Most of today's Australians are city-slickers, but it's not hard to see how much of the economy still depends on agriculture. Vast areas of the continent are set aside for sheep and cattle, while corn (maize) and wheat are major cash crops. In the tropical north of Queensland, sugarcane is the crop of choice, and all the major towns boast a cane refinery with a seemingly ever-present plume of brownish haze. The cane fields are served by toy-like narrow gauge cane railway systems, which potter down the flimsy tracks at a sacerdotal pace. We saw this one in action near Townsville.

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