New Zealand Facts For Kids | The Land of Islands

The country of New Zealand is about 1,250 km south-east of Australia, New Zealand consists of two main islands and a number of smaller outlying Islands so scattered that they range from tropical weather ranging in the 90s to deep freezing Antarctic cold that can get blow 0 at times. New Zealand is the size of Colorado there are two main components to this country, we have the North Island and the South Island. The North Island is 44,281 square miles, the island is very long and volcanic. It sits in the south central part of New Zealand, within parts of this Island there contains many hot springs and beautiful geysers. Like these New Zealand facts for kids! continue reading to know more about this fascinating country.

New Zealand Facts For Kids

The North and South Islands

The North Island and the South Island in New Zealand are separated by what is called the Cook Strait. On the South Island we find the Southern Alps on the western cost of New Zealand Mount Cook, reaches at the highest point of 12,316 feet. It’s is coldest spot on the Island surrounding this beautiful mount are so of the smaller Island that are inhabited and great for some tourist to visits during their trip to New Zealand, to name a few we have Stewart Island, The Chatham Island, and the Grate Barrier Island. One of the largest Island in New Zealand that is uninhibited outlying are the Auckland Island, if you are up for a hike you are welcome to visit this Island to maybe the first to live their if you love the place so much.

The Government of New Zealand

The Government of New Zealand is parliamentary a democracy, within New Zealand it’s history the manris were the first to inhabited the island, in the years the manris were living in New Zealand they were under no ruler only a small Government, it wasn’t until 1952 that Queen Elizabeth 2 brought New Zealand under her law. New Zealand is populated by over 4,252,277 the froth rate of new people moving to the island as expects is 9%. An expect is a person who moves from another country into New Zealand to live under their law and work in that country with work permits until they have their citizenship comes thought.

Animals in New Zealand

Among the roaming hills and into the sea New Zealand houses some of the Abstract of animals, to name a few we have The Black Swan, The Blue Bottle Jelly Fish, A Moa, The blue Whale, A Humpback Whale, A Kakapc, Kiwi, Stoat, Tuatara, Wallaby, the yellowed eyed penguin, and the Kea. From this list of animals I’m going to tell you about two of them one being the black sawn and the blue bottle jelly fish. So let start with The Black          

The Black Sawn are the common birds you can find all over the coastal waters of Australia, they like to nest in swaps and in river banks, The black fur gives the sawn away to hied its nest from unwanted guest the only thing they can see is the her red beck, from faraway it looks like a flower swaying in the wind.

The Black Sawn’s are not common in the north west of New Zealand; the waters are too cold for them to lay their eggs. The Sawn’s like to make their nest out of corse reed stems on a dry part of the island, or is the warm river bank were they can lay up to five eggs each time. Their eggs are a greenish white in color, the time of year the Sawn’s lay is around autumn into march.

The Black Sawn can travel in enormous flocks, they move from one feeding ground to another they will feed in the shallow waters for small fish or they will fly and land on the sunny river bank and eat grass, the framers in New Zealand do not care for the birds, they think they are evil spirits of dead love ones.  I hope you enjoy the story of The Black Sawn. Now let hear a story about The Blue Bottle Jellyfish.

The Blue Bottle Jellyfish, is found in both New Zealand and Australia, this Jellyfish is known as the Blue Bottle due to its color and shape when it’s laying on the beach. In other parts of the world it is known as the Portuguese Man O War. They give it that name due to it looks like a Portuguese Battleship with a sail.

This jellyfish is actually made up of Zooids, the number of Zooids each one of the Zooids has a specific role, together they function as it was an animal. If one of the tentacle attaches itself to any human it will releases a poison through the use of nematocysts, one thing you do not want to do is rub the skin where the tentacles have been moved more poison or venom will be released.

If you ever get stung, it is best to wash them without touching the skin, then the ice cold pack should be used and go to your doctor or to the ER for treatment. No one has ever died from the sing of the Blue Bottle Jellyfish in New Zealand, I hope you enjoyed the story of the Jellyfish, now I’m sure you are wondering what do the people of New Zealand eat.

What to Eat in New Zealand? New Zealand Facts for Kids

When you are traveling to New Zealand for the first time and you are a wine lover New Zealand is a food and wine lover’s paradise. Vineyards stretch throughout every region, chefs put playful local twists on fine cuisine and festivals serve up taste sensations with a side of local music. World class wine The Hawks Bay, Martin-borough and Marlborough and Central Otago are signature New Zealand wine regions; explore your pick of 120 vineyards by driving the Classic New Zealand Wine Trail. If you’re after a really thorough wine tour, add West Auckland, Gisborne, Canterbury to your itinerary.

Most wineries are open for tasting, and many have fine restaurants onsite. There is plenty of bicycles and chauffeur-driven wine tours too – a great way to take in the full spectrum of local flavors. Our internationally acclaimed varieties include Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and the Bordeaux Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot blends so get ready to sample Pacific Rim cuisine

New Zealand food goes way beyond fish and chips and barbecues – our chefs have developed a distinct Pacific Rim cuisine. Expect to indulge in plenty of seafood like green-lipped mussels, crayfish lobster, Bluff oysters and fresh fish award winning cheeses and of course our famous lamb. You should also expect a laid-back, friendly atmosphere wherever you eat; Kiwis love to keep things casual.  Thank you for taking this trip to New Zealand with me and now share these new zealand facts for kids with your friends and family.

            In New Zealand the first people to live on the Island were The Polynesian Maori in 800 AD, by 1840 the Maori entered into a compact with Britain. The compact was called the treaty of waiting, the Maori people were now under Queen Victoria, while still keeping their territorial rights. The Maori Culture is an Integral part of kiwi life, The Maori people are known as the Indigenous people of New Zealand, the Maori come to New Zealand from the mythical Polynesian homeland of Hawalki over 1,000 years ago. When you visits New Zealand and you want to Observe How the Maori people live, your best place is to on a tribal meeting ground also known as a the Marae are found in the Northland, Auckland, Rotorue and Canterbury.

New Zealand is a land of amazing sceneries and astounding facts. It is a land of only 270,000 sq. kilometers but it has much to offer whether we talk about snow-capped volcanoes, glaciers, and wildlife, or simply alpine peaks, luxuriant forests, open tussock grasslands—lands that are yet to be conquered by humanity.

New Zealand Facts For Kids

• New Zealand is thought to have emerged as a result of separation from the land mass and Gondwanaland some 70 to 80 million years ago. Most of the country was believed to be covered with thick rainforest.
• There are three main islands of New Zealand—South Island, North Island, and Stewart Island.
• Kiwi bird is the national bird of New Zealand.
• People of New Zealand are often called ‘Kiwis.’
• Hector’s Dolphins are only found in New Zealand.
• The country has the largest single natural habitat covering around 150,000 sq. km. native bush and forest. These forests encompasses coastal to lowland forests and includes sub-alpine scrublands to the montane woods.
• New Zealand is a country of ‘Eye Candy’ because it has everything that a man can imagine; from snowy Southern Alps to the sandy beaches of Northland.
• Kiwis are some of the greatest walkers in the world as they are found hiking which is known as ‘Tramping’.
• New Zealand exists some 1,900 km east of Australia and 10,000 west of San Francisco.
• Beech forest is the leading forest throughout the country.
• New Zealand do not have any mammal that is native to the country. All mammals are introduced from other countries.
• The land of New Zealand is diverse in birds and Pukeko is the most colorful land bird.
• New Zealand hosts 35 species of dolphins including the smallest dolphin, Hectors dolphins.
• New Zealand is the largest producer of crossbred wool in the world.
• New Zealand’s economy depends on the agriculture and farming—sheep and cattle.
• The population of New Zealand is 4,000,000 and is expected to rise to 4.8 million by 2046.
• Mt. Cook is the highest point of the country measuring at 3,754 meters (12,313 feet).
• Lake Hauroko is the deepest lake with the depth of 462 meters (1,515 feet).
• Lake Taupo is the largest lake with the length of 606 km (234 miles).
• Tasman Glacier is the largest glacier and it measures 29 km (18 miles).
• Mount Arthur, Nettlebed is the deepest cave measuring at 889 meters (2,916 feet).
• Education in New Zealand is compulsory until the age of 15.
• The unemployment rate is 4.6%.
• English and Te Reo Maori are the official languages of New Zealand.
• The weather quickly changes in the country.
• Pekeha and Maori are the original settlers of New Zealand.

When you visit The Marae you greet people by the custom of pressing noses. People welcome you with speeches, singing and dancing. You are introduced with beautiful carved houses where they cook you a Hangul feast within large earth ovens, the ovens are made of mud and water packed together and fired in pits to baked the clay so it is hard, they place the ovens into the ground and cover the bottom of the pot with lava rocks, the rocks are heated to temperature and large rack of steal are place over the rocks, whatever the meal is, each part of the oven can cook different food at different temperatures. after the meal and celebration you will press noses in saying good buy.

The Island of New Zealand is Southeast of Australia in the South Pacific, the island is about 267,710 sq km. If you want to compare the size, New Zealand is the same size as the state of Colorado, within New Zealand there are two extreme elevation points, the lowest point is the Pacific Ocean at 0 m, with the highest point is the Aorak-Mount Cook standing at 3,754m.

With each country their always some danger, with New Zealand you have earthquakes along with a Volcano. The volcano is on the north Island of New Zealand, the name is Ruapehu it stands at 2,797m the last time it erupted was in 2007. With every eruption comes the aftermath, many homes are losses they towns and people who didn’t get out in time are loss, the vibrations has caused avalanches in other countries.

Over the years of being under the queens law since 1840 New Zealand finally formed their own government, On September 28 1907 New Zealand begin their own Independence from the crown. The people were now able to govern themselves, The New Zealanders had their own Chief of State, Head of Government, the Cabinets, along with elections. They also created an executive branch and a Judicial Branch. With the new found freedoms New Zealand like any country still needed law to follow. They started to set up their highest court i.e know more as a Supreme Court, the Judge selection and terms court of office, and the Subordinate Court also called the Court of Appeals.

Along with the court system New Zealand also set up their Political Parties, within the parties there came small pressure groups and leaders, some of these groups were, woman’s electoral lobby, a partied groups, civil rights groups, framers groups,the Maori Nuclear weapons groups. The country of New Zealand has grown in power over the years and gain the peoples trust. You may have wonder what the people of New Zealand eats, the way of life for most New Zealanders were meet and three vegetable, many they were eat this large meal in the morning, the hight starch content will give the farmers the added energy to work throughout the day into the night hours. The food was manly of Chickens, sheep, and some cattle with a mix of root vegetables.

When under English rule they were on the same diet as the English, meat and potatoes very little spices, having no spice or flavor left the food tasting very plan, it’s wasn’t until 1980 that New Zealand started to experiment with other more flavors and stronger spices, it tock some time but some New Zealanders imported their own fruits and vegetable to the Island, doing so has given the country one of the most highest food cost per plate as of chin. Now when you visit New Zealand you can find a mixing pot of different dishes form the mild east, Chin, the US and even you can still get some wonderful fish and chips.

The Maoir people made their own dyes and fibers form many different plants, the textures gave each piece of clothing its own look, many of the textiles come from plants like Harakeke, Wharanki, Pingao and Toetoe. The Fiber prepared by the Maoir people was called Muka, this made up the component for their clothing, the Muka was also used to create supples needed to hunt and for shelter. The Muka was woven into mates, ropes, nets for fishing.

As for making the clothing the New Zealanders would place the Muka leaves in water pound out the fibers softening then with large mussel shells. Once the fibers were soften each one of the leaves were stripped using the same mussel shell they pounded it with. All the fibers are spun by rolling the threads against the women and men’s legs. The Muka comes in a lot of colors, the colors for dying the Muka were found from indigenous materials, Paru is high in Iron salts, this provides the color black, Raurekau Bark will make a bright yellow, and  Tanekaha bark will make a tan color. For the colors to set with in the fibers, woman and men will roll the wet fibers covered in the dye in Alam also known as Potash, this will set the color and once dried by the sun the Muka Woman will weave them into clothing.