Situated in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, New Zealand is mainly comprised of two main large islands - the North and South Islands, and one smaller island - Stewart Island, as well as numerous smaller islands including the Chatham Islands. New Zealand is known as Aotearoa meaning "Land of the long white cloud".
New Zealand is a country dominated by towering peaks, long sandy beaches, exotic natural bush, sparkling lakes, and an extraordinary array of flora and fauna because of its isolation from the rest of the world. These values make New Zealand a haven for outdoor activities as well as a great place to unwind and take it all in.
The New Zealander is also known as a "Kiwi" (named after the national bird). Kiwi's have a unique and dynamic culture with influences from it's mostly European, Maori, Asian, and Pacific inhabitants. Kiwi's are known for their friendliness, honesty and openness.
Each region of New Zealand is unique and quite different from each other in culture, landscape, and scenery. There are fourteen National Parks which protect the natural assets of the country and there are many outdoor activities available to explore the beauty and grandeur of these parks.
There are so many "must do" activities and experiences to try when traveling through New Zealand. We have listed only a small few in our New Zealand blog entries. Be sure to check out our whole Kiwiana 2006 tour here.
Here are some more links for New Zealand:
Pictures and Information about New Zealand
Bilder aus Neuseeland (German Site)
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Sailing In The Bay Of Islands New Zealand Day Sailing in the beautiful Bay of Islands from the town of Paihia in Northland, New Zealand. Today is set aside for a sailing trip around the Bay of Islands with skipper Vanessa McKay and the... |
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New Zealand Christmas Season's greetings at Christmas from New Zealand. From a slightly cooler New Zealand than expected, we wish you all - our friends - a very Merry... |
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Self Drive From Christchurch To Kaikoura New Zealand Rolling countryside of North Canterbury and the rugged Kaikoura Coast. We set out from our quiet base of Oamaru and begun the second phase of our trip. We left early from... |
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New Zealand Kiwifruit Country In Te Puke A visit to Kiwi 360 near the town of Te Puke on the North Island of New Zealand. We woke to the "tink tink tink" of metal on metal, and what sounded like a hammer driving in tent... |
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Swimming At Goat Island On The Matakana Coast Snorkelling the cool waters of the Matakana Coast at Goat Island, Northland, New Zealand. Since yesterday (March 4th) dawned so wet, we made a beeline from Whakatane to Warkworth, the... |
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NZ Fur Seals And Lighthouses Of The Wairarapa A long drive from Castlepoint to Cape Palliser to view the NZ Fur Seals in the Wairarapa, North Island, New Zealand. Before leaving the town of Castlepoint, aptly named after the 162 metre high Castle Rock which sits... |
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Resorts And Farms Of The Marlborough Sounds Resorts in the remote Endeavour Inlet of the Queen Charlotte Sound and Camping farm style in Titirangi Bay, New Zealand. This day dawns bright and sunny - yay!! So we leave our oceanfront property (campsite) overlooking... |
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More Waterfalls And Penguins In The Catlins New Zealand We couldn't resist taking an extra day to explore the rugged Catlins district of New Zealand. We made our way back to the Fossil Forest in Curio Bay and enjoyed foraging along the rock plateau... |
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Lupins Eglinton River Valley Fiordland A carpet of colour during a drive into Fiordland National Park between Te Anau and Milford Sound on the South Island. We departed from our pristine and natural campsite on the southern shores of Lake Wakatipu and made... |
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The Magic Of Kenepuru Sound Marlborough Sounds Crystal clear waterways and pristine native bush in the Marlborough Sounds. Despite the fact that the weather still isn't co-operating, we check out a short little walk only... |
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Tractors And Gannets Of Cape Kidnappers Hawkes Bay A trip to see the Cape Kidnappers Gannets with Gannet Beach Adventures in the Hawkes Bay. The morning sun had heated our camper to hot sauna temperatures which was enough to wake us up and... |
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Hectors Dolphins In The Akaroa Harbour Banks Peninsula We take a tour to find the smallest dolphin in the world - the Hector's Dolphin in Akaroa Harbour, New Zealand. After a peaceful sleep, we started the journey over the hilly landscape of Banks Peninsula. The... |
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Cape Foulwind Westport Sunset Fur Seal Colony and sunset at Cape Foulwind near Westport, New Zealand. We got into Westport and restocked the galley before heading out to Cape Foulwind - adeptly named... |
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Hawkes Bay Winery Tour By Bike Peddle power and wine on a sunny day in the Hawke's Bay region of the North Island, New Zealand. As soon as the gannet tour was over at around 12 noon (this varys depending on the departure time... |
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Sperm Whales Of The Kaikoura Canyon A close encounter with the largest toothed animal on the planet, Giant Sperm Whales. While we still have our sea legs, we continue along on the marine mammal theme and embark on... |
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Best Thai Restaurant In Auckland We have found the best Thai Restaurant in Auckland - Thai Room in the suburb of Avondale. After a full day of catching up with work in Auckland we took a break and had dinner at The Thai... |
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Maitai Beach And Paihia In Northland Roll out the lazy, hazy, sunny days of summer in hot Northland, New Zealand. Driving the long passage back out from the Cape we saw so many buses and cars driving to Cape... |
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Nugget Point Lighthouse For Sunset In The Catlins We had our sights set on being at Nugget Point Lighthouse for sunset in the beautiful Catlins district. Although we were aiming to be at Nugget Point in the Catlins for sunset we stopped off for an... |
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Skippers Canyon Near Queenstown A look at the old Gold Rush and Lord of the Rings sites in the Skippers Canyon near Queenstown. After the disappointment of not going paragliding (after getting psyched up the night before and... |
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Knee Deep In Sheep At The Agrodome Rotorua Farms and thermal activity of Rotorua aka the Sulphur City in the Bay of Plenty. We finally head out of the town of Whakatane after being bound by the weather for several days. We... |
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Geology In The Abel Tasman National Park A diverse coastline awaits exploration in the Abel Tasman National Park of New Zealand. In the wee hours of the morning we woke and heard the familiar sound of rain on the roof of the... |
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Climbing Mt Ruapehu A Volcano In The Tongariro National Park From active volcanos in Tongariro National Park to the wine region of Hawkes Bay on the North Island of New Zealand. After a slightly noisy night at Reid's Farm Campground, we head off for Tongoriro National Park in... |
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Lakes Waterfalls And Gorges Of The South Island From the peaceful Nelson Lakes National Park to flying across a gorge over the Buller River. Our morning started out peaceful enough, parked under the shade of a large tree. Our campground... |
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Zoo Visit In Auckland The Auckland Zoo in Western Springs - a busy place to visit during the holidays! The weather forecast was for more rain for most of the week - boo hiss!! Regardless of the weather... |
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New Zealand Camping Culture On the road again on phase two of our New Zealand tour and an insight into kiwi style camping. We begin the second leg of our travels with a slight deviation towards the Southern Lakes. This is... |
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Scenic And Diverse Catlins Landscape Revisiting the delightful Catlins area in the deep south of New Zealand. If you have been following this blog - you will know that we have mostly freedom camped throughout... |
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Mt Cook The Pinnacle Of New Zealand A trip to view the highest peak in New Zealand Mt Cook with Lake Pukaki at its foot. Setting out from Oamaru, we drive north briefly on State Highway 1 before heading inland at Pukeuri... |
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Volcanic Activity And Maori Culture Walking across the steaming volcanic landscapes of Wai-o-tapu Thermal Wonderland and Orakei Korako. The volcanic activity around Rotorua and Taupo is quite intense with steam rising in nearly all... |
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Arrival New Zealand Not quite summer yet in New Zealand. We made it - but how?? As "usual" 2 bags were missing when we arrived in Auckland. This is now the... |
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Christchurch City And Lyttelton Harbour An overnight trip to Christchurch exploring the city, the Port Hills, and Lyttelton Harbour. An early start from Oamaru, allowed enough time to drive to Christchurch (3 hours) then check out... |
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Kitesurfing Orewa New Zealand A breezy day brings out Kitesurfing enthusiasts in their masses along the beach at Orewa, North Island, New Zealand. Today dawned more on the gloomy side. We had planned to go sailing for the day in the Bay of... |
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Cook Strait And Wellington City A wonderful scenic cruise through the Marlborough Sounds across the Cook Strait to the windy city of Wellington. An early start from Rarangi this morning guaranteed our arrival into Picton in time to check in for... |
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Auckland New Zealand Spending the day in the big smoke - Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand. We had several appointments which kept us pretty busy for most of the day, however we did manage to... |
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Fruit Country In Roxburgh Central Otago The fruit basket of New Zealand is roughly the region between Roxburgh and Cromwell in Central Otago, South Island. Today we travel through one of my personal favourites - the Central Otago district with its diverse... |
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Waterfalls And Formations Of The Waikato An outdoor lovers paradise, the Waikato offers caves, waterfalls, and surfing. We made a quick stop at the Sheep Shearing Capital of the World, Te Kuiti before merging with... |
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Quick Tour Of Auckland New Zealand Before heading out of Auckland, we take a short tour of the largest city in New Zealand. With limited time in Auckland, in fact only about 3 hours, we picked out a few main things that we... |
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West Coast Surf Beaches And Gannet Colony Driving through the Surfing town of Raglan to the restless Gannet Colony of Muriwai Beach. Although today was mostly about driving to as close to Auckland as possible since we had... |
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Kiwi Culture In Central Otago From the rainforest of Haast Pass to Central Otago, New Zealand. It was a full day of activity today as we drove further from the West Coast over the rainforested... |
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Mt Egmont To The Whitecliffs Of Taranaki A day of pristine waterfalls and native flora to the rugged coastline of the Taranaki. Happy New Year! We wish you all fresh opportunities and prosperity in the new year! We... |
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Glaciers And Helicopters On The West Coast Of New Zealand An insightful helicopter flight over Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers and around Mt Cook. It was a bright and sunny day, so we went flying!! We chose a 40 minute helicopter flight with... |
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Gannets At Cape Kidnappers Hawkes Bay Round two on the Gannet Beach Adventures tour to Cape Kidnappers in the Hawkes Bay, New Zealand. With two excursions lined up for today, it was to be an early start. We were staying in the town of... |
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Water Water Everywhere In Fiordland National Park Visiting the dramatic water world of Fiordland National Park. Soon we entered Fiordland National Park, where we were presented with fresh rivers and rugged sheer... |
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