Australia and New Zealand

This week I read Australia and New Zealand.

This book tells us what countries Australia and New Zealand are, the history of Australia and New Zealand, indigenous people, animals, nature, famous people and so on.

I'll show you what I was interested in Australia is a big country. It's 6th largest country all over the world. The journey from Perth in the west to Sydney in the east takes about four hours by plane. If you walk all around Australia along the coast, you will travel 25,760km.

Uluru (Ayers Rock)

・ One of the most beautiful things you can see in Australia.

・ The length is 3km and the height is 348m, but it continues to 2100m underground.

・ In the evening, the yellow color changes to gold, red, and sometimes purple.

(2) Great Barrier Reef

・ The longest coral reef in the world, covering about 2000km.

Born 15,000 years ago, there are 1500 kinds of fish inhabiting it.

(3) Coober Pedy

・ Located 960km northwest of Adelaide, opal was discovered in 1915, and 90% of the opals on the market are from this area.

・ Since this land is very hot and dry, most people live underground.

And I was interested in animals in Australia, too. Of the 50 kangaroos, the largest is Red Kangaroo, which is about 2.4m long. Red kangaroo jumps about 4m and runs at 70km / h.

Next, I'll show you what I interested in New Zealand. First, Rotorua, in the northern part of North Island, is the most mysterious place, with the smell of eggs and steam, and hot springs erupting. Furthermore, steam is used for power generation. Second, Kiwi, which is famous as a New Zealand bird, cannot fly and is small, but its sense of smell is well developed. Third, the tuatara, which is said to have three eyes, is one of the oldest types of animals in the world. Last, Pohutukawa is called 'The New Zealand Christmas tree' because it blooms during the Christmas season.

The Maori landed thousands of years ago and lived primarily on North Island, but since the new landing of the British in 1840, it has been a history of hardship for the Maori, as well as the Australian Aborigines. (Although their struggle ended in 1870). Gold was discovered on South Island in 1863, and various people migrated in search of it. It became the world's first country to recognize women's suffrage (1893).

Before the British landed, he lived in a wooden house, fished on a wooden boat, and sometimes beautifully sculpted trees. The assimilation of Maori and Caucasians has become widespread, but in the 1960s and 1970s, there was a movement to begin learning Maori languages and lifestyles, especially among the younger generation. Currently, 400,000 Maori people (12% of New Zealand's population) live and inherit the culture.

After reading this book, I wanted to experience the nature of Australia and New Zealand. I was surprised that I lived relatively close to Australia but I didn't know much about it.