Australia? It sounds like there will be monkeys there, but in fact, you can swim with dolphins instead. About forty years ago, a group of bottle-nosed dolphins started visiting the shore of the beach each day, and they allowed people who were swimming there to touch and feed them. Now they come almost every day, and today’s dolphins have grown up with human contact, so they are very tame and not at all afraid. Although Monkey Mia is in an isolated place – the nearest city, Perth, is about 500 miles away – many tourists visit this special place to meet the dolphin celebrities. Nobody’s really sure why the town is called Monkey Mia, but the most popular story is that a boat named “Monkey” was ship-wrecked nearby many years ago.
The other popular animals to meet in Australia are penguins, which are found in several parts of the country. Perhaps the best place to find them – and in fact, the most popular tourist destination in Australia after Uluru – is the Phillip Island Penguin Parade, not far from Melbourne. At sunset you can watch the penguins returning to their homes after swimming and fishing all day. The penguins at Phillip Island are classified as Little Penguins and are the smallest kind in the world – usually less than a foot tall. Yet despite their small size, when you see them returning home at night, they have probably managed to swim about twelve miles during the day, searching for fish.
So the next time you’re daydreaming of a trip to Australia, think about all these wonderful places to see and things to do. From most parts of the world, it’s a far-away country, but a fascinating one.