Australia

Australia is a country that is also a continent and and island. It is "girt by sea"  as the National Anthem proclaims, bordered by the Pacific, Indian and Southern Oceans. This means there are a lot of good beaches!

Being in the Southern hemisphere means that the seasons are the opposite to Europe, North America and most of Asia. Also the constellations are upside down so Orion's belt actually looks like a sauce pan.

It is the 6th largest country and has 3 main time zones which become 5 in summer as some states have daylight saving time and others don't. Most maps distort the true size of countries but https://www.thetruesize.com allows an accurate comparison.

Australia has a parliamentary democracy, which means that the party with the most seats forms government and chooses the leader (the Prime Minister) and other cabinet ministers from the members elected, rather than those positions being elected directly by the people, or appointed. There are 6 states and 2 territories which also elect a government. Voting is compulsory and a preferential system, similar to Mensa Excomm elections, is used. This sometime results in minor parties and independents getting elected.

The inland of Australia is mostly barren and 83% of the population lives with in 50 kms of the coast, mostly in urban areas.

Australia is fortunate that these desert areas are rich in minerals and 4 of our 5 top exports are Iron ore, Coal, Natural gas and Gold.