Most Australians live within 100km of the coast, either in cities or in the surrounding rural and semi-rural lands. And those that don't tend to cluster around our sparse and often ephemeral inland waterways. As a nation of hinterland-dwellers, we spend much of our free time enjoying the natural assets that are close at hand: the coastal plains and river valleys, the inland floodplains, local parks and reserves, and the more accessible parts of the Great Dividing Range and other upland areas. This is not wilderness, but it nonetheless gives us an opportunity to connect with the natural elements that have shaped us and that provide for our basic needs.