New+Zealand


 * [[image:wikistange_small.jpg]] || [[image:home_button.jpg link="home"]] || =New Zealand and Maori Dancers= ||



Recently in the public eye as the film site for the //Lord of the Rings// trilogy, the impressive and stunning islands of New Zealand were originally settled by the wandering Polynesian Maori. Then, in 1642, the coastline of //South Island// was sighted by the Dutch East India Company explorer [|Abel Tasman.] There were brief encounters with the Maori as his crew tried to come ashore, but the //Captain// never set foot on land. News of these beautiful and fertile islands began to spread across the globe. The initial 18th century settlers were mostly farmers and whalers from Australia, and many brave souls that journeyed all the way from Britain. As the Dutch began to lose their supremacy at sea, New Zealand was subsequently claimed by Britain in 1840. It proudly became a self-governing (//independent//) Dominion in 1907. Comprised of two major islands (//North and South//), Stewart Island, Chatham Island and numerous smaller specs of land, New Zealand is a very mountainous country with some large coastal plains. In this rugged home of fjords, glaciers, rain forests, geysers, unspoiled beaches and more, it's obvious why tourism is the largest growth industry.
 * Details**


 * media type="youtube" key="QimyrP8xn8k&rel=1" height="353" width="425" ||  ||
 * media type="youtube" key="c-lrE2JcO44&rel=1" height="353" width="425" ||  ||
 * media type="youtube" key="DQLUygS0IAQ&rel=1" height="353" width="425" ||  ||