New Zealand
When you visit New Zealand keep in mind that the country is made up of three main islands with a land mass about as big as Colorado USA. The North and South Islands, separated by Cook Strait, Stewart Island the third largest, and many small ones. It lies in the Southern hemisphere between 37 and 47 degrees south of the equator. The New Zealand population is approximately 4.2 million people with 67.6% being of European origin, 14.6% Maori and 14.7% Pacific Island. In the 2006 census Asian origin is the fastest growing ethnic group and Auckland NZ has the largest ethnic diversity of all. Approximately 1650 kilometres (1025 miles) long from the tip of the North Island to the bottom of the South Island it has thousands of kilometres of coastline, rugged hills, forests, mountains and extensive farm land. Agriculture is of prime importance to the New Zealand economy. Auckland, in the North Island, is the largest city, Wellington, the capital, is located at the bottom of the North Island, and Christchurch and Dunedin are 3rd and 4th largest cities respectively and are in the South Island. While planning your New Zealand tour don’t underestimate travel times between places, distance in New Zealand is not an accurate indicator of travel time. New Zealand travel times are longer than you may be used to due to the hilly nature of the country, relative narrowness of the roads and lack of long distance freeway systems. The country is spectacular with a constantly changing natural landscape with significant volcanic activity in the North Island whilst the South Island has New Zealand’s largest land mass and a spectacular alpine mountain range dividing the east coast from the west, The Southern Alps. New Zealand Climate The New Zealand climate is maritime and New Zealand weather can change very quickly. Because it lies in the Southern Hemisphere, the average temperature decreases as you travel south from the subtropical climates of Northland and Auckland to the cooler mountain climate of Central Otago in the south. Visitors need to be prepared for sudden changes of the New Zealand weather when pursuing outdoor activites. New Zealand's seasons can be categorised into: Spring - September, October, November Summer - December, January, February Autumn - March, April, May Winter - June, July, August The warmest months are December, January and February, and the coldest June, July and August. November to April are the best months for New Zealand tours but don’t foget the fantastic winter sports available in destinations such as Queenstown In summer, the average maximum temperature ranges between 20 - 30ºC and in winter between 10 - 15ºC but can be much colder in the mountains and the far southern regions. Rainfall is higher in winter but you can expect rain at any time, that’s why the countryside is such a beautiful green. New Zealand Time Zone New Zealand's standard Time zone is 12 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT+12). New Zealand operates Daylight saving Time from the first Sunday in October until the third Sunday in March, when the time is GMT+13. As one of the first countries in the world to greet each new day the time in New Zealand is in advance of many of the world’s major cities: New York: 17 hours behind London: 12 hours behind Tokyo: 3 hours behind |
