New Zealand Environment
June 22, 2008
With vast open spaces filled with stunning rugged landscapes, gorgeous beaches, often spectacular geothermal and volcanic activity, a temperate climate and fascinating animal and plant life, and it is no surprise that New Zealand’s pure natural environment is so attractive to visitors from other countries.
And the great advantage of New Zealand is there are many different landscapes, environments, and ecosystems so close to each other.
About 80-100 million years ago, New Zealand drifted away from the massive supercontinent of Gondwanaland into the South Pacific.
Since then, a unique flora and fauna has evolved, with a large number of beautiful native birds and plants, as well as direct descendants of prehistoric wildlife, including the tuatara, weta, and giant snail.
As Time magazine said, New Zealand is an ‘ultimate storehouse for discontinued zoological models’.
Bird Life Rules
Before humans settled in New Zealand, it would have been an extremely noisy place! Large tracts of lush native bush supported an incredible variety of bird life. As they evolved, wings became unnecessary for some birds, as they had no natural predators to fly away from. As a result, several of New Zealand’s native birds became flightless, including the kakapo parrot, the kiwi, the takahe, and the world’s largest bird, the (now extinct) moa.
Unnatural Predators
As Maori and Europeans settled New Zealand, they hunted birds and brought predators including rats and stoats. This, and loss of habitat, led to the extinction of a number of birds including the moa and huia. Others, such as the kakapo and takahe, become endangered.
New Zealand’s national symbol is a nocturnal flightless bird with nostrils on the end of its large beak. It is now endangered, and difficult to see in the wild. However, there are a number of ‘kiwi houses’ at zoos and wildlife parks. While they may look cute, kiwi can be fierce and highly territorial.
Moa
New Zealand’s moa was the only wingless bird ever known. The giant moa, one of eleven species of moa, was also the tallest known, standing up to 3 metres (9 feet). Many moa bones and skeletons have been found in small caves which the hapless moa fell into. Maori hunted moa, and it is believed the birds became extinct around 400 years ago.
Other Birds
Other well-known New Zealand native birds include the kea (native parrot), weka, takahe, tui, and morepork owl. The playful kea is one of the most intelligent birds in the world and will happily attack a car in order to steal a windscreen wiper or other bits of rubber! The loveable weka is a flightless bird with a penchant for shiny objects, while the takahe has a beautiful indigo plumage and bright red beak. The takahe was believed to be extinct until it was sensationally ‘rediscovered’ in 1948 by New Zealand ornithologist Dr G.B. Orbell. Like many of New Zealand’s native birds, the tui has a beautiful song, and a white ‘parson’s collar’. The morepork owl is so named because of the sound of its call, often heard at night. Its Maori name, ruru, is also named after its call.
Tuatara — ‘Living Fossil’
The tuatara is a unique relic of the past — the only beak-headed reptile left in the world. Every species of this reptile family, except the tuatara, died out around 65 million years ago. Tuatara can live for over 100 years, and were once found throughout New Zealand. Now they are only found on protected offshore islands - around 30,000 live on Stephens Island in the Marlborough Sounds. Only growing up to 24cm in length, tuatara are not a threat to humans.
Whales and Dolphins
New Zealand has abundant and diverse marine life, and whale watching and swimming with dolphins are two of New Zealand’s most highly recommended tourist experiences. The small (up to 1.4m) Hector’s dolphin is the world’s rarest dolphin and only found in New Zealand waters. There are a number of spots in the South Island where you can see Hector’s dolphins close up.
New Zealand Flora — Lush and Diverse
New Zealand’s high rainfall and many sunshine hours give the country a lush and diverse flora — with 80 percent of the trees, ferns, and flowering plants being native. From the kauri forests of the far north to the mountain beech forests and alpine tussock of the Southern Alps, you’ll find fascinating plants and trees in every region. You’ll be awed by the majestic evergreen native forests that include rimu, totara, many varieties of beech, and the largest native tree of them all, the giant kauri. Underneath the trees you’ll find a dense and luxurious undergrowth including countless native shrubs, a variety of ferns, and many mosses and lichens.
Splashes of Colour
The yellow flowers of the kowhai tree are some of the prettiest you’ll ever see, and if you visit the North Island, you won’t be far from the beautiful pohutukawa tree. Its bright red flowers bloom in December, giving it the title of New Zealand’s Christmas tree.
FAST FACT:
New Zealand’s most famous tree is a kauri called Tane Mahuta. Named after the Maori god of the forests, Tane Mahuta stands over 51 metres high, has a girth of over 13 metres, and is believed to be over 2000 years old.
National Parks
Over 20 percent of New Zealand is covered in national parks, forest areas and reserves. Our 14 national parks contain an incredible variety of unspoiled landscape and vegetation. Administered and maintained by the Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai, these parks provide opportunity for a wide variety of activities including hiking, mountain biking, skiing and snowboarding, kayaking and trout fishing. Most national parks have excellent hiking tracks and camping facilities, including nearly 1000 huts throughout the country. You’ll also find information centres at these parks, and helpful signage along the tracks.
World Heritage Areas
The New Zealand mainland has two World Heritage Areas — Tongariro in the Central North Island and Te Wahipounamu in the south-west of the South Island. Te Wahipounamu is made up of four national parks — Westland/Tai Poutini, Mount Aspiring, Aoraki/Mount Cook and Fiordland. The area also contains the Milford and Routeburn tracks, two of New Zealand’s most spectacular walks, as well as Mount Cook, New Zealand’s highest mountain, and spectacular glaciers. Tongariro is situated on the North Island’s volcanic plateau, and contains the active volcanoes Mount Tongariro, Ruapehu, and the cone-shaped Ngauruhoe. The area is of special cultural significance to Maori, and also contains Lake Taupo, New Zealand’s largest lake.
New Zealand’s Awesome Landscape
You’ll find a variety of awesome landscapes in New Zealand, all within easy reach of each other. Spectacular glaciers, picturesque fiords, rugged mountains, vast plains, rolling hillsides, subtropical forest, volcanic plateau, miles of coastline with gorgeous sandy beaches - it’s all here. No wonder New Zealand is becoming so popular as a location for movies!
Geographic map of New Zealand
Lying in the south-west Pacific, New Zealand consists of two main islands - the North Island and the South Island. In addition, Stewart Island and many smaller islands lie offshore. The North Island has a ’spine’ of mountain ranges running through the middle, with gentle rolling farmland on both sides. The central North Island is dominated by the Volcanic Plateau, an active volcanic and thermal area. The massive Southern Alps form the backbone of the South Island. To the east of the Southern Alps is the rolling farmland of Otago and Southland, and the vast, flat Canterbury Plains.
Leaving Home - How it Began
New Zealand’s oldest rocks are over 500 million years old, and were once part of Gondwanaland. This massive supercontinent started to split up about 160 million years ago, and New Zealand separated from it about 85 million years ago.
New Zealand sits on two tectonic plates - the Pacific and the Australian. Fifteen of these gigantic moving chunks of crust make up the Earth’s surface. The North Island and some parts of the South Island sit on the Australian Plate, while the rest of the South Island sits on the Pacific. Because these plates are constantly shifting and grinding into each other, New Zealand gets a lot of geological action.
Earth Dramas
FAST FACT: The 186 AD Taupo eruption threw ash 50 km into the air, and caused a layer of ash five metres deep to be deposited throughout the volcanic plateau.
Being straddled over two tectonic plates and sitting on the Pacific ‘ring of fire’ can have its disadvantages in the form of volcanoes, earthquakes and other natural hazards. However, this subterranean activity also blesses New Zealand with some spectacular geothermal areas and relaxing hot springs, as well as providing electricity and heating in some areas.
Rotorua is the centre of geothermal tourist activity, with plenty of mud pools, geysers, and hot springs in its active thermal areas — not to mention its trademark ‘Sulphur City’ smell. First settled by Maori who used the hot springs for cooking and bathing, Rotorua soon attracted European residents. The reputed health benefits of its hot pools quickly earned the area the name of ‘Cureland’.
In addition to Rotorua, you can enjoy hot springs and other thermal activity in most regions of the North Island north of Turangi, as well as in Hanmer Springs and the West Coast in the South Island.
From Long Sandy Beaches to Wild, Rugged Coastlines
New Zealand has over 15,000 kilometres of beautiful and varied coastline. In the Far North and on most of the East Coast of the North Island you’ll find long sandy beaches perfect for swimming, surfing and sunbathing. The North Island’s West Coast has dark sandy beaches, with sand heavy in iron. The north of the South Island has some beautiful sandy beaches, while the coastline around the rest of the South Island tends to be wilder and more rugged.
Mountain Range to Fertile Farmland
About a fifth of the North Island and two-thirds of the South Island are mountains. The existence of a ‘spine’ of mountain ranges throughout New Zealand is also due to the movement of the earth’s tectonic plates. Stretching from the north of the North Island to the bottom of the South, these mountains are caused by the collision of the Australian and Pacific Plates.
Over millions of years, alluvial deposits (eroded from the mountains by rivers) formed the vast Canterbury Plains in the South Island and a number of smaller plains in the North. These alluvial plains contain some of New Zealand’s most fertile and productive farmland.
Glaciers of Grinding Ice
New Zealand’s Southern Alps have a number of glaciers, the largest being Tasman glacier, which you can view by taking a short walk from Mount Cook village. New Zealand’s most famous glaciers are the Franz Josef and Fox on the South Island’s West Coast. Gouged out by moving ice over thousands of years, these spectacular glaciers are easily accessible to mountaineers and hikers. You can walk up to the glaciers or do a heli-hike — fly up by helicopter and walk down.
Sunken Mountains
Over thousands of years, the process of subduction has seen parts of the New Zealand landscape become submerged. The Marlborough Sounds and Fiordland are examples of high mountain ranges that have ‘sunk’ into the sea, creating spectacular sounds and fiords. These areas provide some of New Zealand most picturesque scenery, with steep lush hills plunging down to the deep still bays below. Clear, deep still water surrounded by beautiful bush makes these areas ideal for boating and kayaking.
Study in New Zealand
