The cat pose

Start on your hands and knees. Your wrists should be directly under your shoulders and your knees directly under your hips. Keep your head at the level of your spine. Now breathe out slowly and round your back toward the ceiling. It should look like a cat stretching its back. Gently lower your head, breathe in and lower your back to the starting position. Repeat the sequence ten or twenty times.

Remember
If you have a neck injury, don’t lower your head. Keep it in a neutral position.

Benefits
This exercises warms the body and makes the spine flexible. It stretches the back and neck and gives the stomach and internal organs a gentle massage.

The chair pose

Start in a standing position, breathe in and slowly raise your arms over your head, palms facing inward. Breathe out and slowly bend your knees, as if you were going to sit on a chair. Keep your arms raised. Hold this position for 30 seconds. Slowly breathe in, straighten your knees and lower your arms.

Remember
Don't try this exercise if you have low blood pressure or if you have knee or hip pain as it could make the pain worse.

Benefits
The chair pose makes your legs stronger and stretches the shoulders and chest. It stimulates the stomach and internal organs as well as the heart.

The boat pose

Sit on the floor with your legs stretched out in front of you. Place your hands on the floor, behind your hips. Lean back slightly and raise your knees so that your feet are off the ground. Straighten your legs and raise your toes to the level of your eyes. Stretch out your arms in front of you, with your palms facing inward at the level of your knees. Hold the pose for 30 seconds.

Remember
You shouldn’t do this exercise if you have asthma, a headache or heart problems.

Benefits
This pose makes your abdomen and back stronger. It’s good for the digestion and it helps relieve stress.

Australian English

Australian English is an important variety of English that is spoken in Australia. It is the first language of the majority of the population in this country.

Australian English began to change as soon as the new Colony of New South Wales was established in 1788. By 1820, Australian English was recognised to be different from British English.

The earliest form of Australian English was spoken by the children of the people who established the colony. The first generation of children born in the Colony of New South Wales created a new dialect, which later became the language of Australia.

Immigrants and convicts who established the colony spoke different dialects from different parts of Britain and Ireland, especially the south east of England. The children born in Australia were exposed to these different accents, which formed the basis of a distinct Australian dialect.

Records from the 19th century document the changes in the language spoken in Australia. In 1827 a Scottish naval doctor wrote a book called Two Years in New South Wales, where he describes the accent and the vocabulary of the people born in Australia. Later studies have shown that Australian English preserves some aspects of 19th-century cockney, the dialect spoken in London. Since then Australian English has continued to change, especially the vocabulary and pronunciation.

The main influence on Australian English came from British English, but in 1851 gold was discovered in New South Wales. Thousands of immigrants from all over the world arrived in Australia to look for gold. From then on, Australian English was also influenced by North American spelling and expressions. The arrival of military personnel in Australia during the Second World War and the popularity of American pop culture also had an effect. As a result, Australians use many British and American words interchangeably, such as trousers/pants or lift/elevator.

Some elements of Aboriginal languages have been adopted by Australian English, especially place names and words for animals and plants. For example, the name of the capital city, Canberra, means “meeting place”in the local Aboriginal language. Other words, such as “kangaroo”, “boomerang” and “wallaby” are now international.

julyacharles Sydney, Australia
***** Reviewed 11 February

I had an amazing time hiking around the South Island on an 11-day tour organised by the company Hiking New Zealand. Our Kiwi guides, Cheryl and Luke, were excellent in every way. They were funny, efficient and very knowledgeable about everything related to NZ. The tour took us through some of the most beautiful places in the country, starting in Fiordland where we did the Key Summit walk through an amazing variety of native vegetation. During the walk we had spectacular views of the Humboldt and Darren mountains from Key Summit. I also really enjoyed the Catlins coast, the rainforest, the fossilised trees and stunning beaches. Along the way, we were very lucky to see lots of animals, including sea lions, dolphins and little blue penguins! Not everyone gets to see all these! They were so adorable. Sadly, the kayaking tour around Milford Sound was cancelled because of the terrible weather conditions that day. But in general we were really lucky weather-wise, we only had three rainy days during the whole tour. One thing that I will never forget is the many river crossings that we had to do. Some of the rivers looked really scary, but I felt completely safe as the guides are so experienced, confident and know exactly what to do. You need to be quite fit for this tour. It’s classified as a Grade D tour, which means you do about four to five hours of walking a day. But there were a couple of days where we actually did nine hours, and that was really hard for me! Still, I made it. Some days we spent too much time travelling in the car, but in general this tour was really well organised, alternating between days with lots of walking and easier days. The accommodation was fine, we slept in tents three nights and the rest of the time we were in nice, clean cabins with a hot shower and a real bed, which was great after hiking all day. We all collaborated and helped to cook the food, which was simple but OK – but there was quite a lot of pasta, which is not my favourite food! Generally, this was a fantastic holiday, one of the best I’ve ever had. I highly recommend this company if you want to go hiking in New Zealand. They also do a North Island tour – I’m planning to do that one next year!