🇳🇿 New country: fly over New Zealand!
Pack your wings — Toponauts is flying all the way to the bottom of the world: New Zealand! 🇳🇿✈️ Kiwis call it Aotearoa, "the land of the long white cloud", and it's made of two big islands (plus a few smaller ones) sitting all alone in the huge Pacific Ocean. Explore its 16 regions, its snowy mountains, and its rivers that wind from lake to sea.
🗺️ 16 regions on two islands
New Zealand is divided into 16 regions: 9 on the North Island (Te Ika-a-Māui) and 7 on the South Island (Te Waipounamu). Fly into each one and watch its real border light up on the map — from busy Auckland (the biggest region) to wild, empty West Coast on the South Island, where more sheep live than people!
🏛️ One country, two names for everything
Almost every place in New Zealand has both an English name and a Māori name — sometimes both official names are even joined together, like the country's highest mountain: Aoraki / Mount Cook. Auckland's Māori name is Tāmaki-makau-rau, and Christchurch is Ōtautahi. The capital city, Wellington, sits right where the North and South Islands almost touch, on the Cook Strait.
🌊 Rivers from mountain to sea
The Waikato River is New Zealand's longest river — it starts at Lake Taupō (the country's biggest lake, sitting inside a giant ancient volcano!) and flows about 425 km north to the Tasman Sea. On the South Island, the fast-flowing Clutha River (also called Mata-Au) carries more water than any other river in the country, tumbling down from the mountains near Lake Wanaka.
⛰️ The Southern Alps and Aoraki
Down the whole length of the South Island run the Southern Alps — a long, jagged mountain chain the Māori call Kā Tiritiri o te Moana. Right in the middle stands Aoraki / Mount Cook, New Zealand's highest peak at 3,724 metres. Up on the North Island, keep an eye out for smoking volcanoes: Ruapehu, Tongariro and Taranaki (also called Mount Egmont) are all still active!
🎉 Fun facts
- New Zealand was one of the last places on Earth that people settled — the first Polynesian voyagers (the ancestors of the Māori) only arrived around 700 years ago.
- It's home to the kiwi, a fluffy flightless bird that can't fly and lays enormous eggs — and it's also the nickname New Zealanders give themselves!
- New Zealand has no snakes at all living in the wild — it's one of the very few countries in the world without them.
- Big cities to discover include Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton and Tauranga — and don't forget Stewart Island, a wild third island way down south.
▶️ How to play
Switch your country to New Zealand with the "change your country" button, then pick a map — regions, capitals, big cities, rivers, relief or lakes. Zoom into a single region to practise its towns. Happy flying! 🚁