New Zealand
READING
NEW ZEALAND
New Zealand is an island that lies off the eastern coast of Australia. It is made up of two large islands: North Island and South Island. New Zealand is surrounded by the Pacific Ocean to the north and east, and the Tasman Sea to the south and west. It is about the same size as the Philippines. Wellington, the capital city, lies on the North
Island. Other important cities are Auckland in the north, Christchurch on the South Island and Queenstown, further to the south.
New Zealand has a mild sea climate, while the north is subtropical. It rains quite a lot. The warmest months are December to February. The coldest months are June to August.
The ocean and seas surrounding the islands are deep blue and many of New Zealand's cities lie on a bay and have a natural deep harbour. The sand beaches in New Zealand are also very clean. New Zealand has a very beautiful naturallandscape with green hills and mountains. Some of the mountains are dead volcanoes. The North Island is famous for an area of hot springs, some of which throw hot water high into the air. Some of this heat near the earth's surface is used to make electricity. There are many plants and animals that only live in New Zealand. The most famous animal is a little bird that cannot fly. It is called a kiwi and it is New Zealand* s national bird.
They Maori were the earliest people to come to New Zealand. When they discovered it about 1, 000 years ago, they called it Aotearoa, which means "Land of the long white cloud". The Maori came from the islands of Polynesia in the Pacific. It is some 3, 500 kilometres from Polynesia to New Zealand, which they travelled in narrow boats. They brought dogs, rats and plants with them and settled mainly on the North Island where the weather was warmer. Around 1421, Chinese sailors possibly discovered the islands on one of their voyages around the world. The Dutchman Abel Tasman named the islands New Zealand in 1642. More than 120 years later. Captain James Cook took possession of the islands in 1769 and from that time British people started to settle in New Zealand. By 1840 about 2, 000 Europeans, mainly British, had come settle in New Zealand and the Maori signed an agreement with these settlers. That day is still celebrated as a national holiday. It is every year on the sixth of February. Today there are still many people in New Zealand who call England "the home country", although it is a place where most of them have never been.
