InterLink - "poles apart" - Lytton's research

"POLES APART"

Lytton High School Gisborne

Tuatara and Moa

The Tuatara is a native New Zealand animal. It resembles lizards in many ways, for example its retractable spines on its back which can be raised or lowered at will. It lays white eggs which are rather small. Once in the ground the eggs become stained. Another feature of the Tuatara is its powerful jaws, they're really strong and even if its teeth are not long enough to penetrate the skin it still hurts a lot.

Take a look at this great tuatara site with wonderful pictures!

The Moa has no wings so it is unable to fly. The Moa has no original origin. Standing over 3 metres high it is the largest bird ever to walk on the planet. The Moa is now extinct due to the fact that foreigners hunted them and ate them for tea. The specific date that the Moa became extinct is not known.

There's also a moa site you can visit.

By Dylan Kingi

Seasons

Our seasons are Summer, Spring, Autumn and Winter. At Christmas time it is summer here. We have summer in about November and it ends in about mid-March. It is autumn now and it will end in May. Winter starts in June and will end in September. Then Spring starts in September then back to Summer again.

Summer is quite hot here, it stays around 25-30 degrees Celsius. Winter is really cold and it gets quite windy. Snow falls in the South Island of New Zealand and in some areas of the North Island. The average temperature for Gisborne is about 25 degrees Celsius but we have been known to reach up to 42 degrees. Bye!!!

By Alicia Christophers

The Kiwi

The Kiwi is a flightless bird with wings the size of your little finger. It burrows under the ground during the day and it comes out at night. The Kiwi represents New Zealand because you can only find this bird here in Aotearoa.

Find out the difference between the kiwi and kiwifruit

The Kakapo

Like the Kiwi the Kakapo is also a night lover and the male Kakapo enjoys putting on a show for his partner as he puffs himself up like a balloon and lets out an amazing howl which he calls singing.

Take a look at the Fabulous Kakapo pages.

The Cheilanthess distans

This plant is one of many New Zealand ferns and can be found on scoria rocks close to the sea. Like many other ferns this is one that needs and enjoys the sunlight. This fern holds a very beautiful mintey colour.

So from me I'll see you later. Oh and by the way my name is Edmund Nikora

Rock Types

The oldest rocks in New Zealand are found in Nelson, Westland and Fiordland. They have been dated back to the paleozoic era about 570 million years ago. Almost 3 quarters of New Zealand is covered by sedimentary rocks, created by the interplay of the earth's movement and the erosion. The most common forms of sedimentary rocks in New Zealand are sandstone, mud stone, greywacke, conglomerate and limestone.

As well as the sedimentary rocks of various ages, New Zealand incorporates in its complex structure metamorphic rocks, (schist, gneiss and marble), intrusive igneous rocks (grainite, gabbro, diorite and serpentine). Volcanic rocks (basalt, andesite, rhyolite and ignimbrite) are the products of the many volcanic eruptions that have characterised New Zealand's geological history.

From Tammy Ward

Kiwis

The kiwi is only found in New Zealand. There are brown, white, great spotted, little spotted kiwis. The kiwis are very fast at running and good at hiding plus they cannot fly.

You can hear the song of some of these kiwis (and many other native NZ birds) at Aotearoa/Good Morning

Pukeko

The pukeko have very large feet for walking on. The pukeko eat water plants, small reptiles, fish, insects, veges. The pukeko are very fast learners.

By Adam Masemann

Animals and Plants

Here are some of New Zealand's animals:

Bar-tailed godwit they hang around in big flocks by the beach.
Waders, Pied stilt, Kingfisher, White-faced herons are common throughout New Zealand.
Banded rails are very secretive. They nest in sedges backing mangrove swamps.
The white heron is a cosmopolitan species.
White-fronted terms are common around all our coasts.
The protecded New Zealand fur seal is now common, particularly around the South Island coasts.
Sperm whales can be viewed from boats at Kaikoura.
Pied shags are common in sheltered coastal waters. They usually nest in Pohutukawa trees over hanging cliffs.

By Robert Kirikiri

Wanna watch some wildlife? Check out Watchable Wildlife in New Zealand for all the details!

Volcanos

Now we have some questions for you:

If you have volcanos, how many do you have?
How many volcanos are active or dormant?
Do you have a tectonic plate under your country?

By Ben and Stafford and Michael

Here's a site full of pictures and information about Mt Ruapehu - New Zealand's most active volcano.

Climate and vegetation

Lying in the south temperate zone, New Zealand's climate changes from being almost subtropical in the north to cool and temperate in the south, with a wet, mild climate in the west and a much drier, often almost continental, climate in the east. January and February are the warmest months and July is the coldest.

Most of the country has at least 2,000 hours sunshine each year and a high proportion of sunshine during the winter months. Mean annual rainfall ranges from less than 400mm in Central Otago to more than 12,000mm in the Southern Alps. For a large part of the country rainfall is spread evenly throughout the year.

A large proportion of the country's animals and plants are found only in New Zealand.

Women Scientists

Lucy Moore
Lucy Moore was a New Zealander. She was a women of science. She was known as a Botanist. She mainly worked on the coastlines, studying plant life including seaweed. Since she was working on coastlines a lot of Maori people were living there, so she included them in her research work.

Dr Amy Hodgson
Dr Amy Hodgson was a Botanist and a New Zealander Scientist. She was known all over the world, yet she had no formal training. She always had a passion for plants, but other than that she had four children and she was a farmer's wife. She lived in Hawkes Bay. In 1976 at the age of 87 she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Science by Massey University.

KIWI

The Kiwi is a bird with no wings. It is one of the most valuable birds in New Zealand and is nearly extinct. We use Kiwis to represent our country. Kiwis are only found naturally in New Zealand. They are small brown birds that feed on insects.