Where to Go in Australia

The Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef is the biggest group of coral reefs in the world. It is more than 2,000 km long and lies off the north-eastern coastof Australia.

The coral that forms the reef is made up of skeletons of dead water animals called polyps . They are small but often light up in many bright colours. These colourful reefs and the bright colours of fish and other water animals make the Great Barrier Reef a beautiful underwater garden.

Today, the reef is a national park which millions of tourists visit every year. But there are also many problems. Oil companies have found oil in this part of the ocean and want to start drilling , but the government is working hard to protect it.

The Great Barrier Reef seen from space

The Sydney Opera House

The Sydney Opera House is the most famous building in the city. It has two roofs that look like sails. A masterpiece of architecture , it stands on a peninsula that reaches into Sydney Harbour. More than 6,000 people can visit concerts, operas, theatre performances and other events. The Opera House was opened in 1973.

Ayers Rock

Ayers Rock is a big rock that rises over 300 metres high from the plains of the Northern Territory. It is about 2.4 km long and 1.6 km wide and it takes you almost 2 hours to walk around it. The rock is often called “Uluru”, an aboriginal name.

The rock is made out of sandstone and glows red during sunrise and sunset . The Aborigines worship the rock and decorated thecaves in it with paintings. Today, the land around Ayers Rock is a national park but is owned by the Aborigines.

Kakadu National Park

Kakadu National Park lies in Australia’s Northern Territory and covers about 20,000 sq. km . It is a wetland with over 200 kinds of birds and 1,000 plant species . It is also the home of Australian crocodiles.

Water buffalo in Kakadu National Park

Words

• cave = a natural hole in the side of a mountain
• cover = to spread over an area
• decorate = to make something look very nice
• drill = to make a hole into the Earth so that oil can come up
• light up = to glow in very bright colours
• masterpiece = something that is of high quality
• off the coast = near the coast
• own = to belong to
• peninsula = a piece of land that has water on three sides
• performance =show, presentation, concert
• plains = flat, mostly dry land
• polyp = a very simple sea animal
• protect =guard, defend
• sandstone = soft yellow or red rock
• skeleton = the bones of an animal or person
• species = group of animals or plants
• sunrise = when the sun goes up
• sunset = when the sun goes down
• wetland = land that is mostly covered with water
• worship = to pray