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New Zealand is a country of two large islands (called the North and South Islands), and many very small islands in the south-western Pacific Ocean. It is also known as Aotearoa in the Maori language, or the Land of the Long White Cloud. New Zealand is notable for its geographic isolation, being separated from Australia to the northwest by the Tasman Sea, some 2,000 kilometres (1,250 mi) across. Closest neighbours to the north are New Caledonia, Fiji and Tonga. The population of NewZealand is mostly of European descent, with Maori being the largest minority. Non-Maori Polynesian and Asian peoples are also significant minorities, especially in the nation's cities.
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Elizabeth II is the Queen of New Zealand and is represented in the country by a non-political Governor-General; the Queen 'reigns but does not rule' however, so the Queen has no real political influence. Political power is held by the Prime Minister who is leader of the Government in the democratically elected Parliament of New Zealand. The monarch's Realm of New Zealand also includes the Cook Islands and Niue, which are entirely self-governing; Tokelau and New Zealand's claim in Antarctica.
The first Europeans known to reach New Zealand were led by Abel Janszoon Tasman, who sailed up the west coast of the South and North islands in 1642. He named it Staten Landt, believing it to be part of the land Jacob Le Maire had discovered in 1616 off the coast of Chile. Staten Landt appeared on Tasman's first maps of New Zealand, but this was changed by Dutch cartographers to Nova Zeelandia, after the Dutch province of Zeeland, some time after Hendrik Brouwer proved the South American land to be an island in 1643. The Latin Nova Zeelandia became Nieuw Zeeland in Dutch. Lieutenant James Cook subsequently called the archipelago New Zealand, although the names he chose for the North and South islands were rejected (Aehei No Mouwe and Tovy Poenammu respectively), and the main three islands became known as North, Middle and South, with the Middle Island being later called the South Island. Cook began extensive surveys of the islands in 1769, leading to European whaling expeditions and eventually significant European colonisation. From as early as the 1780s, Maori had encounters with European sealers and whalers. Acquisition of muskets by those iwi in close contact with European visitors destabilised the existing balance of power between Maori tribes and there was a temporary but intense period of bloody inter-tribal warfare, known as the Musket Wars, that only ceased when all iwi were so armed.
New Zealand comprises two main islands (simply called the North and South Islands in English, or usually Te-Ika-a-Maui and Te Wai Pounamu in Maori) and a number of smaller islands. The total land area of New Zaland, 268,680 square kilometres (103,738 mi²), is a little less than that of Japan and a little more than the United Kingdom. The country extends more than 1,600 kilometres (1,000 mi) along its main, north-north-east axis. The most significant of the smaller inhabited islands of New Zealand include Stewart Island/Rakiura, Waiheke Island, an island in Auckland's Hauraki Gulf, Great Barrier Island, east of the Hauraki Gulf and the Chatham Islands, named Rekohu by Moriori. The country has extensive marine resources, with the fifth largest Exclusive Economic Zone in the world covering over four million square kilometres (1.5 million mi²);, more than 15 times its land area.
The South Island is the largest land mass, and is divided along its length by the Southern Alps, the highest peak of which is Aoraki/Mount Cook, at 3,754 metres (12,316 ft). There are 18 peaks of more than 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) in the South Island. The North Island is less mountainous than the South, but is marked by volcanism. The tallest North Island mountain, Mount Ruapehu (2,797 m / 9,176 ft), is an active cone volcano. The dramatic and varied landscape of Newzealand has made it a popular location for the production of television programmes and films, including the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
New Zealand's most popular sports are rugby union, cricket, netball, lawn bowling, soccer (perhaps surprisingly, the most popular football code in terms of participation in NZ) and rugby league. Also popular are golf, tennis, cycling and a variety of water sports, particularly sailing, whitewater kayaking, surf lifesaving skills and rowing. In the latter, New Zeeland enjoyed an extraordinary Magic 45 minutes when winning four successive gold medals at the 2005 world championships. Snow sports such as skiing and snowboarding are also popular. Equestrian sportsmen and sportswomen make their mark in the world, with Mark Todd being chosen international "Horseman of the Century", and all the way down to the juniors at pony club level.
Rugby union is closely linked to New Zealand's national identity. The national rugby team is called the All Blacks and has the best winning record of any national team in the world, including being the inaugural winner of the World Cup in 1987. The style of name has been followed in naming the national team in several other sports. For instance, the nation's basketball team is known as the Tall Blacks. New Zealand is to host the 2011 Rugby Union World Cup. New Zealand's national sporting colours are not the colours of its flag, but are black and white (silver). The silver fern is a national emblem worn by New Zealanders representing their country in sport.
Yachting, America's Cup
New Zealand is one of the leading nations in world yachting, especially open water long distance or around the world races. Round-the-world yachtsman, Sir Peter Blake was a national hero. In inshore yachting, Auckland hosted the last two America's Cup regattas (2000 and 2003). In 2000, Team New Zealand successfully defended the trophy they had won in 1995 in San Diego, which made them the only team in the history of the Cup to successfully defend a challenge other than a United States team, but in 2003 they lost to a team headed by Ernesto Bertarelli of Switzerland, whose Alinghi syndicate was skippered by Russell Coutts, the former skipper of Team New Zealand.
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