All About New Zealand

Primary Five and Six

Where is New Zealand ?New Zealand is situated about half way between the Equator and the South Pole about 2,000 kilometers east of Australia.

Northern Hemisphere

Southern Hemisphere

Equator

New Zealand is made up of two islands (the North and South) and hundreds of

smaller islands surrounded by the South Pacific Ocean. The capital city of New Zealand is Wellington.

Two other famous cities in New Zealand

are Christchurch, which is in the South Island and Auckland in the North.

Wellington

Christchurch Auckland

Geography

Mount CookMilford Sound

New Zealand has a diverse landscape with 15,000 kilometers of coastline. There are rolling hills, temperate rainforests and coastal mangroves.

The North Island has a volcanic interior, with famous Lake Taupo, the largest lake in New Zealand. The Southern Alps are located in the South Island. Mount Cook is the highest point in New Zealand and is covered in beautiful glaciers.

Lake Taupo

glaciers

Weather

New Zealand is in the Southern Hemisphere, so the seasons are opposite to those in the North. Unlike Australia, New Zealand has a mild climate.

The average temperature is about 15 degrees Celsius. Summer is from December to February with temperatures ranging from 19 to 23 degrees.

Winter can get quite a bit cooler, especially in the South with temperatures ranging from 10 to 14 degrees Celsius.

People

New Zealand is one of the least crowded places in the world, with about 4 million people for the whole country.

New Zealand is a multi-cultural society,

but most people are either descendants from the United Kingdom or are Maori.

The Maori were the first people to live

in New Zealand. People who come from New Zealand are known as ‘New Zealanders’ or ‘Kiwis’.

This is a picture of a Maori Warrior preparing for his warrior dance.

Maori Language Both Maori and English are the official languages of New Zealand. Maori is taught throughout schools in New Zealand and the government has recognized the importance of keeping this culture going.

Here are a few Maori words for you to learn:Kia ora – common greeting, like hello.hoa - friendkura – schoolkaiako – teachertena koe – thank youNau mai - Welcome! Come!

Maori 1-10

one – tahi two – rua three – toru

four – wha five – rima six – ono

seven – whitu eight – waru

nine – iwa ten - tekau

Famous Places

New Zealand has such assmall population that many areas still have beautifulforests. Because of its natural beauty New Zealandwas chosen to film themovie ‘Lord of the Rings’.Many tourists visit NewZealand every year just tosee where ‘Lord of theRings’ was filmed.

Here are some places that New Zealand is famous for:

Milford Sound

Milford Sound is in

the South Island. It

is a large flowing

river that goes into

the ocean. There

are lots of beautiful

waterfalls there.

Queenstown

Queenstown is the ‘adventure’ capital of New Zealand. There are lots of activities to do there throughout the year.

Kiwi Adventure Sports

Bungy Jumping

Queenstown is famous for bungy jumping. You can jump from a range of different heights, over water or even a concrete floor!

Hang-gliding

Hang-gliding requires

a lot of training. You need to learnhow to move theglider smoothlythrough thesky.

White Water Rafting

White water rafting takes you along a fast river.

Zorbing

Zorbing is a new sport and was also invented by ‘Kiwis’. It requires the participant to sit in a large plastic ball and roll down a hill. The cushioning prevents the rider from getting hurt.

New Zealand Rugby and the All Blacks

The “All Blacks” are New Zealand’s rugby team. They are famous internationally for their ferocity and grace. At the beginning of each rugby game the All Blacks perform the Haka, a dance performed by the Maori.

If you want to learn more about the All Blacks you can go to www.allblacks.com.

Animals

Here are some unique animals found in New Zealand:

The Kiwi is the national animal of New Zealand. This flightless bird is indigenous to New Zealand. Unfortunately, due to the rapid destruction of its habitat the kiwi is now endangered. Kiwis can grow to the size of a chicken and like to eat worms, insects, leaves and berries.

Kea Parrot

The Kea parrot is indigenous to New Zealand. It is considered the ‘clown of the mountain’ because of its curious nature. Hikers often find keas looking into their backpacks and cars. They eat many things including ‘gifts’ from visiting hikers or passers by. They are very fond of butter, nuts, apples, carrots, mangoes, pasta and meat.

Giant Weta

The Giant Weta is a nocturnal insect that eats other insects, leaves and rotting animals. They are found all over New Zealand and are capable of biting, so beware!

Sheep

There are more sheep than people in New Zealand!

They are used for their wool and meat.

Kiwi Food

Marmite is originally from Britain, but it is also very popular with New Zealanders. They like to spread it on toast and eat it for breakfast.

Kumara is the Maori word for sweet potato. New Zealanders like to eat baked sweet potato with their roast dinner.

Hokey Pokey ice cream is vanilla ice cream with toffee chunks (yummy!). It is the second most popular type of ice cream in New Zealand.

Lord of the Rings

The film ‘Lord of the Rings’ was filmed in New Zealand. Here are a few of the main characters from the movie.

Kiwi Song

Yesterday Tomorrow

Long long ago in the light of the dawning,The sun could only greet all the fishes in the water,And the birds of the trees that grew close around the harbour,The rocks and the earth and the sand.Then came a time in the mists of the morning,The ancestors came from their lands across the water.The earth gave them food and from the bush they tooktheir shelter,They paid back their debts to Te Whaia Pap-TuanukuFrom their spirit.

Aotearoa – Yesterday – TomorrowHei mahi kotahi tatauAotearoa – Yes we’re here togetherThe people, the land, and the sea.

Centuries passed and the tribes cried a warning.The settlers they came from their homes across the water.The good and the bad in the past and of today,Now we question the rights and the wrongs.

Aotearoa – Yesterday – TomorrowHei mahi kotahi tatauAotearoa – Yes we’re here togetherThe people, the land, and the sea.

The sun greets the faces in the dawn of tomorrow.The buildings and the hills – are there fishes in the water?Our future’s made today. Remember where we came fro

m.We must pay our debts and heal our ways together-The time is now.

Aotearoa – Yesterday – TomorrowHei mahi kotahi tatauAotearoa – Yes we’re here togetherThe people, the land, and the sea.The people, the land, and the sea.

Theme- based Project: All About New Zealand

Your task is to design and make a poster in pairs about New Zealand. Make sure your poster includes the following items:

1. Creativity – imagine you work for the tourism industry in New Zealand and they have asked you to design a poster that will attract tourists from around the world.

2. A catchy heading (e.g. Come and visit the land of

‘Kiwis’!)

3. Photos or drawings

4.Information about New Zealand – you should include at least 50 words on your poster (not including the heading). You can choose the type of information you want to use from your workbook – location, people, food, animals, sports, and culture.

5.Be sure to supplement the information from the workbook with information from the web (but don’t copy and paste) and books about New Zealand.

6.When you design your poster, take care to consider how you are going to include the information on it. For example, if you were to design a comic strip poster, you could add speech bubbles from the character’s mouths to include all your information. Draw a template of your poster and the information you want to add in the poster.