Always dreamed of going to Polynesia? Here you are!
Before zooming in on the territory itself, let's point out that New Zealand is culturally attached to a larger "territory": Polynesia. Polynesia comprises all the islands in the so-called "Polynesian Triangle", bounded by New Zealand to the south, Hawaii to the north and Rapa Nui (Easter Island) to the east.
Although this grouping has been contested by geographers since the 1970s, it is still widely used due to its historical and cultural coherence. The languages, legends and traditions of the various Polynesian peoples have much in common, and for good reason: they are all one and the same people who, through migrations the first of which clearly originated in South-East Asia, colonized all the islands in the Polynesian triangle. As this colonization took place over long periods of time, the cultural unity cracked as the migrations progressed, with each island or archipelago gradually developing the cultural and linguistic specificities we know today.
The myth of the origins
With a total surface area of 268,680 km² - the size of the United Kingdom or half that of France, New Zealand is made up of two main islands separated by the Cook Strait, and a myriad of smaller islands.
According to Māori legends, the North Island and South Island are respectively "Te ika-a-Maui", "Maui's fish", and "Te-waka-a-Maui", "Maui's waka".
Maui is a central figure in Polynesian culture. In Māori culture, he is a demigod (the same one seen in the animated film Vaiana, inspired by Polynesian legends), and among the feats attributed to him is that of having once hoisted a gigantic fish out of the water from his "waka" (traditional Polynesian boats). The North Island is thus called "Te ika-a-Maui" in Māori, "Maui's fish"; and the South Island is "Te waka-a-Maui", "Maui's waka". Maui was at sea with two of his brothers during his miraculous catch, and they rushed to take pieces of the fish's flesh, carving out the landforms and valleys we know today.
The South Island is also commonly known as "Te Waipounamu", a combination of the words "wai", "water" and "pounamu", the jade stone, "Te Waipounamu" meaning "Jade Waters".
30 kilometers south of the South Island, Steward Island is said to be "Te Punga-o-te-waka-a-Maui", the anchor stone of the Maui waka. Another commonly used name is "Rakiura", usually translated as "Sparkling Skies", in reference to the aurora australis that can sometimes be seen here.
The mysteries of the 8th continent
The true story of New Zealand's origins, however, is a little more complex. Above all, it's still poorly understood.
Aotearoa is part of a mysterious eighth continent, 94% submerged, called Zealandia. Discovered in 2017, Zealandia is about half the size of Australia, and its main landmasses are New Zealand and New Caledonia. Research on this subject is recent, and not all questions have yet been answered.
What is known today is that Zealandia was part of the supercontinent Gondwana, the only continent in the Southern Hemisphere after the separation of Pangea. Zealandia began to separate from Gondwana around 85 million years ago, and it would appear that at that time, the continent was mostly out of water. But the geological phenomena that led to its separation from Australia caused a considerable stretching and thinning of its continental crust.
Now too frail and light to bear the weight of the newly opened Tasman Sea, Zealandia sank. Completely? Not for sure. This is a point of debate in the scientific community. While it was thought that the development of New Zealand's distinctive flora and fauna was the result of a re-emergence of the land over the 15 million years following the opening of the Tasman Sea, the study of fossils coupled with that of certain endemic species (including the emblematic kiwi) indicates a progressive and constant evolution of these species since the remote times of Gondwana, suggesting that there have always been land areas where these species could have lived and evolved.
It is possible that the continent was almost totally submerged, with the exception of small islands of life where these species could have survived and then recolonized the mainland as they emerged, at the same time as new flora and fauna were developing. However, this contradicts the total absence of land mammals when humans first arrived: if there have always been lands above water, why haven't mammals survived?
Zealandia still holds many mysteries, and for the moment its secrets are well guarded.
The forces of the Earth
Another of Zealandia's peculiarities is that it straddles two tectonic plates: the Australian Plate and the Pacific Plate. New Zealand lies precisely at this intersection, and this is probably what caused it to emerge from the waters. The surface of the globe is made up of 15 major tectonic plates, constantly in motion. Two neighboring plates are either diverging (moving away from each other) or converging (moving towards each other). In the case of converging plates, they gradually move closer together until they collide. Depending on the angle at which the two plates meet, they may either slide against each other along what is known as a transform fault, or collide head-on, in which case a phenomenon known as subduction occurs, in which the denser of the two plates plunges beneath the second.
In New Zealand, both phenomena occur: on the South Island, along the Alpine Fault, the two plates slide against each other, while on the eastern North Island, the collision is more head-on, with the Pacific Plate plunging beneath the Australian Plate (one of the theories put forward today is that it was the birth of this subduction zone that pushed New Zealand out of the water).
Zones where two tectonic plates meet are the scene of intense geological events, and the edge of the Pacific Plate is an excellent example: dotted with extremely active seismic and volcanic zones, it is nicknamed "the Pacific Ring of Fire". It's another "ring" to which Aotearoa owes its identity, as the mountainous, volcanic and geo-thermal landscapes associated with this tectonic activity are legion.
The consequences on the surface
On the North Island, the proximity of the subduction zone generates intense volcanic and geothermal activity. As the Pacific plate sinks beneath the Australian plate, it joins the Earth's mantle, where it melts into magma, which then rises to the surface via cracks or weaknesses in the overlying crust. This is how volcanoes are created and remain active for as long as magma forms in their depths.
The central plateau is dominated by Mount Ruapehu, an active volcano rising to 2,797 m above sea level. Slightly further north, Lake Taupo is in fact a supervolcano - still active - whose last eruptions 26,500 years ago and 1,800 years ago created and then enlarged a caldera (a vast circular depression resulting from an eruption that empties the magma chamber) which gradually filled with water to form the lake we know today. To the northeast of Taupo, the town of Rotorua is famous for its sulfur smell, fumaroles, geysers and hot springs, more peaceful witnesses to volcanic activity. To the west, Mount Taranaki, isolated in the middle of the plains, is a volcano that is also still active.
To the south, the Wellington region, crossed by two major seismic faults (the Wairarapa fault and the Wellington fault), is regularly shaken by earthquakes: around 300 a year. Most, however, are so small that our human senses are unable to feel them.
To the north, Auckland and the Northland region are less affected by these phenomena, and the "far north", or "winterless north", is better known for its primary forests, peacefulness and subtropical climate.
On the South Island, the friction between the two plates along the alpine fault has given rise to the Southern Alps, home to 18 peaks over 3,000 m, the highest of which, Aoraki (Mount Cook), rises to 3,724 m above sea level. This mountain range runs through the center of the island for most of its length, creating a kind of natural border between east and west that can only be crossed at certain strategic points.
To the east, the plains of Canterbury and the farmlands of Otago, of which Christchurch and Dunedin are the main cities.
To the west, a rugged coastline renowned for its heavy rainfall, primary forests with large populations of kiwi, and glaciers, the most famous of which are Fox and Franz Joseph.
To the south, the Southland region is home to the famous Fjordland National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Although the South Island is geologically less active due to less violent tectonic movements, the risk of earthquakes linked to the pressures building up along the Alpine fault remains very real, as painfully demonstrated by the Christchurch earthquake in 2011.
More recently, the eruption of Whakaari/White island (east of Auckland) in December 2019 reminds us not to take lightly the recommendations and calls for caution that the guides and information centers will lavish on you locally.
On theother side of the Foveaux Strait, we arrive at Steward Island, "New Zealand's3rd largest island". Covering an area of 1,746 m², it is inhabited by just 400 people. Very popular for hiking and endemic birdwatching, less threatened here due to the low number of predators.
If we feel an earthquake in this region, it's likely to be linked to a subduction phenomenon! Indeed, in this zone, the Australian and Pacific plates are once again coming into contact in a more conflicting manner, but this time it's the Australian plate that is passing beneath the Pacific plate. However, the absence of volcanic activity in this region suggests that this subduction zone is younger than its sister zone on the North Island.
