WHENEVER you think of rainforests I guess you think of the Amazon under threat.

But last week I found out that Australia has high mountains, magnificent waterfalls and rainforests full of fascinating plants and animals.

During my visit to the country I was able to study the koala, whose natural habitat is high among the branches of gum trees, especially eucalyptus.

They feed on the leaves and spend long periods sleeping high in the trees, allowing the coarse food time for their food to digest.

It gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "Stuck up a gum tree."

Throughout the rainforest magnificent specimens of ferns were growing out from huge trees -- an ideal way of ensuring that they get sufficient sunlight to produce the energy to produce their food from water and carbon dioxide. This process is called photosynthesis.

The respiration of animals which eat the plants drives the process in the opposite direction and this is how nature achieves a balance.

While the koala moves slowly to conserve energy, the same cannot be said of the magnificent birdlife which I found in huge numbers.

The colourful members of the parrot family (especially the king parrot) all looked stunningly beautiful and I spent hours trying to identify the various species. Not far from my area of study was an ancient and long-inactive volcano called Mount Warning.

It was named by Captain Cook -- but not because he thought that the volcano was dangerous.

As his ship sailed along the coast he could see Mount Warning and between this and the Endeavour there were very dangerous rocks -- hence the name.

The Australians love British television and they are looking forward to a series called The Ship, which follows Cook's travels and was filmed along the coastline dominated by Mount Warning.

On a local note, the series Born and Bred, which is filmed around Downham, is now becoming very popular in Australia.

It's a fair swap -- the Neighbours of Oz for the Neighbours of Downham!