A Kid's Life In New Zealand

In New Zealand, when someone talks about "dead horse" they are actually talking about "tomato sauce!"

New Zealand schools have a 6 week summer vacation, a 2 week vacation in May, and another 2 week vacation in the winter. That's 10 weeks of no school all year.

Did you know that New Zealanders eat more butter and meat per person than do people from any other country?

Hello! My name is Emily and I live in New Zealand. I am 11 years old.

I have a pet kiwi (I'm talking about the bird kiwi not the fruit kiwi) and a pet rat. The reason that I have a pet kiwi is because my parents are animal rescuers. They The Kiwi bird

found this rare bird on the road. It was too injured to go back into the wild, so mom and dad gave him to me. Sadly, this happens a lot, and mom and dad aren't there to save all of them. My father's name is Robert, my mother's name is Carol, and my brother's name is Steve (he is 7 years old). I'm going to tell you all about my country.

First of all, New Zealand is an island country in the Southwest Pacific Ocean. New Zealand is part of a large island group called Polynesia. Our country is made up of two main islands called the North Island and the South Island. There are also many smaller islands. New Zealand is a mild and moist country, and rain falls throughout most of the year, but more in the winter. If you come to visit, you will find that New Zealand is a beautiful country. We have snow-capped mountains, green lowlands, beaches, and lots of lakes and waterfalls. You will also find out that we speak English (with a British accent).

Popular sports here are rugby (like football), cricket (like baseball), and soccer. Many people love to sail (including my dad). In the mountains, you can ski and climb. In the water you can fish, swim, scuba dive, or surf. I love to tramp (hike to Americans). Steve loves to play rugby.

The Dutch were the first people to spot New Zealand. They named it New Zeeland after a Dutch province. The Dutch did not stay long because there was a battle when they first arrived, but the name stuck.

Then the British came. New Zealand soon became an important whaling, sealing, and trading base. More Europeans came because of the good farming and the nice climate here.

The British established new colonies in New Zealand, and on Feb 6, 1840, New Zealand became a British colony after many Maori (the native people of New Zealand) chiefs, William Hobson (lieutenant governor), and repersenitives of the British Crown, signed the Treaty of Waitangi. The Treaty said the British were to protect the Maori’s rights. The Treaty also said that the British Crown were the only people who could buy Maori land.

Soon more colonists arrived! Naturally, more land was wanted. Soon, the treaty was pretty much forgotten. People began to fight over land. The fighting was off and on. The Maori lost a lot of their land. Then, in 1858, the Maori made one of their chiefs, Potatau Te Wherouwhero, king.

One of my favorite foods is pizza with extra dead horse (tomato sauce to Americans). I also enjoy spaghetti without the dead horse. Lamb is the meat staple here, though Steve refuses to eat it. He lives off mainly candy.

I hope you enjoyed hearing about my beautiful country and that someday you will come and visit New Zealand. Well, good-bye!