Why did I choose this topic? I chose this topic because I find it really interesting. New Zealand is a very fascinating country with a lot of beautiful and varying nature. It's a country with some rare animals and special nature phenomenons. New Zealand also has an interesting history. The Maori tribe for example. The Maori have a really intriguing and special culture.
Climate zones: New Zealand is divided into six climate zones. New Zealand's climate is very complex and varies from warm subtropical in the far north to cool temperate climates in the far south. There's everything from sunshine with 23 to 28 degrees in January and February to snow and freezing temperatures down to -10 degrees in July. The northern island is home to the warmer climate zones and the southern island is home to the more cool temperate climate zones. So as you can hear, the weather changes a lot according to where on the island you are.
Landscape: In New Zealand there are 4 different terrains. The climate zones have a big impact on the landscapes in New Zealand and also a big impact on the weather which I talked a little bit about earlier. There are both mountains, geysers and volcanoes but also big fields, hills, valleys and lakes. There is also a lot of coastline which also affects the wildlife. The coastline also has an impact on the weather, the sea evaporates, that means that especially on the west coast there is a lot of rain. There's an island south of the south island called Stewart island where it rains 210 days in a year. It doesn’t pour down all day, sometimes it's just 10 minutes a day or a little drizzle but in total it sums up to 210 days of rain in a year. The landscape is not only affected by the climate zones but us humans as well.
Flora and fauna As i talked about, the weather has a big impact on nature and the animals but us humans also play a great role. The Maori didn’t inhabit New Zealand from the start, they actually sailed out from Polynesia to explore the pacific and came across New Zealand. Of course the presence of the Maori affected the wildlife, but not as much as the Europeans that in 1769 began sailing to New Zealand to settle down did.
When the Europeans settled down they brought some animals with them for hunting and breeding. For example they brought the Rabbits, red deers, pigs and goats. Another animal that unintentionally came with the Europeans was the rat. Rats live anywhere the humans are so it is quite impossible not to bring them with you. Because of all the animals that weren't originally in New Zealand, there have now been made rules to make sure that the endemic species such as the kiwi bird and the weka are safe. The kiwi bird and the weka are both animals known to be endemic to New zealand. They are both flightless birds and the kiwi bird is very famous for its cute looking appearance. Since my outline I read a little about the different species of the kiwi bird and where they live. Kiwi birds are found throughout New Zealand, but with some regional differences. Brown kiwis, for example, are found in both the North and South Islands, while the Great Spotted Kiwi is primarily located in the top half of the South Island. So some of the different kiwi species enjoy the colder temperatures where some of them enjoy the warm weather.
New zealand is a great country and i would love to travel there one day so i can explore the wilderness and see the kiwi bird.
Words meaning: inevitable - uungåeligt Endemic -Something that is restricted or peculiar to a locality or region Flightless - not able to fly