New Zealand

New Zealand [1] is a temperate to sub-tropical island nation in the South Pacific Ocean.
A former British colony, the majority of the population is of European descent, with a sizeable indigenous Maori minority and smaller minorities of various Polynesian and other groups.
A modern but sparsely populated country, it boasts natural beauty and a wide range of outdoor and adventure activities

Islands

New Zealand consists of the two main North and South islands and a number of smaller ones:

North Island – Warm, with scenery ranging from sandy beaches, through rolling farmland and forests to active volcanic peaks.

South Island – Spectacular mountains and fjords, large beech forests, beautiful beaches.

Stewart Island – heavily forested, a wilderness paradise for trampers with wonderful bird song. Only place to a see a sun-bathing (feathered) kiwi on Masons Beach!

Chatham Islands

Sub-Antarctic Islands – Very difficult to get to unless you're on a scientific expedition or deep sea fishing vessel

Cities

New Zealand follows general Commonwealth useage in only describing conurbations that are the seat of a bishop as "cities".
It's the country that's magnificent in New Zealand and we only list nine of the most prominent settlements. Here they are from north to south:
North Island:

Auckland — "The City of Sails." The largest and most populated conurbation, with over a million in the metropolitan area, making it the largest in Polynesia by far.

Tauranga - Known for its great weather, sun and beach Tauranga is a great holiday spot.

Rotorua — Famous for Maori culture, geysers, hot pools and that funny (Sulphur Dioxide) rotten egg smell.

Wellington — the national capital — Parliament and the Beehive and the wonderful, free Te Papa museum. "The Windy City".

South Island:

Nelson — Safe and friendly, with New Zealand's highest sunshine hours. Nelson is the geographic centre of the country and surrounded by THREE stunning national parks, vineyards and orchards

Christchurch — The Garden City and the Air Gateway to Antarctica.

Queenstown — Adrenalin and adventure capital of the world… skydive, bungee-jump, jet-boat, thrill yourself to your hearts content.

Dunedin — the Edinburgh of the South. Proud of its Scots heritage, chocolate factory, Southern Albatross colony and its wonderful tramping tracks within a short drive from the CDB.

Invercargill — the southernmost city and one of the very few places to see a living Tuatara.

Other destinations

Havelock North, a great base for exploring the Hawkes Bay wineries. and home to Te Mata peak.

Hokianga - wild, beautiful, bi-cultural

Elsthorpe - in Hawkes Bay is a beautiful country settlement

Feilding - voted New Zealand's most beautiful town 12 times in a row

Opiki - potato capital of New Zealand

Blenheim - Grape vines to the horizon with sauvignon blanc to die for

Kaikoura - great for whale watching.

The Southern Alps stretch the length of the South Island.

Aoraki/Mount Cook — New Zealand's highest mountain.

Omarama — World famous gliding destination. Scenic alpine glider flights and pilot training
Milford Sound and Fiordland.

Understand

New Zealand was named god's own country and 'paradise of the pacific' as far back as the early 1800s and travellers generally agree it deserves that description.
A common mistake is to allow insufficient time for a visit. (Since it's a long and expensive way to go for most people, many folks end up spending all their time in Australia and then wishing that they had spent an equal or longer time in this very variegated archipelago).
Relax and allow at least three or four weeks for each island!
Lonely Planet named New Zealand the world's top travel destination for the second year running (2003/2004), and it was voted best long-haul travel destination in the 2004 Guardian and Observer’s People’s Choice award. It has won the award in three out of the past four years. At the 2005 Condé Nast Traveller Awards, readers voted New Zealand as the best holiday destination in the world. New Zealand is also known by the Maori name of Aotearoa, which is usually translated as "(Land of the) long white cloud".

Geography

New Zealand consists of two main islands and many smaller ones in the South Pacific Ocean approximately 2000 km southeast of Australia. With a population of four million in a country about the size of the United Kingdom, many areas are sparsely settled.
Auckland, the largest city (about 1.25 million), is the largest city in Polynesia.

Settlement and history

New Zealand was the last significant land mass to be inhabited by humans, both in terms of indigenous settlement and European domination. This, combined with geological youth and geographical isolation, has led to the development of a young, vigorous nation with a well-travelled, well-educated expatriate population of 1,000,000. (1 in 4 born New Zealanders and 1 in 3 between ages 22 and 48 have left their place of Birth for more favorable locations). It also has some spectacular scenery, flora and fauna.
The Polynesian Maori reached New Zealand in about 800 AD. Dutch explorer Abel Tasman, in 1642, was the first European to see New Zealand, and his mapped coastline appeared on Dutch maps as "Nieuw Zeeland" from as early as 1645. British naval Captain James Cook rediscovered, circumnavigated and mapped the islands in 1769. A few people (mostly sealers, whalers, traders and missionaries) settled during the next 80 years and the islands were administered by the British colony in New South Wales.
In 1840, with the assistance of missionaries, the Maori agreed to accept British sovereignty over the islands through the Treaty of Waitangi. More intensive settlement began that same year. A series of land wars between 1843 and 1872, coupled with political maneuvering and the spread of European diseases, broke Maori resistance to land settlement, but left lasting grievances. In recent years the government has sought to address longstanding Maori grievances, and this is a complicated process. In 2005, the Maori Party was formed, in part in response to the Government's law on the Foreshore and Seabed but also to promote an independent Maori perspective at a political level.

The British colony of New Zealand became a dominion in 1907. It was offered complete independence under the 1931 Statute of Westminster, although it did not adopt this until 1947. However the Constitution of Australia permits New Zealand to join as another Australian state. New Zealand supported the United Kingdom militarily in the Boer War of 1899–1902, as well as both World Wars. It also participated in wars in Malaya, Korea and Viet Nam under various military alliances, most notably the ANZUS treaty with Australia and the United States.
New Zealand's elite has strongly opposed the testing and use of nuclear weapons. Nuclear armed warship visits meant that the Parliament enacted anti-nuclear legislation in the mid-1980s. This led to the abandonment of New Zealand's commitment to the ANZUS defence alliance. The New Zealand military continues be limited in capacity to take roles in UN- peacekeeping operations worldwide as often as its budget can bear.

Time Zones

New Zealand Standard Time is 12 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). New Zealand utilises daylight saving in summer. From 30 September 2007, daylight saving hours will be changed to extend the period to 27 weeks. It commences at 2am on the last Sunday in September (clocks go forward an hour) and ends at 2am on the first Sunday in April (clocks go back an hour) of the following year. During daylight savings time New Zealand is 13 hours ahead of GMT. The Chatham Islands have their own time zone, 45 minutes ahead of the rest of New Zealand.

Sports

The "national sports" in New Zealand are rugby union and netball in winter, and cricket in summer. The Super 14 season runs from February to May, and the National Provincial Championship runs later in the year. The national team, the All Blacks, generally play matches at home during June through to September, mainly in the Tri Nations.

Climate

New Zealand has a temperate climate in the south island and sub-tropical climate in the North Island and the nature of the terrain, the prevailing winds and the length of the country lead to sharp regional contrasts. Temperatures sometimes exceed 30°C and fall below 0°C only in the elevated inland regions. Generally speaking, rainfall and humidity is higher in the west than the east of the country due to the north-south orientation of the mountain ranges and the prevailing westerly/north westerly winds.
Part situated in the "Roaring Forties", unsheltered areas of the country can get a bit breezy, especially in the centre, through Cook Strait and around Wellington. The winds seem to be stronger around the equinoxes. In the winter, southerly gales