There are many legends about the first person to step foot on New Zealand. The one
I found to be most commonly known was said to be told by the Maori; the people of the
land. The first explorer and chief to land his canoe in 950 A.D on the shores of New Zealand,
was named Kupe. He had sailed across the Pacific and was said to of been led by the sea
and stars. According to the Mairo, he had sailed from a place you won’t find on a map;
Hawaiki. Hawaiki, was believed to be where the main creator lived, and it was also believed to
be where you came from and then went back to when you died.
A common nickname for New Zealanders, or people from New Zealand, is Kiwi. A
Kiwi is a kind of bird, a flightless bird. It is also the National symbol of New
Zealand.Although its sense of smell is great, and it helps enable it the kiwi to roam and hunt
for food at night, it is in fact colour blind. Apparently, it is said to be hard to trace back the
history of the Kiwi bird, due to the little records on them.
Another interesting fact about people in New Zealand, is their friendly traditions. One,
is in fact getting together and sharing food with your friends, both food and friends are
said to go hand in hand. It is a normal event in New Zealand to go to someone’s house and
be offered a beverage such as tea or coffee, or to even go out, for a cup of either, or duringthe morning or afternoon at work to sit and have a cup of tea. Tea and coffee both overall
play a very important role in the people of New Zealand people’s lives. As for laws and
environment, it is in fact legal at the age of eighteen, to purchase alcohol. While smoking is
a rarely seen addiction, it is even prohibited in public places such as bars and restaurants.
If you do in fact smoke, you are expected to smoke outside and ask those around you if
they mind you doing so.
The geographical size of land area in New Zealand covers 268,000 square
kilometers. While the total population in New Zealand is, as of the last time counted in
2013; 4.471 million people. The order of New Zealand’s seasons are, firstly, Spring;
September, October, and November, then Summer; December, January, February. Followed
by, Autumn; March, April, May, and lastly, Winter; June, July, and August. New Zealand has
many religions. Some of the main religions according to the last count in 2013, were,
Roman Catholic, covering about 12.60% of the population. Followed by Anglican with
11.79%, Presbyterian with 8.47%, other Christianity at 15.14%, Hinduism with 2.11%
Buddhism with 1.50%, and Islam and other religions at 1.15% and 1.53%.
As for New Zealand’s governmental form, it rules according to the Westminster
System. New Zealand is a sovereign state with a democratic parliamentary government
based on the Westminster System. -1
New Zealand has three levels of education. Level One; Early learning, ages 0-6. Level
Two; School, ages 5-19, and lastly, Level Three; Further Education, for ages 16 and up.Following will be listed some interesting and fun facts about New Zealand:
● It is the law to have education from ages six to sixteen
● They have four seasons; spring, summer, autumn, and winter
● Lord of the Rings was filmed in New Zealand
● In The Ring of Fire
● The original Maori name for New Zealand is Aotearoa
● New Zealand has a variety of different religions
● New Zealand is multicultural
● Some popular and favorite sports include; Hiking, kayaking, fishing, rugby,
white-water rafting, basketball, football, skiing, and cricket
● Religious beliefs, freedom of speech, and expression, are widely practiced
and protected and guaranteed by law.
● Four seasons in one day is not unusual in New Zealand
● The average maximum temperature during the Winter ranges between 10
and 15 degrees Celsius, the northern half of the North island is the warmest
part of the country throughout the year, making it the best place for outdoor
activities
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