South Africa

South Africa is the 25th-largest country in th world by land area and it is located at the southernmost region of Africa with a long coastline that stretches more than 2,500 km (1,553 mi) and along two oceans (the South Atlantic and the Indian). The interior of South Africa consists of a vast in most places, almost flat, plateau with an altitude of between 1,000 m( 3,300 ft) and 2,100 m (6,900 ft), highest in the east, sloping gently downwards towards the west, south and north. Source:  www.en.wikipedia.org

The official name of this country is the Republic of South Africa.

Biodiversity of South Africa:

King Protea, national flower.

Finbos, Cape floristic region.

Blue Crane, national bird.

Flowers in the West National Park

Population:  South Africa is the world's 24th-most populous nation with close to 53 million people.  South Africa is a multiethnic society encompassing a wide variety of cultures, languages and religions.  It is pluralistic makeup is reflected in the constitution's recognition of 11 oficial languages, which is among the highest number of any country in the world.

Language:  

It is surprising that South Africa has eleven official languages: Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Sotho, Swasi, Tswana, Tsonga, Venda, Xhosa and Zulu.  Fewer than two percent of South Aficans speak a first language other than an official one. Most South Africans can speak more than one language.  Dutch and English were the first official languages of South Africa from 1910 to 1925.

This is a Trilingual government building sign in Afrikaan, English and Xhosa:

This is a map which shows the dominan home languages in South Africa, based on ward-level data from 2011 census.  In this context a languge is dominant if it more than 50% of the population in a ward speak it at home, or more than 33% speak it and no other language is spoken by more than 25%. 

   Afrikaans

   English

   isiNdebele

   isiXhosa

   isiZulu

   Sesotho sa Leboa

   Sesotho

   Setswana

   siSwati

   Tshivenda

   Xitsonga

   No language dominant

source: en.wikipedia.org

Government:

The government in South Africa is a Constitutional Parliamentary Republic.  President is Jacob Zuma; Deputy President is Kgalema Motlanthe; NCOP chairman is Mningwa J. Mahlangu; Speaker of the National Assembly is Max Sisulu and Chief Justice is Mogoeng Mogoeng.

Education: 

South Africa has a 3 tier system of education starting with primary school, followed by high school and tertiary education in the form of (academic) universities and universities of technology.  Learners have twelve years of forman schooling, from grade 1 to 12.  Grade R is a pre-primary foundation year.  Primary schools span the first seven years of schooling.  High school education spans a further five years.  The Senior Certificate examination takes place at the end of grade 12 and is necessary for tertiary studies at a South African University.   Source: www.en.wikipedia.org.

Many of South Africa Universities are world-class academic institutions at the cutting edge of research in various spheres. Together, the country's 23 public higher education institutions offer a range of study and research options for both local and international students.

Subsidied by the state, South Africa's universities are governed in terms of the Higher Education Act.  They remain autonomous, however, reporting to their own councils rather than to the government.

Source: http://www.southafrica.info/about/education/universities.htm#.U4Jxk_l5Nhs

Famous people:  

Nelson Mandela (1918-2013)World Leader.  He was a South African revolutionary and politician who radically changed the conditions of the Apartheid state of South Africa for the better by addressing institutionalized racism and inequality. He served 27 years in prison and upon his release in 1994, he became South Africa's first black chief executive, an office he served for five years.   He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 while he was still in prison and he has been portrayed by Sidney Poitier.  Danny Glover, Idris Elba, Terrence Howard, and Morgan Freeman in various folks about his life.

Dave Matthews, singer and guitar player for the Dave Mathews band who won a grammy award for the song "So much to say, he has written singles like "Where are you going?" and "some Devil".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4bFX1ZEKyA

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean.  This country geographically comprises two main landmasses, that of the North Island or Te Ika-a-Maui, and the South Island or Te Waipounamu and numerous smaller islands.  This country is situated some 1,500 kilometres east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly 1000 kilometres south of the Pacific island areas of New Caledonia, Fiji and Tonga.  New Zealand was one of the last lands to be settled by humans because of its remoteness.

The capital of New Zealand is Wellington.  The largest city in New Zealand is Auckland.

Languages:  Official languages in this country are as follows:

95.9% English

4.2%   Maori

0.6%   NZ sign language

Government:  

They have a Parliamentary constitutional monarchy.  The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, the Governor-General is  Jerry Mateparae and the prime minister is John Key.   The legislature is a parliament (house of representatives).

Population:

The population as of January 2014 is estimated in 4,509,461.  The majority of New Zealand's popultion is of European descent; the indigenous Mäori and New Zealand Sign Language are the official languages with English predominant. 


Population density map of New Zealand:
source: http://www.bestcountryreports.com/Population_Map_New%20Zealand.php

Economy:

New Zealanders enjoyed one ot the highest standars of living in the world in the 1950s, but the 1970s saw a deep recession, worsened by oil shocks and the United Kingdom's entry into the European Economic Community.  The country underwent major economic changes during the 1980s, which transformed it from aprotectionist to a liberalised free trade economy.


Interesting places:

Milford sound:   It is New Zealand's most well-known hiking trail, and only a limited number of spots are available every year.

source:  
http://www.raptitude.com/2010/05/the-ten-most-beautiful-places-i-visited-in-new-zealand/

Napier:  Napier stands out among New Zealand communities.  Much of its distintive character came after 1931 earthquake leveled the city.  The rebuilding effort spurred the local economy out of its depression, and the facades were styled in progress-oriented Art Deco.  It is a city that values form and aesthetics, both natural and man-made. There is a exceptional weather.

Punakaiki Coast:  Punakaiki is a tiny settlement that exists for no purpose other than to service the hordes that come to see the area's most striking feature:  a unique coastal rock formation called Pancake rocks.  South Island's west coasts feels a lot like the edge of the world.  The beaches are violent and rocky, and the lush vegetation gives it a primal, wild sort of atmosphere.

Abel Tasman Coast Track:

These are some of the beaches along the coastal track:

source:
http://www.raptitude.com/2010/05/the-ten-most-beautiful-places-i-visited-in-new-zealand/



Education:

Universities:

The university of Auckland is a public university located in Auckland, the biggest city in New Zealand founded in 1883.

Address:  Auckland 1010 New Zealand

Phone:  +64 9-373 7999


https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en.html

The University of Otago:  This university is located at Dunedin in New Zealand with more than 20,000 matriculated students as of 2006.  This university was founded in 1869.

Address:  364 Leith walk, Dunedin 9016, New Zealand

Phone:  +64 3-479-7000

The University of Canterbury:

This is a university located at Christchurch city in New Zealand in the south island.  It was founded in 1873.

Address:  20 kirkwood ave, Upper Ricarton, Christchurch 8041 Zew Zealand.


http://www.canterbury.ac.nz/

Australia

Australia is officially named the Commonwealth of Australia.  It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area.  It is a country comprising the mainland of Australia Continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands.

History:

We are going to Know some about the Australia History; before the first British settlement in the late 18 century Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians, who spoke languages grouped into roughly 250 language groups.    After the European discovery of the continent by Dutch explorers in 1606, Australia's eastern half was claimed by Great Britain in 1770 and initially settled through penal transportation to the colony of New South Wales from 26 January 1788.  The population grew steadily in subsequent decades; the continent was explored and an additional five self-governing Crown Colonies were established.

Economy:

It is known that Australia is a developed country and one of the wealthiest in the world, with the world's 12th-largest economy.  In 2012 Australia had the world's fifth-highest per capita income, Australia's military expenditure is the world's 13th largest, with the second-highest human development index globally, Australia ranks highly in many international comparisons of national performance, such as quality of life, health, education, economic freedom, and the protection of civil liberties and political rights.  This country is member of the United Nations, G20, Commonwealth of Nations, ANZUS, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), World Trade Organization, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and the Pacific Islands Forum.

Government:

In Australia the government is a constitutional monarchy with a federal division of powers.  It uses a parliamentary system of government with Queen Elizabeth II at its apex as the Queen of Australia, a role that is distinct from her position as monarch of the other Commonwealth realms.  The Queen resides in the United Kingdom, and she is represented by her viceroys in Australia (The Governor-General at the federal level and by the Governors at the state level), who by convention act on the advice of her ministers.

The Federal Government is separated into three branches: The legislature, the executive and the judiciary.
The legislature:  the bicameral Parliament, defined in section 1 of the constitution as comprising the Queen (represented by the Governor-General), the Senate, and the House of Representatives.
The executive the Federal Executive Council, in practice the Governor-General as advised by the Prime Minister and Ministers of State.

Tonny Abbot, Prime Minister of Australia.

The judiciary:  the High Court of Australia and other federal courts, whose judges are appointed by the Governor-General on advice of the Council.  Source:  www.en.wikipedia.org

This is Government House Camberra also known as "Yarralumla" is the official residence of the Governor-General.

This is the Parliament House, Camberra was opened in 1988 replacing the provisional Parliament House building opened in 1927.

Australia has six states -New South Wales (NSW), Quensland (QLD), South Australia (SA), Tasmania (TAS), Victoria (VIC) adn Western Australia (WA) - and two major mainland territories - the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and the Northern Territory (NT).

Environment:

Australia has a diverse range of habitats from alpine heaths to tropical rainforests and is recognised as a megadiverse country.  The fungi typify that diversity estimated at around 250,000 species.  Australia has a extremely variable weather patterns and long-term geographic isolation much of Australia's biota is unique and diverse.  Approximately 85% of flowering plants of mammals, more than 45% of birds and 89% of in-shore, temperate-zone fish are endemic.  Australia has the greatest number of reptiles of any country, with 755 species.

Australian forest are mostly made up of evergreen species, particularly eucalyptus trees in the less arid regions, wattles replace them in drier regions and deserts as the most dominant species.

Among well-known Australian animals are the monotremes (the platypus and echidna); a host of marsupials, including the kangaroo, koala and wombat and birds such as the emu and the kookaburra.  Australia is home tomany dangerous animals including some of the most venomous snakes in the world.  The dingo was introduced by Austronesian people who traded with indigenous Australians around 3000 BCE. Many animal and plant species became extinct soon after first human settlement, including the Australian megafauna; others have disappeared since European settlement.School attendance or registration for home schooling is compulsory throughout Australia.  










Platypus:











Spyders:

Education:

Education is the responsibility of the individual states and territories so the rules vary between states, but in general children are required to attend school from the age of aobut 5 up until about 16.  In some states children aged 16-17 are required to either attend school or participate in vocational training.

Australian Food:

Australia has some of the best seafood in the world and that means you are almost guaranteed fresh fish, served with salt and lemon, wrapped in yesterday's newspaper or white wrapping.

Fish 'n' ships by the beach:  














Barbecued Snags:

Nothing is more Australian than getting friends or family together for a barbecue.  And at the heart of any good barbie is a selection of food Australian Snags - from the traditional pork or beef, to those flavored with herbs and spices from around the world.

There's something homey about a snag in a roll or a slice of bread covered in your favorite sauce, perhaps with some fried onion on top and some spuds on the side.

A sausage sizzle put on outside the local hardware store on Sundays makes a bit of DIY that much more appealing.