New Zealand's Maori name is both romantic and apt - Aotearoa, meaning 'land of the long white cloud' , bringing to mind unspoilt landscapes and immense natural beauty, and with its beautiful extremes of rainforests and reefs, glaciers and volcanoes, you won't be disappointed.
View Pilot Guides - New Zealand. Video hosted on Google. On the picture: Red cable-car and Wellington, from the lookout at the upper cable-car station. New Zealand is made up of two long thin islands, with a land area not much larger than California. It is culturally fascinating, as home to a large population of Maori's, with plenty of opportunities to get a glimpse of their traditional way of life. It is also a very active country,with more crazy and original extreme sports and equally amazing geothermal sites.
In no other country of this size can you scuba dive in one the top sites in the world, walk on glaciers, fly down stream on a jet-boat, taste world-class wines and spend Christmas on the beach. New Zealand is all about being the best - the highest, the fastest, the lowest, the longest, meaning that even the shortest visit will be a journey of discovery.
New Zealand is a beautiful land of contrasts. The North Island is flat, green and densely populated, while the South Island is rugged, mountainous and snowy. The Maori originally called it Etirea, the land of the long white cloud. Globe Trekker traveller Ian Wright starts his journey in Auckland, where the city skyscrapers are home to the most extreme sports in the world. He then heads up the coast to Matauri Bay and the Bay of the Islands. On the South Island he visits Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown, before climbing the amazing Fox Glacier.
New Zealand is a country of rare seismic beauty: glacial mountains, fast-flowing rivers, deep, clear lakes, hissing geysers and boiling mud. There are also abundant native forests, long, deserted beaches and a variety of fauna, such as the kiwi, endemic to its shores. Any number of vigorous outdoor activities - tramping (hiking), skiing, rafting and, of course, that perennial favourite, bungy jumping - await the adventurous. You can swim with dolphins, gambol with newborn lambs, whale-watch or fish for fattened trout in pristine streams and rivers.
The weather is never so miserable that there's no point in going to New Zealand: there are things to see and do all year round. The warmer months (November to April) are busiest, especially during the school holidays from December 20 to the end of January. Ski resort towns are obviously busier during the winter months. If you're travelling during peak periods (especially the Christmas season) it's best to book ahead, as much accommodation and transport fills up. It's probably more pleasant to visit either before or after this hectic period, when the weather is still warm and there aren't as many other travellers around.
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