NEW ZEALAND more information:

COAT OF ARMS is a quartered shield containing in  1 st quarter four stars representing the Southern Cross constellations  2 nd quarter a golden fleece representing the farming industry  3 rd a wheat sheaf representing agriculture  4 th two hammers representing mining and industry. A broad vertical strip with three ships represents the importance of sea trade. constellations – souhvězdí fleece – ovčí rouno sheaf – snop broad - široký

BASIC FACTS Capital: Wellington Language: English, Maori Population: around 3,5 million Large cities:Christchurch, Dunedin, Auckland Form of government: parliamentary democracy (constitutional monarchy) Head of state: Queen of the United Kingdom Queen representative:Governer General Head of government: Prime Minister

GEOGRAPHY Location: NZ lies southeast of Australia on the southern hemisphere in the Pacific Ocean. It consists of two islands: the North Island and the South Island separated by Cook Strait. Climate is temperate, mainly maritime. Weather conditions in the seas around NZ can cause climatic sudden changes. The temperatures rarely fall below 0 °C (32 °F) or rise above 30 °C (86 °F) in populated areas. maritime – přímořskýchanges - změny sudden - náhlý

GEOGRAPHY OF THE ISLANDS The North Island is rolling and hilly and it is marked by volcanism. The highest North Island mountain, Mount Ruapehu (2,797 m / 9,177 ft), is an active volcano. The South Island is the largest land mass of NZ and is divided along its length by the Southern Alps, the highest peak of which is Mount Cook at 3754 metres (12,320 ft). There are eighteen peaks over 3,000 metres (10,000 ft) and glaciers in the South Island. mark – označit, poznamenat varied - rozmanitý

ECONOMY The monetary unit: New Zealand dollar (NZD) New Zealand belongs among the highly developed countries of the world. The living standard of all the people is considered to be one of the highest in the world. Food processing, machinery and forest industry are the main industries here. New Zealand's prosperity is founded on dairy farming. The country has good mineral resources and it is rich in oil, gas, iron ore and coal. Sir Edmund Hillary on a note

THE MAORIS Maoris came from Asia about a thousand years ago. As their new home looked like a white cloud stretched over they named it “Land of the Long White Cloud“. The Maoris lived in tribes and were fierce warriors. The losers of the battle often became slaves or even food for the victors.

HISTORY Abel Tasman, Dutch explorer, was the first European who sailed along New Zealand in 1642 but the Maoris did not allow him to land. More than a hundred years later in 1769 James Cook, Captain of the Royal Navy, made a voyage to NZ. It was three weeks before finding Australia. He mapped the two main islands and discovered the passage between the two islands - Cook Strait which was named after him. The first settlers were missionaires. voyage – cesta (po vodě)strait - úžina passage – průchodsealer – lovec tuleňů

HISTORY Treaty of Waitangi, signed in 1840, gave sovereignty over New Zealand to the Queen of England and brought protection to the Maoris. The treaty was written in English and in Maori. An annual commemoration ceremony, on 6 th February, is held in Waitangi (in the north of the North Island). sovereignty – svrchovanost, suverenita commemoration - vzpomínkový ceremony – slavnost, obřad signing of the treaty

FAMOUS PEOPLE Sir Edmund Hillary (1919 –2008) was a New Zealand mountaineer and explorer. In 1953 at the age of 33, he and Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers known to have reached the summit of Mount Everest. He also reached the South Pole overland in 1958, later also travelled to the North Pole. He founded the Himalayan Trust for Sherpa people. Many schools and hospitals were built in this remote region of the Himalayas.

FAMOUS PEOPLE Jean Gardner Batten was a New Zealand aviator. She became the best-known New Zealander because in 1934 she flew solo from England to Australia.

FAMOUS PEOPLE Lord Rutherford was a chemist and a physicist who became known as the "father" of nuclear physics. He introduced the orbital theory of the atom. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in introduced the orbital theory of the atom předložil teorii o stavbě atomu

EXTINCT ANIMALS Haast´s Eagle was the largest eagle to have ever lived. Its weight was 10 to 15 kg. They had a wingspan from 2,6 to 3 m. Moa were hunted by the Haast´s Eagle. Moa skeleton flightless Kiwi

FAUNA Tuatara it related to both lizards and snakes Bat Lizard Rainbow Parrot

KAURI  The largest kauris are 40 to 50 metres high and their diametres are big enough to rival Californian sequoias at over 5 m. They contain more timber in their trunks than a comparable sequoia.  The Great Ghost is the largest kauri. This tree was 8.54 metres in diameter, and metres in girth. It was consumed by fire in diameter – průměr timber – stavební dřevo trunk – kmen girth - obvod

INTERESTING... The dramatic and varied landscape of New Zealand has made it a popular location for the production of TV programmes and films, including the Lord of the Rings and the Last Samurai. Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenua kitanatahu, a hill on the North Island has the longest place name in the world, which is written down in The Guinness Book. Wellington is approximately the antipodes of Saragossa in Northern Spain. varied různorodý; approximately přibližně; antipodes protinožci