New Zealand geography study

From Australia, we did a hop, skip, and a jump and landed in New Zealand, and here is a little of what we discovered.  I tried really hard not to get side tracked by 100 other things this time.

New Zealand factoids:

~Sovereign-Queen Elizabeth II

~Since 2011, the governor/general is Sir Jerry Mateparae.

~The prime minister since 2008 is John Key.

~According to the 2013 census, there are an estimated 4.5 million people residing in New Zealand.

~The capital city is Wellington.

~The largest city is Auckland.

~Official language is English.

~They also speak te reo Maori.

~The word Kiwi is a nickname for a New Zealander.

~Rugby is the most popular sport.

~New Zealand is the site for the movie Lord of the Rings.

~New Zealand is located in the SW Pacific Ocean.  There are two main islands, the North and South, and a few smaller islands.

~Maori are the indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand.  They were the first settlers arriving before the Europeans.  During warfare, they would practice cannibalism.  I guess just killing the enemy was not enough.

~New Zealand is part of the Rings of Fire in the Pacific Rim and is highly volcanic.

~In 1893, New Zealand gave all women the right to vote.  This is the first country to do so.

~New Zealand does not have any indigenous four-legged land mammals.  Bats are the only indigenous mammals in New Zealand.

Moa (extinct)

~Want to have kids in New Zealand?  You cannot under any circumstance give them an oddball name.  They will not allow it!  The following names are examples of what were not allowed, right, people actually tried to name their kids these names, Fat Boy, Yeah Detroit, Mr. Cinderella Beauty Blossom, and Lucifer.

~New Zealand has a unique plant population including Neptune's Necklace, Kuripaka, ferns,
and there are as many as 523 species of moss in New Zealand.

Ruru-morepork owl

Kea

~New Zealand has a unique animal population and a lot of birds including the Moa (extinct), the kiwi bird, the weka(threatened), the takahe (endangered), Ruru-morepork owl, tui, and the kea (the world's only alpine parrot-vulnerable).

~The Hector's dolphin is the smallest dolphin in the world and is only found in the waters around New Zealand.

Hector's dolphin

For more:
Fact Monster
National Geographic Kids
wiki birds of New Zealand
wingspan.co.nz is an awesome website for birds in New Zealand 

I guess I failed the goal of not getting side-tracked.