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- About 90 percent of the plants in New Zealand can’t be found anywhere else in the world.
- A New Zealander, Sir Edmund Hillary, became the first person to climb the world’s highest point, Mount Everest. He did it in 1953 with Tenzing Norgay, who was from Nepal.
- Forests cover about one-third of New Zealand.
- New Zealand is home to many strange animals, including the tuatara, one of the world’s rarest reptiles. It looks like an iguana and is 2 feet (0.6 m) long.
- New Zealand’s two main islands are the 13th and 15th largest islands in the world.
- The largest volcanic eruption in known history took place in AD 130 in Taupo, on the North Island.
- Hector’s dolphins, the world’s smallest dolphins, are found only in the coastal waters of New Zealand.
- New Zealand was the first country in the world to allow women to vote.
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View detail map as PDF
View outline map as PDF |
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The flag shows a small British flag and the stars of the Southern Cross, a bright constellation that can be seen only from the bottom half of the earth. |
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New Zealanders are nicknamed “kiwis” after the national bird. Found only in New Zealand, the kiwi, which is about the size of a chicken, cannot fly and moves only at night. |
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