AUSTRALIA Flag Coat of Arms

Basic information Capital Canberra Largest city Sydney National Language English Demonym Aussie Government Federal parliamentary Constitutional monarchy Monarch Elizabeth II Prime Minister Julia Gillard Area 7,692,024 km 2 Population Currency Australian dollar Drives on the left Calling code +61

AUSTRALIA IS THE SMALLEST CONTINENT IN THE WORLD

Australia is a country in the Southern Hemisphere between the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean. Australia is the sixth biggest country in the world and at the same time the smallest world’s continent. The continent of Australia, including the island of Tasmania, was separated from the other continents of the world many millions of years ago. Because of this fact, there are a lot animals and plants in Australia that are not found anywhere else, for example :the kangaroo, the koala, the emu, the kookaburra, and the platypus.

CANBERRA IS THE CAPITAL OF AUSTRALIA The city of Canberra, capital of Australia, was designed by American architect Walter Burley Griffin. Canberra is home to Government, where you can visit Government House, Parliament House, Old Parliament House, The National Gallery of Australia.

SYDNEY Sydney, the capital of New South Wales, Australia. It is Australia's oldest and largest city with a population of around 4 million. Sydney is built around a huge harbour and hosts many tourist attractions as well as a number of beaches, bays and a couple of national parks.

MELBOURNE Melbourne, the capital of Victoria, is the second largest city in Australia. The metropolis is located on the large natural bay known as Port Phillip, with the city centre positioned at the estuary of the Yarra River.

ALICE SPRINGS Alice Springs (or the Alice) received its name in 1933, although it developed in 1871 as a telegraph repeater station between Adelaide and Darwin.

PERTH Perth, the capital of Western Australia, is another of Australia's modern cities and is supposedly Australia's sunniest capital. Perth City Centre is located alongside the peaceful waters of the Swan River, twenty kilometres inland of the Indian Ocean on the West Coast of Australia.

BRISBANE Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, is a cosmopolitan and lively city that is home to many different types of scenery, including skyscrapers, parkland and even an artificial beach. It is surrounded by hills and full of bridges. Brisbane also gives easy access to a number of attractions as well as the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast.

AYERS ROCK - ULURU Ayers Rock is also known by its Aboriginal name 'Uluru'. It is a sacred part of Aboriginal creation mythology, or dreamtime - reality being a dream. Uluru is considered one of the great wonders of the world and one of Australia's most recognizable natural icons.

GREAT OCEAN ROAD AND TWELVE APOSTLES The Twelve Apostles are located along the spectacular Great Ocean Road. The Great Ocean Road is one of the finest scenic drives in the world. It takes in both bathing beaches and surfing beaches, rain forest, waterfalls, cliffs and an assortment of uniquely characterful towns.

GREAT BARRIER REEF The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef in the world roughly parallel to the coast of Queensland, Australia, for almost 2,000km.

BLUE MOUNTAINS AND THREE SISTERS The Blue Mountains is Sydney's greatest recreation area for people who prefer the bush to the sea. The Three Sisters is a rock formation in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia.

KATA TJUTA - OLGAS Kata Tjuta (the Olgas) means "many heads" in the traditional Anangu language. They are situated in the Uluru - Kata Tjuta National Park about 30 kilometres from Uluru. Kata Tjuta consists of 36 rounded domes or heads, separated by narrow valleys covering about 35 square kilometres

KINGS CANYON – WATARRKA Kings Canyon is situated within the Watarrka National Park, and is a huge canyon 270m high. On your way around the rim of the canyon you will pass the tropical pools of the Garden of Eden, and the beehive rock formations called the Lost City. The views from the canyon are also spectacular, overlooking the beautiful landscape.

Devil’s Marbles The Devils Marbles are a collection of huge, round, red- colored rocks found in the Tennant Creek region of Australia's Northern Territory. In the Aboriginal mythology the Devils Marbles are the eggs of the rainbow snake so they are sacred to them.

PHILLIP ISLAND AND PENGUINS ON PARADE Phillip Island is best known for its beautiful sunset penguin parade, although it also offers sheltered beaches to the north and some great surfing beaches to the south.

Aborigine people Aborigine Australians are native people of Australia. They migrated from Africa to Asia around 70,000 years ago and arrived in Australia around 50,000 years ago. They developed a wind musical instrument called „didgeridoo”.

Australia’s animals

The kangaroo Kangaroos have big back legs with long feet. They move by hopping on their back legs. They eat grass. Some kinds of kangaroo live in hot, dry places. Some kinds live in grasslands.

The emu The emu is the largest bird in Australia, and the second largest in the world after the ostrich. Emus have long necks, sharp beaks and small ears. They have two sets of eyelids, one for blinking and one to keep out the dust. Their feet are long, with three toes.

The Tasmanian devil The Tasmanian devil is not scary. It's not bigger than a small dog, and young devils can be very cute. On the other hand, devils have sharp teeth and powerful jaws, and they can bite hard. So, if you ever meet a devil, be careful and keep your distance.

The platypus Platypuses are covered with three layers of thick brown fur. Platypuses live near streams and lakes in eastern parts of Australia. They eat worms and other small animals that live in the water. The females lay eggs like snakes and feed their young with milk.

The koala The koala is known as the Australian bear, but is much closer to being a relative of the kangaroo. They are only found wild in the woods of Australia. Koalas are arboreal marsupials living in Queensland and Victoria. They eat leaves on the eucalyptus trees.

The echidna The short-beaked echidna is covered in fur and spines. It is the only mammal which lays eggs. Echidnas eat mainly ants and termits which they catch with a long tounge (about 18 cm).The echidna is a solitary animal, it has a good sense of smell and hearing but it can’t see very well. It can swim.

The budgie The budgie is a small, long-tailed, seed-eating parrot. It is naturally green and yellow with black markings on the nape, back and wings. The budgies live in the south Australia in big groups of birds.

The Australian pelican The Australian Pelican is found all around Australia and is the biggest of the 8 species of Pelicans found worldwide. Pelicans are big birds with a very large wingspan, large beaks and are very well known. One of the reason such a big bird can fly is that its skeleton is very light.

Dingo The dingo is a free-roaming dog mainly found on the continent of Australia. It is a subspecies of the gray wolf. A dingo's habitat ranges from deserts to grasslands and the edges of forests. Dingoes are unable to survive too far away from water, and will normally settle their homes in dens, deserted rabbit holes, and hollow logs.

ANIMALS IN AUSTRALIA CROCODILEPARROTECHIDNA DINGO SHARK

CURIOSITIES The national dish is vegemite - paste used for spreading bread made of yeast. There are about Poles in Australia. Australia is the smallest, the flatest and the driest living continent in the world. 80% Australians live in cities by the ocean. There are twice as many people in Australia than kangaroos. Every fourth Australian was born outside Australia. 70% of the world wool comes from Australia. There are over 126 mln sheep. The highest mountain is Kościuszki Mountain m above see level.

Famous Australians Kylie Minogue Russell Crowe Nicole Kidman

Cate Blanchett Hugh Jackman Heath Ledger