History and geography of New Zealand.

New Zealand consists of 2 large islands, and many smaller one’s which make the climate vary from tropical to Antarctic. The north and the south island are separated by the cook strait. The northern island is 812 km long and has some volcanic activity. The part where the volcanic activity is, you can find beautiful geysers. The southern island has the southern alps on its West coast, where you can find mount cook (3754 m). The population of New Zealand is mostly of European descent, however, there is a Maori minority. The Maori people came from Polynesia to New Zealand in several waves from 800 to 1300 ad. The Maori mostly managed to keep their culture and language. The religion of the Maori’s is one based on nature. The English came in 1840 and colonized it. Now it is an independent state with the prime minister as head of state. The queen of England is also queen of New Zealand, however this is only symbolical. The flora and fauna of New Zealand is unique, because New Zealand is quite isolated (Australia is 2500 km further). This makes it a shame that a lot of the fauna has become extinct because of human influences.