New Zealand is still perceived as a green and pleasant land, as it has been by many thousands of immigrants, first from the Polynesian Islands, then Europe and now the Pacific rim of Asia. Although relatively small it boasts an enormous diversity: unspoiled sub-tropical forest, rich volcanic basins (and volcanoes), mudpools and geysers, intricate and rugged coastline with golden sand beaches and spectacular alpine regions. This diverse landscape supports an extraordinary variety of animals and plant life, with almost ninety percent of the flora not found anywhere else in the world. Thanks to the efforts of a vociferous minority, since the late 1800s, examples of the many habitats, plants and wildlife are still easily accessible, protected within national parks and scenic reserves.
Beginnings
Land has existed in the vicinity of New Zealand for most of the last 500 million years: the earliest rocks found in the country are thought to have originated in the continental forelands of Australia and Antarctica, part of Gondwanaland, the massive...
read more >>
The coast, islands and sea
New Zealand's indented coastline, battered by the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean, is a meeting place of warm and cold currents, which makes for an environment suited to an enormous variety of
fish. Tropical
fish species such as barracuda,...
read more >>
The highlands
Thanks to the impact of introduced species on the environment
, to really appreciate the picture that greeted first the Maori and then the European immigrants, you need to visit one of New Zealand's many scenic reserves or national parks. In...
read more >>
The lowlands
These days the majority of New Zealand is covered by grazing land, grasslands and plains that are dominated by tall and low
tussock
. Fortunately, there remains a great variety of native trees in the
mid to lowland forests
of...
read more >>
Kiwi
The
kiwi
is a member of the ratite family, which includes the ostrich, emu, rhea, cassowary and the long-extinct moa, and if action is not taken soon the kiwi will join the moa on the list of
terminated
animals. A stout muscular...
read more >>
Rivers, lakes and wetlands
New Zealand is riddled with
rivers
, most of them short and flowing rapidly down to the sea. There are some slower, meandering rivers on the east coast of the South Island, however, which create for a unique environment. The braided rivers in...
read more >>
