Tina Wesson and Jeff Varner answered questions and signed autographs at King's Dominion in Virginia on July 21, 2001
In Survivor: The Australian Outback, 16 Americans have been stranded in the rugged Australian outback of Queensland, which is in the northeastern part of the continent. Australia's second largest state, Queensland is about two and one-half times larger than the U.S. state of Texas and encompasses the wettest, most tropical region of the continent. Here, the Survivors face a land filled with beauty and danger, with sharp contrasts in weather and terrain: extreme heat and cold, arid plains, wet tropical rainforests, treacherous rapids and spectacular waterfalls.
Queensland boasts the most diverse animal species of any Australian state, with over 70 species of marsupials, including kangaroos, koalas, possums and wallabies; 600 bird species, including emus, kookaburras, cassowaries and parrots; 79 species of snakes; 161 lizard species; and over 47 species of bats. The Survivors also risk potentially dangerous encounters with crocodiles, as well as with deadly snakes and spiders. The vegetation is equally diverse, ranging from eucalyptus open forest to lush tropical rain forest, and poisonous plants and mushrooms abound.