Give at least 5 most interesting facts about New Zealand with illustrations.

Some facts about NZ!!



*Mountain ranges and hill country dominate NZ's landscape; one of the most striking physical features is the Southern Alps. These, along with fiords glaciers and lakes and the coastal plains of Canterbury and Southland add to the variety of the South Island scenery. In the North Island the volcanic interior contains NZ's largest lake, Lake Taupo, and most of the country's active volcanoes - Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe and Tongariro - Ruapehu erupted as recently as 1995 and 1996. Hot springs, geysers, mud pools also form part of the volcanic system centred around Rotorua.

*Polynesians settlers arrived in Aotearoa/New Zealand around the tenth century, and by the twelfth century settlements were scattered over most of the country.

*New Zealand has a strong hold on the international trade in sheep meat. There are presently around 9 sheep to every 1 human in New Zealand (the populationn of New Zealand is 4 million).
New Zealand is a plastic nation – almost all personal financial transactions are made with a card – credit or otherwise. Most shops offer EFTPOS (similar to the UK Chip and Pin which appeared two years later) and cash is seen less and less. It is possible that New Zealand was the first nation to offer this system of payment (if someone can verify that I would appreciate it). The majority of taxis now allow you to pay without cash through this system.

*Sir Edmund Hillary – the first man to reach the peak of Mount Everest was a New Zealander (born in Auckland) and his face is on the New Zealand $5 bill.

*New Zealand was the first country to have its three top positions of power held simultaneously by women: The Prime Minister (Helen Clark), theGovernor General (Dame Silvia Cartwright), and the Chief Justice (Sian Elias)

*Queen Elizabeth II is officially Queen of New Zealand. She is represented in New Zealand by a Governor General, who ratifies all laws put before him or her by the elected parliament of New Zealand.

http://listverse.com/2008/06/19/top-20-cool-facts-about-new-zealand/