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Week of January 19, 2025 | View the map
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Wednesday
Holy Idaho! It has been such a crazy week. Sorry we haven't written in our blog for a few days. But we will update you now. Last Monday, we asked for your help at the conference center. Most voters wanted us to follow the Equators to the police station to get more information. We followed the Equators and the security guards through the conference center.
As Phoebe and Claude were being handcuffed and taken to the police car, Phoebe started to repeat the phrase, "Veritas, Veritas, Veritas." Geo and I had no idea what Veritas meant. So we decided to still follow the police car to the station. We learned a fascinating piece of information at the station - the Equators sold Dewey! Holy Idaho!
Phoebe also said they never wanted to hurt Dewey and always intended to return him. But they couldn't pass it up when they were offered such a large sum of money to sell Dewey. The company that bought Dewey promised to take good care of him and return him to the USA as soon as they were finished with him. We had no other information. That was all that the police would tell us.
So we called Uncle GT. He was already aware that the Equators were arrested and that they had sold Dewey. We told Uncle GT that Phoebe had mentioned the word Veritas. We wondered if that was the company's name or the individual that Dewey had been sold to. Uncle GT said that we should hang tight in New Zealand and he would look into Veritas and find out where we should go next. So we have been in New Zealand for the past 2-days waiting to hear back from Uncle GT. We will update our blog with more information as soon as we know where we are going next on our mission to find Dewey: the truth-sniffing dog.
As Phoebe and Claude were being handcuffed and taken to the police car, Phoebe started to repeat the phrase, "Veritas, Veritas, Veritas." Geo and I had no idea what Veritas meant. So we decided to still follow the police car to the station. We learned a fascinating piece of information at the station - the Equators sold Dewey! Holy Idaho!
Phoebe also said they never wanted to hurt Dewey and always intended to return him. But they couldn't pass it up when they were offered such a large sum of money to sell Dewey. The company that bought Dewey promised to take good care of him and return him to the USA as soon as they were finished with him. We had no other information. That was all that the police would tell us.
So we called Uncle GT. He was already aware that the Equators were arrested and that they had sold Dewey. We told Uncle GT that Phoebe had mentioned the word Veritas. We wondered if that was the company's name or the individual that Dewey had been sold to. Uncle GT said that we should hang tight in New Zealand and he would look into Veritas and find out where we should go next. So we have been in New Zealand for the past 2-days waiting to hear back from Uncle GT. We will update our blog with more information as soon as we know where we are going next on our mission to find Dewey: the truth-sniffing dog.
- Meri
This picture shows one of the most famous tourist attractions in New Zealand - Milford Sound. We attached a link to learn more information about Milford Sound.
Look at the beautiful waters of New Zealand.
Here is the picture of the Equators at the convention center (just incase you missed it last week).
Discover New Zealand
This link provides more information about the famous Milford Sound (and beautiful pictures).
Thursday
Well, we have some good news and bad news. The good news is that we discovered a company called "Veritas International" based in Australia. The bad news is that we aren't sure which city the company is located in. So, we are flying to Alice Springs. Take a look at our map now. See if you can locate Alice Springs on the map. Can you figure out why we chose Alice Springs? Our logic was that the city was in the center of the country, so our odds were good that we would be close to the Veritas International headquarters.
During our flight, we are watching a cool video all about Australia. Did you know that Australia borders two oceans (the Indian and Pacific oceans)? How can you tell when you step out of the Indian Ocean and into the Pacific Ocean? Do you think there is some boundary line? Or do you think their waters just flow into one another? Australia is over 7,600,000 square kilometers in size. It is a little bit smaller than the continental United States. The continental United States includes the 48 states without Alaska and Hawaii. The map coordinates for Australia are 27 00 South and 133 00 East. So do you think that Australia is north (above) or south (below) of the equator? Is Australia in the southern hemisphere or the northern hemisphere? Look at the map and see if you can figure it out.
During our flight, we are watching a cool video all about Australia. Did you know that Australia borders two oceans (the Indian and Pacific oceans)? How can you tell when you step out of the Indian Ocean and into the Pacific Ocean? Do you think there is some boundary line? Or do you think their waters just flow into one another? Australia is over 7,600,000 square kilometers in size. It is a little bit smaller than the continental United States. The continental United States includes the 48 states without Alaska and Hawaii. The map coordinates for Australia are 27 00 South and 133 00 East. So do you think that Australia is north (above) or south (below) of the equator? Is Australia in the southern hemisphere or the northern hemisphere? Look at the map and see if you can figure it out.
- Geo
This pictures shows Ayers Rock. This cool sandstone rock formation is near Alice Springs. I wish I could visit Ayers Rock.
Here is an amazing picture of the desert area around Alice Springs.
Map of Australia
Here is a map of Australia. Can you find Alice Springs? What other large cities do you see in Australia? Veritas has more than one office in Australia, but their main office is in Alice Springs.
World Map
The map coordinates for Australia are 27 00 South, 133 00 East. Do you think that Australia is north (above) or south (below) the equator? Is Australia in the southern hemisphere or northern hemisphere? Click on the \"map\" view on the top right corner for a clearer view of the equator.
Can you figure out which continents Dewey has already visited?
Thursday night
Okay, did you figure out our questions? If you said that Australia was SOUTH of the equator - Holy Idaho! You are magnificent map readers. Now, is Australia in the southern hemisphere or northern hemisphere? Well, of course, it is in the southern hemisphere because it is SOUTH of the equator. Everything that is south of the equator is in the southern hemisphere.
Australia is surrounded on all sides by water, making it an island. 40% of the climate of Australia is arid. This means that it is a dry climate, not receiving much rainfall (much of this area is covered by sand dunes). The southeast and southwest corners of Australia are both temperate. A temperate climate provides warm summers and mild winters. The warmest month is January and the coldest month is July. This is because in the southern hemisphere, winter is from June through August, and summer takes place from December through February. I guess they don't have a white and snowy Christmas.
The northern part of Australia has a tropical climate. A tropical climate typically has high temperatures and a decent amount of rainfall. The northern part of Australia even has rainforests. Holy Idaho! This country has some diverse climates. The video we found online just told us about the "Fremantle Doctor." (Our airplane has free WiFi!) The city of Perth (located on the western coast of Australia) is known for its strong sea breeze. This invigorating wind has been named the "Fremantle Doctor." This breeze is one of the most consistent winds anywhere in the world. Some of Australia's other "wild" weather includes cyclones along the coastal cities, forest fires, and even severe droughts.
The video also taught us a lot of other information about Australia. Australia doesn't have a dominant religion, although over 65% of Australians are Christian, Anglican, or Catholic. Holy Idaho! Australia is rich in natural resources. In Australia, there is natural gas, petroleum, bauxite, coal, diamonds, gold, silver, tin, iron ore, copper, nickel, lead, zinc, uranium, tungsten, and mineral sands. I wonder what all of those resources are used for. Okay, we are getting ready to land in Alice Springs. We will update our blog tomorrow.
Australia is surrounded on all sides by water, making it an island. 40% of the climate of Australia is arid. This means that it is a dry climate, not receiving much rainfall (much of this area is covered by sand dunes). The southeast and southwest corners of Australia are both temperate. A temperate climate provides warm summers and mild winters. The warmest month is January and the coldest month is July. This is because in the southern hemisphere, winter is from June through August, and summer takes place from December through February. I guess they don't have a white and snowy Christmas.
The northern part of Australia has a tropical climate. A tropical climate typically has high temperatures and a decent amount of rainfall. The northern part of Australia even has rainforests. Holy Idaho! This country has some diverse climates. The video we found online just told us about the "Fremantle Doctor." (Our airplane has free WiFi!) The city of Perth (located on the western coast of Australia) is known for its strong sea breeze. This invigorating wind has been named the "Fremantle Doctor." This breeze is one of the most consistent winds anywhere in the world. Some of Australia's other "wild" weather includes cyclones along the coastal cities, forest fires, and even severe droughts.
The video also taught us a lot of other information about Australia. Australia doesn't have a dominant religion, although over 65% of Australians are Christian, Anglican, or Catholic. Holy Idaho! Australia is rich in natural resources. In Australia, there is natural gas, petroleum, bauxite, coal, diamonds, gold, silver, tin, iron ore, copper, nickel, lead, zinc, uranium, tungsten, and mineral sands. I wonder what all of those resources are used for. Okay, we are getting ready to land in Alice Springs. We will update our blog tomorrow.
- Meri
I wish we see some kangaroos in Australia!
This picture shows an example of the tropical areas of Australia. I think that bridge is so cool!
The beautiful waters of Sydney, another beautiful city in Australia. Maybe Dewey will get to visit Sydney too.
Friday
Yesterday, we arrived at our beautiful hotel in Alice Springs. We are in the central part of Australia. We just received an odd text message. I hope you all can help us figure out what it means.
Text Message from 1-555-837-4827: YDKM. U2 R wrong. Go 2 - 5 00 S, 140 00 E. Hehehe .
There are so many mysteries to solve in this text. And how do we even know if they are telling the truth or tricking us? I guess this is our only lead, so we better follow the clues.
First, the message came from a 555-number. So we can't really trace the location. But Uncle GT thinks that 837-4827 stands for something. Take a look at the attached keypad and see if you can make anything out of the telephone number. An eight could mean T, U, or V, and so on. We are going to work on this too.
We also need help figuring out where 5 00 S, 140 00 E is located. We know that they are map coordinates, but for where? Can you look at the map and help us determine where to go next? Do the map coordinates represent Tonga, Papua New Guinea, or Palau? Remember that the 5 00 S represents the line of latitude, and the 140 00 E represents the line of longitude.
Text Message from 1-555-837-4827: YDKM. U2 R wrong. Go 2 - 5 00 S, 140 00 E. Hehehe .
There are so many mysteries to solve in this text. And how do we even know if they are telling the truth or tricking us? I guess this is our only lead, so we better follow the clues.
First, the message came from a 555-number. So we can't really trace the location. But Uncle GT thinks that 837-4827 stands for something. Take a look at the attached keypad and see if you can make anything out of the telephone number. An eight could mean T, U, or V, and so on. We are going to work on this too.
We also need help figuring out where 5 00 S, 140 00 E is located. We know that they are map coordinates, but for where? Can you look at the map and help us determine where to go next? Do the map coordinates represent Tonga, Papua New Guinea, or Palau? Remember that the 5 00 S represents the line of latitude, and the 140 00 E represents the line of longitude.
- Geo
This picture shows the arid (dry) area around Alice Springs. Can you believe that 40% of the Australian climate is arid and dry?
Telephone Keypad
Use this telephone keypad to investigate the Caller ID telephone number. Does 837-4827 stand for (or spell) anything?
Map of Oceania
This map provides a clear view of the lines of latitude and longitude in Oceania. We are trying to find the map coordinates of 5 00 S, 140 00 E. Can you help?
Kangaroo Sanctuary
Check out the Kangaroo Sanctuary.
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