New Zealand is a short flight from Australia, and has at least as much to offer, particularly if you want breathtaking natural landscapes. It is comprised of a North Island (with 70% of New Zealand's population, the major cities Auckland and Wellington, endless beaches, rolling farmland, and incredible geothermal activity), a South Island (featuring the snowy alps, smaller cities such as Christchurch and Queenstown, and impressive fjordlands), and the much smaller Stewart Island. There are also several groups of outlying islands that are harder to access: the Chatham Islands, Kermadec Islands, Antipodes Islands, Bounty Islands, Auckland Islands, Raoul Island, and Campbell Island.
The weather is mild and the terrain beautiful. From Kiwi birds and wild parrots to boiling mud and sulphur springs, or world-renowned surfing beaches to glaciers and temperate rainforests, New Zealand has it all. Its total square mileage is two-thirds that of Calfornia, but there are only about four million inhabitants.
New Zealand's cultural blend is made up primarily of Maoris, native to southeast Asia and hunters, gatherers, and farmers of the islands since around 1000 A.D., and the French, Dutch, and English, who began to trade and colonize here in the late eighteenth and early-to-mid nineteenth century. Today, New Zealand is part of the British Commonwealth, but is an independent nation with its own government.
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 |  Map and Photos for New Zealand |  |
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| Overall Recommendation: | | 100% |  |
| | Scenery: | | 100% | |
| | Popularity: | | 58% | |
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