New Zealand

New Zealand forms part of the `rim of fire' as a surface impression of the boundary between tectonic plates. The mountains of New Zealand extend throughout the length of the two islands as their spine. In terms of geological origin, those in the North Island are younger than those in the South Island. The northern ones are mostly hilly and dominated by four volcanic cones. Maori legends describe the ranges as a great fish brought to the surface by a magic fish-hook; great swellings arose where it was clubbed by the gods who caught it, and the active volcanoes are the death twitches of the giant (Lowe 1969, p 155). This Fish of Maui is associated with North Island as its tail, Lake Taupo as its heart, and the Wellington area as its head.

The mountains of North Island extend nearly 500km north-east/south-west, commencing from Raukumara overlooking the East Cape to Cook Strait. It is connected with Huiaru further south which joins the central plateau with the highest peak, Ruapehu (2,797m). Nearby are two more volcanic peaks, Ngauruhoe (2,291m) and Tongariro (1,968m), which overlook the warm lake of Taupo which is surrounded by ice. Several ranges diverge from the plateau to the north and south. Ruahine Range descends further south to merge with Tararua Range. The climate is marine temperate with rain in all seasons and higher precipitation (over 1,500mm mean annual) in the highlands. The surface configuration is one of steep slopes and vegetation is basically deciduous forest (Plate 19). The indigenous people are Maori of Polynesian origin.

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19.Native vegetation, New Zealand. Protected forest north of Wellington. North Island. The mixed forest of broadleaf in the foreground and conifer along the ridge are both of evergreen species.

Mountain ranges traverse the entire 800 km length of South Island as its backbone. There are 223 named peaks that exceed 2,300m in elevation. The central and highest section between Arthur's Pass and Haast Pass is referred to as the Southern Alps. Northwards, there are many ranges with average elevations of 2,000m with their highest elevations fronting the east coast. The central section with Mt. Cook (3,764m) has many peaks exceeding 2,500m. It has numerous glaciers,

Tasman Glacier in the Mount Cook National Park being nearly 30 km long. Since the Southern Alps are generally steepest on the western side, the longer glaciers are in the east where there are gentler slopes. In the west, glaciers descend more rapidly approaching the rain forest along the coast. The southern section of the range is more splayed-out and contributes to a broken topography. The prevailing winds that sweep across the Pacific bring abundant rain and snow. The snow-line varies from 100m in winter to 1,800m in summer. Natural vegetation is of broad-leaved deciduous species in the west and is a mixture of broad-leaved and needle-leaved evergreens in the east. Over 90 per cent of alpine plants are endemic. The landscape has undergone two diverse impacts. First, Polynesian migration marked the commencement of the destruction of montane forests by fire. Then followed exploitative pastoralism throughout the tussock grasslands and mountain lands of the interior when European colonisation began in the mid-1850s (O'Connor 1984). South Island was unique in having only wild bird life. Now all types of animals have been introduced and have become pests in this pristine land.