New Zealand - Geography, Economy and Culture

🇳🇿 New Zealand is the most remote developed nation in the world, sitting at the south-western edge of the Pacific Ocean. On the boundary of two tectonic plates, its two main islands are a host of natural wonders and beauty, with the Southern Alps, and Fiordland of South Island, and Lake Taupo of North Island.

🕐TIMESTAMPS🕖
👉0:00 Intro and Titles
👉2:09 Overview of New Zealand
👉3:06 Etymology of New Zealand
👉4:38 Physical Geography of New Zealand
👉8:10 Climate and Habitats of New Zealand
👉11:11 Demographics of New Zealand
👉13:20 Government of New Zealand
👉14:39 Flag and Coat of Arms of New Zealand
👉16:10 Economy of New Zealand
👉17:18 Culture of New Zealand
👉19:06 Famous and Notable Kiwis
👉21:18 Summary and Outro

🇳🇿 Home to 5 million New Zealanders, informally called "Kiwis", who are mainly of British ancestry, but with a sizeable minority of Maori, descended from Polynesian explorers who discovered the islands 700 years ago. One third of Kiwis live around the largest city, Auckland, while the capital Wellington and Christchurch on South Island make up the next two largest cities in New Zealand.

🇳🇿 New Zealand culture pulls on these two traditions, but with Rugby, in the form of the All Blacks national team dominating the sport, while the growth of TV and movie production in the last 20 years has seen world class epics such as the Lord of the Rings trilogy filmed and produced in New Zealand.

🇳🇿 Famous Kiwi actors include Russell Crowe, Karl Urban, Sam Neill and Lucy Lawless, while Jane Campion and Peter Jackson are Oscar-winning film directors from New Zealand. The New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary was the first person to reach the summit of the tallest mountain in the world, Mount Everest. But perhaps the greatest of all Kiwis was Ernest Rutherford, considered the father of nuclear physics, who discovered the atomic nucleus among many other groundbreaking discoveries in the field.

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POLICY ON CRITICISM

Comments are welcome, but if you have a correction, you must specify what you believe to be the exact error, as well as providing what you believe to be the correct information. Failure to do this will result in your comment being deleted. Additionally, all negatively opinionated comments that do not offer constructive solutions will also be deleted. *** All comments are moderated. ***

[Geodiode]

Are you a "Kiwi"? Tell us about life in NZ today. Or if you've visited, share your favourite part of the journey you made.

Be nice! And please read the policy on criticism in the video description before leaving any critical comments. All comments are moderated.

[bayrockwhk]

What I love about living in paradise is that we have gained the description:
"No country in the world has a bad word to say against New Zealand"
We can live with that.

[mikehabel]

Spectacular… Thank you so much. We just came back from two months driving New Zealand north and South islands, five weeks in the south island three in the north.
We’ve travelled this world a fair amount and live in a small town in the mountains of British Columbia, Canada. I have found, in New Zealand, my other safe and wonderful place on this planet earth.

Thank you.

[Aotearoawoodturner]

I have to say as a kiwi living in new Zealand i have to say this doco is spot on and even emotional to watch thank you.

[brucegibson]

As a Kiwi & lived here most of my 70 years, I think Mr. Ranson has depicted Aotearoa here very very accurately.

[thejoydecision]

From NZ and just happen to have some Canadian and American friends over atm. One thing they have commented on is how visible and valued indigenous culture and perspective is here. From our perspective it seems we still have challenges to overcome, but it does seem more part of our lives.

[aanchaallllllll]

2:09: 🌍 New Zealand is a remote and beautiful country formed by the fusion of two cultures.
5:24: ! New Zealand is a country consisting of two main islands, with the South Island being larger and more mountainous.
9:38: 🌦 The weather in New Zealand is notoriously changeable, with dramatic changes happening up to four times a day due to the surrounding oceanic waters.
13:02: 🌍 New Zealand is a secular country with a diverse population and a parliamentary system of government.
16:39: New Zealand's economy is driven by agriculture, manufacturing, and tourism, with the latter being the main source of foreign currency.
Recap by Tammy AI

[TheKalihiMan]

Despite being from the opposite corner of the Polynesian Triangle over 4500 miles (7300 km) away, many of the Māori words and placenames of New Zealand are very familiar to me, and I find myself being able to understand a surprising amount when it’s spoken. It’s amazing how similar the languages are despite the vast distance of geographic separation. The Kōhanga Reo model of Māori language immersion education was also the basis for Hawaiʻi’s own Pūnana Leo, though I was never a student myself.

[NEWSTART]

My family moved away to Australia when i was nine. I have many fond memories of beautiful landscapes, beaches, sailing in the bays, boating on the rivers, the busy farms. Ill always be proud of New Zealand

[elizabethbrooks]

One of the most beautiful countries in the world 👍

[gonasa]

Great video, thank you! I would humbly add the great Jean Batten to your list of notable Kiwis. One of the most daring, skilled aviators of her time.

[the_real_littlepinkhousefly]

I'm not a Kiwi, but if I could arrange it, would become one in a heartbeat. My favorite country in the world. I have had the privilege of visiting, and I have very close friends there. There's just something ... different ... about New Zealand. Laid back, friendly, beautiful in so many ways. Kiwis just get on with life in NZ, the ones I know are super happy to be there, and I love how the country just does what's best for New Zealand and New Zealanders without having to worry about being a Great Global Power like the U.S. does. Of course it's not perfect, no country is, but if I could choose to live anywhere in the world and become a citizen, it would be here.

Unfortunately (and maybe understandably?) it's pretty hard to get citizenship there (I've looked into it), especially if you're looking at retiring there. It would be difficult for most people to reach the income requirements, I think. Yes, if you can get a job there, then that's one way to do it. But hard to do if you're an older person. Other option is for the adult child to get a job there and apply to have us join him (as he is an only child), but even then it would take several years before we could qualify to come. So -- maybe someday it will work out. For now I'll just have to be happy with my memories and with videos like this that remind me of my heart-home.

[martinbynion]

Just a correction: the name of the South Island is Te WAI Pounamu, not "Wei". Also, "Mount Cook" is increasingly referred to by it's Maori name of Aoraki (Cloud Piercer). Likewise, the iconic Mount Egmont, with its similarity to Mt Fujiyama, is routinely referred to nowadays as "Mount Taranaki",

[werren]

as an Indonesian, NZ history is very similar to ours! but our history with Civilization is earlier, Asian settlement, European settlement, and farmland also damages the Java island's ecosystem, thx good the settlers don't kill their king! unlike what happened in the Bali kingdom, and NZ was saved from communism and Asian extremists like Japanese occupation, extreme oriental settlers, Muslims, and Hindus! As an Austronesian fellow my wish for Kiwi to remain stoic, individualistic, and happy, hopes the spirit of the old will always be with them, we are still proud of Madagascar!!

[ashleyreid]

Beautifully done mate, your videos on NZ hammer home to me how much I have to be proud of my country, I forget the good things about Aotearoa New Zealand living the day-to day here, cheers!

[chrishirini]

I’m blessed to be born and raised here
I could have been born anywhere on this planet but some how it was here
The best country on the planet

[suegordon]

I can’t wait to visit. In February 2023, Hubby and I will be flying to Australia from the States and will also be visiting New Zealand and Tasmania. We are excited to be cruising the area and exploring all the wonderful sites, cities and natural areas plus the best part, meeting the people.

[andrewbarss]

This is SO helpful and very educational. Well presented. Your content is always fantastic. Steps ahead. Well done again, Geodiode!

[emperoramp]

Been greatly enjoying these. I want to explore the world and learn many languages thanks to this series primarily.

[StevenBeondy]

Beautiful country, my bucket list is to visit the country of New Zealand 🇳🇿, I watch the videos of how important the trucking industry is, as a retired truck driver of 45 years here in The USA 🇺🇸, I live here in Pennsylvania, I have traveled to many countries in Asia, but I definitely want to visit Australia 🇦🇺 and New Zealand 🇳🇿 someday 😊! Great Video