Australia and New Zealand Quiz
Uluru, the Outback, the Great Barrier Reef and the Southern Alps: 15 questions on the lands down under.
Which city is the capital of the Australian state of Queensland?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Brisbane
Brisbane, on the Brisbane River in the state's south east corner, has been Queensland's capital since the colony separated from New South Wales in 1859.
Brisbane will host the 2032 Summer Olympics, the third Australian city to stage the Games after Melbourne in 1956 and Sydney in 2000.
Which is the largest Australian state by area?
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Western Australia
Western Australia covers about 2.5 million square kilometres (975,000 square miles), roughly a third of the continent, making it larger than any US state, including Alaska.
Perth, its capital, is one of the most isolated major cities on Earth; the nearest city of comparable size, Adelaide, is more than 2,100 kilometres (1,300 miles) away.
The Great Barrier Reef lies off the coast of which Australian state?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Queensland
The Great Barrier Reef stretches about 2,300 kilometres (1,400 miles) along Queensland's northeast coast and is the largest coral reef system in the world, visible from space.
It is made up of nearly 3,000 individual reefs and about 900 islands, and it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981.
The sandstone monolith Uluru is in which part of Australia?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Northern Territory
Uluru rises 348 metres (1,142 feet) above the desert in the southern Northern Territory, roughly in the geographic centre of Australia, near the resort town of Yulara.
The rock appears to change colour through the day, glowing red at sunrise and sunset, and climbing it was banned in 2019 out of respect for the Anangu owners.
Which is the largest city in New Zealand?
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Auckland
Auckland on the North Island is home to around a third of all New Zealanders, about 1.7 million people, far ahead of the capital Wellington and South Island's Christchurch.
Auckland is built on a field of around 50 volcanoes, and its nickname City of Sails reflects one of the highest rates of boat ownership in the world.
Which Australian state is an island?
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Tasmania
Tasmania lies about 240 kilometres (150 miles) south of mainland Australia across the Bass Strait and is the only one of the six states made up entirely of islands.
Around 40 percent of Tasmania is protected as national parks and reserves, and it is the only place where the Tasmanian devil survives in the wild.
Which strait separates New Zealand's North and South Islands?
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Cook Strait
Cook Strait is about 22 kilometres (14 miles) wide at its narrowest and links the Tasman Sea to the Pacific, with ferries crossing between Wellington and Picton in about three and a half hours.
It is considered one of the most unpredictable stretches of water in the world, with strong tidal flows and notoriously rough weather.
Which sea lies between Australia and New Zealand?
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Tasman Sea
The Tasman Sea is about 2,000 kilometres (1,200 miles) wide and is named after the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman, who sighted Tasmania and New Zealand in 1642.
Australians and New Zealanders call a trip across it crossing the ditch, and the two countries are each other's closest major neighbours.
Which city is the capital of the Australian state of Victoria?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Melbourne
Melbourne has been Victoria's capital since the colony separated from New South Wales in 1851, and it served as the temporary national capital from 1901 until Canberra took over in 1927.
Melbourne hosts the Australian Open tennis, the Formula One Grand Prix and the Melbourne Cup, a horse race that stops the nation each November.
Which is the highest mountain in Australia?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Mount Kosciuszko
Mount Kosciuszko in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales reaches 2,228 metres (7,310 feet), modest by world standards, with a walking track that leads right to the summit.
Polish explorer Paweł Strzelecki named it in 1840 after Tadeusz Kościuszko, a hero of the Polish and American independence struggles.
Which is the longest river in Australia?
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Murray River
The Murray flows about 2,500 kilometres (1,550 miles) from the Australian Alps along the New South Wales and Victoria border to the sea in South Australia, longer than any other single river in the country.
Together with the Darling and Murrumbidgee it drains the Murray-Darling Basin, the food bowl that produces around 40 percent of Australia's agricultural output.
Which is the highest mountain in New Zealand?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Aoraki / Mount Cook
Aoraki / Mount Cook in the Southern Alps stands 3,724 metres (12,218 feet) tall; it lost about 10 metres of height when a huge rock avalanche slid off the summit in 1991.
Sir Edmund Hillary trained on Aoraki / Mount Cook before his 1953 ascent of Everest, and the mountain's official name combines its Māori and English names.
Which New Zealand city is famous for its geysers, boiling mud pools and Māori cultural shows?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Rotorua
Rotorua sits on the Taupō Volcanic Zone in the central North Island, where the Pōhutu geyser erupts up to 30 metres (100 feet) and the whole town carries a faint smell of sulphur.
Nearby Waimangu Valley was the site of the world's largest geyser in the early 1900s, which blasted water up to 460 metres (1,500 feet) into the air.
Which is the largest lake in New Zealand?
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Lake Taupō
Lake Taupō in the centre of the North Island covers about 616 square kilometres (238 square miles), roughly the size of Singapore, and fills the caldera of a huge volcano.
The Oruanui eruption that formed the caldera about 25,500 years ago was the largest volcanic eruption on Earth in the last 70,000 years.
Which is the largest desert in Australia?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Great Victoria Desert
The Great Victoria Desert covers about 350,000 square kilometres (135,000 square miles) of dunes and salt lakes across Western Australia and South Australia, roughly 4.5 percent of the continent.
Explorer Ernest Giles named it after Queen Victoria in 1875 after crossing it with camels, and it is still one of the least populated regions in the country.
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All Geography quizzes →About the Australia and New Zealand Quiz
Australia is the only country that is also a continent, and its largest state, Western Australia, is bigger than Western Europe. Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand packs glaciers, fjords, geysers and a 3,724 metre (12,218 foot) peak into two main islands. Between them sit the Great Barrier Reef, the largest living structure on Earth, and Uluru, a sandstone monolith older than the Himalayas.
These 15 questions cover states and territories, the biggest cities, the straits and seas, the highest mountains, the longest river, the largest lake and the deserts of the Outback. It suits anyone planning a trip down under, expats testing their adopted home, and quiz fans who know there is more to Oceania than kangaroos and kiwis.
You will find 15 multiple choice questions here, each with four options. Difficulty: Medium. Most people finish in about 6 minutes, and every answer comes with a short explanation and one extra fact worth keeping.
How to play
Read the question and pick one of the four answers. The correct answer is revealed straight away with a short explanation, then press Next question to keep going. At the end you get your score out of 15 and a full review of your round. Play again any time and the questions arrive in a fresh order. There is no timer and no account.
Good to know before you play
What separates Australia and New Zealand?
The Tasman Sea, roughly 2,000 kilometres (1,200 miles) of open water. Flights between Sydney and Auckland take about three hours.
What is the highest mountain in Australia?
Mount Kosciuszko in New South Wales at 2,228 metres (7,310 feet). It is low enough that a walking track leads all the way to the summit.
What are New Zealand's two main islands called?
The North Island and the South Island, separated by Cook Strait. Stewart Island to the south is the third largest.
Answer key: all 15 questions with explanations
- Which city is the capital of the Australian state of Queensland?
Brisbane Brisbane, on the Brisbane River in the state's south east corner, has been Queensland's capital since the colony separated from New South Wales in 1859. Brisbane will host the 2032 Summer Olympics, the third Australian city to stage the Games after Melbourne in 1956 and Sydney in 2000. - Which is the largest Australian state by area?
Western Australia Western Australia covers about 2.5 million square kilometres (975,000 square miles), roughly a third of the continent, making it larger than any US state, including Alaska. Perth, its capital, is one of the most isolated major cities on Earth; the nearest city of comparable size, Adelaide, is more than 2,100 kilometres (1,300 miles) away. - The Great Barrier Reef lies off the coast of which Australian state?
Queensland The Great Barrier Reef stretches about 2,300 kilometres (1,400 miles) along Queensland's northeast coast and is the largest coral reef system in the world, visible from space. It is made up of nearly 3,000 individual reefs and about 900 islands, and it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981. - The sandstone monolith Uluru is in which part of Australia?
Northern Territory Uluru rises 348 metres (1,142 feet) above the desert in the southern Northern Territory, roughly in the geographic centre of Australia, near the resort town of Yulara. The rock appears to change colour through the day, glowing red at sunrise and sunset, and climbing it was banned in 2019 out of respect for the Anangu owners. - Which is the largest city in New Zealand?
Auckland Auckland on the North Island is home to around a third of all New Zealanders, about 1.7 million people, far ahead of the capital Wellington and South Island's Christchurch. Auckland is built on a field of around 50 volcanoes, and its nickname City of Sails reflects one of the highest rates of boat ownership in the world. - Which Australian state is an island?
Tasmania Tasmania lies about 240 kilometres (150 miles) south of mainland Australia across the Bass Strait and is the only one of the six states made up entirely of islands. Around 40 percent of Tasmania is protected as national parks and reserves, and it is the only place where the Tasmanian devil survives in the wild. - Which strait separates New Zealand's North and South Islands?
Cook Strait Cook Strait is about 22 kilometres (14 miles) wide at its narrowest and links the Tasman Sea to the Pacific, with ferries crossing between Wellington and Picton in about three and a half hours. It is considered one of the most unpredictable stretches of water in the world, with strong tidal flows and notoriously rough weather. - Which sea lies between Australia and New Zealand?
Tasman Sea The Tasman Sea is about 2,000 kilometres (1,200 miles) wide and is named after the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman, who sighted Tasmania and New Zealand in 1642. Australians and New Zealanders call a trip across it crossing the ditch, and the two countries are each other's closest major neighbours. - Which city is the capital of the Australian state of Victoria?
Melbourne Melbourne has been Victoria's capital since the colony separated from New South Wales in 1851, and it served as the temporary national capital from 1901 until Canberra took over in 1927. Melbourne hosts the Australian Open tennis, the Formula One Grand Prix and the Melbourne Cup, a horse race that stops the nation each November. - Which is the highest mountain in Australia?
Mount Kosciuszko Mount Kosciuszko in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales reaches 2,228 metres (7,310 feet), modest by world standards, with a walking track that leads right to the summit. Polish explorer Paweł Strzelecki named it in 1840 after Tadeusz Kościuszko, a hero of the Polish and American independence struggles. - Which is the longest river in Australia?
Murray River The Murray flows about 2,500 kilometres (1,550 miles) from the Australian Alps along the New South Wales and Victoria border to the sea in South Australia, longer than any other single river in the country. Together with the Darling and Murrumbidgee it drains the Murray-Darling Basin, the food bowl that produces around 40 percent of Australia's agricultural output. - Which is the highest mountain in New Zealand?
Aoraki / Mount Cook Aoraki / Mount Cook in the Southern Alps stands 3,724 metres (12,218 feet) tall; it lost about 10 metres of height when a huge rock avalanche slid off the summit in 1991. Sir Edmund Hillary trained on Aoraki / Mount Cook before his 1953 ascent of Everest, and the mountain's official name combines its Māori and English names. - Which New Zealand city is famous for its geysers, boiling mud pools and Māori cultural shows?
Rotorua Rotorua sits on the Taupō Volcanic Zone in the central North Island, where the Pōhutu geyser erupts up to 30 metres (100 feet) and the whole town carries a faint smell of sulphur. Nearby Waimangu Valley was the site of the world's largest geyser in the early 1900s, which blasted water up to 460 metres (1,500 feet) into the air. - Which is the largest lake in New Zealand?
Lake Taupō Lake Taupō in the centre of the North Island covers about 616 square kilometres (238 square miles), roughly the size of Singapore, and fills the caldera of a huge volcano. The Oruanui eruption that formed the caldera about 25,500 years ago was the largest volcanic eruption on Earth in the last 70,000 years. - Which is the largest desert in Australia?
Great Victoria Desert The Great Victoria Desert covers about 350,000 square kilometres (135,000 square miles) of dunes and salt lakes across Western Australia and South Australia, roughly 4.5 percent of the continent. Explorer Ernest Giles named it after Queen Victoria in 1875 after crossing it with camels, and it is still one of the least populated regions in the country.
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