…Linked
with Heretaunga College, New Zealand
…Linked
with Heretaunga College, New Zealand
Our perceptions of New Zealand were pretty inaccurate which is a terrible confession
to have to make. The responses by students of our Link school (Heretaunga College, 3Bx)
make for intriguing and very
informative reading, we know a good deal more now.
Dear Mereway
(Alana, Geoffrey, Rachael, Scott,
Stacey and Susan)
We are not connected to Australia at all. We are our own independent country
and Australia is one of our neighbours. Australians have a differemt accent
to us. Kangaroos are native to Australia and the only ones found in New
Zealand are in our zoos.
Although New Zealand is a country of many islands it has two main islands -
the North Island and the South Island - and two smaller islands called
Stewart Island and Chatham Island. Stewart Island is at the bottom of the
South Island and the Chathams is to the east of Christchurch. The other
islands are very small. The native animal associated with New Zealand is the
Kiwi, a flightless bird, and the name Kiwi is interchangable with New
Zealander. We also have other special animals such as Giant Wetas and
tuatara. Here we have millions of sheep - something like 2 - 3 hundred sheep
to every Kiwi! And our accent is unique
to New Zealand.
NEW ZEALAND COUNTRYSIDE AND GEOGRAPHY
(Jeremy, Jonathan and Matthew)
Our hills are definitely not plain or bleak. To tell you the truth most of
the hills in New Zealand are bush covered. We have many National Parks to
protect our native forests and they are walked through by thousands of
people - Kiwis and tourists. Our bush is quite unique and many tourists come
especially to visit our National Parks. The hills around where we live often
get snow on their tops in winter. Some hills have been cleared for farming
and some of these hills suffer from erosion as they are quite steep. Many
animals live in our bush on the hills and some are wild such as deer, pigs,
possums, rabbits and so on. Logging is a major industry and all areas where
trees have been felled are replanted. Mount Cook is our highest mountain at
about 3000 m and it is snow covered all year round. We sometimes have snow
down to sea level.
FLORA AND FAUNA
(Annabelle,
Jennifer and Lindy)
We do not have many palm trees at all and most of the ones that do grow here
are in the Northland/Auckland/Coromandel area. We have a few nikau palms
growing not far from Upper Hutt but they not typical. The trees associated
with New Zealand are kauri, rimu, and totara, and we have many pine trees
growing for logging. We do not have any tropical rainforests here as it is
too cold. Heaps of birds live in our forests that are unique to New Zealand.
As we do not have snakes or anything like that some of our birds are
flightless. Wetas, an ugly, creepy insect of six legs and a brown body, live
in rotting wood piles in forests or amongst firewood piles. Some giant wetas
live in caves.
(Sam)
Summer is quite hot here and we swim in the sea or rivers to cool off. It is
often cooler in summer near the sea and very hot inland. The area around
Auckland is much warmer than where we live but our climate is warmer than in
the south of the South Island. In winter we have many storms especially in
Wellington where the wind is funnelled
through the Cook Strait.
(Kathryn, Kristina, Jessie and
Nita)
You said New Zealanders
would be very sun tanned and it is true that many of
us are sun tanned as we like to be outdoors when it is sunny. But there are
many races in New Zealand such as Europeans, Asians, Polynesians and Maori
some of whom are naturally tanned, and some whose skin is very sensitive to
sunburn.
(Jason, Michael and Ryan)
The main food served at restaurants is not fish but fish would be on most
menus. We eat a wide variety of meats such as lamb, beef, rabbit, venison,
chicken, duck, turkey, pork and deer. There are many varieties of fish that
we eat including eels, crayfish, oysters, paua, crabs, shrimps, prawns,
trout and whitebait. Some of our unusual foods include squid and huhu grubs
- huhu grubs taste like chicken. But many Kiwis eat pasta, burgers, fish 'n'
chips and pizza as well. In fact these are probably the most popular foods.
We have some special vegetables too such as kumera and taro but taro is
imported from places like Samoa. Of
course we also eat icecream and lollies.
Many people fish here. My dad and I
go to the coast and catch lots of fish.
CUSTOMS LANGUAGE AND TRADITIONS
(Adam, Andrew, Jason and John)
The cute little war dance mentioned is the Haka and it is performed at the
beginning of rugby matches to challenge and scare the opposing team. The
haka is an item of pride and mana (power), and it is complex to perform as
it is made up of chanting and actions.
We have two official languages - English and Maori (not Mowri). The Maori
are the indigenous people of New Zealand and were here before the Europeans
arrived. They adapted the English ways to their own ways. Not all New
Zealanders speak Maori but Maori is
taught in most schools.
bye from
3Bx
Heretaunga College