"Australia is situated in the Southern Hemisphere between the Pacific and the Indian oceans. The nearest islands are – besides Tasmania – King Island and Flinders Island in the Bass Strait, Kangaroo Island in the Gulf of St. Vincent, Mellville Island in the north and Groote Eylandt in the gulf of Carpentaria. They speak English.
The highest mountain is Mount Kosciusko (2230 m), the longest river is Murray-Darling (3780 km). In Australia live about 18 mil inhabitants. The biggest cities are Sydney (3,7 mil), Melbourne (3,1 mil), Perth (1,9 mil) and Brisbane (1,4 mil). The capital city is Canberra, which has only 318 000 inhabitants.
In Australia live kangaroos, snakes, emus, sheep, frogs, wombats, koalas, parrots, possums, sharks, dolphins, crocodiles, Tasmanian devils and the others. One of the most serious problem concerning Australia nature is a very high number of rabbits.
There are 8 states and territories: New South Wales (Sydney), Victoria (Melbourne), Queensland (Brisbane), South Australia (Adelaide), Western Australia (Perth), Tasmania (Hobart), Nothern Territory (Darwin) and Australia Capital Territory (Canberra).
Australia is an independent sovereign nation within the Commonwealth, retaining the British monarch as head of state and represented by a governor general. The constitution – as stated above – came into effect on January 1, 1901.
The typical sports in Australia are sailing and surfing in coastal areas and water-skiing on rivers and lakes. Summer is the time for tennis, cricket and golf. Water sports are popular in Australia, because there is good climate for it.
New Zealand is in the Southern Hemisphere. The are 3 550 000 people. The highest mountain is Mount Cook (3764 m), the biggest cities are Auckland (895 000), Christchurch (310 000) and Hemilton (150 000). The capital city is Wellington, where live 260 000 people. Official languages are English and maories???
New Zealand is an independent member of the Commonwealth. The reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II., is represented by a Governor General, appointed for a term of 5 years. The political system is democratic and was modelled on that of Britain. The head of government is the Prime Minister.
Ball-oriented sports are very popular in New Zealand. In winter New Zealanders enjoy rugby and indoor netball. In summer, cricket and touch rugby (a gentler form of rugby) are popular, and netball (the outdoors version) becomes commonplace too.
Netball, traditionally a women’s game, is now popular with both sexes. It’s the similar to basketball but the rules are stricter and not as much movement is allowed. The New Zealand team is the best in the world at the moment."