Sights of New Zealand

Размещено на http://www.allbest.ru/

Contents

1. Introduction

2. Chapter 1. Places of interest. Architecture

2.1 Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament

2.2 Auckland Civic Theatre

2.3 Auckland Harbour Bridge

2.4 Auckland War Memorial Museum

3. Chapter 2. Natural sights

3.1 Kelly Tarlton's Underwater World

3.2 The Bucket Fountain

3.3 Christchurch Botanic Gardens

3.4 Fiordland National Park

3.5 Milford Sound

4. Conclusion

5. Literature



1. Introduction

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island) and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some 1,500 kilometres (900 mi) east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly 1,000 kilometres (600 mi) south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. Due to its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans.

During its long isolation New Zealand developed a distinctive fauna dominated by birds, many of which became extinct after the arrival of humans and introduced mammals. With a mild maritime climate, the land was mostly covered in forest. The country's varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks owe much to the uplift of land and volcanic eruptions caused by the Pacific and Indo-Australian Plates clashing underfoot(1,24).

Polynesians settled New Zealand in 1250-1300 AD and developed a distinctive Maori culture, and Europeans first made contact in 1642 AD. The introduction of potatoes and muskets triggered upheaval among Maori early during the 19th century, which led to the inter-tribal Musket Wars(11,34).

In 1840 the British and Maori signed a treaty making New Zealand a colony of the British Empire. Immigrant numbers increased sharply and conflicts escalated into the Land Wars, which resulted in much Maori land being confiscated in the mid North Island. Economic depressions were followed by periods of political reform, with women gaining the vote during the 1890s, and a welfare state being established from the 1930s(1, 25-27).

After World War II, New Zealand joined Australia and the United States in the ANZUS security treaty, although the United States later suspended the treaty after New Zealand banned nuclear weapons. New Zealanders enjoyed one of the highest standards of living in the world in the 1950s, but the 1970s saw a deep recession, worsened by oil shocks and the United Kingdom's entry into the European Economic Community.

The country underwent major economic changes during the 1980s, which transformed it from a protectionist to a liberalized free-trade economy. Markets for New Zealand's agricultural exports have diversified greatly since the 1970s, with once-dominant exports of wool being overtaken by dairy products, meat, and recently wine(3, 33-34).

The majority of New Zealand's population is of European descent; the indigenous Maori are the largest minority, followed by Asians and non-Maori Polynesians. English, Maori and New Zealand Sign Language are the official languages, with English predominant.

Much of New Zealand's culture is derived from Maori and early British settlers. Early European art was dominated by landscapes and to a lesser extent portraits of Maori. A recent resurgence of Maori culture has seen their traditional arts of carving, weaving and tattooing become more mainstream. Many artists now combine Maori and Western techniques to create unique art forms. The country's culture has also been broadened by globalization and increased immigration from the Pacific Islands and Asia. New Zealand's diverse landscape provides many opportunities for outdoor pursuits and has provided the backdrop for a number of big budget movies.

New Zealand is organized into 11 regional councils and 67 territorial authorities for local government purposes; these have less autonomy than the country's long defunct provinces did. Nationally, executive political power is exercised by the Cabinet, led by the Prime Minister. Queen Elizabeth II is the country's head of state and is represented by a Governor-General(5, 23-24).

The Queen's Realm of New Zealand also includes Tokelau (a dependent territory); the Cook Islands and Niue (self-governing but in free association); and the Ross Dependency, New Zealand's territorial claim in Antarctica. New Zealand is a member of the Pacific Islands Forum, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, United Nations, Commonwealth of Nations, and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

So we can see the history and culture of the country is variable and exciting. So the places of interest of the country should be paid a lot of attention(10,67).

The aim of the work is to investigate the most famous sites of the country. This topic is quite actually today because there are no many sources connected with the country's culture. And of course questions of national culture should be arisen for making our worldview wider.

Scientific newness is the following:

in this work we can see the systematic data of New Zealand's places of interest and their role and place in life of the country's population.

Practical significance of the work: the results of it may be used in studying students at schools and colleges. The material may be useful as the part of seminars, special courses which are devoted to the country.



2. Chapter 1. Places of interest. Architecture

2.1 Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament

Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, Christchurch, F. W. Petre's largest completed work (pictured in 2005). The central pediment is in the style of Sebastiano Serlio.

The Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, located in the city centre of Christchurch, New Zealand, commonly known as the Christchurch Basilica, is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Christchurch and seat of the Bishop of Christchurch. It was designed by architect Francis Petre.

Today the building, said by some to be based on the 19th-century Church of Saint-Vincent-de-Paul, Paris is held to be the finest renaissance style building in New Zealand and the most outstanding of all Petre's many designs.

The Cathedral was closed after the 2010 Canterbury earthquake of 4 September 2010. The February 2011 Christchurch earthquake collapsed the two bell towers at the front of the building and destabilised the dome. The dome was removed and the rear of the Cathedral was demolished. Whether the Cathedral is to be restored or demolished is to be decided.

A 24 feet (7.3 m) by 18 feet (5.5 m) wooden chapel was built on Barbadoes Street, south east of the city centre, in October 1860 for newly arrived Marist missionary priests. This chapel was replaced by a larger wooden church designed by Benjamin Mountfort in 1864, which was expanded over the years to become the Pro Cathedral of the newly established Diocese of Christchurch in 1887(8,30-31).

On 7 April 1983, the building was registered as a Category I heritage item by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust, with the registration number 47. It is regarded as an outstanding example of church architecture in Australasia, and is regarded as Petre's best design.

The Cathedral, constructed of concrete sheathed in Oamaru limestone, was widely acclaimed, causing the famous author George Bernard Shaw to describe Petre as a "New Zealand Brunelleschi". Fifty men were employed on the site, and in excess of 120,000 cubic ft (3400 m?) of stone, 4,000 cubic ft (110 m?) of concrete, and 90 tons of steel were used in the construction. Problems with finding suitable stone for the construction of such a large structure caused financial difficulties during the construction, and a special bill was pushed through parliament by then Premier Richard Seddon in order to aid with the financing of the building. The total cost to the Roman Catholic diocese was ?52,000.

Forsaking 19th century Gothic, Petre designed the new church in a Renaissance, Italian basilica style, with one major exception. Ignoring Renaissance convention, Petre obtained a greater visual impact by siting the Italianate green copper-roofed dome not above the cross section of the church (as in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome), but directly above the sanctuary. In Petre's opinion, this design element, coupled with the Byzantine apse, added extra grandeur and theatre to the high altar set in the tribune. The nave and chancel roofs were supported by colonnades of ionic columns and the entrance facade of the cathedral was flanked by twin towers in the manner of many of Europe's great renaissance churches.

While often likened to St Paul's Cathedral in London, it is conceivable that the greatest influence behind this structure was Benoit Haffreingue. During Petre's formative years, Haffreingue had been the driving force of the reconstruction of the cathedral of Notre Dame in Boulogne-sur-Mer, a French cathedral that has a very similar plan to that of The Blessed Sacrament, including the controversial siting of the dome over the altar rather than the centre of the cathedral(9, 11-12).

2.2 Auckland Civic Theatre

The Auckland Civic Theatre is a large heritage theatre seating 2,378 people in central Auckland, New Zealand. First opened on 20 December 1929, it was reopened in 2000 after a major renovation and conservation effort. It is a famous example of the atmospheric theatre style, in which lights and design were used to convey an impression of being seated in an outdoor auditorium at night, creating the illusion of an open sky complete with twinkling stars.

The Auckland Civic Theatre is internationally significant as the largest surviving atmospheric cinema in Australasia (and also one of the only seven of its style remaining in the world) and as the first purpose-built cinema of this type in New Zealand. It is also known for its Indian-inspired foyer, which includes seated Buddhas, twisted columns and domed ceilings. The main auditorium was designed in a similar style, imitating a Moorish garden with turrets, minarets, spires and tiled roofs as well as several famous Abyssinian panther statues. It could hold 2,750 people at its opening, and even at its reduced current seating, is still the largest theatre in New Zealand(4).

The Auckland Civic Theatre was the creation of Thomas O'Brien,who built a movie empire in Auckland's inner suburbs in the 1920s and brought the atmospheric cinema to New Zealand when he opened Dunedins Moorish-style Empire De Luxe Theatre in 1928. (It is now the Rialto multiplex housing several small cinemas inside the original one in Moray Place.) He persuaded a group of wealthy Auckland businessmen to build a massive atmospheric cinema in Queen Street and also managed to secure a $180,000 loan from the Bank of New Zealand. The cinema was built by Fletcher Construction. However, the BNZ loan and soaring construction costs caught the attention of Parliament, while the final price tag ballooned to over $200,000. The Civic opened amid great fanfare in December 1929, but the onset of the Great Depression contributed to disappointing attendances - as did O'Brien's stubborn insistence on showing British rather than the more popular American films, and he eventually became bankrupt. After several modifications during the following decades, the theatre was eventually restored to very near its original design in the late 1990s.

The theatre recently also gained some insider fame by being used for the scenes representing a New York Theater in Peter Jackson's King Kong remake(7,15).



2.3 Auckland Harbour Bridge

The Auckland Harbour Bridge is an eight-lane box truss motorway bridge over the Waitemata Harbour, joining St Marys Bay in Auckland with Northcote in North Shore City, New Zealand. The bridge is part of State Highway 1 and the Auckland Northern Motorway. It is the second-longest road bridge in New Zealand, and the longest in the North Island.

The bridge has a length of 1,020 m (3,348 ft), with a main span of 243.8 m, rising 43.27 m above high water allowing ships access to the deepwater wharf at the Chelsea Sugar Refinery west of it (one of the few wharves needing such access west of the bridge, a proposed Te Atatu port having never been realised).

Prior to construction of the bridge, the quickest way from Auckland to the North Shore was via ferry. By road, the shortest route from Auckland to the North Shore was via the Northwestern Motorway (then only completed between Great North Road and Lincoln Road), Massey, Riverhead, and Albany; a distance of approximately 50 kilometres .

As early as 1860, engineer Fred Bell, commissioned by North Shore farmers wanting to herd animals to market in Auckland, and had proposed a harbour crossing in the general vicinity of the current bridge. It would have used floating pontoons, but the plan failed due to the ?16,000 cost estimate(5, 121).

At the time of the 1950s, when bridge plans were finally realised, North Shore was still a very rural area of barely 50,000 people, offering relatively few jobs, and its growth rate was half that of the Auckland south of the Waite Mata. Opening up the area via a new main road connection was to unlock the potential for further expansion of Auckland.

Based on recommendations of the design team and the report of the 1946 Royal Commission, the bridge was to have five or six traffic lanes instead of four (with the extra one or two lanes intended to be reversed in direction depending on the flow of traffic), as well as footpaths on both sides of the bridge. However, these features were dropped for cost reasons before construction started, the First National Government of New Zealand opting for the 'austerity' design of four lanes without footpaths, and only including an approach road network after local outcry over traffic effects.The decision to reduce the concept in this way has been called "a ringing testament to the peril of short-term thinking and penny-pinching".

Almost since the Harbour Bridge reached capacity a second crossing of the harbour was mooted. The extreme costs and the difficulties of connecting it to the motorway network have however so far caused plans to remain at concept stage. However, in 2008, a study group narrowed down around 160 options to a single recommendation, a multi-tunnel link approximately one km east of the existing bridge, with up to four individual tunnels for motorway and public transport and trains. The proposal however has not continued to a political decision or funding stage, though designations are being protected to ensure that further development will not prevent the tunnel solution(5, 126-127).

2.4 Auckland War Memorial Museum

The Auckland War Memorial Museum (or simply the Auckland Museum) is one of New Zealand's most important museums and war memorials. Its collections concentrate on New Zealand history (and especially the history of the Auckland Region), natural history, as well as military history.

The museum is also one of the most iconic Auckland buildings, constructed in the neo-classicist style, and sitting on a grassed plinth (the remains of a dormant volcano) in the Auckland Domain, a large public park close to the Auckland CBD.

The Auckland Museum traces its lineage back to 1852 when it was established in a farm workers' cottage where Auckland University is now located. With an initial call for the donation of specimens of wool for display it attracted 708 visitors in its first year.

Interest in the museum dwindled over the following decade even as its collection grew, and in 1869 the somewhat neglected and forlorn museum was transferred to the care of The Auckland Institute, a learned society formed two years earlier. An Italianate-style building was constructed for the museum in Princes Street, near Government House and across the road from the Northern Club. These new premises included a large gallery top-lit by a metal framed skylight. This room proved problematic as it was impossible to heat during the winter but overheated during the summer. Canvas awnings used to shield the roof from harsh sunlight made the exhibits difficult to view in the resulting gloom. One of the visitors during the 1890s was the French artist Gauguin, who sketched several Maori items and later incorporated them into his Tahitian period paintings(16,37-39).

In the early years of the 20th century the museum and its collections flourished under visionary curator Thomas Cheeseman, who tried to establish a sense of order and separated the natural history, classical sculpture and anthropological collections which had previously been displayed in a rather unsystematic way. The need for better display conditions and extra space necessitated a move from the Princes St site and eventually the project for a purpose-built museum merged with that of the war memorial to commemorate soldiers lost in World War I. The site was a hill in the Government Domain commanding an impressive view of the Waitamata Harbour. Permission was granted by the Auckland City Council in 1918, the Council in its liberality being given three seats on the Museum Council. As well as an initial gift of ?10,000 the Council also agreed to an annual subsidy from the rates towards maintenance of the facility and eventually coaxed several of the other local bodies to the principle of an annual statutory levy of ?6,000 to support the museum's upkeep.

The world-wide architectural competition was funded by the Institute of British Architects, a ?1,000 sterling prize drew over 70 entries, with Auckland firm Grierson, Aimer and Draffin winning the competition with their neo-classical building reminiscent of Greco-Roman temples. In 1920 the present Domain site was settled on as a home for the museum and in the 1920s after successful fund-raising led by Auckland Mayor Sir James Gunson, building of the Auckland War Memorial Museum began, with construction completed in 1929. It was opened by the Governor-General General Sir Charles Fergusson.

The museum architects commissioned Kohns Jewellers of Queen Street to create a finely detailed silver model of the museum. This was presented to Sir James Gunson on completion of the museum, in recognition of his leading the project.

The building is considered one of the finest Greco-Roman buildings in the Southern Hemisphere. It has an `A' classification from the New Zealand Historic Places Trust, designating it as a building whose preservation is of the utmost importance. Of particular interest is the interior plasterwork which incorporates Maori details in an amalgamation of Neo-Greek and art-deco styles. Likewise the exterior bas-reliefs depicting 20th-century armed forces and personnel are in a style which mixes Neo-Greek with Art-Deco. The bulk of the building is English Portland Stone with detailing in New Zealand granite from the Coromandel.

Two additions were made to the 1929 building, the first in the late 1950s to commemorate the Second World War when an administration annex with a large semi-circular courtyard was added to the southern rear. This extension is of concrete block construction rendered in cement stucco to harmonise with the Portland Stone of the earlier building. In 2006 the inner courtyard was enclosed by the grand atrium at the southern entrance.

The museum houses a large collection of Mвori and Pacific Island artefacts and treasures, including for example three entire buildings, including Hotunui, a large carved meeting house built in 1878 at Thames, and Te Toki a Tapiri, a waka taua (war canoe) from 1830. The museum also stores a photographic collection of 1.2 million images, and stores and exhibits 1.5 million natural history specimens from the fields of botany, entomology, geology, land vertebrates and marine biology. The stated goal is to eventually possess specimens from all New Zealand species(16, 41-42).

There is also an extensive permanent exhibition covering wars, both within New Zealand and New Zealand's participation in overseas conflicts. This exhibition is linked to the War Memorial , and for example shows models of Maori pas (earth fortifications) and original Spitfire and Mitsubishi Zero aeroplanes. The Museum holds the largest collection of applied and decorative arts in New Zealand and selections are currently displayed in the Landmarks and Encounters Galleries.

Parts of the museum, as well as the Cenotaph and its surrounding consecrated grounds (Court of Honour) in front of the Museum, also serve as a war memorial, mainly to those who lost their lives in the First and Second World Wars. There are two 'Halls of Memory' within the museum, whose walls, together with a number of additional marble slabs, list the names of all known New Zealand soldiers from the Auckland Region killed in major conflicts during the 20th Century.

geographical landmark cathedral theatre



3. Chapter 2. Natural sights

3.1 Kelly Tarlton's Underwater World

Kelly Tarlton's Underwater World is a public aquarium in Auckland, New Zealand that was opened in 1985. It was the brainchild of New Zealand marine archeologist and diver Kelly Tarlton (1937-1985).Built in disused sewage storage tanks, the aquarium used a new form of acrylic shaping, which allowed curved tunnels rather than viewing areas with flat panels only, as in previous aquariums. The project is also one of the first to use conveyor belts to slowly move people through the viewing areas.

In 1983, Kelly Tarlton proposed building an aquarium in unused sewage tanks underground on the Auckland waterfront. Fish would be viewed through a long acrylic tunnel.

The aquarium opened in 1985 after 10 months of construction. Tarlton developed a new method of building an acrylic tunnel by taking large sheets of clear acrylic, cutting them to size and heating them in an oven until they took the shape of the mould. Some of the sheets weighed over one tonne. Because of the refraction caused by light traveling through water, and the acrylic sheets used in the creation of the tunnel, the fish appear to be one third smaller than they are(5,93-94).

A 110-metre (360 ft) tunnel was created in sewage storage tanks that had been unused since the 1960s. The tanks are located below the suburb of Orakei, on Tamaki Drive and overlooking the Waitemata Harbour.

Once the tunnels were in place and the tanks filled to test for leaks (none were found) a seascape of caves and reefs was created using concrete before the basins were filled in one section with a careful selection of more than 1,800 marine creatures. Another section was filled with sharks (including bronze whaler, sevengill shark, wobbegong, school shark) and stingrays. The sharks are only held for a short period of time before being released back into the area where they were caught.

In 1994 the facility was expanded to include a replica of the hut used by Captain Robert Falcon Scott on his tragic expedition to Antarctica, as well as a colony of Antarctic penguins in a climate controlled exhibit.

In December 2004 the aquarium opened Stingray Bay, which features a giant 350,000-litre (92,000 USgal) open topped tank that is 2.6 metres (8 ft 6.4 in) at its deepest point and constructed of crystal clear acrylic for optimum viewing.

In 2008, Village Roadshow purchased the facility, for NZD $13 million. Village Roadshow also owns Sydney Aquarium, Oceanworld Manly, Sea World Gold Coast, and other venues.

In 2011, Village Roadshow sold Kelly Tarlton's Underwater World and other Sydney-based attractions to the Merlin Entertainments group.

The aquarium's main features are the Antarctic Encounter and the Underwater World, but it also includes several other exhibits and several education rooms.

Antarctic Encounter - This exhibit was opened in 1994, and is the first exhibit encountered by visitors. Visitors can view the aquarium's penguins through glass in their temperature controlled habitat. Visitors then pass through a recreation of the hut used by Captain Robert Falcon Scott during his South Pole expedition in 1912. After this visitors take a ride on an Antarctic Snowcat, a type of vehicle, through the penguin enclosure. The aquarium has a colony of king penguins and gentoo penguins, the ride also has other features relating to Antarctica and its exploration.

Underwater World - The original part of the aquarium. This 110-metre (360 ft) acrylic tunnel takes visitors through two tanks which can hold up to 2000 animals. The first tank (or predator tank) is filled mainly with shark species, and holds about 1,000,000 US gallons (3,785,000 l), while the second tank has mainly schooling fish such as blue mao mao. In December 2010, Kelly Tarlton's received five new Sand Tiger Sharks from the USA.

Stingray Bay - Is a 350,000-litre (92,000 USgal) open topped acrylic tank. This tank contains two species of stingray and other smaller fish species including; kingfish, blue mao mao and "Phoebe" a 250 kilogram short tailed stingray with a two metre wingspan. This area of the aquarium has a refreshment kiosk.

NIWA Interactive Room - This room is located adjacent to Stingray Bay and aims to educate children about the marine world and Antarctica while entertaining them.

Sea Creatures - This area contains smaller aquariums usually filled with single species. Here you can find; two tropical marine tanks, red bellied piranha, an octopus, sea horses, moray eels, crayfish plus stonefish and puffer fish in the Poisonous and Venomous fish tank. Adjacent to this area is the gift shop which also contains the exit(5, 96-97).

3.2 The Bucket Fountain

The Bucket Fountain is an iconic kinetic sculpture of Wellington, capital city of New Zealand. It can be found in Cuba Mall, which is part of Cuba Street. It consists of a series of "buckets" that fill with water until they tip, spilling their load into the buckets and pool below. The fountain was designed by Burren and Keen and erected in 1969.

Much of the water does not reach the buckets below but instead splashes outside the fountain onto pedestrians and onlookers. On windy days (common in Wellington) water from buckets and the hose are carried several metres from the fountain.

People often add dishwashing detergent to the water, which spreads bubbles all over the mall. This is common to see on Friday and Saturday nights.

Wellington City Council upgraded the fountain in 2003, and some buckets were turned around so they intentionally tip their water onto the pavement(8, 48).



3.3 Christchurch Botanic Gardens

The Christchurch Botanic Gardens, located in the central city of Christchurch, New Zealand are botanical gardens founded in 1863, when an English oak was planted on 9 July 1863 to commemorate the solemnization of marriage between Prince Albert and Princess Alexandra of Denmark.

The Gardens sprawl over an area of 21 hectares and lie adjacent to the loop of the Avon River next to Hagley Park. The Christchurch Botanic Gardens have a variety of collection of exotic and local plants of New Zealand. Some of the attractions of the Gardens include:

The Herb Garden (started in 1986) has several plants of culinary and medicinal value .

The Rose Garden has more than 250 varieties of roses.

Collections of plants from all around the world including Asia, North America, Europe, South America and South Africa.

Cunningham house- a large Victorian glass house containing an impressive tropical collection with an orchid/carnivorous plant collection and a cactus house attached.

A variety of bird watching opportunities, with many woodpigeons being present and a cormorant colony in action during the spring

The Rock Garden contains some plants that remain in flower throughout the year.

The Heather Garden has several Ericas and Callunas, providing flowers and foliage year round(1, 144).

A portion of the Gardens has several species of Rhododendron and hybrids with several associated plants of Hostas, Helleborus and Liliums.

The Water Garden has lilies and irises and has many mature trees and shrubs surrounding it.

A mature Native plant section with a wide range of New Zealand plants.



3.4 Fiordland National Park

Fiordland National Park occupies the southwest corner of the South Island of New Zealand. It is the largest of the 14 national parks in New Zealand, with an area of 12,500 km?, and a major part of the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site. The park is administered by the Department of Conservation.

During the cooler past, glaciers carved many deep fiords, the most famous (and most visited) of which is Milford Sound. Other notable fiords include Doubtful Sound and Dusky Sound. From one of the peaks within Fiordland National Park, a view of Mount Aspiring/Tititea to the far north can be observed.

Fiordland's coast is steep and crenellated, with the fiords running from the valleys of the southern ranges of the Southern Alps, such as the Kepler and Murchison Mountains. At the northern end of the park, several peaks rise to over 2,000 metres.

Ice has carved islands from the mainland, leaving two large uninhabited offshore islands, Secretary Island and Resolution Island. Several large lakes lie wholly or partly within the park's boundaries, notably Lake Te Anau, Lake Manapouri, Lake Monowai, Lake Hauroko, and Lake Poteriteri. The Sutherland Falls, to the southwest of Milford Sound on the Milford Track, are among the world's highest waterfalls(1,151).

Prevailing westerly winds blow moist air from the Tasman Sea onto the mountains; the cooling of this air as it rises produces a prodigious amount of rainfall, exceeding seven metres in many parts of the park. This supports the lush temperate rain forests of the Fiordland temperate forests ecoregion.

The wildlife in this area include dolphins, seals and birds. Introduced species include mice, rats, hare and deer. Among the birds are the Kakapo, the only flightless parrot in the world. Also there is the kiwi, which is native to New Zealand. The Park is heavily forested with Nothofagus trees, a large variety of understory shrubs and ferns being present; examples of the forest floor vegetation include Crown Fern, Blechnum discolor.

Road access to Fiordland is restricted to the Milford Road (SH 94), which runs north from Te Anau, skirting the edge of the park before entering it close to the headwaters of the Eglinton River. From there it crosses the northwest corner of the park, reaching its terminus at Milford Sound. South of Te Anau a smaller road links to Manapouri. A minor road links Doubtful Sound with the western edge of Lake Manapouri via the Wilmot Pass.

Light aircraft and helicopter services link with Milford Sound, which also has a small boat marina.

The park is a popular destination for alpine climbers and especially for trampers, with the Milford, Kepler, Hollyford and Routeburn Tracks all in or close to the park.

Fiordland is a challenging tramping destination. There are few tracks. Off-track travel relies on following deer trails. Sandflies, flooding and poor weather are a hazard.

Other tourists are attracted to areas such as Milford Sound(1,153).

3.5 Milford Sound

Milford Sound (Piopiotahi in Mвori) is a fjord in the south west of New Zealand's South Island, within Fiordland National Park, Piopiotahi (Milford Sound) Marine Reserve, and the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site. It has been judged the world's top travel destination in an international survey (the 2008 Travelers' Choice Destinations Awards by TripAdvisor) and is acclaimed as New Zealand's most famous tourist destination. Rudyard Kipling had previously called it the eighth Wonder of the World.

Milford Sound is named after Milford Haven in Wales, while the Cleddau River which flows into the sound is also named for its Welsh namesake. The Mвori named the sound Piopiotahi after the thrush-like piopio bird, now extinct. Piopiotahi means "a single piopio", harking back to the legend of Mвui trying to win immortality for mankind - when Maui died in the attempt, a piopio was said to have flown here in mourning.

Milford Sound runs 15 kilometres inland from the Tasman Sea at Dale Point - the mouth of the fiord - and is surrounded by sheer rock faces that rise 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) or more on either side. Among the peaks are The Elephant at 1,517 metres (4,977 ft), said to resemble an elephant's head, and The Lion, 1,302 metres (4,272 ft), in the shape of a crouching lion.

Milford Sound sports two permanent waterfalls all year round, Lady Bowen Falls and Stirling Falls. After heavy rain however, many hundreds of temporary waterfalls can be seen running down the steep sided rock faces that line the fiord. They are fed by rain water drenched moss and will last a few days at most once the rain stops(1,187).

With a mean annual rainfall of 6,813 mm (268 in) on 182 days a year,a high level even for the West Coast, Milford Sound is known as the wettest inhabited place in New Zealand and one of the wettest in the world. Rainfall can reach 250 mm (10 in) during a span of 24 hours. The rainfall creates dozens of temporary waterfalls (as well as a number of major, more permanent ones) cascading down the cliff faces, some reaching a thousand metres in length. Smaller falls from such heights may never reach the bottom of the sound, drifting away in the wind.

Accumulated rainwater can, at times, cause portions of the rain forest to lose their grip on the sheer cliff faces, resulting in tree avalanches into the sound. The regrowth of the rain forest after these avalanches can be seen in several locations along the sound.

Milford Sound was initially overlooked by European explorers, because its narrow entry did not appear to lead into such large interior bays. Sailing ship captains such as James Cook, who bypassed Milford Sound on his journeys for just this reason, also feared venturing too close to the steep mountainsides, afraid that wind conditions would prevent escape (this refers to Doubtful Sound, so named as Cook thought it doubtful he would escape if he sailed in).

The fjord was a playground for local Maori who had acquired a large amount of local marine knowledge including tidal patterns and fish feeding patterns over generations prior to European arrival. The fjord remained undiscovered by Europeans until a sealer by the name of Captain John Grono discovered it in around 1812 and named it Milford Haven after his homeland in Wales. Captain John Lort Stokes later renamed Milford Haven as Milford Sound.

While Fiordland as such remained one of the least-explored areas of New Zealand up to the 20th century, Milford Sound's natural beauty soon attracted national and international renown, and led to the discovery of the Mackinnon Pass in 1888, soon to become a part of the new Milford Track, an early walking tourism trail. In the same year, the low watershed saddle between the Hollyford River and the Cleddau River was discovered, where the Homer Tunnel was to be developed about sixty years later to provide road access.

As of the 2006 census, just 120 people lived in Milford Sound, most of them working in tourism or conservation.

The beauty of this landscape draws thousands of visitors each day, with between 550,000 and 1 million visitors in total per year. This makes the sound one of New Zealand's most-visited tourist spots, and also the most famous New Zealand tourist destination,even with its remote location and the long journey from the nearest population centres. Almost all tourists going to the sound also take one of the boat tours which usually last between 1-2 hours. They are offered by several companies, departing from the Milford Sound Visitors' Centre. There is also the option of extended overnight cruises on Milford Sound.

Tramping, canoeing and some other water sports are also possible. A small number of companies also provide overnight boat trips. There is otherwise only limited accommodation at the sound, and only a very small percentage of tourists stay more than the day(5, 134).

An underwater tourist observatory found in one of the bays of the sound provides viewing of black coral, usually only found in much deeper waters. A dark surface layer of fresh water, stained by tannins from the surrounding forest, allows the corals to grow close to the surface here.

In rainy and stormy days tourists can admire the play of the wind with the numerous waterfalls in Milford Sound. When meeting the cliff face the powerful wind often goes upward and waterfalls with a vertical drop get caught by wind, causing the water to go upwards.



4. Conclusion

As we see the country has a vast variety of sites and all of them are special and unique. But it is not an easy thing to mention all the sites in the work, but in the conclusion we can summarize all of them and point out the most important.

New Zealand - is famous for its rich and varied nature - geysers, mountains and lakes, forests and caves, glaciers and beaches. Widely developed environmental movement allows you to save all this splendor in almost pristine condition, even in the vicinity of large cities. And after the screens of the world trilogy "The Lord of the Rings", filmed entirely in New Zealand, a country engulfed boom "Frodo-tourism." These pilgrimages are held in the Bombay hills and expanses of Waikato, and Takako, to the volcanic mountains of Tongariro Ngaruhoe and, in the fiords of Queenstown and Lake Uanaka.

North Island - one of the most picturesque places on the planet. The landscape is a patchwork of snow-capped mountain peaks in the Tongariro National Park, ancient volcanic areas with hundreds of geysers and mud pools in the vicinity of Rotorua, the endless green meadows in the foothills, drowning in the dense forests of the slopes of the ancient volcanic plateau and the coast of the island represents an endless sandy beach.

The port city of Oakland, formerly 1865 capital of New Zealand, situated at the narrowest point of the North Island, between two bays, belonging to different seas. This is a huge metropolis (the area of ??5,6 thousand square meters. Km.) The relatively young city is not rich in historical sites, but in itself is quite picturesque place, with Oakland is among the top 10 cities for living on the planet.

Wellington, the capital of New Zealand since 1865, is located on the shore of the bay Lambton Harbour in the south of the North Island. .

The city is a magnificent view of Wellington Botanic Gardens with a unique collection of flora.

The South Island is quite different from the North. A larger area, it is far less populated - is home to only 25% of the population of New Zealand, where the countryside is inhabited by very poor. From north to south island mountain ridge crosses the Alps, separating it into two quite separate the natural conditions of the zone. The west coast is inhabited by little, but it is famous for its abundance of natural attractions - from the countless fjords and slipping from the mountain slopes, glaciers, to the stormy river, framed by impenetrable rainforest. East Coast - industrial and commercial area, there are all the major cities and home to most of the population of the island(12,198-199).

But the main "tourist attraction" - a fabulously beautiful bay of Milford Sound, 260 km. west of Dunedin. As part of Fiordland National Park and one of the wettest places on earth, this area is literally filled with natural phenomena, and even in such a beautiful country like New Zealand, is considered one of the most charming places.

West Coast - the most wild and rough country of the country. Here it is worth paying attention to the Paparoa National Park (27.8 hectares) and rocks Penkeyk Rocks with their famous "breathing hole" - a hole in the rock through which sea water rushes up with great force.

The southernmost and weakly populated part of New Zealand - Southland, land fjords and picturesque landscapes. The main attraction of the region is the Fiordland National Park (an area of ??about 1.2 million hectares), the largest in the country (1.2 million hectares), in whose territory the famous fjords of Milford Sound, Dusky Rutbern and Sound, Holliford-Track , relict forest area Ketlins, Otago peninsula, thousands of beautiful fjords and Lake Manapouri (433 meters) - one of the most beautiful in the country(13,44-45).



5. List of literature

1. Bateman, David, ed. (2005). Bateman New Zealand Encyclopedia (6th ed.)

2. Sinclair, Keith; revised by Dalziel, Raewyn (2000)

3. Мое вино. Новая Зеландия. Кауфман М.А. Издательство: ООО "Издательство Жигульского", 2005 стр. 255

4. Auckland Travel Guide - NewZealand.com (New Zealand's Official Visitor Guide and Information)

5. Gordon McLauchlan (1992). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of New Zealand. David Bateman Ltd, Glenfield, NZ.

6. К. В. Малаховский История Новой Зеландии. -- "Наука", 1981, стр.21

7. К. В. Малаховский Британия Южных морей. -- "Наука", 1973.стр 18.

8. И. А. Рыбкина Новая Зеландия. -- КАРО, 2001.стр. 31.

9. Савельева Л. П. Ранний этап английского проникновения в Новую Зеландию (по "Историческим документам Нового Южного Уэльса") // Прошлое и настоящее Австралии и Океании. -- М.: "Наука", 1979.

10. Ковлер И. В. К истории формирования Либеральной партии Новой Зеландии в конце XIX в. // Актуальные проблемы развития Австралии и Океании. -- М.: "Наука", 1984. -- С. 88-96.

11. С. П. Миронов Британские колонизаторы и туземцы Новой Зеландии 1769--1840 гг.: межцивилизационные отношения в контексте колониальной политики. -- Саратов, 2005.

12. Rice. Geoffrey W. The Oxford History of New Zealand. -- Oxford

13. Denoon. Donald A History of Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific: The Formation of Identities. -- Wiley-Blackwell., 2000.

14. King. Michael The Penguin History of New Zealand. -- Penguin Books

15. Theunissen. Steve The Maori of New Zealand. -- Lerner Publishing Group

16. War Memorial: A Chronology of New Zealand and World War II

Размещено на Allbest.ru