Experience all New Zealand has to offer, skiing on the snow-capped mountains, diving in the crystal clear oceans and tons of other beautiful sights and activities.
There is so much to do in New Zealand, from scuba diving at the bottom of the ocean to climbing mountains thousands of feet in the air, there are activities for everyone.
You can surf the perfect waves all the way onto the fine, warm sand of the 3,200 miles of coastline. Dive the reefs to see the colorful tropical fish. You can fish for trout in the rivers or in the many lakes. Watch the world famous yacht race, the America's cup, held every three years. Or even watch the annual river regatta. Canoe down the beautiful rivers or just relax on the beach. New Zealand has many relaxing aquatic activities and exciting water sports (Countries of the World: New Zealand, 36).
In addition to the numerous water activities New Zealand has many things to do on land. You can ski down the beautiful snow capped mountains, or go on an ATV or horse trek through them. For the outdoorsmen you can go camping in the lush forests and hike on trails all over the island. Mountain climbing and caving are great for the more extreme sportsmen. You can also go on a flight seeing tour over the rolling hills and lush forests (Countries of the World: New Zealand, 36).
There are also many concerts and performances that take place every month all across the island (100% Pure New Zealand).
There are many national holidays that everyone can enjoy. One of them is AZNAC day, American and New Zealand Armed Corps day where the Army, Navy, and Air Force have competitions and show off their drills. Everyone is invited to come to the celebration. Another fun holiday is the Highland Games. On this day the athletes from all across the island compete in many events from wood chopping to marathons (Countries of the World: New Zealand, 39).
In addition to being a great place for family fun there is a huge range of plants and animals on the island. Most of the animals aren't native to the island but they contribute to the diversity of the land. The native animals are two species of bats and some species of birds including the kiwi bird - a small, round, bird with a long beak - the takahe - a colorful, blue and green bird - and the weka - a small brown striped bird. All of these birds are flightless and most of the birds are highly endangered (Jhonston, 353).
The animals that settlers brought to the island include deer, rabbit, pigs, cattle, sheep, possums, and wallabies (Jhonston, 354).
There are many plants on the island, too. The forests are mostly made of evergreens and tree ferns. Volcanoes destroyed most of the forests on the north island a very long time ago and now much of the land is covered with shrubs such as the manuka. Most of the trees destroyed were Kauri trees and most of the remaining Kauris were cut down by settlers in later years (Jhonston, 353).
New Zealand has a perfect climate all year round. In the summer the temperature is between 65 and 85 degrees and in the winter it is between 35 and 55 degrees. On the west coast of the island there is over 100 inches of rainfall per year. On the east coast they receive less than 20 inches every year (Jhonston, 355).
Because New Zealand is in the southern hemisphere the winter months are in June and July and the summer months are December and January (Jhonston, 355).
There is a great range of geographic areas, from snow-capped mountains to green lowlands; beaches and lakes to huge waterfalls (Jhonston, 351)
The north island has one of the highest peaks in New Zealand, Mt. Ruapehu at 9,177 feet. One of the areas of the north island is the Eastern Hills where ranchers graze their sheep and cows and farmers grow fruits and vegetables. Another region of the island is the Volcanic and Western Hills country. This covers the south-west area of the island and is made mostly volcanoes and volcanic rock (Jhonston, 350)
A second region of the island is the Northern Peninsulas and Wakito Basin. This makes up most of the north island and is mostly forests, lowlands, orchards, long beaches and undeveloped hills. There are many lakes all over the islands that are full of salmon and trout. The largest lake is Lake Taupo on the north island and it is 234 square miles and famous for the fishing (Jhonston, 351).
On the south island there are many regions, too. Mountains run from the Cook Straight which separates the north and south islands all the way down to the southern tip. Between the west coast and the mountain range are the Canterbury Plains, a large flat area stretching most of the way along the island. The west coast is many large beaches and the east coast is covered with natural inlets and coves. Many waterfalls and geysers are scattered around the island. The highest peak on this island is 12,349 foot Mt. Cook. The mountains are covered with glaciers and snow (Jhonston, 352).
New Zealand has a rich history. The natives, the Maoris, lived in villages called Pas with wooden houses. The villages had platforms and walls to protect from enemy tribes and the get an edge in combat (Higham, 33).
They believed that the cause of sickness was evil spirits and a healer would cleanse people of the spirits to cure a sickness (Higham, 31).
The Maoris made intricate woodcarvings and decorative patters (Higham, 32).
In 600 A.D Polynesians settled the island and in 1790 Europeans used the island to hunt seals and whales. After the settlers came diseases and conflict caused the numbers of the Maori to fall (Higham, 34).
New Zealand is a great place where everyone is treated fairly and accepted warmly. The government is a constitutional monarchy with a legislature of 120 people, a prime minister and his cabinet. The capital of New Zealand is Wellington. The people of New Zealand believe in equal rights and everyone is treated fairly. There are many churches there including the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church (Jhonston, 354).
Today most people speak English, the Maori still carve beautiful patterns and everyone lives in peace. They have one of the world's highest standards of living. There is an excellent school system and most people are well-educated. 75% of the people there are European and 99% of people are literate. They use rivers for hydroelectric power and it provides 75% of the power to the island. Farmers and ranchers provide enough food to feed millions of people. Coal, gold, iron, limestone and natural gas are mined and drilled for on the islands. They produce billions of feet of boards every year, enough for thousands of homes (Jhonston, 353).
New Zealand is a great, fun, pleasant place to visit. The people are friendly, the food is good and there is plenty to do. So, are you on your way yet?
