The ancient land mass of the Australian continent has been battered and buffeted by wind and water over the eons. Monsoons roll in from the north, tropical cyclones spin across the Pacific, cold fronts reach icy fingers into the south and heatwaves from the doldrums lumber across the continent. Scientists are only just beginning to realise the Australian climate may turn on a number of long term cycles, rather than the four seasons of Europe - and they could reveal more order than chaos, once their mysteries are explained. Australian plants and animals have developed strategies for coping with these long term cycles.