New Zealand is an island nation located southeast of the Australian continent and is a self-governing member of the Commonwealth of Nations. Its capital is Wellington. In the Māori language, it is called Aotearoa.
The South Island and North Island are separated by the narrow Cook Strait. The New Zealand Alps traverse both islands, with the South Island featuring high peaks including Mount Cook, glaciers, and numerous glacial lakes. The North Island features Mount Egmont and numerous volcanoes and hot springs. It is also known as a seismically active region.
Description for New Zealand
A country where sheep outnumber people
New Zealand is renowned for its wool production. Although sheep numbers have reportedly declined in recent years, approximately 27 million sheep (as of 2017) still graze the land, far exceeding the human population of about 5.23 million.
An environment suited for winemaking
Although New Zealand’s winemaking history is relatively short, its favorable climate and natural conditions have produced excellent wines, making it one of the world’s most noted wine regions.
Rugby is one of New Zealand’s national sports
It has become such an integral part of daily life for many people. The nickname of the New Zealand national rugby team, the “All Blacks,” is famous worldwide. The traditional Maori “Haka” performed before matches serves to demonstrate their strength and courage to the opposing team while also energizing themselves, making it beloved and recognized by fans across the globe.
The national bird, the Kiwi
A flightless bird found only in New Zealand. It grows to a maximum length of about 40 cm, including its beak. It is said that the indigenous Maori people gave it this name because it makes a high-pitched sound like whistling, “kiwi, kiwi”.
It is now endangered, and wild kiwis can only be found in a few places, such as Stewart Island in the southern part of the South Island and Tiri Tiri Matangi Island off the coast of Auckland.
Explanation of this calligraphy
The top row is in hiragana, the middle row is in kanji, and the bottom row is in katakana, all written horizontally.
The kanji characters are “新” (shin), meaning “new,” “西” (nishi), which is a phonetic adaptation of “Zea,” and “蘭” (ran), which is also a phonetic adaptation of “land.” Countries with the kanji character ‘蘭’ in their names are generally named “something-land.”
There is also an evergreen perennial plant in the lily family with the same kanji characters.
