All About New Zealand

Primary Four

Where is New Zealand?New Zealand is in the South. It is next to Australia.

New Zealand is made up of two islands (the North and South) in the South Pacific Ocean. The capital city of New Zealand is Wellington. Two other famous cities in New Zealand are Christchurch, which is in the South Island and Auckland in the North.

GeographyNew Zealand has many different types of scenery. There are green hills, forests and beautiful coastal areas. The biggest mountain in New Zealand is Mount Cook.

Mount Cook

Weather

New Zealand is in the South,so the seasons are opposite to those in the North. New Zealand has a mild climate. The summer is from December to February and the winter is from June to September. Most people in New Zealand spend

ChristmasDay at the beach.

PeoplePeople from New Zealand are known as New Zealanders or ‘Kiwis’. Many different races live there, including the Maori who were the first people in New Zealand.

This is a picture of a Maori Warrior preparing for his warrior dance.

Maori LanguageBoth Maori and English are the official

languages ofNew Zealand. Maori is taught throughout

schools in New Zealand and the government has

recognized the importance of keeping this culture going.

Here are a few Maori words for you to learn:

Kia ora – common greeting, like hello.hoa - friend

kura – schoolkaiako – teacher

tena koe – thank you

Maori 1-10

one – tahi two – rua three – toru four – wha five – rima six – ono

seven – whitu eight – waru nine – iwa ten - tekau

Famous Places

New Zealand has such assmall population that many areas still have beautifulforests. Because of its natural beauty New Zealandwas chosen to film themovie ‘Lord of the Rings’.Many tourists visit NewZealand every year just tosee where ‘Lord of theRings’ was filmed.

Here are some places that New Zealand is famous for:

Milford Sound

Milford Sound is in

the South Island. It

is a large flowing

river that goes into

the ocean. There

are lots of beautiful

waterfalls there.

Queenstown

Queenstown is

the ‘adventure’

capital of New

Zealand. There

are lots of

activities to do

there, throughout

the year.

Kiwi Adventure Sports

Bungy Jumping

Queenstown is famous for bungy jumping. You can jump from a range of different heights, over water or even a concrete floor!

Hang-gliding

Hang-gliding requires

a lot of training. You need to learn How to move theglider smoothly through the sky.

White Water Rafting

White water rafting Takes you along a fast river.

AnimalsHere are some strange animals you can find in

New Zealand:

Kiwi

The Kiwi is the national animal of New Zealand. It doesn’t have wings, so it can’t fly. It can grow to the size of a chicken and likes to eat worms, insects, leaves and berries.

worms

insect

berry

Kea Parrot

The Kea parrot is only found in New Zealand. It is considered the ‘clown of the mountain’ because of its curious nature. It eats many things including ‘gifts’ from visitors. It eats butter, nuts, apples, carrots, mangoes, pasta and meat.

Sheep

There are more sheep than people in New Zealand!

Sheep are used for their wool and meat.

Kiwi Food

Baked Kumara

Kumara is the Maori word for sweet potato.

New Zealanders like to eat baked sweet potato with their roast dinner.

Hokey Pokey Ice Cream

Hokey Pokey ice cream is vanilla ice cream with toffee chunks (yummy!).

It is the second most popular type of ice cream in New Zealand.

New Zealand life

Kia ora! Hello my name is Nick, and I live in Wellington the capital of New Zealand.

Did you know that New Zealand is made up of two islands? We have a mild climate and our seasons are different to the North.

We usually celebrate Christmas in the sun, because it’s summer then! People from New Zealand are called New Zealanders or ‘Kiwis’.

I have a pet Kiwi, called Ken. My friend hasa Giant Weta. Wow, they’re really big andugly. My friend has to be careful when hefeeds it, because Wetas bite!

At school we are taught in English and Maori. The Maori people were the first people tolive in New Zealand. I enjoy learning aboutthe different Maori customs and find thewarrior dance fascinating. Some of our Kiwifoods also come from the Maori culture, myfavourite is baked kumara.

New Zealand is famous for strange sports. Queensland is home to bungy-jumping. Ihaven’t been before, but my brother loves togo! I prefer white water rafting, it’s not asscary !

I hope you enjoyed reading about New Zealand.

Cheers,Nick

Glossary• adventure – an unusual or exciting journey or event.• capital city – is a city of town where the government me

ets.• culture – consist of arts, or habits of people from a certa

in area.• mild – something that is not very stong.• national – related to a country.• offical – approved by government.• races – different groups of people (i.e. Chinese, Indian)• scenery – land, water and plants that you can see arou

nd you.

P4 Theme- based Project: All About New Zealand

• Your task is to make and write a postcard from New Zealand to your parents or a friend. Make sure your postcard includes the following items:

1. A picture on the front of the card related to New Zealand.

2. A heading – (ie. Words from New Zealand)3. An address to the people you are sending it to.4. A letter telling your family or friend about your tri

p and what you have done in New Zealand.

Example

Dear Abby,How are you? Time flies when you’re having fun. I am having a wonderful time in New Zealand, but it is really cold. I’m glad I brought my hat and gloves! I’ve visited many places in the pastfew days. When I arrived last Monday I went to Queenstown.There are so many activities to do there, like bungy jumping, white water rafting, and hang-gliding. I went bungy jumping,but it was really scary. On Tuesday, I went to Milford Sound. It was beautiful with amazing waterfalls and green hills. After the boat trip my family and I had Hokey Pokey ice cream. It was delicious! Tomorrow we are going to the capital of New Zealand, Wellington. I’m really excited. I hope you are enjoying your summer! From, Miss Wakeford

To Miss A. Wong Shanghai Alumni Primary School 14 Hong Shing Street, Kornhill, Quarry Bay, Hong Kong