Interested in the country you are about to witness?
The history of New Zealand is often over looked, but in reality we actually have an incredible and intriguing story to tell - the story of the Maori peoples and their interaction with one of the most powerful empires at the time, the British. All of this within one of the most beautiful landscapes in the world.
Our history dates back at least 700 years, to when it was first discovered and settled by the Polynesians, who later developed the distinct Maori culture centered on kinship links and land. Historian James Belich described these people as 'Hunter Gardeners' in his book Making Peoples.
The first European to discover this land was Abel Tasman, a Dutch explorer, on 13 December 1642. From the late 18th century the country was often visited by explorers and sailors (between 1769 and 1770 British Naval Captain James Cook visited NZ over 100 times).
Modern NZ history dates back to just 1840, when the Te Tiriti O Waitangi (The Treaty of Waitangi) was signed between the British and Maori peoples.
Please read below for more information about our country:
General NZ Information
NZ Weather
Bay of Plenty History
The Kiwi
General New Zealand information
Capital: Wellington
Population: 4,436,104 (January 2012)
Size: Approximately 1,600km (1,000 miles) long; widest point is 450 km (280 miles)
Currency: The New Zealand Dollar (post 1967)
Largest city: Auckland (population over 1,000,000 - over 200,000 of Auckland's population are from the Pacific Islands, which makes it the largest Polynesian city in the world)
Principle economy: Agriculture
The importation of a bull and two cows in 1814 marked the beginning of New Zealand's dairy industry, which has grown into NZ's top merchandise export earner. Approximately 97% of milk produced is processed into dairy products, while the remainder is sold on the domestic liquid milk market.
New Zealand's horticulture exports have grown from $NZ100 million in 1980 to $NZ2.2 billion in 2008. A total area of only 90,000 hectares is used for horticulture crops. Including domestic sales, the horticulture industry is valued at $NZ5 billion, and it employs 50,000 people in eight key growing regions.
New Zealand is also a small player in the international forestry industry, accounting for 1.1 percent of the world’s total supply of industrial wood and 1.3 percent of the world’s trade in forest products. However, New Zealand supplies almost 9% of the Asia Pacific forest products trade volume, representing nearly 20% by value. Forestry is therefore a significant industry in New Zealand, contributing an annual gross income of around $5 billion, 3 percent of New Zealand’s GDP and directly employing around 20,000 people. Wood products are New Zealand’s third largest export earner, behind dairy and meat.
Interesting facts:
- Visitors from Australia exceeded 1,000,000 in 2009
- New Zealand has one of the largest marine environments in the world, with an exclusive economic zone covering more than 4 million sq km
- New Zealand has 11 times as many sheep than people (approximately 47 million sheep in the land)
- Up to 95% of all dairy products produced in New Zealand are exported
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New Zealand weather
New Zealand lives in a temperate climate and can be incredibly varied. We recommend dressing in layers so you can adjust as the day goes on, as often a cooler morning can lead to a hot day.
It's also important that you don't forget sunscreen and a hat! Peak UV radiation levels in NZ are around 40% higher than those in North America (mainly to do with the position of the sun and our unpolluted skies). If you forget your sunscreen, please ask, we always have some on board.
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Bay of Plenty History
The BOP region has some of the most significant historical areas in New Zealand. It is believed that Maori originally migrated to NZ on seven waka (canoe), and three of these waka made their first landing in the Bay of Plenty.
The Te Arawa canoe landed in Maketu following the migration of early Maori from Hawiki. These people have a very strong connection with the surrounding land to this day.
It was in 1769 that Bay of Plenty was given its name, when Captain James Cook circumnavigated NZ. Cook was alluding to the region's welcoming people and abundant resources.
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The Kiwi
The beautiful Kiwi bird is native to NZ and is one of our country's icons. The five species of Kiwi are endangered and local government agencies are controlling the population in the hope that they can reintroduce them to the wild.
The Kiwi is flightless and hunts for meals on the ground using it's long beak to pry open dead wood or dig into the ground for grubs.
They are often shy and secretive. When in danger, they use their legs to fight - which are strong enough to inflict damage by kicking and slashing.
The male bird incubates the eggs, as opposed to females, and in turn loses about a third of it's body weight.
Incredibly fast, the Kiwi is easily able to outrun a human.
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More info on our sightseeing bus tours...
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