Week 1 - A place to stand
DAY 1: In the Beginning...
Activity 1: The Legend of New Zealand [4 points]
According to Māori mythology, much of Aotearoa New Zealand was formed when Māui, a powerful demigod, fished it out of the sea. Legend has it that Māui created a magical fish hook from the jawbone of his grandmother and that one day he took his hook, boarded a boat, and rode out into the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Once at sea, he threw his magical hook into the water and caught a fish. This ‘fish’ was actually the North Island of New Zealand! In honour of this legend, the North Island of New Zealand is sometimes referred to as Te Ika a Māui or ‘Māui’s fish’ and the South Island of New Zealand is sometimes referred to as Te Waka a Māui or ‘Māui’s canoe’.
To learn more cool facts about New Zealand, check out the Tourism NZ website. Read the fun facts posted on the website and choose your ‘Top 3.’ On your blog, post your ‘Top 3 Fun Facts’ about NZ.
These are the My top 3 Fun Facts that I was interested in.
1. It is one of the three countries in the world that has two official national anthems of equal standing. The first is God Save the Queen and the other is God Defend New Zealand.
2. New Zealanders are also called kiwis but kiwi is not a fruit. It is New Zealand’s native flightless bird.
3. Gisborne is the first city in the world to see the sunrise because it is 496.3 kilometers away from the International Date Line.
Kia ora George,
ReplyDeleteYou've chosen some really interesting facts about New Zealand (NZ). Isn't it cool that a city in little old NZ is the very first place in the world to see the sunrise? Have you been to Gisborne before? I've only been once, a long time ago. I didn't wake up early enough to see the sunrise though. I'd love to go back and experience it.
Well done on completing the very first Summer Learning Journey activity. I look forward to reading more posts from you soon. Until then, happy blogging! :)
Mikey