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IIIINDNDNDNDEEEEXXXX1) INTODUCTION .......................................................................... 1

2) GEOGRAPHY AND POPULATION .......................................... 1

2.1.)CLIMATE ............................................................... 2

2.2.)DEMOGRAPHY ................................................... 2

2.3.)LANGUAGES .............................................................. 3

2.4.).RELIGION ............................................................... 3

3) HISTORY .................................................................................... 4

4) ECONOMY ........................................................................ 5

5) GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS ......................................... 5

6) EDUCATION ........................................................................ 6

7) CULTURE .................................................................................... 7

7.1) ARCHITECTURE .................................................... 8

7.2) FOLKLORE .............................................................. 8

7.3) GASTRONOMY ................................................... 9

7.4) ART ........................................................................ 9

7.5) LITERATURE ............................................................. 10

7.6) PREFORMING ARTS ........................................ 11

8) SPORTS .................................................................................. 11

9) NATIONAL SYMBOLS ............................................................. 12

10) CURIOSITIES ....................................................................... 13

11) CONCLUSIONS ............................................................. 14

12) GLOSSARY ....................................................................... 15

13) WEBGRAPHY ....................................................................... 15

14) BIBLIOGRPHY ....................................................................... 15

1.INTRODUCTION

In this project we are studying New Zealand, its climate, languages, culture, gastronomy, history, etc. We are going to search for somei nformation on the Internet or in a book.We chose this place because it is a country with an interesting landscape, culture and fantastic places.We would like to travel there, because there are a lot of curiosities, and fascinating stories.

2. GEOGRAPHY AND POPULATION

New Zealand is an island. This country is located in the South West of the Pacific Ocean. Many years ago this island was united to Australia and, over the years, New Zealand separated from Australia. At present, New Zealand is composed by two big islands: North Island and South Island. The capital is Wellington and it is situated in the North Island.

2.1. CLIMATE

The weather in New Zealand is usually neither too hot nor too cold. There is lots of sun, but plenty of rain, and the weather often changes quickly as well.The hottest moths are from December to February when it is usually around 20ºC and 30ºC degrees and the coldest months are from June to August when it is usually between 10ºC and 15ºC degrees. The warmest part of New Zealand is the north of the Northern Island.

2.2. DEMOGRAPHY

The population of New Zealand is 4,027,947 inhabitants according to 2006 census and 4,430,400 according to March 2012 estimations. There is an increase of 400,000 people every 6 years.

The population in New Zealand is composed as follows: 78% of the population are Europeans, 7.9% are Maoris, 7.8% are Mestizos, 5.7% are Asian, 4.4% are Pacific Islanders, 3.8 are unspecified and 0.5% others.

2.3. LANGUAGES

English is the main language in New Zealand, spoken by 98 percent of the population.New Zealand English is different from British English, since it has some different accents and some words do not mean the same. The Maori alphabet consists of 20 letters and digraphs (A Ā E Ē H I Ī K M N O Ō P R T U Ū W NG i WH).After the Second World War, the Māori were discouraged from speaking their own language.

In New Zealand most of the population speaks English, only a little part of the population speaks Maori, and then the rest speak in other languages.

2.4. RELIGION

According to 2006 census, Christianity is always the religion spread in New Zealand; out of 55.6% of the population, 34.7% manifested no religion. The main subdivisions are Christian Anglicanism, Catholicism, Methodism and Presbyterianism.

Religion plays an important role, however, political parties are openly Christian unpopular. The religious views of political leaders, although generally known, are seen as something private.An observation that is often made is

that the number of New Zealanders is exceeded by the number of lambs.

3. HISTORY

New Zealand's history began when the Rangitata Land mass separated from the ancient super continent of Gondwana, 80 millions years ago.

Polynesians started to live in New Zealand between 950 and 1130 AD. In 1642 the first European explorer, Abel Janszoon Tasman, from Holland, sailed into New Zealand waters. The first meeting between Māori and Europeans was violent. After that fight, Tasman left New Zealand without having had the occasion to set foot

ashore.

From the late 1790s on, traders and missionaries arrived along the northern coast of New Zealand. Wars and conflicts between Māori tribes (indigenous people of New Zealand) were always constant, but they only used spears or clubs to fight. The arrival of traders led to a good musket trade with local Māori, who rapidly knew the advantages of the musket, for this reason a devastating period known as the inter-tribal Musket Wars began. A lot of Māori signed a Treaty with the British on 6th February 1840. The Māori, although inferior in number, were a formidable foe.

The battle of Gate Pa is possibly the battle which made the greatest impact on the history of The New Zealand Wars.Today, New Zealand is an independent nation within the British Commonwealth. The capital city is Wellington, although the beautiful city of Auckland is the largest in North Island.

4. ECONOMY

New Zealand has a modern and developed economic market, with a US$28,250 (PPP). The money in New Zealand is the New Zealand dollar; it is also accepted in the Cook Islands. Extractive industries have contributed positively to New Zealand's economy.

In the 1880s, meat and dairy products were exported to Britain, this trade helped New Zealand's economy to grow.

When the export market was reduced because the United Kingdom joined the European Community (and other compounding factors), New Zealand fell to an economic depression and the country arrived at the lowest PPP, but New

Zealand was surveyed by the World Bank. Since 1984, New Zealand’s economy became a liberalized free-trade.

5. GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

The politics of New Zealand take place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic monarchy. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who is represented by the Governor-General, and the head of government is the Prime Minister who is elected from Parliament.

New Zealand's main legislative body is a unicameral Parliament known as the House of Representatives. Suffrage is extended to everyone over the age of 18, women gained the vote in 1893. Parliaments have a maximum term of three years, although an election can be called earlier.Officially, the New Zealand parliament has 120 Seats. However, this fact sometimes differs due to over and under hangs.

6. EDUCATION

Primary and secondary schooling is compulsory for children from 6 to 16, with the majority beginning at the age of 5. There are 13 school years and public schools are free. New Zealand has an adult literacy rate of 99 percent, and over half of the population from 15 to 29 studies at university.

There are five types of centres of education: universities, colleges of education, polytechnics, specialist colleges, and “wananga” (private establishments). Within the adult population, 14.2 percent have a bachelor's degree or higher, 30.4 percent have a form of secondary qualification and 22.4 percent have no formal qualification.

The OECD's Programmer for International ranks New Zealand's education system and it says it is the 7th best in the world. Students are exceptionally good at reading, mathematics and science.

7. CULTURE

7.1. ARCHITECTURE

A lot of imposing structures around Dunedin and Christchurch were built in the later part of the 19th century as a result of the economic boom. Common style for these landmarks is the use of dark basalt blocks and cream-coloured facings. Notable buildings in this style include Dunedin Railway Station, the University of Otago Registry Building, Cristchurch Arts Centre, Knox Church, Dunedin, ChristChurch Cathedral, Garrison Hall, parts of the Canterbury Provincial Council Buildings and Otago Boy's High School.

More important recent buildings have a mixed style, using brick instead of basalt, but using an identical style to the older structures. The most popular buildings are Otago Girls' High School and the Timaru Basilica.

7. 2. FOLKLORE

The New Zealand folklore is made up primarily by Maori's customs. People think that Maori were an important influence with dance, legends and gastronomy of the country.

Maori dancers have peculiar customs and dresses. They wear long skirts, and colorful T-shirts. They dance with the rhythm of the Tom-Tom.

The most important Maori legends talk about the origin of the natural phenomena, the geography or more curiosities about the country.

One of the Maori’s legends is the “Fishing up an island”. The story is about four brothers who go fishing to try to get rid of one of

them. He was more intelligent and managed to continue forward and get rid of their awful brothers using his magic fishhook. Finally, he converted his brothers in the current landscape of New Zealand.

7.3. GASTRONOMY

Some food which is significant in New Zealand's culinary culture is hang or earth-ovens food (lamb, pork and chicken, with root vegetables such as cabbage, carrot, kumara, onions, and pumpkin); fish and chips (deep-fried fish in breadcrumbs with fried chipped potatoes originated from the British) and Vegemite (prepared from yeast extract, spin-off of beer manufacturing, and a lot of vegetables and spice additives).

Maoris cook the traditional way; they make a fire in a hole in the ground, and then put stones on top of the fire. When the stones are hot, they put the meat and vegetables on top of the stones, throw some water on, cover the food, and fill up the hole. After two or three hours, you uncover the food and it tastes wonderful!

7.4. ART

New Zealand art is visual art created in New Zealand or by New Zealanders. It includes traditional Māori art, which was

developed in New Zealand from Polynesian art forms, and more recent forms which take their inspiration from Māori, European and other traditions.

Mäori art:The East Polynesian ancestors of the Māori were hunters, fishermen, and gardeners. After arriving in New Zealand,the Māori had to adapt their material culture and agricultural practices to suit the climate of their new land -

cold and harsh in comparison to tropical island Polynesia. Great -ingenuity was required to grow the tropical plants they had brought with them from Polynesia.

This was especially difficult in some parts of the country. The harakeke served as a replacement for coconut leaves and hibiscus fiber in the manufacture of mats, baskets, rope, fishing nets and clothing.

With the growth of tourism and exposure of Haka to international audiences on TV and at sporting competitions, the Māori culture that was previously observed only in the Māori society and social gatherings is increasingly seen as fundamental to New Zealand culture as a whole.

7.5 LITERATURE

The Māori quickly adopted writing and many of their oral stories and poems were set into writing. Until the 1950s, when local publishing increased, New Zealand literature started to become well known. Although still largely influenced by global trends and events (the Great Depression), writers in the 1930s began to develop stories on their experiences in New Zealand. During this period, literature changed from a journalist activity to a more academic status. Participation in the world wars gave some New Zealand writers a new perspective on New Zealand culture and with the post-war expansion of universities local literature flourished.

Novels such as Once Were Warriors by Alan Duff, The Vintner's Luck by Elizabeth Knox, and others have achieved both critical and popular success. The Maori culture is oral, not literary, but in recent years, novelists like Duff, Witi Ihimaera and Keri Hulme, and poets such as Hone Tuwhare demonstrated their mastery of the forms of European origin.

7.6. PERFORMING ARTS

New Zealand music has been influenced by blues, jazz, country, rock and roll and hip-hop, but all of these genres have been given a unique New Zealand interpretation. The Maoris developed traditional chants and

songs from their origins.

In 1978 the New Zealand Film Industry became more established. Recently, international film companies have become more aware of the skills of New Zealand film makers, and it also sometimes finish their feature films.

8. SPORTS

New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represents New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport. The All Blacks are the Rugby World Cup champions of the Year, the leading point’s scorers of all time and the only international rugby team with a winning record against every test nation they have played against. The All Blacks have held the top ranking in the world for longer than all other countries combined and in over 100 years only five test rugby nations have been beaten by New Zealand.

The All Blacks perform a haka (Māori challenge) before each international match. The haka has been closely associated with New Zealand rugby ever since a tour of New South Wales in 1884.

The All Blacks have a winning record of 75% of all rugby matches they have played since 1903 (which is amongst the highest in all International sport) and they were named the International Rugby Board (IRB) Team of the Year in 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010 and the fifth time record in 2011. Their captain, Richie McCaw, was the International Rugby Board Player of the Year for a record third time.

Although the use of haka by the All Blacks rugby union team and the Kiwis rugby league team has made one type of haka familiar, it has led to misconceptions.

Haka is not an exclusive war dance or performed only by men. Some are performed by women, others by mixed groups, and some simple haka are performed by children. Haka is performed for various reasons: for amusement, as a hearty welcome to distinguished guests, or to acknowledge great achievements, occasions or funerals.

Many other sports are popular - tennis, running, netball and golf are some of them. Thousands of people like going to watch horse races, and many of them hope to win some money, too. The biggest race of all is in

Melbourne every year in November.

9. NATIONAL SYMBOLS

New Zealand has four principal and distinctive symbols:

1. Coat of Arms of New Zealand

There is a recent addition; the shield is supported by two women on both sides holding the flag of New Zealand, and a warrior of the Maori tribe.

2. National Flag of New Zealand

The Flag of New Zealand has four red stars with a white border. The stars represent the CRUX ( Southern Cross).

3. God Defend New Zealand

"God Defend New Zealand" was written in 1870 by Thomas Bracken, and the music was composed by John Joseph Woods. Due to its increasing popularity in the 19th and 20th century, it was finally adapted as one of the national anthems of the country; it has great significance in the lives of the citizens living in New Zealand.

4. The Kiwi

In New Zealand there is a small species of birds called kiwi. They also form an important part of rich traditional customs of New Zealand, and it is a country identity known as “a gift of God”.These are national symbols of New Zealand and they are a true representation of the life style of the people living there.

10. CURIOSITES

New Zealand is a special place.

One of its curiosities is animals. There are exclusive species such as the kiwi which is a bird but it is the only bird which has fur and no feathers. It can’t fly but it's considered a bird.

The sphenedon is a reptile which dates back 200 millions of years. When the dinosaurs' era, there was a fossil life. They can only be found in New Zealand Island. They are insectivore and carnivore and can live up to 111 years.

In New Zealand the famous film “Lord of the Rings” was recorded, the actors had to spend one year there.

11. CONCLUSIONS

New Zealand is a wonderful place. It has got a lot of interesting curiosities and we chose this country because it is an island which is far away from everywhere. We would like to travel to this county and enjoy the landscapes and beaches.New Zealand is a good place to see the Southern Lights, beautiful red and green colors in the night sky. We would like to visit this wonderful and curious island.

Doing this essay we have learnt a lot of new vocabulary, curiosities of this place, we have learnt that New Zealand is a country that has got many visitors, but it is interesting, and we have enjoyed doing this essay a lot.We have distributed the tasks individually, but each time we have needed help, we have helped each other.We are pleased with this essay and we think that it is important to have information about some counties that interest you.

12. GLOSSARY:

-PPP (Purchasing Power Parity): Teoria econòmica que s’utilitza per determinar el valor de les monedes.

-Golden Fleece : Animal mitològic semblant a una cabra.

-Shield : Escut.

-Warrior: Guerrer.

-Spears: Llances.

-Clubs: Garrot/pal.

-Musket: Arma de foc.

-Foe: Enemic.

-Fishhooke : Ham de pescar.

-Harakeke : Planta nativa de Nova Zelanda.

13. WEBGRAPHY

http://www.wordreference.com/es/translation

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_New_Zealand

14. BIBLIOGRAPHYWe have searched information in the school book. (“New Zealand”).