New Zealand Adventures – 3sat – TV Show

Deep rainforests, giant glaciers, hissing volcanoes, rugged coastline: hardly anywhere else in the world are so many landscape shapes colliding as in New Zealand. The two-part game “Adventure New Zealand” plunges into the wonderful world of the island kingdom. Connects the history of New Zealand to the present from a German point of view. The first part is about the discovery and settlement by Europeans. New Zealand is one of the oldest places on the planet that have been inhabited by humans. It wasn’t until the 13th century when the Maori from Polynesia came by boat to the islands in the middle of the South Pacific, and Europeans followed them several hundred years later. It was German scientists such as Julius von Haast who discovered New Zealand in the early 19th century. The “Land of the Long White Cloud,” as the Maori call their home, is largely unexplored. Von Haast traveled the country with passion. Discover mountains, rivers, giant extinct birds and establish New Zealand’s first museum. Along with the scholars came the fortune hunters. They left tribulation and Europe to start a new life on the other side of the world. It was men like Bendix Hallenstein who built a textile empire and even became mayor of Queenstown. To this day, dozens of branches in New Zealand bear his name. The island kingdom in the South Pacific remains a dream destination for many Europeans today. Long sandy beaches, rolling hills, and rugged volcanoes dominate the North Island. The South Island, on the other hand, is formed by the New Zealand Alps, a massive mountain range from which massive glaciers run down the valley. There they encounter dense and temperate rainforests. This diverse nature has no equal in the world, and it also inspires modern scholars and soldiers of fortune from Germany. Many made New Zealand their new home.