Australia is the world’s smallest continent but the world’s largest island, unsurpassed in its diversity of cultures and natural wonders. Aerial photographer Klaus Francke invites readers to explore this vast and fascinating land through this superb collection of bird’s-eye photographs that spotlight Australia’s fascinating contrasts. He spent close to 200 flying hours - and countless more waiting for the wind to calm and the sun to strike the right angle - in order to capture the images in this book. The result is a spectacular portfolio of pictures that gives us a rare glimpse of Australia’s complex beauty. This book transports reader to the remote reaches of this vast country: from the boundless expanses of the Outback to the incomparable sapphire blue of the Great Barrier Reef, from stark inland landscapes to lush green forests and tropical vegetation. We experience the heat of scorching deserts dominated by rocks of bizarre shapes and otherworldly colors; we dive into bountiful waterfalls and salt lakes, encounter exotic animals and futuristic cities. Francke’s photos reveal vast and intricate expanses of brilliant color - bright azure blue, deep greens, and terracotta reds of unfathomable richness and intensity - and intriguing organic forms. They also evoke the idiosyncratic personality of each of the country’s major cities, including Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, and Adelaide, which, when viewed from above, are all the more evocative and compelling.