Tag: STRW Down Under Author Scavenger Hunt

Down Under Author Showcase Day 10: N. R. Walker

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Day 10: N. R. Walker

It’s Day 10 of STRW Down Under Author Showcase.  Our featured author today is N. R. Walker.  Her Red Dirt Heart series which concludes with yesterday’s released Red Dirt Heart 4 is on ours and many other’s Best of 2014 Lists.  I expect that with this final story, it will be on this year’s Best of Lists as well.Best Books of 2014

So don’t miss out on her giveaway, read our interview and check out all the books she has written to day.  It will make you want to book a flight, jam a Akubra (Australian cowboy hat), climb into a Ute, and head out into the gorgeous red dirt country that she writes about so lovingly and well.

 

Australian-ranch

 

Australia Fun Fact of the Day:

Anna Creek Station

 

 

 

 

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The largest cattle station in the world is Anna Creek Station in South Australia at over 34,000 square kilometres is the world’s largest cattle station. It is even larger than Belgium.

 

New Zealand Fun Fact of the Day:

From the driest to the wettest!

Enough Drinking Water for a Whole Country – From One Spring!

The Te Waikoropupu Springs in Golden Bay are record breakers.Pupu springs NZ

They push out more fresh water than any other springs in the world, producing one to two billion litres of water a day.

If required, the springs could provide enough drinking water to supply the entire population of New Zealand.

As if that wasn’t enough, the spring waters are the clearest natural water in the world outside of Antarctica. You can see an average of 63 metres when you look down through the water.

 

Are contests today are N. R. Walker’s giveaway, find the Down Under Scavenger Hunt word and don’t forget to enter Bottom Drawer Publications contest on the Down Under Showcase page on the menu!

Down Under Showcase Day 9: Author John Wiltshire, AUS/NZ Facts of the Day and Contest Details

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 Day 9 – John Wiltshire!

G’Day!  It’s Day 9 of our Down Under Author Showcase and today’s featured writer is John Wiltshire.  John is the author of contemporary fiction, action/suspense, romance, and much more.  Check out his standalone stories and series along with our interview at the link above.  There is his contest to enter and Down Under Scavenger word to find.  Reviews of several of his stories follow his post.  It’s a full day so lets get started with our Australia and New Zealand facts of the day.

Since a dog figures prominently in one of John’s series and in his life, I thought I would include it in today Aussie fact.

Australia Fun Fact of the Day:

Dingo or Warrigal, Wild Dog of Australia:

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The origins of the dingo are obscure and there is much controversy. It is not truly native to Australia but is thought to have arrived between 3500 and 4000 years ago. Whatever its origins, the dingo was a highly valued companion to the Aborigines. They were hunting companions, guard dogs, the dingos kept them warm at night.

Some believe they were brought here on rafts or boats by the ancestral aborigines. It has also been suggested that they came with Indonesian or South-East Asian fishermen who visited the northern coast of Australia.

The dingo can be found in all areas of Australia – from harsh deserts to lush rainforests. The highly adaptable dingo is found in every habitat and every state of Australia, except Tasmania. In deserts, access to drinking water determines where the animal can live. Pure-bred Dingo numbers in the wild are declining as man encroaches deeper and deeper into wilderness areas, often accompanied by his domestic dog.

(Hmmm…did the dingo eat the baby?)
The dingo is different from the modern dog in several ways: it yelps and howls, but it does not bark, it has a different gait, and its ears are always erect. Dingos are naturally lean and they are usually cream to reddish-yellow with white points, some are black with tan points. An adult dingo stands more than 60cm high and weighs about 15kg. It is slightly smaller than a German Shepherd.

 

New Zealand Fun Fact of the Day

No Native New Zealand dogs. New Zealand has many unique native fish, insects, birds, lizards and frogs but the only native mammals are bats and marine mammals.

So onto other facts:

Caves with Stars – Glowworm Caves of Waitomoglowworm caves of newzealand

Tourists flock underground to visit the unforgettable Waitomo Caves in New Zealand’s Waikato region to see the glowworms (fireflies). The Waitomo River runs underground through the caves, which natural light cannot reach. Tourists take boat trips along the river, where there are so many of these tiny insects high above that it creates a night-sky effect, with groups of glowworms looking like stars.

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Down Under Day 7: Author Michelle Rae, AUS and NZ Facts and Contest Info

 

 

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Today’s Down Under Author is Michelle Rae.  Check out Michelle Rae’s books, bio, and giveaway.  And don’t forget to find the Scavenger Hunt word of the Day.

Have you been to New Zealand or Australia?  We are looking for stories, pictures and memories to post for the rest of this month!

 

 

kiwi and NZ countryDown Under Interesting Facts:AUS flag over country

 

Australia Facts of the Day:

Two facts actually because I couldn’t decide (much like Sydney and Melbourne) which to post:

1.)  Canberra was selected as the capital because Sydney and Melbourne could not stop arguing which city should be the capital of Australia.  

CanberraCanberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of 381,488, it is Australia’s largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory, 280 km south-west of Sydney…

Population: 381,488 (2013)
Area: 314.36 sq miles (814.20 km²)

 

 

2.) Australians refer to English people as Pome (Pomes plural?), which is actually the acronym for Prisoners of Mother England.

 

New Zealand Interesting Fact of the Day:

Where Have All The Sheep Gone?baby sheep

From the early 1980s, when NZ was home to over 70 million sheep, the population has declined to around 31 million (2013 data). This means the oft-quoted statistic, that NZ has 20 sheep for each human, is wrong! Nowadays it’s only about 7 to 1. This decline hasn’t stopped NZ from cornering 50% of all international trade in sheepmeat.

Unlike the human population, the majority of New Zealand’s sheep are based on the South Island, where there are more than 20 sheep for every human! The decline in the number of sheep has been caused by increasing dairy cattle numbers.

Down Under Showcase Day 2:Nicki J. Markus, AUS/NZ Fun Facts and Contest Details

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Day Two of STRW Down Under Showcase. Our author of the day is Nicki J. Markus, make sure to visit her author page.  Discover her books, find the Scavenger Hunt word of the day and don’t forget to enter her contest/giveway.  Now here are the Australia and New Zealand Fun Facts of the Day:

 

Australia:

Biggest State in Australia (you knew they had states, right?)Western Australia map

Western Australia is the biggest Australian state and covers one third of the continent. Its total area is over 2.5 million square kilometres. That makes it 3.6 times bigger than Texas, 4.6 times bigger than France and 11 times bigger than the UK. It’s an interesting fact that, despite its large size, Western Australia is home to only around two million people.

Which Down Under Authors have  books that take place in Western Australia?

 

New Zealand:

tasmansNew Zealand was first discovered by Europeans in 1642 when Dutch sailor Abel Tasman arrived. He left New Zealand after several of his crew were killed by Maoris, and it was not until 1769 that English Captain James Cook arrived and mapped the land.

Tasman and Tasmania?  Hmmmm….do you know what the connection is?

 

 

 

Contests:

1.  Nicki J. Markus’ Giveaway -see Rafflecopter Link

2.  Scavenger Hunt continues-search for the green bold word or phrase to collect.

3.  Bottom Drawer  Publications Contest – BDP BADGE 1

Bottom Drawer Publications will provide a $20 gift voucher to spend in our shop and a copy of each of the e-books from our participating authors:

Mythica – L. J. LaBarthe
Cutting Out – Meredith Shayne
Second Chances Anthology – contains 2 stories contributed by Lisa Harris (Heart of Glass) and Bette Browne (Dirty Martini)

enter here

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Now onto today’s Down Under Author Nicki J. Markus!