National Parks
Tongariro was New Zealand’s first national park. The mountain peaks of
Tongariro, Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu were a gift from Ngati Tuwharetoa in 1887. This
was 15 years after the world’s first national park, Yellowstone was created in the
United States.
Origin
National parks are places set aside to protect natural landscapes and native plants and animals forever. They are really big – 10,000 hectares or more. Protection comes first but they are also places for people to enjoy. GO visit some of them (just don’t damage them), We also have underwater national parks - they are called marine reserves!