Noble Zew Zealand

      From Australia we catch a flight to its neighbor New Zealand. This country is made up of two islands. The two islands are reffered to as the North Island and the South Island. New Zealand is known for having many diverse areas within reach of one another. You could go to a dessert, snow caped mountains, volcanoes, sandy beaches, rain forests and more. This incredible country was the background for the movies in Lord of the Rings Trilogy. There are many, many, many, many sheep in New Zealand. So much that for every person there are 10 sheep, in a country of 4 million that means that there are 40 million sheep.

There are many things to do in New Zealand. . . .

• One of these activities is Zorbing. Zorbing is where you role down a hill in a big rubber ball. This thrilling activity was invented in New Zealand. You climb in to a ball that has a little compartment inside in which you stand, surrounded by a layer of air that is encased in an outer layer of usually clear plastic. The experience is like that of a hamster inside a hamster ball.

•   An event that takes place on the southern island of New Zealand in Wellington is a Chocolate Festival. This event happens every year as a promotion to the chocolate industry. An estimated 4,000 attend the 2012 chocolate festival. The 2012 chocolate festival was held from August 26 through August 26.

 A couple places to visit in New Zealand include....

• Larnach Castle, New Zealand's only castle, is a wonderful sight to see. Larnach Castle was built by William Larnach in 1871. This castle, a wonderful example of architecture, displays many New Zealand antiques. On the castle grounds there are beautiful gardens, Earth laughs in flowers.-Ralph Waldo Emerson(Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com). Currently the Barker family privately owns the castle, but it is opened daily at 9:00 for the public.

• Another attraction to see on the North Island are the Waitomo Caves. The Waitomo Caves system was discovered in 1887. These caves bring over 400,000 visitors to see the hanging glow worms that reside here in these caves. The glow worms are actually larva of a small gnat which goes through a small life cycle. They eat by releasing a sticky silk thread that hangs in the air. Eventually their glowing body draws in a fly which gets caught in the silk line and is pulled up  by the larva and the fly is eaten. In 6-9 months this larva worm will grow and eventually transform into a pupa. At this stage it will create a cocoon to hang from, and within two weeks it will hatch into a fly. The flies don't live long, as they cannot eat, only a couple of days, enough time to mate and lay eggs. A female will lay 100 eggs.

•  A sight to see on the North Island is Te Hoho Rock in Cathedral Cove, Coromandel Peninsula, New Zealand. Te Hoho Rock made up of limestone, no sits in the water. It once was connected to the mainland creating a cave.

 Cites:

 http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/glow-worms/page-2

 http://www.chocolatefestival.co.nz/media/

 http://www.listofcountriesoftheworld.com/nz.html