More Amazing Heritage Sites Around Australia Quiz

Answer: Fossils

UNESCO has recognised both Riversleigh and Naracoorte as being among the world's ten most significant fossil sites. The diversity of mammal fossils at Riversleigh is staggering. Fossils here date back as far as 25 million years. The area is now semi arid but back in those days it was blanketed with dense rainforest.

It was home to sheep like mammals called nimbadon, a marsupial lion called wakaleo and the nimbacinus which is believed to have been a close relative to the Tasmanian wolf. Naracoorte contains a series of cave systems that are located close to the south eastern border of South Australia.

The conditions within these caves have remained stable over the centuries, which has aided in the preservation of the remains of a wide variety of creatures.

The climate outside of these caves, however, has varied greatly over the past 170,000 years so this preservation has been a great aid to scientists in plotting how the fauna here has adapted to these changes.

Answer: The staggering number of sea birds that nest in the area

The most amazing feature of these islands is the overwhelming number of birds that inhabit them during the breeding season. For example, the Snares are home to the Crested Penguin and the New Zealand Cape Pigeon but at the height of mating they play host to almost six million Sooty Shoalwaters.

It is estimated that there are nearly three million Royal Penguins on Macquarie Island along with valuable species of albatross; the Wandering, the Black Browed, the Grey Headed and the Light Mantled Sooty.

These islands are extremely rich in plant life, except for Bounty Island (how ironic) and, because they sit on the Antarctic and Subtropical convergence, the seas are teeming with fish life. There is very little in the way of human habitation on these islands now.

There used to be meteorological stations accommodating researchers on some of the islands but these have since been removed.

Answer: Melbourne

The building was designed by Joseph Reed, who had also designed the Melbourne Town Hall, and was built for the 1880 Melbourne International Exhibition. This was Australia's contribution to the Exhibition movement that was of major importance during the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Its importance lay in its promotion of the international exchange of ideas which, in turn, aided trade between nations and promoted a rise in industrialisation. The building has a Gothic dome that was modelled on the dome of the Florence Cathedral and the Main Pavilion was created in the style of Romanesque revival.

Other influences that are prevalent in the building's design include Lombardy, Byzantine and Italian Renaissance. The centre also played host to Melbourne's Centennial Exhibition in 1888, the opening of Australia's first parliament in 1901 and the basketball, wrestling and weightlifting events during the 1956 Summer Olympic Games.

Answer: New Zealand Maori

The Tongariro National Park is New Zealand's oldest national park and the fourth oldest in the world. It also has the distinction of being the first property to be World Heritage listed as a cultural landscape. The south end of the park is home to a 2500 kilometre range of volcanoes three of which, Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe and Tongariro, are still active.

The mountains, as mentioned, are of strong religious significance to the Maori people and have been named after their major chieftains. They are so important that in 1886 they (the Maoris) petitioned and won the Native Land Council's approval to have the area set aside.

A year later they handed the land back to the Crown on the proviso that the area remain protected from exploitation.

Answer: Queensland

A biotope is an area that maintains uniform living conditions and in this part of Australia it remains continuously humid and warm. The temperature range for the year is between 68 and 93 degrees Fahrenheit (20 to 34 degrees Celsius). There was a time when the Australian and Asian plates were joined and, as a consequence, this stretch at one point played host to species from two continents, adding to its distinctiveness.

It is considered that every one of Australia's unique mammals had their origins within these rainforests.

Answer: Fiordland

Te Wahipounamu is extremely mountainous, containing many of New Zealand's tallest peaks making it a "must visit" spot for keen climbers and skiers. The region is also blessed with a great variety of fjords, waterfalls and cliffs. Along with Fiordland, the area encompasses three other National Parks, Mount Cook, Mt Aspiring and Westland.

In total it covers some 2.6 million hectares. The south Westlands are believed to one of the last untouched conifer-broadleaf forests in the world and some of the fauna within the park can trace its origins back to the days of the super continent Gondwanaland.

Answer: Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef system is one of the seven natural wonders or the world extending from New Guinea down along the Queensland coast to the town of Bundaberg. It covers an area greater than 20,000 square kilometres. The reef is made up of a series of living organisms called coral polyps, which in recent times have become prey to the Crown-of-thorns starfish, threatening its existence.

The area is also facing challenges from run-off and coral bleaching as a result of climate change. There is a startling array of fish here and over 400 different types of coral as well as serving as an important breeding ground for whales and turtles.

Answer: Uluru-Kata Tjuta

The park covers an area of 2010 square kilometres and it has a strong cultural significance to the native landowners, the Anangu. They strongly believe that the area possesses a dangerously powerful knowledge that can only be made known to the initiated men within the tribe.
The area is also important for its series of 36 rock domes that date back some 500 million years. Consequently, it has been recognised by UNESCO for both its natural wonders and its cultural values. Scientifically it is one of the most important arid land ecosystems on the planet.

Answer: New South Wales

The Willandra Lakes system existed during the Ice Age, some fifty thousand years ago, with their waters making their way into the Darling River. Thirty thousand years later the temperatures got warmer and the lakes dried out, however, their course remains bordered by a series of fascinating crescent shaped dunes, called lunettes, and another set that lies to the east of the beds named the Walls of China.

The remains of an aboriginal woman have been found here in a cremation site some 26,000 years old, which is believed to be the oldest in the world. Evidence has also been found of the Procoptodon Goliah, a giant kangaroo that stood 2.5 metres tall, and the Diprotodon, considered to be the largest ever marsupial.

Answer: Kakadu

Kakadu is a series of diverse landscapes and habitats, encompassing floodplains, monsoon forests, tidal flats, stone country escarpments and savannah woodlands. A third of Australia's bird and a quarter of her fish species are found here. It is also a vital breeding ground for the saltwater crocodile and the pig nosed turtle.
There is a cultural aspect to Kakadu that is equally important. Cave paintings and rock art and archaeological sites in the area provide amazing snapshots as to how the aboriginal people lived within this zone over 40,000 years ago.