About New Zealand
Population: 4, 280,000 (2008 Sept. estimate)
Time Zone: NZST (UTC+12) Summer (Daylight Savings) (UTC +13)
New Zealand is a country composed of two large islands (the North and South Islands), and also smaller islands (Stewart Island and the Chatham Islands). The main larger islands are also known as Te Ika a Māui (The Fish of Māui) and Te Waka o Aoraki (The Canoe of Aoraki) in Māori, the language of the indigenous people of New Zealand. New Zealand is also called Aoteroa (The Land of the Long White Cloud). The first European name for New Zealand was Staten Landt, the name given to it by the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman in 1642. The name New Zealand was provided by the Dutch cartographers, who called the island Nova Zeelandia, after the Dutch province of Zeeland. This eventually became the modern name for the country - New Zealand. No Europeans returned to New Zealand after the Dutch visited until the Birtish explorer Jame’s Cooks voyage in 1768-71.
New Zealand has a temperate climate and a diverse range of natural surroundings which lends to the natural beauty of the scenary. Ranging from coastal paradises to spectacular mountain views and serene forests, New Zealand posesses some of the world's most picturesque surroundings. Our natural surroundings are clean, 'green' conscious, and safe for visitors.
The majority of animals native to New Zealand are birds - inlcuding our national icon the Kiwi.