New Zealand has been called God's own country and the "Paradise of the Pacific" since the early 1800s. Travellers generally agree New Zealand deserves this description.
Lonely Planet named New Zealand the world's top travel destination two years in a row (2003/2004), and it was voted best long-haul travel destination in the 2004 Guardian and Observer’s People’s Choice award. It has won the award in three out of the past four years. At the 2005 Condé Nast Traveller Awards, readers voted New Zealand as the best holiday destination in the world.
[edit] Geography
New Zealand consists of two main islands and many smaller ones in the South Pacific Ocean approximately 1600 km southeast of Australia. With a population of four million in a country about the size of the United Kingdom, many areas are sparsely settled.
Be sure to allow sufficient time to travel in New Zealand as distances are large, and roads wind along the coast and through mountain ranges, particularly on the South Island. It is possible to tour for three or four weeks on each island, although you can certainly see highlights in far less time.
Auckland, with a population of around 1.25 million people, is the largest city in Polynesia.
[edit] Settlement and history
New Zealand was the last significant land mass to be inhabited by humans, both in terms of indigenous settlement and European colonization. This, combined with geological youth and geographical isolation, has led to the development of a young, vigorous nation with a well-travelled, well-educated expatriate population of 1,000,000. 1 in 4 born New Zealanders and 1 in 3 between ages 22 and 48 have left their place of Birth for more favourable locations.
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