Geography New Zealand is situated the same distance eastwards from Australia as London is to Moscow. So if anybody tells you it's right next to Australia, tell them to go away. There are two main islands - The North Island and The South Island. There is also about a zillion other islands dotted around and about, none of which need concern you. The South Island is slightly bigger than the North Island, but South Islanders that refer to themselves as "Mainlanders". Then, in 1642, having left the Island of Mauritius to find what lay in the Southern Oceans, Abel Janszoon Tasman, in command of 2 ships, the "Heemskerck" and the "Zeehaen", sailed towards mountains that had slowly appeared from the eastern horizon - and became the first known European to stumble across New Zealand. Seven penguin species Weather Our coldest month is July, and our warmest is in January; our seasons opposite to those in the Northern Hemisphere.

People Population: 4 million 0-14 years: 22% years: 66% 64 years+: 12% Population growth rate: 1.09% Life expectancy: 78 years

Wildlife No native mammals apart from bats and marine mammals Virtually all the native insects are found nowhere else Unique species of birds include kiwi, kakapo and weka.

Largest city The largest city in New Zealand is Auckland, which has a population of approximately 900,000 people, many of whom own Holdens cars. The capital is Wellington; which is really boring and windy and don't go there.

History It is generally thought that the early settlers in New Zealand, the Maori, arrived in waves of migration around a thousand years ago from the Melanesian Islands. Then, in 1642, having left the Island of Mauritius to find what lay in the Southern Oceans, Abel Janszoon Tasman, in command of 2 ships, the "Heemskerck" and the "Zeehaen", sailed towards mountains that had slowly appeared from the eastern horizon - and became the first known European to stumble across New Zealand.