New Zealand starts as an enigma; for many of us it is such a familiar name with obvious connections and associations that have been with us all our lives (the All Blacks, kiwis, the Maoris, sheep and dairy produce, more recently its wines and Lord of the Rings) and yet mostly it is completely unknown to us in reality. We do not really know its geography, its landscape, its climate, its people, its culture, its way of life. For these reasons, you approach it as a journey of a lifetime.
A journey around New Zealand is an intrinsically enriching experience. You are engulfed by what can only be described as pure and simple luxury. You are surrounded by spectacular natural scenery on a scale and magnitude that overwhelms. Coupled with this feast of beauty there is a fundamental wholesomeness and cleanliness attached to it all. You notice a caring for the environment; it feels clean and pure. This in itself creates an incredible luxuriousness and state of privilege. In addition, the scenery and the climate changes almost every couple of hours as you travel from region to region, and yet everywhere there is something attractive
to behold.
Added to the landscape then is the range of experiences on offer, mainly associated with outdoor life, from tramping to fishing, from rafting to parabungy. You can learn about life on a sheep station, you can take a bush walk with a botanist, you can learn about wine making, you gain an understanding of volcanoes. You can swim with dolphins, you can see seals basking in the sun, you can watch sperm whales feed, you can marvel at penguins in their natural habitat.
Finally, there is the human contact. In New Zealand you will be exceptionally well looked after. Not only is some of the accommodation on offer the most luxurious in the world in terms of spaciousness, quality and comfort, the personal interaction that awaits you is disarming and warming. New Zealanders typify the country they have both nurtured and created. They are genuine, open, welcoming and keen for you to embrace their world. And so the visitor here does easily embrace this new world. You will take it to heart so much that on leaving what was this distant land, you can only think of the next time you will come back.
Facts
Capital
Wellington
Airports
International gateways are Auckland and Christchurch. Most other towns and cities have airports for domestic flights.
Currency
New Zealand dollar (£1 = NZ$1.96)
Climate
New Zealand enjoys a maritime climate, which explains partly the lush vegetation and the rich pastures, but also makes it very changeable. It is subject to prevailing winds from west to east although most rain falls in winter (June to August) and the summer months (December to March) are generally drier. The southern and western parts of the country are wetter than the northern and the eastern parts. On top of this longitude and altitude plays a role, with the northern part of the North Island enjoying an almost ‘winter-free’ year and being subtropical.
Getting out and about
The North Island offers an abundance of scenery and attractions with a variety of climates to match. From the subtropical, almost winterless northern tip with its beautiful coastline and lush vegetation to the ski fields of Mount Ruapehu at nearly 3000 metres, from the graceful relaxation of Auckland to the Art Deco architecture of Napier, from the bubbling mud and spouting geysers of Rotorua at the heart of the island to the sun-drenched vines and orchards of Hawke’s Bay.
The South Island is overwhelmingly attractive with its vast expanses of dramatic, varied scenery. The variety astounds as you pass through the island; there are the lush bush-fringed sandy coves and mild climate of the Abel Tasman National Park, the hidden inlets framed by native bush and calm seas for kayaking of the Marlborough Sounds, at Blenheim the flat lands full of vines beyond which rise parched-looking mountain ranges, verdant dense, rainforests of the west coast north of Fiordland and its mighty glacial valleys, lakes and inlets, snow-capped Mount Cook and the peaks of the southern Alps and then acres of fertile, flat, farmland on the east coast in Canterbury. Above all you are struck by the height of the land, its emptiness and the enormity of the canvas before you. The South Island is also home to numerous wildlife colonies; you can see whales year round at Kaikoura, seals in the Abel Tasman National park as well as along the east coast, dolphins of various species around the country from the north to Kaikoura and in Fiordland, penguins including the yellow-eyed, the Fiordland crested and the blue penguin are at home here.
Travel arrangements
A holiday to New Zealand, particularly for the first time, will involve a fair amount of travelling. Distances may not seem particularly great but due to the terrain and the speed limits, you have to allow plenty of time if travelling over land or fly.<br /><br />The quality of the road surfaces (other than when you leave the public road to go onto lodge or farmland) is very good. However, the speed limit is a strict 100 kmh and hardly any of the roads are dual carriageways. In addition to this, you have to allow for mountainous or at least hilly terrain in many regions. Driving will be part of the holiday if you are to explore in any depth. With our holidays we include a Hertz group J car (Ford Escape or equivalent four wheel drive), although smaller and larger cars are available too. You may and probably should choose to fly internally between some regions. Obvious examples here are between Bay of Islands and Rotorua, Wellington and Nelson or Blenheim, Christchurch and Queenstown. The domestic air network with Air New Zealand is excellent and criss-crosses the country with numerous services. In addition to road and air, you may want to take the Interislander ferry service between the North and South Islands. These vessels travel between Wellington and Picton, with a travelling time of about 3 hours. There is also a scenic train service, the TranzAlpine, that traverses the South Island between Christchurch and Greymouth, travelling through the Southern Alps.