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INTRODUCTION
A fair case can be made that New Zealand is the most isolated country in the world. Situated in the South Pacific and surrounded by ocean on all sides, it requires a long biorhythm-racking plane flight to reach from most places and it's nearest neighbors, the Antarctic, Australia and New Caledonia, are 1,500 miles, 1,200 miles and 900 miles away respectively.
Even so, people have who have made the effort to visit New Zealand, particularly those who like the outdoors and adventure travel, rarely have any complaints. Its natural wonders are unparalleled and some people have even gone as far as describing it as Godzone, the most beautiful place on earth.
New Zealand has fjords just as deep and magnificent as those in Norway; tropical waters as teaming with life as those in Tahiti or Hawaii; glacier-carved mountains as awe-inspiring as the Alps; pastures as green and serene as those in Ireland; and geothermal hot spots as unworldly as those in Yellowstone Park.
There are also miles and miles of unspoiled beaches, lush temperate rain forests, traditional Polynesian villages, vineyards, unpretentious sailboat-filled cities, and schools of Hector's dolphins, colonies of fur seals, and bizarre animal such as kiwis, tuataras (200 million-year-old lizards), keas (tame parrots) and wetas (the world largest insects).
All this natural beauty and wildness provides a fine backdrop for thrill sports, which have become one of New Zealand's biggest draws. New Zealand is the home of Sir Edmund Hillary, the first man to climb Mt. Everest, and where bungy jumping off bridges, white water sledding, rapelling down office building, and jet boating were commercially developed.
Another one of New Zealand's appealing features is that it is exotic yet civilized. Most of the comforts that people are used to in their home countries—good accommodation, reliable transportation and meals with large servings—are found in New Zealand at a reasonable prices. And, all this is delivered by the New Zealanders, the friendliest, most casual and most unpretentious people that you are ever likely to meet.
LOCATION: New Zealand is 1,200 miles east of Australia and 4,600 miles to west of South America. The South Pacific Islands of Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and Tahiti are between 1,300 miles and 2,000 miles to the north and northeast; Honolulu is 4,600 miles to the north; and Los Angeles is 6,800 miles to the northeast.
GEOGRAPHY
Bordered to the north and east by the Pacific Ocean, to the west by the Tasman Sea, and to the south by the frigid waters that surround the Antarctic, New Zealand is about 1,000 miles long from north to south and covers 103,736 square miles, which makes it roughly the same size as Colorado.
About equidistant between the equator and the South Pole, New Zealand is comprised of two major islands (the largest in Polynesia), which are called appropriately enough North Island and South Island.
North Island covers 44,281 square miles and is regarded as sub-tropical. South Island covers 58,093 square miles and is regarded as temperate. Other major islands include 670-square-mile Stewart Island and 372-square-mile Chatham Island. There are thousands of other small islands as well as much coastline as the eastern half of the United States.
Mountains cover about half the country: with volcanos dotting the North Island and a major mountain range extending from north to south on the South Island. These mountain block clouds blowing in from the west. As a result there is much more rain and dense vegetation on the west side of New Zealand, particularly on the South Island, than on the east side.
The North Island occupies about 43 percent of New Zealand's territory and is home to about 70 percent of its human population, two thirds of its manufacturing and 93 percent of its dairy cattle, 77 percent of its beef cattle and half of its sheep. The North Island is younger geologically than the South Island and has a lot of geothermal activity. There is a large volcanic plateau in the middle of the island.
The South Island occupies about 55 percent of New Zealand's territory and encompasses large chunks of uninhabited territory. It has 15 mountains over 10,000 feet, several large glaciers, and New Zealand most spectacular Alpine scenery, particularly around Mt. Cook and Fiordland National Park in the Southern Alps. Its biggest industries are tourism and sheep ranching.
About 9 percent of New Zealand is good for agriculture (compared to 21 percent in the United States) and most of this arable land is on the fertile plains on the east coast of the country, especially on the broad Canterbury Plains on northeast part of the South Island. About 45 percent of New Zealand is covered by pastures and 33 percent by forests and woods. Most of the forests are around the mountains in a part of New Zealand called the high country.
Major Cities: Auckland, 450,000 in the city, and 1,000,000 including the suburbs; Christchurch, 314,000; Wellington (capital), 160,000.
CLIMATE
Auckland is located at about the same latitude as Sydney but unlike Australia, which is mostly dry, hot and barren, New Zealand is generally mild, green and often rainy. The climate is similar to San Francisco or Seattle except that the seasons are reversed because New Zealand is in the Southern Hemisphere.
In New Zealand spring flowers bloom in August and fall foliage begins appearing in some parts of country in May. Winter is in June, July and August; and summer is in December, January and February. Also remember that as one travels from north to south, the climate gets progressively cooler rather than warmer.
New Zealand's has mild climate partly due to the tempering effect of the ocean. But because the islands of New Zealand stretch for over 1,000 miles from north to south there are climate variations, ranging from semi-tropical in the northern parts of the country to blustery and cool in the south.
The northern half of the country is pleasant during the summer and cool during the winter. The high temperatures in Auckland rarely rise above 80̊F in the summer or drops below 60̊F in the winter. The number of rainy days averages between 8 and 15 days a month. The only place that it really gets cold is in the upper elevations of the mountains, where snow sometimes falls. Snow rarely falls in the lower elevations.
The weather patterns on the South Island are somewhat similar to those on the North Island except the temperatures are cooler, there is more high country, and the west coast receives a lot of rain. The high temperatures in Christchurch and Queenstown rarely rise above 75̊F in the summer or drop below 50̊F in the winter. The number of rainy days in these cities, which are on the dryer leeward side of the mountains, averages around eight days a month.
On the windward side of the mountains is another story. Moisten-laden air is blown by strong westerly winds over the Tasman Sea from Australia. When the air reaches the mountains on the west coast of New Zealand, it rises and cools, causing cloud formation and moisture to condense into rainfall. The southwest corner of the South Island receives rain almost everyday. Some places get up to 10 inches a day and 23 feet a year. The east coast of the North Island also receives a lot of rain, about 150 days a year, but much of it falls in the form of drizzle as is the case with Seattle.
The mountains in the western interior of the South Island receive quite a lot of snow and some mountains have huge glaciers. The winds here can be very strong and fierce, especially in southern New Zealand. The eastern side of both the South Island and the North Island have sunny days, particularly in the summer when droughts sometimes occur. New Zealand is south of the typhoon and cyclone belt.
Clothing: New Zealanders dress relatively informally. Smart, casual clothes are acceptable at most restaurants and nightspots (some places don't allow jeans though). Bring a sweater and jackets if you are traveling in the summer. Sometimes the weather is cool at night and/or in the upper elevations. Bring warm clothes if you are arriving in the winter. People planning to do any hiking or traveling in the chilly, rainy southwest are advised to bring polypropelene long underwear, fleece outer garments and rain gear, preferably made with Gortex.
PEOPLE
People in New Zealand are referred to New Zealanders or Kiwis (a reference to flightless, long-beaked, chicken-size birds found only in New Zealand). The country has a population of 3.6 million people (estimated in 1998), which is roughly equal to the population of the Houston metropolitan area. One third of New Zealand's population lives in the Auckland area and less than one third live on the South Island.
More than 86 percent of all New Zealanders live in urban areas (compared to 76 percent in the United States); the population is only growing at a natural rate of 0.7 percent a year (compared to 0.5 percent in Britain and 3.0 percent in Kenya). The average life expectancy is 74.4 for men and 80.9 for women (one the highest life span rates in the world); and about 23 percent of all New Zealanders are under 15, and 11.6 percent are over 60.
About 79 percent of all New Zealanders are of European descent. Most of them are people who descended from immigrants who originally came from England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland but there are large numbers who descended from of people from the Netherlands, Germany, Greece and the former Yugoslavia.
The largest minority is the Maori, the people who inhabited the New Zealand before Europeans arrived. They make up about 15 percent of the country's population (about 500,000 people). Other people of Polynesian origin make up about 6 percent of the population (about 200,000 people. They mostly come from Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, Niue and the Cook Islands. Most of the Asian immigrants (who make up about one percent of the population) are from Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore. Many of the Asians as well as a large number of South Africans have arrived in New Zealand since 1990.
LANGUAGE: English is the official and most widely spoken language. Maori is also an official language. It is increasing in importance.
RELIGION: About 24 percent of the population are Anglican (Episcopalian), 18 percent are Presbyterian and 15 percent are Roman Catholic.
Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons
Text Sources: National Geographic, Live Science, Natural History magazine, , New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian magazine, Discover magazine, The Conversation, The New Yorker, Time, BBC, CNN, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, Lonely Planet Guides, Wikipedia, The Guardian, and various books and other publications.
Last updated September 2025