Famosa como a terra do "Senhor dos Aneis" e as suas magnificas paisagens, pelo seu Rugby e inspirador "Haka", pelos Maoris e suas enigmaticas tatuagens , a Nova Zelandia e talvez o mais longiquo destino para os colegas que procuram emigrar. 
A sua populacao jovem e extremamente amigavel (quem ja conheceu um Kiwi sabe que o que queremos dizer!), a sua elevada propensao para a vida ao ar livre e desportos de aventura, a sua excelente qualidade de vida, podem no entanto justificar tao grande salto! 
Aqui fica mais alguma informacao para os interessados! 

With a patchwork history of Māori, European, Pacific Island and Asian cultures, New Zealand has become a melting-pot population - but one with some uniting features that make it unique in the world.

Today, of the 4.4 million New Zealanders (informally known as Kiwis), approximately 69% are of European descent, 14.6% are indigenous Māori, 9.2% Asian and 6.9% non-Māori Pacific Islanders.

Geographically, over three-quarters of the population live in the North Island, with one-third of the total population living in Auckland. The other main cities of Wellington, Christchurch and Hamilton are where the majority of the remaining Kiwis dwell. 

Early Voyagers Over four hundred years before Christopher Columbus and the rest of Europe worried about falling off the edge of the world; Maori people voyaged thousands of miles across the vast unknown Pacific Ocean in small ocean-going canoes and became the first inhabitants of Aotearoa New Zealand. To this day, Maori culture is a core part of New Zealand’s national identity.

  Rugged Pioneers New Zealand’s European pioneers were also brave, rugged and independent. Before establishing farms and settlements, they had to first clear the land - a painstaking and sometimes dangerous activity. Their isolation and exposure to the elements forced these early New Zealanders to become hardy and multi-skilled.

This resourcefulness and ingenuity has greatly contributed to the New Zealand character. The same qualities can be seen today in the new pioneers - a generation of young Kiwi business executives, computer software builders, film-makers, fashion designers, and sportspeople making waves around the world.

Backyard Genius Since before Sir Ernest Rutherford ‘split’ the atom early in the twentieth century, Kiwis have been discovering and inventing things. Many of these inventions have literally been created in a backyard. While frozen meat, the Hamilton Jet boat, and the bungy jump are probably our most famous Kiwi inventions, there are many others.

New Zealanders are also responsible for the tranquilliser gun, seismic ‘base’ isolators (rubber and lead blocks which minimise earthquake damage), electric fences, the fastest motorbike in the world, freezer vacuum pumps, stamp vending machines, wide-toothed shearing combs, and the electronic petrol pump - to name a few!

Kiwis love the great outdoors For the same reason that many visitors come to New Zealand, Kiwis have developed a passion for the outdoors and delight in activities that make the most of the spectacular landscape. 

With so much coastline, it’s little wonder New Zealanders love the water and it’s reputed that over 15% of New Zealand families own their own boat.  Respected as superior yacht designers, Kiwis continue to dominate on the world yachting, kayaking, windsurfing and rowing scene.

Hiking, camping, fishing, bush and beach walks are other popular outdoor pursuits. The more intrepid take to the mountains; following in the footsteps of perhaps the most adventurous Kiwi, Sir Edmund Hillary, who conquered Mount Everest, the world’s highest mountain, in 1953.

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Arriving in AotearoaAccording to Maori, the first explorer to reach New Zealand was Kupe. Using the stars and ocean currents as his navigational guides, he ventured across the Pacific on his waka hourua (voyaging canoe) from his ancestral Polynesian homeland of Hawaiki. It is thought that Kupe made landfall at the Hokianga Harbour in Northland, around 1000 years ago.

Where is Hawaiki?You will not find Hawaiki on a map, but it is believed Maori came from an island or group of islands in Polynesia in the South Pacific Ocean. There are distinct similarities between the Maori language and culture and others of Polynesia including the Cook Islands, Hawaii, and Tahiti.

Tribal WakaMore waka hourua followed Kupe over the next few hundred years, landing at various parts of New Zealand. It is believed that Polynesian migration was planned and deliberate, with many waka hourua making return journeys to Hawaiki. Today, iwi (tribes) can trace their entire origins and whakapapa (genealogy) back to certain waka hourua. The seven waka that arrived to Aotearoa were called Tainui, Te Arawa, Matatua, Kurahaupo, Tokomaru, Aotea and Takitimu. 

Hunters, gatherers and growersMaori were expert hunters and fishermen. They wove fishing nets from harakeke (flax), and carved fishhooks from bone and stone. They hunted native birds, including moa, the world’s largest bird, with a range of ingenious traps and snares. Maori cultivated land and grew  introduced vegetables from Polynesia, including the kumara (sweet potato). They also ate native vegetables, roots and berries. Weaved flax baskets were used to carry food, which was often stored in a pataka — a storehouse raised on stilts. 

Tribal warfareIn pre-European times, Maori tribal warfare was common. Maori warriors were strong and fearless, able to skillfully yield a variety of traditional weapons, including the spear-like taiaha and club-like mere. Today, these weapons may be seen in Maori ceremonies, such as the wero (challenge).

To protect themselves from being attacked by other iwi, Maori would construct pa (fortified village). Built in strategic locations, pa were cleverly constructed with a series of stockades and trenches protecting the inhabitants from intruders. Today, many historic pa sites can be found throughout the country.

MorioriWhile Maori lived throughout the North and South Islands, the Moriori, another Polynesian tribe, lived on the Chatham Islands, nearly 900 kilometres east of Christchurch. Moriori are believed to have migrated to the Chathams from the South Island of New Zealand. In the late 18th century, there were about 2000 Moriori living on the Chathams. However, disease and attacks from Maori saw the numbers of this peace-loving tribe become severely depleted. The last full-blooded Moriori is believed to have died in 1933.

The first European to sight New Zealand was Dutch explorer Abel Tasman. He was on an expedition to discover a great Southern continent ‘Great South Land’ that was believed to be rich in minerals. In 1642, while searching for this continent, Tasman sighted a ‘large high-lying land’ off the West Coast of the South Island.

Abel Tasman annexed the country for Holland under the name of ‘Staten Landt’ (later changed to ‘New Zealand’ by Dutch mapmakers). Sailing up the country’s West Coast, Tasman’s first contact with Maori was at the top of the South Island in what is now called Golden Bay. Two waka (canoes) full of Maori men sighted Tasman’s boat. Tasman sent out his men in a small boat, but various misunderstandings saw it rammed by one of the waka. In the resulting skirmish, four of Tasman’s men were killed.

Tasman never set foot on New Zealand, and after sailing up the West Coast, went on to some Pacific Islands, and then back to Batavia (now Jakarta) in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). His mission to New Zealand was considered unsuccessful by his employers, the Dutch East India Company, Tasman having found ‘no treasures or matters of great profit’.

 BritainCaptain James Cook, sent to Tahiti to observe the transit of Venus, was also tasked with the search for the great southern continent thought to exist in the southern seas. Cook’s cabin boy, Young Nick, sighted a piece of land (now called Young Nick’s Head) near Gisborne in 1769. Cook successfully circumnavigated and mapped the country, and led two more expeditions to New Zealand before being killed in Hawaii in 1779.

Prior to 1840, it was mainly whalers, sealers, and missionaries who came to New Zealand. These settlers had considerable contact with Maori, especially in coastal areas. Maori and Pakeha (Europeans) traded extensively, and some Europeans lived among Maori. The contribution of guns to Maori intertribal warfare, along with European diseases, led to a steep decline in the Maori population at this time.