New Zealand Travel Guides

About New Zealand

My travels took me to New Zealand many times as an Acupuncturist-at-Sea. For more information on destinations, check out my New Zealand Travel Guides. In the southwest Pacific, New Zealand is an island country, comprising mostly of the North and South Islands, along with 700 other small islands. The 2 main islands are separated by Cook Strait. The country is part of the Oceania continent. Wellington is the capital city and Auckland the most populous. In the 13^th century, the Polynesians settled in New Zealand and developed a Maori Culture. In 1841 New Zealand became a British colony. Later, in 1947 it gained independence. Today, the main languages are English and Maori. The Maori called New Zealand “Aotearoa” meaning “Land of the Long White Cloud.”

The rugged landscape of New Zealand is largely a result of straddling the Pacific and Indo-Australian Plates. The South Island is more mountainous and dominated by the Southern Alps. On the southwestern corner of the South Island is the beautiful Fiordlands. In comparison, the North Island has more volcanoes. Overall, the country experiences earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

Because New Zealand was isolated for 80 million years, its flora and fauna evolved into unique species.

Because the birds lacked mammalian predators, many evolved as flightless. For example, the national icon, the Kiwi bird is flightless. There are more species (13 of 18) of penguins in New Zealand than any other country. Interestingly, no poisonous snakes or spiders exist in New Zealand. Polynesian and European settlers performed massive deforestation, leaving only 23% of the land currently with forests.

Fiordland National Park is the largest of 13 national parks in New Zealand. The incredible glaciers carved these fiords, including the majestic Milford, Dusky and Doubtful Sounds. Rotorua is a city in the Bay of Plenty area on the North Island. This region contains 18 lakes and is especially renowned for its geothermal parks and wellness spas.