1.
Auckland
–
Auckland is a city in the North Island of New Zealand. It is the most populous area in the country. Auckland has a population of 1,495,000, which constitutes 32 percent of New Zealands population, a diverse and multicultural city, Auckland is home to the largest Polynesian population in the world. It has also been called Ākarana, the Māori pronunciation of Auckland, the Auckland urban area ranges to Waiwera in the north, Kumeu in the northwest, and Runciman in the south. It is not contiguous, the section from Waiwera to Whangaparāoa Peninsula is separate from its nearest neighbouring suburb of Long Bay, the surrounding hills are covered in rainforest and the landscape is dotted with dozens of dormant volcanic cones. The central part of the area occupies a narrow isthmus between the Manukau Harbour on the Tasman Sea and the Waitemata Harbour on the Pacific Ocean. It is one of the few cities in the world to have harbours on two major bodies of water. The isthmus on which Auckland resides was first settled around 1350 and was valued for its rich, Māori population in the area is estimated to have peaked at 20,000 before the arrival of Europeans. After a British colony was established in 1840, the new Governor of New Zealand, William Hobson and he named the area Auckland for George Eden, Earl of Auckland, British First Lord of the Admiralty. It was replaced as the capital in 1865, but immigration to the new city stayed strong, today, Aucklands Central Business District is the major financial centre of New Zealand. Auckland is classified as a Beta World City because of its importance in finance, commerce, media, entertainment, arts, education and tourism. Aucklands landmarks such as the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, the Harbour Bridge, the Sky Tower, the isthmus was settled by Māori around 1350, and was valued for its rich and fertile land. Many pā were created, mainly on the volcanic peaks, Māori population in the area is estimated to have been about 20,000 people before the arrival of Europeans. As a result, the region had relatively low numbers of Māori when European settlement of New Zealand began, there is, however, nothing to suggest that this was the result of a deliberate European policy. Auckland was officially declared New Zealands capital in 1841 and the transfer of the administration from Russell in the Bay of Islands was completed in 1842. However, even in 1840 Port Nicholson was seen as a choice for an administrative capital because of its proximity to the South Island. After losing its status as capital, Auckland remained the city of the Auckland Province until the provincial system was abolished in 1876. Each of the four settlements had about 800 settlers, the men being fully armed in case of emergency but spent nearly all their time breaking in the land and establishing roads
2.
New Zealand
–
New Zealand /njuːˈziːlənd/ is an island nation in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country geographically comprises two main landmasses—the North Island, or Te Ika-a-Māui, and the South Island, or Te Waipounamu—and around 600 smaller islands. New Zealand is situated some 1,500 kilometres east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly 1,000 kilometres south of the Pacific island areas of New Caledonia, Fiji, because of its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans. During its long period of isolation, New Zealand developed a distinct biodiversity of animal, fungal, the countrys varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks, such as the Southern Alps, owe much to the tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions. New Zealands capital city is Wellington, while its most populous city is Auckland, sometime between 1250 and 1300 CE, Polynesians settled in the islands that later were named New Zealand and developed a distinctive Māori culture. In 1642, Dutch explorer Abel Tasman became the first European to sight New Zealand, in 1840, representatives of Britain and Māori chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi, which declared British sovereignty over the islands. In 1841, New Zealand became a colony within the British Empire, today, the majority of New Zealands population of 4.7 million is of European descent, the indigenous Māori are the largest minority, followed by Asians and Pacific Islanders. Reflecting this, New Zealands culture is derived from Māori and early British settlers. The official languages are English, Māori and New Zealand Sign Language, New Zealand is a developed country and ranks highly in international comparisons of national performance, such as health, education, economic freedom and quality of life. Since the 1980s, New Zealand has transformed from an agrarian, Queen Elizabeth II is the countrys head of state and is represented by a governor-general. In addition, New Zealand is organised into 11 regional councils and 67 territorial authorities for local government purposes, the Realm of New Zealand also includes Tokelau, the Cook Islands and Niue, and the Ross Dependency, which is New Zealands territorial claim in Antarctica. New Zealand is a member of the United Nations, Commonwealth of Nations, ANZUS, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Pacific Islands Forum, and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. Dutch explorer Abel Tasman sighted New Zealand in 1642 and called it Staten Landt, in 1645, Dutch cartographers renamed the land Nova Zeelandia after the Dutch province of Zeeland. British explorer James Cook subsequently anglicised the name to New Zealand, Aotearoa is the current Māori name for New Zealand. It is unknown whether Māori had a name for the country before the arrival of Europeans. Māori had several names for the two main islands, including Te Ika-a-Māui for the North Island and Te Waipounamu or Te Waka o Aoraki for the South Island. Early European maps labelled the islands North, Middle and South, in 1830, maps began to use North and South to distinguish the two largest islands and by 1907, this was the accepted norm. The New Zealand Geographic Board discovered in 2009 that the names of the North Island and South Island had never been formalised and this set the names as North Island or Te Ika-a-Māui, and South Island or Te Waipounamu
3.
Auckland CBD
–
The Auckland central business district, sometimes referred to as Central City or Downtown, is the geographical and economic heart of the Auckland metropolitan area. The area is made up of the citys largest concentration of skyscrapers and businesses, the CBD is one of the most densely developed places in New Zealand, with many commercial and some residential developments packed into a space of only 433 hectares. Bounded by several motorways and by the harbour coastline in the north. Located on the shore of a narrow isthmus, the CBD extends from the Auckland waterfront on the Waitemata Harbour southwards along Queen Street. The CBD has an area of 433 hectares, similar to the Sydney CBD, the CBD is to a substantial part located on reclaimed land of the Waitemata Harbour. For a closer discussion of this aspect, see the Commercial Bay, the town of Auckland was created in 1840 with the first European colonisation of the area, marked by an official ceremony on the now non-existent Point Britomart. The initial centre of the new town was focused on what is now the corner of Shortland and Queen Streets, Shortland Street tended to be the location of the more important businesses and most of the luxury shops of the mid 19th century. The 1850s onwards saw a number of businesses, and especially retail, locating further south along Queen Street. During the remainder of the 19th century, Commercial Bay was progressively filled in, allowing an extension of Queen Street and the creation of Fort Street, Customs Street. The part of Queen Street north of Customs Street is today referred to informally as Lower Queen Street, up until the middle of the 20th century the centre of town still contained a large number of small factories including clothing manufacturers. This was mirrored by the development of shopping malls which enticed retailers to vacate the inner city as well. Attempts by the council to halt this pattern by constructing numerous public car parking buildings met with varying success, residential numbers in the inner city were also declining in the 20th century from as early as the 1920s. Around 24,000 apartment units exist as of 2010, the CBD of Auckland has been the leading centre of New Zealands business and economic development for nearly two centuries. The area of todays CBD was the site of the original European settlement of Auckland, oriented along the coastline and then Queen Street, in a southward direction. From those origins, it has grown progressively, and become more densely built-up, now being an area of high-rise buildings mainly used for commercial. It has the highest concentration of arts, culture and higher education institutions, some commentators have noted that the recent decades have not been kind to the aesthetics and the community values of the inner city. In an attempt to reverse the decline of aesthetics in the CBD, previous Auckland City Councils and these include the recent redevelopment of Aotea Square in 2010 and the upgrade of Saint Patricks Square in 2009. The Auckland CBD is one of the few places in New Zealand that has skyscraper-sized buildings, such as the Vero Centre, ANZ Centre or the Metropolis, with the Sky Tower rising above them
4.
Auckland volcanic field
–
The Auckland volcanic field is an area of monogenetic volcanoes covered by much of the metropolitan area of Auckland, New Zealands largest city, located in the North Island. The fields 53 volcanoes have produced an array of maars, tuff rings, scoria cones. Each volcano has erupted for just one period, lasting for weeks to years, except for Rangitoto Island. The field is fuelled entirely by basaltic magma, unlike the explosive subduction-driven volcanism in the central North Island, such as at Mount Ruapehu, the field is currently dormant, but has the potential to become active again in the future. The field ranges from Lake Pupuke and Rangitoto Island in the north to Matukutururu in the south, the first vent erupted at Onepoto Volcano 248,000 ±28,000 years ago. The most recent eruption was of Rangitoto, a shield volcano just east of the city. The eruptions have tended to become bigger over time, with Rangitoto making up almost 60% of the entire volume of erupted material. All of the volcanoes are small, most being less than 150 meters in height. Lake Pupuke, on the North Shore near Takapuna, is an explosion crater. A few similar craters such as Orakei Basin are open to the sea, the field has produced voluminous lava flows that cover much of the Auckland isthmus. One of the longest runs from Mt Saint John northward, almost crossing the Waitemata Harbour to form Meola Reef, more than 50 lava tubes and other lava caves have been discovered, including the 290 metre long Wiri Lava Cave. The second longest individual cave in the Auckland field, some 270 metres in length, is the Cave of a Thousand Press-ups to the east of One Tree Hill. Two impressive depressions caused by lava cave collapses are the Puka Street Grotto, all the volcanoes probably erupted on land except for Rangitoto, which erupted during the current interglacial period. Many of the cones were occupied by substantial Māori pa before European settlement. Many of the cones have been levelled or strongly altered – in small part due to the historical Māori use, however several of the remaining volcanoes are now preserved as landmarks and parks. While often ignored until the late 20th century, it has amongst other things minimised severe changes to Mount Roskill proposed by Transit New Zealand for the Southwestern Motorway. In March 2007, New Zealand submitted the volcanic field, with several specifically named features, at that time, only 2% of more than 800 World Heritage Sites worldwide were in this mixed category. Since the field is not extinct, new volcanic events may occur at any time and these effects might continue for several months and cause substantial destruction and disruption
5.
Cinder cone
–
A cinder cone or scoria cone is a steep conical hill of loose pyroclastic fragments, such as either volcanic clinkers, cinders, volcanic ash, or scoria that has been built around a volcanic vent. They consist of loose pyroclastic debris formed by explosive eruptions or lava fountains from a single, typically cylindrical, most cinder cones have a bowl-shaped crater at the summit. The rock fragments, often called cinders or scoria, are glassy and contain numerous gas bubbles frozen into place as magma exploded into the air, cinder cones range in size from tens to hundreds of meters tall. Cinder cones are made of pyroclastic material, many cinder cones have a bowl-shaped crater at the summit. During the waning stage of an eruption, the magma has lost most of its gas content. This gas-depleted magma does not fountain but oozes quietly into the crater or beneath the base of the cone as lava. Lava rarely issues from the top because the loose, uncemented cinders are too weak to support the pressure exerted by molten rock as it rises toward the surface through the central vent, because it contains so few gas bubbles, the molten lava is denser than the bubble-rich cinders. Thus, it burrows out along the bottom of the cinder cone, lifting the less dense cinders like a cork on water. When the eruption ends, a cone of cinders sits at the center of a surrounding pad of lava. If the crater is breached, the remaining walls form an amphitheatre or horseshoe shape around the vent. Cinder cones are found on the flanks of shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes. For example, geologists have identified nearly 100 cinder cones on the flanks of Mauna Kea and these cones are also referred to as scoria cones and cinder and spatter cones. The most famous cinder cone, Paricutin, grew out of a field in Mexico in 1943 from a new vent. Eruptions continued for nine years, built the cone to a height of 424 meters, the Earths most historically active cinder cone is Cerro Negro in Nicaragua. It is part of a group of four cinder cones NW of Las Pilas volcano. Since its initial eruption in 1850, it has erupted more than 20 times, based on satellite images it was suggested that cinder cones might occur on other terrestrial bodies in the solar system too. They were reported on the flanks of Pavonis Mons in Tharsis and it is also suggested that domical structures in Marius Hills might represent lunar cinder cones. The size and shape of cinder cones depend on environmental properties as different gravity and/or atmospheric pressure might change the dispersion of ejected scoria particles, some cinder cones are monogenetic – the result of a single, never-to-be-repeated eruption
6.
Rangitoto Island
–
Rangitoto Island is a volcanic island in the Hauraki Gulf near Auckland, New Zealand. The 5.5 km wide island is an iconic and widely visible landmark of Auckland with its distinctive symmetrical shield volcano cone rising 260 metres high over the Hauraki Gulf, Rangitoto is the most recent and the largest of the approximately 50 volcanoes of the Auckland volcanic field. It is separated from the mainland of Aucklands North Shore by the Rangitoto Channel, since World War II it has been linked by a causeway to the much older, non-volcanic Motutapu Island. Rangitoto is Māori for Bloody Sky, with the coming from the full phrase Ngā Rangi-i-totongia-a Tama-te-kapua. Tama-te-kapua was the captain of the Arawa waka and was wounded on the island. Rangitoto was formed by a series of eruptions commencing at least 6000 years ago, the most recent eruptions occurred between 550 and 600 years ago in two episodes,10 to 50 years apart, and are thought to have lasted for several years during the later shield-forming episode. The first recent episode erupted most of the ash that mantles neighbouring Motutapu Island. The second episode built most of Rangitoto, erupting all the lava flows, in February 2014 a 150m deep hole was drilled through the western flank of Rangitoto. This revealed a history of activity going back at least 6000 years, civil Defence officials said the discovery did not make living in Auckland any more dangerous, but did change their view of how an evacuation might proceed. The fact that Rangitoto Island has erupted off and on for a period of time demonstrates that it is the only known polygenetic volcano in the Auckland volcanic field. It is possible that Rangitoto includes a cluster of small volcanoes that are now covered by the main shield. In some parts of the island, fields of lightweight, clinker-like black lava stones called scoria are still exposed, appearing very recent to a casual eye. About 200 metres from the top of the mountain on the eastern side visitors can walk through some of seven known lava tubes — tubes left behind after the passage of liquid lava. The more accessible of the caves are signposted, at Rangitoto the large tubes are cave-like. A torch is needed to explore the caves, the longest known cave is about 50 m long. The volcano erupted within the memory of the local Māori iwi. Human footprints have been found between layers of Rangitoto volcanic ash on the adjoining Motutapu Island, ngāi Tai was the iwi living on Motutapu, and considers both islands their ancestral home. Ngāti Paoa also has links with Rangitoto, a number of Māori myths exist surrounding the island, including that of a tupua couple, children of the Fire Gods
7.
Waiheke Island
–
Waiheke Island is in the Hauraki Gulf of New Zealand. Its ferry-terminal in Matiatia Bay at the end is 21.5 km from the downtown terminal in Auckland—measured on GPS by Fullers Ferry captains. It is the second-largest island in the gulf, after Great Barrier Island and it is the most populated island in the gulf, with nearly 8,730 permanent residents plus another estimated 3,400 who have second or holiday homes on the island. It is New Zealands most densely populated island, with 95 people/km², and it is the most accessible island in the Gulf, with regular passenger and car ferry services, a Waiheke-based helicopter operator, and other air links. It is 19.3 km long from west to east, varies in width from 0.64 to 9.65 km, the coastline is 133.5 km, including 40 km of beaches. The port of Matiatia at the end is 17.7 km from Auckland. The much smaller Tarahiki Island lies 3 km to the east, the island is very hilly with few flat areas, the highest point being Maunganui at 231 m. The climate is warmer than Auckland, with less humidity and rain. There are many beaches, including, Oneroa Beach – The main beach. Little Oneroa Beach – A small secluded beach at the east end of Oneroa Beach, Palm Beach – Similar in shape to Oneroa Beach, it gets its name from the mature phoenix palms at the east end. Little Palm Beach – A small clothes-optional beach at the west end of Palm Beach, Blackpool Beach – The south-facing counterpart of Oneroa Beach, lining Blackpool and popular for kayaking and windsurfing. Onetangi Beach – A1. 87-kilometre long, north-facing beach lining Onetangi, for many years it has been the site of the Onetangi Beach Races. Its western end, often inaccessible at high tide, is clothes-optional and it has sandcastle building contests annually, participants have a few hours to build their creations in soft sand that is free of shells and suitable for digging. Cactus Bay – Considered by many Waihekeans as the most perfect beach and, with nearby Garden Cove, the beach is accessible only by boat or kayak, as its land access was blocked off by a private landowner. Shelly Beach – A small and well sheltered shell and stone beach located between Oneroa and Ostend and it has free BBQ facilities and a diving platform located just off shore. Its a popular choice with families as at high tide, it is very calm. Summers tend to be warm and humid, while winters are mild with frost being a rare event on Waiheke. It is often said by locals that Waiheke has a micro-climate which differs to that of other parts of the Auckland Isthmus
8.
Little Barrier Island
–
Little Barrier Island, or Hauturu in Māori language, lies off the northeastern coast of New Zealands North Island. Located 80 kilometres to the north of Auckland, the island is separated from the mainland to the west by Jellicoe Channel, the two aptly named islands shelter the Hauraki Gulf from many of the storms of the Pacific Ocean. Settled by the Maori sometime between 1350 and 1650, the island was occupied by those people until the New Zealand government declared the island a sanctuary in 1897. Since the island came under control of the government, it has been limited access. In the Māori language, the name of the name means the resting place of lingering breezes. Along with its larger neighbour Great Barrier, it was given its English name by Captain James Cook in 1769, the island is a nature sanctuary which has been described by the MBIE as the most intact ecosystem in New Zealand. However, several species were introduced by both Maori and European settlers, including cats which are destructive to local small bird and reptile species. Māori occupied the island for centuries prior to the first European visits, the initial occupation was by descendants of Toi te Huatahi, followed by Tainui who were then conquered by the Ngāti Wai. Only a few Ngāti Wai were still living on the island by 1881, when this purchase fell through, the island was instead appropriated through an Act of Parliament in 1894 and became New Zealands first nature reserve the following year. Since 1897, there has always been a caretaker or ranger resident on the island, over the expected 20-year life-span, the system is expected to generate fuel savings sufficient to replace its purchase costs. Māori stonework has been found in fourteen locations on the island, man-made cuttings, which were described in 1895 as ruts for hauling canoes, can be seen on the boulder beach ridge at Te Titoki Point. There are also stone rows measuring up to 60 metres long,2 metres wide and 0.5 metres high, stone rows and heaps can be found 200 metres to 500 metres from the mouths of Te Waikohare and Tirikawa Streams. The largest is 2 metres high and 4 metres wide, the most extensive stonework is located in the northwest of the island, near the ridge south of Te Hue Stream, where it is spread over several hectares. This site includes a number of terraces, which are stone-faced or have stone retaining walls, there are also numerous stone heaps and rows, and several free standing stone walls. Stonework in the northeast of the island is more weathered than in other areas, because of this weathering these features are thought to be older than at the other sites. The island is an andesitic volcanic cone, roughly circular in shape, about 6 km across. Its earliest volcanic activity is estimated to have occurred 3 million years ago, the volcano is most closely related to two volcanoes over 120 km northwest, near Whangarei. The island is sloping, and deeply dissected by ravines radiating from a central range that peaks at Mount Hauturu whose altitude is 722 m
9.
Great Barrier Island
–
Great Barrier Island lies in the outer Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand,100 kilometres north-east of central Auckland. With an area of 285 square kilometres it is the sixth-largest island of New Zealand and its highest point, Mount Hobson, is 621 metres above sea level. The local authority is the Auckland Council, the island was initially exploited for its minerals and kauri trees and saw only limited agriculture. In 2013, it was inhabited by 939 people, mostly living from farming, the majority of the island is administered as a nature reserve by the Department of Conservation. In 2009 the island atmosphere was described as being life in New Zealand many decades back, the highest point, Mount Hobson or Hirakimata, is 621 metres above sea level. Smaller surrounding islands include Kaikoura Island, Rakitu Island, Aiguilles Island, the islands European name stems from its location on the outskirts of the Hauraki Gulf. With a maximum length of some 43 kilometres, it and the Coromandel Peninsula protect the gulf from the storms of the Pacific Ocean to the east, consequently, the island boasts highly contrasting coastal environments. The eastern coast comprises long, clear beaches, windswept sand-dunes, the western coast, sheltered and calm, is home to hundreds of tiny, secluded bays which offer some of the best diving and boating in the country. The inland holds several large and biologically diverse wetlands, along with rugged hill country, as well as old-growth, the island received its European name from Captain Cook because it acts as a barrier between the Pacific Ocean and the Hauraki Gulf. Entrance to the Hauraki Gulf is via two channels, one on side of the island. The island protects the gulf from the surface waves and the currents of the South Pacific Gyre. It is not a barrier, often defined as the correct use of the term. Mining Early European interest followed discovery of copper in the remote north, traces of these mines remain, largely accessible only by boat. Later, gold and silver were found in the Okupu / Whangaparapara area in the 1890s, the sound of the battery working was reputedly audible from the Coromandel Peninsula,20 km away. Concerns were that mining for the suspected $4.3 billion in mineral worth in the area would damage both the land as well as the islands tourism economy. Locals were split on the project, some hoping for new jobs, if restarted, mining at White Cliffs would occur in the same area it originally proliferated on Great Barrier. The areas regenerating bushland still holds numerous semi-collapsed or open mining shafts where silver, kauri logging The kauri logging industry was profitable in early European days and up to the mid-20th century. Forests were well inland, with no way to get the logs to the sea or to sawmills
New Zealand
