About New Zealand
It's almost impossible not to have heard of New Zealand since Peter Jackson made the country famous in his Lord of the Rings trilogy. While we don't have orcs, oliphants or wizards (well, we do have one but he's not quite as well known as Gandalf), we have sheep. Millions of them. We also have volcanoes and geothermal areas, lakes and rivers, coastline and beaches, and almost every other geographic feature except desert.
One of New Zealand's great advantages is being tucked away in the South Pacific. We're not part of Australia, although we are quite close by. But not close enough to have the poisonous or man-eating wildlife common in Australia. You won't find any snakes slithering through our grass, or crocodiles infesting our waterways.
You won't find too many New Zealanders either, relatively speaking. There are only four million of us in a country the size of Britain and a quarter of those populate the northern city of Auckland. Which makes the rest of the country pretty much uninhabited, by international standards.
We're a multi-cultural society, too, these days. Before Europeans (known in these parts as the Pakeha) arrived in the eighteenth century, New Zealand was inhabited by a Polynesian race known as the Maori. In recent years, New Zealand has been discovered by people from other countries who like the idea we're so far away and it's consequently much quieter than where they're from. This is not to say we're backward. New Zealand is right up there with the leaders, technologically speaking, as Gollum was sufficiently able to demonstrate.
With an international reputation for being clean and green, visitors to New Zealand are delighted by the range of breathtaking scenery on offer, the friendliness of the locals and the ease with which one can get around.
We speak English, the basic monetary unit is the New Zealand dollar, and we don't suffer extremes of temperature. You can rent a car or take a bus while some intrepid travellers have been known to cycle around the country.
If you come in summer you can enjoy the many uncrowded beaches and warm temperatures. Autumn or Fall is for nature-lovers with a superb range of colours gracing our autumn leaves. Winter is the time for such sports as skiing and snow-boarding and our South Island mountains and lakes are particularly beautiful then. Spring, too, has plenty to offer - with the sight and smell of blossom stunning to behold.
Adventure activities entice many. Whitewater rafting is a favourite, as are bungy-jumping, kayaking, caving and paragliding. The more faint-hearted might prefer the many different types of fishing on offer or perhaps a relaxing and peaceful swim.
The predominant religion in this part of the world is sport. We don't perform as well internationally as we once did but we can usually hold our own in rugby and cricket. Our most famous sportsmen are Jonah Lomu, and the now deceased Sir Edmund Hilary (the first person to conquer Mt Everest) and yachtsman, Sir Peter Blake.
Other famous Kiwis (which is how we describe ourselves, the kiwi being our nearly extinct native bird) include singer Dame Kiri te Kanawa, actor Russell Crowe (although the Aussies also claim him as one of theirs), and model Rachel Hunter.
No matter what your preference is for the ideal holiday, there is no doubt New Zealand can provide it. But do, please, keep it a secret. We don't want to be inundated with tourists, but you and your close friends are most welcome.
One of New Zealand's great advantages is being tucked away in the South Pacific. We're not part of Australia, although we are quite close by. But not close enough to have the poisonous or man-eating wildlife common in Australia. You won't find any snakes slithering through our grass, or crocodiles infesting our waterways.
You won't find too many New Zealanders either, relatively speaking. There are only four million of us in a country the size of Britain and a quarter of those populate the northern city of Auckland. Which makes the rest of the country pretty much uninhabited, by international standards.
We're a multi-cultural society, too, these days. Before Europeans (known in these parts as the Pakeha) arrived in the eighteenth century, New Zealand was inhabited by a Polynesian race known as the Maori. In recent years, New Zealand has been discovered by people from other countries who like the idea we're so far away and it's consequently much quieter than where they're from. This is not to say we're backward. New Zealand is right up there with the leaders, technologically speaking, as Gollum was sufficiently able to demonstrate.
With an international reputation for being clean and green, visitors to New Zealand are delighted by the range of breathtaking scenery on offer, the friendliness of the locals and the ease with which one can get around.
We speak English, the basic monetary unit is the New Zealand dollar, and we don't suffer extremes of temperature. You can rent a car or take a bus while some intrepid travellers have been known to cycle around the country.
If you come in summer you can enjoy the many uncrowded beaches and warm temperatures. Autumn or Fall is for nature-lovers with a superb range of colours gracing our autumn leaves. Winter is the time for such sports as skiing and snow-boarding and our South Island mountains and lakes are particularly beautiful then. Spring, too, has plenty to offer - with the sight and smell of blossom stunning to behold.
Adventure activities entice many. Whitewater rafting is a favourite, as are bungy-jumping, kayaking, caving and paragliding. The more faint-hearted might prefer the many different types of fishing on offer or perhaps a relaxing and peaceful swim.
The predominant religion in this part of the world is sport. We don't perform as well internationally as we once did but we can usually hold our own in rugby and cricket. Our most famous sportsmen are Jonah Lomu, and the now deceased Sir Edmund Hilary (the first person to conquer Mt Everest) and yachtsman, Sir Peter Blake.
Other famous Kiwis (which is how we describe ourselves, the kiwi being our nearly extinct native bird) include singer Dame Kiri te Kanawa, actor Russell Crowe (although the Aussies also claim him as one of theirs), and model Rachel Hunter.
No matter what your preference is for the ideal holiday, there is no doubt New Zealand can provide it. But do, please, keep it a secret. We don't want to be inundated with tourists, but you and your close friends are most welcome.
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