New Zealand
Capital: Wellington
Latitude = -41.2865, Longitude = 174.7762
Lat    = 41 degrees,   17.2 minutes   South
Long = 174 degrees,   46.6 minutes   East

New Zealand is made up of two large islands separated by the Cook Strait. There are several smaller islands.

To the east is the Pacific Ocean and to the West is Australia and the Tasman Sea.

***Did you know? Wellington is the most southern Capital in the World!***

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 The People of New Zealand:

The adaptation of the Maori people

*The Maoris are the indigenous people of New Zealand. 

*The Maoris tell of a story that their people arrived on seven canoes from other islands about 1000 years ago.

* The Maoris immediately loved their new home in Aotearoa (what they called New Zealand) and soon developed villages with gardens and animals.

*In 1642, Abel Tasman (the same man that found Fiji) arrived in New Zealand. He did not stay, and the Maoris were left alone for another 100 years.

*Then in 1769, Captain James Cook arrived in New Zealand and life became very difficult for the Maoris.

*The Europeans took all the land and vegetables, and treated the Maoris very poorly.

*The Maoris tried to fight against the Europeans, but the Europeans had steel weapons.  They also had never seen many of the animals brought to the islands, like horses.

*Finally, after a long period of sadness and confusion, the Maoris adapted to the new lifestyle imposed on them by the Europeans.

*Today, the Maoris are respected people of New Zealand.  They continue to practice and share their unique ancestry with those who want to learn.

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Geography

 *New Zealand is primarily mountainous with some coastal areas. 

*Northern New Zealand has three active volcanoes: Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe, and Tongariro.

*There are many geysers and hot springs on the Northern Island because of the volcanic activity. 

*The Southern Island does not have any active volcanoes, but it does have the Southern Alps!

*The Southern Alps have glaciers.  The biggest glacier is the Tasman Glacier, which is 18 miles long!

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Animals!


Kiwi birds have no tail, hair-like feathers, whiskers, are flightless and nocturnal.  They are the only bird in the world with its nostrils located at the end of its beak to help them find their food, worms!


The Blue Duck, or Whio, is a very rare bird from New Zealand.  They live near fast flowing mountain rivers and do not like having other ducks in their territory.


There are 70 million possums in New Zealand!  That means there are 20 possums per person in the country!  They were introduced from Australia in 1837 for fur trade.  Combined, they eat 40 million pounds of plants!  That's the same as 190 million cheeseburgers!  Like the mongoose in Fiji, they have no natural predator in the country and are a nuisance to the natural New Zealand habitat.

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Money Facts

New Zealand money is very colorful.

The nickname for a New Zealand Dollar is a 'Kiwi'!

The duck on the back of the $10 bill is called a 'Whio'.


Learn Maori!

Hello! - Kia Ora!

Goodbye - Haere Rā

Please - Tēnā koa

Excuse Me - Aroha mai

Yes - Ae

No - Kaore

Child - Taitamaiti

Clothes - Kaka

River - Awa

Sea - Tai

Island - Motu

Numbers

1

 - tahi

2 - rua

3 - toru

4 - wha

5 - rima

6 - ono

7 - whitu

8 - waru

9 - iwa

10 - tekau

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KIWI SLANG 

(Kiwi - New Zealander)

Rattle your dags! - Hurry up!

Give it heaps - Give a supreme effort

A Dag - An amusing person

To be away laughing - To be successful

Wop wops - A remote area

Get off the grass! - Get outta here! No way!

Happy as Larry - Very happy

Take a squiz - Take a look

Barbie - barbecue

Chook - chicken

Dodgy - bad, unreliable, not good

Dunny - toilet, bathroom, lavatory

Good on ya, mate! - congratulations

Iceblock - popsicle, Ice Stick  

Whinge - complain, moan

Gumboots - Rubber boots

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Fun Facts!

*The Lord of the Rings movies were taped in New Zealand!

*New Zealand is about the same size as Colorado.

*The most popular sports in order are Rugby, Golf, Netball, Soccer, and then Cricket.

*New Zealand was the first country in the world to let women vote.

*People travel to New Zealand to participate in extreme sports like Bungy Jumping, Skydiving, Zorbing, and Whitewater Rafting!

*New Zealand has the second-most McDonald's restaurants in the world.  The United States has the most!

*The mozzarella cheese for the worldwide chain of Pizza Huts comes from New Zealand.

 
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