Oceania
Come join us for the best New Zealand and Australia vacations and adventure trips with Trusted Adventures. We offer you authentic and fun 1 to 3 week active vacations and adventure tours in the fjords, outback, mountains and rain forests of New Zealand and Australia.
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Trusted Adventure Knowledge: (things you probably would not know if not for Trusted Adventures)
1-Ayers Rock is located in the middle (almost the actual geographical center) of Australia. Uluru is the Aboriginal and official name of this unique rock. Uluru is not the world's largest monolith. This title belongs to Mt Augustus in Western Australia. In looking at Uluru, one remarkable thing is not so much how it got there, but that so much has been eroded from all around to leave it there.
2-Australia has the lowest precipitation of any of the world’s inhabited continents. (Antarctica gets the least precipitation of the seven continents). 70 percent of Australia gets less than 20 inches of rainfall per year.
3-For each person who lives here, New Zealand produces 220 lbs. of butter and 140 lbs. of cheese each year.
4-The tropical north of Australia is home to the world’s largest species of crocodile, the salt water crocodile. These creatures are protected in Australia. Males can occasionally grow to lengths of over 20 feet. Each year one or two people are eaten by crocodiles in Australia.
5-Due to the moderating effect of the ocean, summer and winter temperatures in most New Zealand locations differ by less than roughly 20 oF.
6-The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef in the world, almost parallel to the coast of Queensland, Australia, for almost 250 miles. Australia has almost 1/5th of the world's reef area and most is located in the Great Barrier Reef.
7-The Sydney Opera House is one amongst the most recognizable buildings that characterize the modern world. As Pyramids represent Egypt, the Opera House represents Australia. Since its inception in 1973, it has become one of the busiest centers of performing art in the world. 233 designs were submitted for the 'Opera House Design Competition', held in 1956. The selected designer received 5000 pounds.
8-New Zealand’s car ownership rate is one of the worlds highest. There are about 2.5 million cars for the four million people of New Zealand.
9-Currently New Zealand generates about 10% of its electricity geothermally from volcanic heat. Another 55% of the country's electricity is generated from water flowing through hydroelectic dams. Wind-power accounts for less than 5% of electricity needs, although this is planned to increase significantly in the years ahead. By 2025, the plan is that 90% of New Zealand's electricity will come from renewable sources.
10-New Zealand claims the longest place name (85 letters) in the world. Taumata whakatangi hangakoauau o tamatea turi pukakapiki maunga horo nuku pokai whenua kitanatahu means “The hilltop, where Tamatea with big knees, conqueror of mountains, eater of land, traveler over land and sea, played his koauau to his beloved.”
