Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand, and is the administrative centre of the Wellington Region. It is the world's southernmost capital of a sovereign state. Wellington features a temperate maritime climate, and is the world's windiest city by average wind speed.
Haast's eagle is an extinct species of eagle that lived in the South Island of New Zealand, commonly accepted to be the pouākai of Māori mythology. It is the largest eagle known to have existed, with an estimated weight of 10–18 kilograms, compared to the next-largest and extant harpy eagle, at up to 9 kg (20 lb). Its massive size is explained as an evolutionary response to the size of its prey—the flightless moa—the largest of which could weigh 200 kg (440 lb). Haast's eagle became extinct around 1445, following the arrival of the Māori, who hunted moa to extinction, introduced the Polynesian rat, and destroyed large tracts of forest by fire.
The culture of New Zealand is a synthesis of indigenous Māori, colonial British, and other cultural influences. The country's earliest inhabitants brought with them customs and language from Polynesia, and during the centuries of isolation, developed their own Māori and Moriori cultures. British colonists in the 19th century brought Western culture and had a dramatic effect on the indigenous inhabitants, spreading Western religious traditions and the English language. Over time, a distinct Pākehā or New Zealand European culture emerged.
Bluff, previously known as Campbelltown and often referred to as "The Bluff", is a town and seaport in the Southland region, on the southern coast of the South Island of New Zealand serving as the main port of Invercargill. It is the southernmost town in mainland New Zealand and, despite Slope Point and Stewart Island being further south, Bluff is colloquially used to refer to the southern extremity of the country. According to the 2018 census, the resident population was 1,797, a decrease of 6 since 2013.
Kiwiana are certain items and icons from New Zealand's heritage, especially from around the middle of the 20th century, that are seen as representing iconic New Zealand elements. These "quirky things that contribute to a sense of nationhood" include both genuine cultural icons and kitsch.
Lemon & Paeroa, often shortened to L&P, is a sweet, lemon-flavoured soft drink manufactured in New Zealand. It is considered Kiwiana, and was traditionally made by combining lemon juice with naturally carbonated mineral water from the town of Paeroa. Today, it is manufactured by multi-national Coca-Cola. The origin date of the drink is uncertain, but the brand estimates 1908.
Te Aroha is a rural town in the Waikato region of New Zealand with a population of 3,906 people in the 2013 census, an increase of 138 people since 2006. It is 53 km (33 mi) northeast of Hamilton and 50 km (31 mi) south of Thames. It sits at the foot of 952 metres (3,123 ft) Mount Te Aroha, the highest point in the Kaimai Range.
Ohakune is a small town at the southern end of Tongariro National Park, close to the southwestern slopes of the active volcano Mount Ruapehu, in the North Island of New Zealand.
The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. Usually known as Te Papa, it opened in 1998 after the merging of the National Museum of New Zealand and the National Art Gallery. An average of more than 1.1 million people visit every year, making it the 58th-most-visited art gallery in the world in 2023. Te Papa operates under a bicultural philosophy, and emphasises the living stories behind its cultural treasures.
Postal services in New Zealand have existed since at least 1831, when the Postmaster-General of New South Wales deputed a Bay of Islands merchant to receive and return mail. Governor William Hobson issued an ordinance covering postal matters, although the British government retained control until 1848.
New Zealand is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island and the South Island —and over 600 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island country by area and lies east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and south of the islands of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. The country's varied topography and sharp mountain peaks, including the Southern Alps, owe much to tectonic uplift and volcanic eruptions. New Zealand's capital city is Wellington, and its most populous city is Auckland.
Kennedy Bay is a locality in the north eastern Coromandel Peninsula of New Zealand. The Harataunga and Omoho Streams flow from the Coromandel Range past the settlement and into the bay to the east.
Ngāti Whanaunga is a Māori iwi (tribe) of the Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand, descended from Whanaunga, the third son of Marutūāhu.
In New Zealand, agriculture is the largest sector of the tradable economy. The country exported NZ$46.4 billion worth of agricultural products in the 12 months to June 2019, 79.6% of the country's total exported goods. The agriculture, forestry and fisheries sector directly contributed $12.653 billion of the national GDP in the 12 months to September 2020, and employed 143,000 people, 5.9% of New Zealand's workforce, as of the 2018 census.
The Dowse Art Museum is a municipal art gallery in Lower Hutt, New Zealand.
Ngāti Rongoū is a Māori iwi (tribe) of the Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand.
The Big Lemon & Paeroa Bottle is a statue of a bottle of the Lemon & Paeroa soft drink. It is located in Paeroa, New Zealand, where the drink was originally made. It is one of New Zealand's most famous icons, making it one of the most photographed places in the country. It has a height of 6.8 metres (22 ft), a diameter of 1.3 metres (4.3 ft), is made from concrete rings, and is surrounded by lemon trees and lemon shaped rubbish bins in a park around the statue. It is a popular tourist site, and the statue is owned by the council, but the branding and maintenance of the bottle is done by Coca-Cola Europacific Partners.
