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New Zealand
Things to Know
New Zealand is a parliamentary democracy
part of the British Commonwealth
Capital: Wellington
New Zealand is in the Southern Hemisphere,
in the South Pacific Ocean.
Its nearest large neighbor is Australia.
Map of New
Zealand
Before European settlement, the people of New Zealand were the Maori.
The official languages are English and Maori with English being
spoken by all.
New
Zealand bank notes
Facts about the New
Zealand Flag. Read about the Southern
Cross constellation.
Animals
New Zealand is known for their
flightless birds such as the Kiwi.
The Kiwi
bird is the national symbol of New Zealand.
New Zealand is the albatross
capital of the world. These sub-Antarctic islands are home to more
species of breeding albatrosses than any other country.
The yellow-eyed
penguin is only found in New Zealand. Penguins live on the islands of the antarctic and sub-antarctic. The
islands of New Zealand are sub-antarctic islands.
New
Zealand's offshore waters hold about 400 different marine fish:
tuna, marlin, snapper, trevally, kahawai and shark. New Zealand has
various species of seal, dolphins and porpoises and thirty-two species of whale have been recorded and
two of the largest (sperm and humpback ) regularly migrate here in spring and autumn.
Climate
New Zealand is in the Southern Hemisphere, which means January and
February are the warmest months and July normally its coldest.
North Island has a warm mild climate, almost sub-tropical in the
extreme north. South island is colder, Dunedin has average summer
temperatures of about 15C / 59F and winter 6C / 43F.
Explorers
Sir
Edmund Hillary
is New Zealand's most accomplished explorer.
Hillary and the Nepalese mountaineer Tenzing
Norgay, were the first people to reach the top of Mount Everest
on May 29, 1953. Hillary in 1958 becoming the first man to drive
overland to the South Pole.
Land
New Zealand consists of two large
islands; North Island and South Island, plus several smaller islands
of which Stewart Island is the largest. Surrounding New Zealand to
the north and east is the Pacific Ocean. Between New Zealand and
Australia lies the Tasman Sea. Cook Strait separates North Island and
South Island.
North Island is volcanically active with a central plateau. South Island has the high snow covered
mountain peaks and glaciers of the Southern Alps. The highest point
is Mount
Cook on South Island (3754 m / 12316 ft).
Fun Facts
Giant Squid
Visit the Smithsonian Institute website where you can learn
everything there is to know about squids of all kinds, the scientists
who study squids, and their expedition to New Zealand to try to see
one of these enormous sea creatures.
Stories
Maori Legend - Stories of Old
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