Terry, I know, amazing isn't it. As for the beaches- beautiful, but the popular ones have clearly visible shark nets offshore to keep the nice fishies out. Apparently they don't get through the nets very often. ;-) And then there's Scotland-sized areas of coastline where you can't go unarmed because the crocs think you're a fast-food delivery.

But seriously, Australia has a heck of a lot going for it. There's trillions of dollars sitting in the ground which guarantees a good quality of life for generations to come (true- Australian citizens are among the wealthiest on earth in terms of unrealized assets) and they have some quite good sports teams.