Hi there, Squeaks and I are looking at photos from his recent trip around the world with his family and tiny Jesse.
Wow, it's so beautiful.
Look at those massive cliffs.
This place looks kind of familiar.
Can you give me a hint about where this place is, Squeaks?
Oh, you are excited to be there because you love movies?
Wait.
Did you visit New Zealand?
I know lots of movies were filmed there.
That's amazing.
That's why it looks so familiar, too.
I probably saw this place in a movie.
New Zealand has lots of amazing and unique places with very different habitats and landscapes.
Where in New Zealand were you, Squeaks?
Wow, Te Rua o Te Moko?
Te Rua o Te Moko is a huge natural area in the southern part of New Zealand.
You'll also hear it go by the name Fjordland National Park.
Yeah, it's a lot like the national parks we have in the United States.
But Terua o Te Moko is extra special because it's also part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
That means that the United Nations, a group made of countries from all over the world, have recognized not just how beautiful it is, but how important it is to the people who have been visiting and living there for a long time.
And as a World Heritage Site, people have to try extra hard to protect it.
I think I see why this place is considered so unique.
Why?
Well, take a look at the shape of the water here in the picture.
The water comes up in long, narrow sections in between big, tall walls of rock on either side.
Bodies of water like this are called fjords.
That's why Te Rua o Te Moko is also called the Fjordlands.
There are all of these fjords along the coast.
That's the part of the land that's right up against the water.
In this case, that water is the Tasman Sea.
Ooh, good question, Squeaks.
He wants to know how the fjords got there.
It's a pretty interesting story.
A long time ago, this land was covered by glaciers.
Glaciers are massive pieces of ice on top of the land and they can shift and move very, very slowly.
And when the glaciers move, they dig into the earth and rock below them.
So over an incredibly long time, the glaciers in New Zealand dug long, deep grooves in the ground.
When the glaciers melted away, ocean water began to fill the grooves left behind.
This created long, deep areas filled with seawater, surrounded by tall mountains.
And there you go!
Fjords!
Check out how many fjords you can see on this map!
Oh yeah, they do kind of look like fingers of water reaching in from the ocean.
Fjords are really rare.
There are only a few places on Earth where you can find them.
Norway, Greenland, Canada, Alaska, Chile, and New Zealand.
It's no wonder people want to protect this place.
It is pretty special.
Let's look at another photo, Squeaks.
Ooh, this one is from Patia, also called Doubtful Sound in English.
Patia is the deepest fjord in New Zealand's fjordlands.
In some places, you'd have to swim down through 421 meters of water just to touch the sea floor.
That's so much water, you could stack about 35 school buses the long way, and they'd all be wet.
Ooh, did you see any interesting wildlife at Pattaya?
Awesome!
Let's take a look.
Ooh, dolphins!
So cool!
There are a lot of ocean creatures that live in the calm, protected waters of Pattaya, including dolphins.
Anything else special?
Wow, a penguin!
This must be a tawaki, also called a fjordland's crested penguin.
This species of penguin lives in forests and sea caves near the fjords and swims in the fjords to find food.
It's so cool that you got to see one!
Tawaki are endemic to New Zealand.
That means they don't live anywhere else in the entire world.
But the number of tawaki in the wild has been going down over the years and they need help from humans to protect them and the places they live.
The Tawakee rely on the safe, clean waters of the fjords, and so do lots of other endemic animals in the fjordlands.
But when people pollute the water near the fjords or introduce new predator species like dogs, all of the animals are in danger.
It is a little sad Squeaks, but there are a lot of people trying to help keep the fjords clean and protect the birds and other special animals at Te Rua o Te Moko.
For example, the Tawaki Project is all about protecting penguins in New Zealand.
With everyone working together, whether it's big groups like the United Nations, small groups like the Tawaki Project or individual people who live near the Te Rua o Te Moko area, there's hope for protecting this beautiful space.
Oh, you have one last photo from your visit to New Zealand?
Can I see it?
Oh, it looks like you had so much fun with Tiny Jessie.
The world is full of amazing places.
To keep exploring more of it with me and Squeaks, check out our other videos here at SciShow Kids.
And we'll see you next time here at the fort.
