My Science School

           The Mamanuca Islands are a group of volcanic islands in Fiji that lie to the west of Nadi and south of the Yasawa Islands. Altogether the archipelago consists of 20 beautiful islands out of which only a few are inhabited.

          What makes the Mamanuca Island cluster a popular tourist destination is its coastal beauty. The sandy beaches, live coral reefs, and the crystal clear water together offer an amazing experience to the visitors of this serene archipelago.

          In addition, one can also engage in activities like swimming, diving, surfing and snorkelling in the waters here.

          The Namotu Island noted for luxury resorts, the Plantation Island or Malolo Lailai that offer water sports and the Castaway Island, or Qalito are some of the major tourist sites in Mamanuca.

          Faroe Islands is a cluster of beautiful islands in the North Atlantic Ocean that lie between Iceland and Norway. It is a self-governing administrative division of Denmark. As many as 17 inhabited islands are part of this cluster, along with many islets and reefs.

          The Faroe Islands are said to be high and rugged due to their volcanic composition.

          The islands are largely treeless and the natural vegetation consists of moss, grass, and wetland. It also lacks indigenous mammals, reptiles and toads but is home to rats and hares. There are as well numerous sea birds on the island.

          The Faroese people are said to be mostly descendants of Norwegian Vikings who colonized the place in AD 800. Many of them depend on sheep rising for their livelihood. But the economy of the island primarily focuses on fishing and related industries. Faroese and Danish are the two official languages on the island. The former had a rich oral literature that was not written down until the 19th century.

          One of the most attractive places in Africa, the Lamu Island, is a part of the Lamu Archipelago of Kenya. The island stands out for its beauty.

          Geographically, the island is composed of a town and three villages - Shela, Matondoni and Kipungani. When one reaches the land, one cannot wait for a taxi or any other motor vehicle, simply because there aren’t any on the island! Yes, that is one of the major features of Lamu that people use only non-motor modes of transportation like donkeys, bicycles etc.

          The most important part of the island is the Lamu Old Town, which was once a major trading centre in coastal East Africa. It is also a historically important centre of Swahili culture, as well as religion.

          Some of the historic sites here include the German Post Office and the Lamu Fort. Another sight that stirs wonder in the mind of any traveller is the use of coral stone and mangrove timber throughout the island, which is a Swahili feature.

 

          Australia is the smallest continent but the largest island (piece of land covered with water from all sides) of the world. Its total area is about 8,000,000 sq. km (3,000,000 sq. miles). People during the medieval times talked about the existence of a large continent in the Southern Hemisphere. No one had seen it and people wondered what it was like and whether it was inhabited at all. It was called the ‘unknown southern land’.

          During the 16th century, European countries had been seeking new lands in order to expand their commercial activities. In 1606 the Dutch were the first to visit Australia. Their ship called the ‘Dnyffkin’ anchored off the Northern coast of Australia. When some of its crew went ashore to refill their water casks, they were driven out by the fierce natives. The Dnyffkin sailed away without exploring any other part of the vast continent.

          In 1642 Captain Abel Tasman was sent by the Dutch to explore more about the continent. He sighted the west coast, which he called Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania). Later he explored New Zealand. In 1770 the English Captain James Cook discovered the South Eastern coast of Australia and named it New South Wales. In 1788 the first English colony was established in the city of Sydney.

          Who, then, were the first inhabitants of Australia?

          Before the arrival of Europeans in the late 18th century the country was first inhabited by the Aborigines who reached Australia from Southern Asia about 20,000 years ago. In 1870 there were about 300,000 Aborigines in Australia. They arrived in two groups; the first group was eventually driven from the south-east into Tasmania; the second was racially quite different which occupied the rest of Australia.

          Today, Australia is among the highly developed countries of the world. Its inhabitants are self-sufficient in almost every respect. It has many distinctive features. Two-third of its land is a desert. It is, however, rich in minerals like gold, tungsten, manganese, cobalt, lead and zinc. Its unique wild life includes animals like kangaroo, koala and birds like emu, black swan. The plants like giant eucalyptus and bottle tree are found here in abundance.