About New Zealand

  • An island nation
  • 1,600 kilometres (990 miles) long
  • 400 kilometres (250 miles) wide
  • 15,000 km (9,300 miles) of coastline
  • It’s 10,032 kilometres (6,793 miles) from Auckland to Black Rock City.
  • New Zealand is also known as Aotearoa (Eh-Oh-Tay Ah-Row-Ah) in the language spoken by our indigenous population, the Maori
  • The Maori word, Aotearoa, translates as the Land of the Long White Cloud
  • Watch a lyrical lesson on the proper pronunciation of commonly mispronounced Maori words here.
  • 4.75 million people live in New Zealand
  • Two thirds of the population live in the North Island:
    • Auckland: 1.5 million
    • Wellington: 410,000
    • Christchurch: 390,000
    • Hunterville: 500.
  • The Kiwi is our national bird, as well as being the colloquial name for New Zealanders:
    • Flightless
    • Nocturnal
    • Endangered.
  • In 2007, the Kiwiburn population was 140
  • In 2017, the Kiwiburn population reached 1,635 participants
  • Of New Zealand participants: 36% from Wellington; 35% from Auckland
  • There is some inter-city rivalry.