Hot On Our Own Heels Trivia Quiz

Answer: Tropic of Capricorn marker

The Tropic of Capricorn bisects Australia. About a third of Australia lies in the tropics, north of this marker, while the rest of Australia is in the temperate Zone. The parts of Queensland south of the marker are classified as sub-tropical. Visiting the spire at the side of the Bruce Highway when I was ten, my family was relocating from Cairns to the Big Smoke of Brisbane. I distinctly remember being at the marker wondering how I was going to be able to live in a much colder place called Brisbane.

Question contributed by 1nn1, team Phoenix Rising who feels the cold in sub-tropical Brisbane.

After Rockhampton, you drive a further 650km south to Brisbane where you hop on a two hour flight to Melbourne, then a further three hour drive south east to the very southern tip of mainland Australia.

Answer: Bass Strait

Located in the Gippsland region of Victoria (Australia), Wilsons Prom is a popular but unspoiled natural camping area. It is located near Tidal River, and there are numerous cabins, camps and caravan sites situated right amongst the native bush. There is an abundance of wildlife, with wombats, echidnas and koalas easily spotted.

This question was created by Phoenix Rising team member VegemiteKid.

A quick dash back to Melbourne Airport, where a four hour flight drops you at Perth in Western Australia. You hop in a rental and drive 330km due east, barely having time to enjoy the start of the Australian outback.

Answer: Wave Rock

The town of Hyden, which plays host to the rock, is situated about 300 kilometres (185 miles) east-southeast of Perth in W.A. Wave Rock represents the northern side of a large granite hill, which is called Hyden Rock, and it is a spectacular concave-upward flared slope. This is a giant wave formation that stands 15 metres (49 feet) in height, runs for an impressive 110 metres (360 feet) in length and attracts approximately 140,000 tourists a year to the small community.

The local aboriginal people, the Bollardong, tell the tale of the Rainbow Serpent creating the mighty structure. After consuming all the water in the land it dragged its swollen body across the ridge to carve it out.

This question was created by Phoenix Rising team member pollucci19.

Back to Perth Airport where your Qantas chariot whisks you off for a comparatively quick 5 1/2 hour international flight to Singapore. A train takes you across the causeway into Johor in southern Malaysia.

Answer: Legoland

Legoland Malaysia opened its doors in Malaysia's southern state of Johor. It is the sixth Legoland theme park in the world but the first such park in Asia. Among the attractions in Legoland Malaysia are Lego block replicas of landmarks in Asia such as Angkor Wat (Cambodia), the Forbidden Palace (China), and the Merlion (Singapore).

This question was constructed by Phoenix Rising team member purelyqing.

Race instructions state that you need to get back to Singapore Changi International Airport where you get a twelve hour but direct flight to Johannesburg, then its a seven hour drive south east heading toward Durban.

Answer: Lesotho

Lesotho is a land-locked country located entirely within South Africa. The South Africa's border control point is situated at the bottom of the pass, while Lesotho's is at the summit. The border between South Africa and Lesotho is at Lesotho's border control point, so that the entire pass is actually located within South Africa.

In 2011 on a trip back to South Africa from my current home in California, my wife and I took a tour up the Sani Pass into Lesotho. It was a harrowing experience, but the scenery was breathtaking. The winding gravel road is treacherous and has claimed many lives.

This question was crafted by Phoenix Rising member, JCSon.

After this stop, your instructions are to catch a direct flight from Cape Town to London. You groan, Cape Town is 16 hours by road south west. At least you will have 12 hours to sleep on the plane.

Answer: Hever Castle

Hever castle was the childhood home of Anne Boleyn and it was here that she was courted by Henry VIII. He became the owner of the castle following the death of Anne's father. It was given to Anne of Cleves, his fourth wife, as part of the settlement for their ill fated marriage.

The castle is beautiful and stands within lovely gardens with some very intricate mazes. The original building dates back to 1270 but has been renovated and parts rebuilt a few times since then. It also has the oldest working portcullis in England.

This question was constructed by Phoenix Rising team member smpdit.

After a brief stay, in a verdant England, you head back to the airport for another 12 hour flight to the Southern Hemisphere.

Answer: Caroni

The Caroni River is the second most important river in Venezuela and is the most important tributary to the Orinoco River, Venezuela's largest and most important river. The basin of the Caroni is found in the Gran Sabana, which is part of the second largest National Park in Venezuela, the Canaima National Park.

The Guri Dam was built in in the 1960s to provide hydroelectric power to Venezuela. In the late 70s it was expanded because of the increased demand for electricity. It is still one of the top producers of hydroelectric power in the world but has been hampered by droughts in its watershed.

As a youngster I lived in Venezuela in the late 70s. There are two things I will never forget during this time. First was taking a boat ride on the Caroni to see where it joined the Orinoco. The two rivers have different colored water and you could visibly see where the one entered the other. Second was visiting Guri Dam and seeing the model of the expansion project. My father knew the head engineer and we got to visit the dam.

This question was written by Phoenix Rising member tazman6619.

Exhausted you re-trace your route back to Caracas Airport where you catch an all-too-short three hour trip to Miami Florida. At least you get the chance to nap fitfully.

Answer: Goldman's Jaguar

In the US, the Everglades National Park on the southern tip of the Florida peninsula, is the second largest National Park, after Yellowstone. The entire park comprises a wide, shallow river that flows out of Lake Okeechobee to the Bay of Florida. The river bed is porous limestone sitting on top of a bedrock base called the Tamiami Formation. It is the main rainfall reservoir for southern Florida
It is the largest subtropical wilderness area the contiguous 48 states. It is a 1.5 million acre area of swampy marshy land. Its ecosystem is very delicate and supports alligators, American crocodiles, Florida panthers among many other species. It is one of the few places in the world where alligators and crocodiles live in the same area. Jaguars are found mainly in South America though there are rare sightings in south west USA but not Florida. Goldman's jaguar is found in the Yucatán Peninsula to Belize and Guatemala.

This question was compiled by 1nn1 who is not a Floridian but a Sunshine Stater from another country, as his Floridian team mates were battling Hurricane Irma at the time of writing.

From Miami International, it is only a three hour flight to Texas' largest city.

Answer: Galveston

The 1900 storm is considered the most deadly natural disaster in the US, at least as of 2017 when this quiz was written. The intrepid Galvestonians built a seawall ten miles long, seventeen feet high and sixteen feet wide at its base. Hurricane Ike in 2008 sent water over the seawall, so proposals to add a dike to the region have been considered.

This question was created by Phoenix Rising team member pusdoc.

Mercifully, the flights are getting shorter. You head west on a three hour flight, landing in a 'Harbor'.

Answer: Arizona

Arizona is one of the best places in the world to grow up if you enjoy the outdoors. There are three distinct zones in the state: the desert, the mountains, and the high plateau. The four areas mentioned in the question are just a few of the highlights found in this incredible state.

Montezuma Castle is a set of the best preserved pre-Columbian cliff dwellings in North America found near Camp Verde. It is 90 feet up a sheer limestone cliff and faces Beaver Creek. Long abandoned by the time the first Europeans saw it, they are mistakenly named after the Aztec emperor Montezuma but they predate his reign by 100 to 400 years. It is also not a castle but cliff dwellings.

Petrified Forest National Park is found in northeastern Arizona. The park is famous for its 225 million year old fossilized trees from the Late Triassic period of the Mesozoic era. The area during that time was part of Pangea with a humid sub-tropical climate. The northern part of the park extends into the Painted Desert, another spectacular area of brilliantly colored rocks and rock formations.

Canyon de Chelly National Monument is also found in northeastern Arizona and lies completely within the Navajo Nation. It is one of the longest continuously inhabited areas of North America and contains the ruins of the native people dating back to the Anasazi, now called the Ancestral Puebloans, up to the Navajo. Although it is a National Monument, it is not owned by the federal government but rather by the Navajo Nation.

Monument Valley lies on the Arizona-Utah border and is famous as the backdrop of many John Ford Westerns. The area is part of the Colorado Plateau and consists of many colorful sandstone buttes and other rock formations. The red coloration comes from iron oxide and the darker blue-gray coloration comes from manganese oxide.

This question was written by Phoenix Rising member tazman6619.

Back to Phoenix Sky Harbour international Airport. Now for a quick dash back to Cairns where it all began. So that's Phoenix to LAX to Brisbane to Cairns. That's ...'er 26 hours away. Sweet Dreams...