New Zealand Tours & Travel | About New Zealand
About the size of Japan, New Zealand occupies a tiny portion of the Earth's smallest continent, located 1,250 miles southeast of Australia. It is comprised of two main islands (North and South) and a collection of smaller islands, some inhabited, some not, off its 9,300 miles of coastline. In addition, New Zealand maintains a collaborative governance over a number of more distant Polynesian islands including Niue 1,500 miles to the northeast, the fifteen Cook Islands and the self-governing coral island colony of Tokelau, half-way to Hawaii. It claims jurisdiction over a part of Antarctica and islands between the two land masses.
The natural wonders of this island paradise are endless and varied. Nature lovers, extreme sports enthusiasts and tourist types in-between all head to New Zealand for the same reason—the country's sublime outdoor riches. This is a world like no other, offering untamed timeless landscapes of warm turquoise waters and white sands, snowcapped peaks as high as 12,000 feet, glaciers, rugged fiords and the misty pristine rainforests of Tolkien's imagination. Because of the country's geographic isolation, 80% of New Zealand's flora and fauna are endemic, and about a third of its territory is protected within a reserve or park. This land at the ends of the earth is one of the first places in the world where one may see the sun rise.
The first known settlement of New Zealand took place rather recently, around 1000 AD by inhabitants of eastern Polynesian islands who eventually became known as the Maori. They named their islands Te Ika-a-Maui or "The fish of Maui," now commonly called the North Island and Te Wai Pounamu or "The waters of Jade," now referred to as the South Island. Today the Maoris call their land Aotearoa, or "land of the long white cloud." It was the Dutch who first made the European discovery of New Zealand in 1642, calling the islands Nova Zeelandia after a Dutch province. The English followed some 125 years later, under Captain James Cook. The anglicized "New Zealand" became a crown colony of Great Britain in 1840 and an independent nation of the Commonwealth in 1907. While some British traditions continue to be followed, such as driving on the left side of the road, in some ways, the former colony very much goes its own way. In 1987, Parliament took the bold and political popular step of making New Zealand a nuclear-free zone. The Act prohibited nuclear weapons on it soil and nuclear-powered or nuclear-armed ships from entering its waters, resulting in a suspension of U.S. treaty obligations that remains in effect today.
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New Zealand at a glance
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OFFICIAL NAME
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New Zealand
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GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE
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Constitutional Monarchy with a parliamentary democracy
Parliament is unicameral, comprised of 120 members. The Prime Minister oversees the Cabinet. While the country has no written constitution; the Constitutional Act of 1986 describes its constitutional structure.
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LEADERS
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Head of State
Queen Elizabeth II (of England) "rules but does no reign."
Governor-General
The Hon. Anand Satyanand who represents the Queen.
Prime Minister
The Rt. Hon. Helen Clark (1999-3rd successive term)
New Zealand Labor Party
Studied political science. In 2006, Forbes magazine called her the 20th most powerful woman in the world. Philosophically against marriage, she was pressured to formalize her longstanding partnership before her election to parliament. Sir Edmund Hilary said of her: "Our prime minister has been rather unique in being a great lover of the outdoors and she's always off climbing something, doing something…"
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POPULATION
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4,181,000 (2006 est)
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CAPITAL
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Wellington
Population 450,600 (2006 est)
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OTHER IMPORTANT CITIES (ranked by population)
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Auckland
Christchurch
Hamilton
Dunedin
Tauranga
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ETHNICITY
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New Zealand European (mostly British/Irish) 67.6%
Maori 14.6%
Asian 9.2%
Pacific Islands 6.5%
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LANGUAGES
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English
Maori
New Zealand Sign Language
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LITERACY
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99.9%
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LIFE EXPECTANCY
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Men 76.3
Women 82.3
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RELIGION
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Christianity 60%
Other including Ratana (practiced by Maoris) 1%
No religion or unknown 39%
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AREA
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103,738 square miles (including off-shore islands but not other territories)
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PROTECTED AREAS
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National parks 14
Marine reserves 29
A number of forest parks, wildlife sanctuaries, scenic reserves and conservation areas also receive government protection.
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NATIONAL FLOWER
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Kowhai, a legume tree with eight species
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NATIONAL BIRD
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Apterygiformes-Ratitae, known as Kiwi Bird, endemic to New Zealand
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MAJOR INDUSTRIES
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Service industries (finance, insurance, tourism and business services)
Goods-producing industries (such as food processing, wood and paper products, textiles and machinery)
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MAJOR AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS
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Dairy products
Livestock and fish
Forestry products
Grains, fruits and vegetables
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CUISINE
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Proximity to the islands' food sources makes New Zealand meals fresh and its numerous fish species among its delicacies. The New Zealand cuisine of the Europeans, or Pakeha, tends to be simple, most heavily reflecting the tastes of its British immigrant population. More recent ethnic influences from other European countries and elsewhere have broadened the menus in most cities to include a wide variety of offerings, and a fusion cuisine of European and Polynesian creations called Pacific Rim has developed. One famous Pakeha dish is Colonial Goose, really a stuffed leg of lamb that settlers devised as a make-do alternative to their traditional recipe back home. Indigenous cuisine takes its inspiration from Polynesian roots, though New Zealand's more temperate climate proved inhospitable to most tropical crops the Maoris tried to cultivate in their new land. A modernized version of the traditional hangi, or earth oven, consisting of hot stones in a dug pit, is still used today to prepare meat and vegetable dishes. Meat is also roasted over an open fire. For a mix of Pakeha and Maori cuisine, try the pork and sow thistle (puha), a chard-like herb, or "boil up," a soupy stew of pork, potatoes, kumara (sweet potatoes) and dumplings. Visitors should know that the term "tea" is sometimes used interchangeably with "dinner," the main meal of the day.
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Sweet desserts are a favorite in New Zealand. Hokey Pokey is the name of the country's most famous ice cream, vanilla, containing pieces of hard toffee. The term also describes the stiff foam-like sponge toffee that comes in different varieties including dipped in chocolate.
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New Zealand's renowned wines are produced in ten major areas. The highest quality varieties come from the dry climate of Marlborough on the northeast tip of the South Island, known for its Sauvignon Blancs, and the temperate climate of Hawkes Bay on the east coast of the North Island, famous for its Cabernets. For more information about New Zealand cuisine, check out the Edmonds Cookbook, a classic, first published in 1914.
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CURRENCY
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The country's unit of currency is the New Zealand dollar (NZD or NZ$), referred to as "the kiwi."
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TIME ZONE
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Seventeen hours ahead of US Eastern Standard Time. Daylight savings time is observed from the first Sunday of October through the third Sunday in March.
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INTERNATIONAL DIALING CODE
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64
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ELECTRICITY
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Electricity throughout New Zealand runs on 230/240 volts (50 hertz).
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HOLIDAYS
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1/1 New Year's Day
2/6 Witangi Day(Commemorates signing of New Zealand's founding document 2/6/1840)
March-April Good Friday
March-April Easter (and Easter Monday)
4/25 ANZAC Day (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps: a Memorial Day for nation's soldiers in first landing at Gallipoli in WWI 1915)
First Monday in June Queen Elizabeth II birthday 6/4
4th Monday in October Labor Day
12/25 Christmas
12/26 Boxing Day
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