9. Australia and New Zealand

9. Australia and New Zealand

Australia is the smallest continent. It is the only continent which is a single country. It is located south of Asia between the Indian and Pacific oceans.

Canberra is capital city of Australia but it isn’t the biggest city of state. Other big cities are Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide. Cities are located around the coast.

There are tropical regions in the north with heavy rain. The centre of the country is dry and hot and a great part of the surface is desert. Bushfires and droughts are a common feature in the Australian environment. The south has temperate climate with hot summers and cool winters.

The colour on flag is royal blue on background with one five-pointed star and five seven-pointed stars. Seven-pointed stars represent states and one-pointed is for the territories. In the left corner there is a British flag because Australia used to be British colony. There are some crosses of British saint patrons.

The head of the state is Queen Elizabeth II. represent by Governor General. The federal government is led by the prime minister. Country is member of the Commonwealth. The national currency is Australian dollar.

Australia is divided in two territories: Northern territory and Australian capital territory and some states: Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania, New South Wales, Western and South Australia.

About 24 million people live in Australia. The density is about 3 inhabitants per square km. Originals inhabitants are Aboriginals. The main and official language of Australia is English.
Australians are very friendly, nice, and multi-cultural, so it means that they don’t care where you come from, what you do or if you are white or black. They like barbeques, surfing, relaxing, scuba diving, swimming and horseracing. The longest river is the Murray River.

On the beach it can be dangerous because they have sharks, poisonous jelly fish and sea-snakes. Thanks to the climate and geographical isolation of the continent there are unique animals such as platypus, dingo, Tasmania devil, koala, kangaroo, wombat, wallaby, emu, echidna, lizards, venomous spiders and reptiles.

In Australia we can find The Great Barrier Reef. It is the largest coral reef system, covering an area of 350.000 per square km. It is home of hundred types of coral and thousands kinds of fish, starfish, sea turtles and other forms of sea life.

The most famous landform is Uluru in the centre of the country. You can climb it but in next year it will be banned because it is a sacred place for the Aborigines. The rock gradually changes colour at sunrise or at sunset.

Australia’s Outback is the vast, very large, hot and remote area in the centre of the country. It is a land of red earth and desert. Environment itself is more dangerous than any scary creatures. There is no phone signal, no internet and no shade. If you don’t have enough water or if you leave your car, it can be very dangerous and you can also die.

Famous Australian actors and actresses are Nicole Kidman (Tom Cruise’s wife), Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight) and Chris Hemsworth (Thor).
Famous singers are Kylie Minogue, Natalie Imbruglia, Sia Furler and Iggy Azalea.