The Biggest, Longest and Fastest in Australia
To put it bluntly, many world record holders are a bit pathetic. Is anyone really impressed by someone who spends a day in a bath of beans, juggling? It’s not dedication you need to pull off that sort of thing – just lunacy. However, some records are genuinely impressive, and Australia holds many of them.
World’s biggest cinema screen
There’s watching films on the big screen, and then there’s watching films on the big screen. Whilst the multiplexes can boast surround sound and sizable explosions, they’re still dwarfed by the monsters of IMAX. Originally a Canadian invention, the IMAX screens are up to ten times bigger than conventional screens, and fill the entire field of vision. Movies are shot on special high-grade film, specifically for them, and amongst the big beasts, Sydney’s is the biggest in the world. The Sydney IMAX can be found in Darling Harbour, and whether it’s the new Harry Potter flick or some documentary on ancient Egypt, expect a sensory overload.
World’s longest stretch of straight railroad
The vast expanses of Western Australia also claim another title, and given that there’s virtually nothing to wind around on the Nullarbor Plain, that’s hardly a surprise. The Indian Pacific train ride from Perth to Adelaide (or Melbourne/ Sydney for true train lovers) covers a large, lonely stretch of terrain, stopping at very few settlements of any population at all. The route goes through some of the world’s most bleak, barren territory, and for one stretch, the track doesn’t have a bend or curve for 478km. That holds the record by a fair distance.
World’s largest sand island
Over the centuries, Fraser Island in Queensland has become a trap for sand blown in from the Australian mainland, and is now the world’s largest sand island. At 1630 square kilometres, the World Heritage-listed site takes the title easily, but it’s more than just an impressive statistic. Fraser is an outdoor enthusiast’s playground, with wonderfully clear lakes for swimming in, walking tracks through mammoth dunes and rock formation, as well as a big, long beach to plough down in a 4WD vehicle.
World’s fastest boat
It’s possible to go on powerboat rides all over Australia that will give something of an adrenalin rush, but they’re all child’s play compared to the Spirit of Australia. Designed through the obsession of one man, Ken Warby, its sole purpose was to break the world water speed record. And, on October 8th 1978 it did just that, clocking up an astonishing 511.11km/h. Incredibly, no-one has ever managed to go faster, despite numerous – and occasionally fatal – attempts. The Spirit of Australia is now on permanent display in the Australian National Maritime Museum (www.anmm.gov.au) in Darling Harbour, Sydney.
World’s tallest residential building
Squaring up like two drunks outside a pub, slurring “no, I’m bigger” are two Australian skyscrapers. In the Queensland corner, we have the Q1, a massive glass edifice that towers over the Gold Coast skyline like a basketball player at a jockey weigh-in. 323m tall, it is the tallest residential building in the world in terms of pinnacle height and architectural top. However, because part of the building is a dainty spire, Melbourne’s Eureka Tower is crying foul. The Eureka Tower is 297m high, and is all good, solid, residential apartments. It claims to be the tallest by virtue of its roof height and highest occupied floor.
Luckily, before it all turns to tears, Dubai is about to play the nightclub bouncer and will unveil a giant monstrosity that will beat both Australian contenders later this year.
World’s biggest fish
Even the most prone-to-exaggeration angler would probably have to concede that his finest catch didn’t quite meet up to the whale shark. These massive beasts are surprisingly unthreatening to humans, but can grow up to 12m long. With a weight of up to 21 tonnes, two things are for certain – they eat an awful lot of fish for dinner and there’s no hope of catching one with a bog standard rod and line.
Unfortunately, the whale shark is endangered, but it is possible to go diving amongst them off the coast of Western Australia. Operators set sail from Exmouth.
World’s biggest rock
While Uluru is famously gigantic, there is an even bigger rock tucked away in a remote corner of Western Australia, over 850km north of Perth. Mt Augustus is an absolute giant – two-and-a-half times as big as its more famous Northern Territory rival. While the stats – 8km long, over 1,000 million years old, 850m above the surrounding fields – are impressive, getting up close and seeing it is more so. Getting there is quite a trek, however – it’s a 320km drive from the nearest speck of civilisation in Carnarvon.
The largest living thing on earth
If the wonders of the world were about Mother Nature’s design rather than mankind’s then the Great Barrier Reef would be a dead cert to make the seven. Stretching for 2,600km alongside the Queensland coast, it is no fossilised relic – the coral that forms it is alive, and wriggles about to prove it. This makes the reef the largest living thing on earth by some considerable distance – and the best way to see it is to go on a diving expedition. Cairns is the real hotspot for reef trips, although cruises leave from coastal towns as far south as Bundaberg. Try operators such as Prodive to see this particular record-breaker from a fishy eye-view level.
This article was originally written for Ninemsn.
Copyright David Whitley
