Category: New Zealand

New Zealand is located in Pacific Ocean and the island nation consists of two major islands and several other small islands. The Chatham Island and Stewart Island are the major islands. New Zealand realm also consists of Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau and Ross Dependency, a territorial claim of New Zealand in Antarctica. New Zealand’s closest neighbors are Fiji, Tonga, New Caledonia and Australia. The first settlers of this island nation are Polynesians who reached in this island in 1250 to 1300 AD. Europeans came to New Zealand in AD 1642. In 1840, New Zealand became Britain’s colony and in 1852, the country became self-governing.

In 1947, the country joined the Commonwealth realm and Queen Elizabeth II is the head of the state. The queen is represented by Governor-General. Executive power is vested on the Cabinet which is headed by the Prime Minister. The powers of Queen and the Governor-General are limited. Parliament is the legislative power which comprises of Sovereign and House of Representatives. The ministers are appointed by the Governor-General on the advice of Prime Minister. New Zealand has the high standard of living when compared to Southern Europe and the country has a developed market economy.

New Zealand’s population is about 4.79 million and major ethnic groups are Europeans and Maori which comprises 67.6% and 14.6% respectively. Other ethnic groups are Pacific people, Asians, New Zealander and others. The country is primarily urbanized and about 72% of the people are living in urban areas. English is the major language of New Zealand and 98% of the people are speaking English in the country. New Zealand English and Australian English are similar and one cannot separate the accents of both. Maori is one of the official languages of New Zealand. Other languages spoke in the country are Samoan, Hindi, Yue, Northern Chinese and Yue. New Zealand Sign Language is also the official language used by around 28,000 people.

A wide variety of tourist destinations, sightseeing place and activities are offered by New Zealand. Bay Islands of the country is a beautiful place with a group of 144 islands and several secluded beaches. These beaches are clean and tidy with their white sands. Rotura is a famous tourist spot also known as natural spa. In this place, from the ground the steaming water comes out roaring making it an excellent place to relax.

Queen Stone is a place known for adventurous sports like tramping, jet boating, mountain biking, snow sports and bungy jumping. There are other sports activities like cruises, fishing, wine trails and golf. Milford Sound is a place where a national park is located and in the national park, you can find different varieties of birds such as flightless parrots. Auckland is the largest city of New Zealand dominated by Volcanoes. The city is famous for its beaches, bay and harbors. Christchurch is a city famous for cruise packages and craft shops. Coromandel Peninsula of New Zealand is blessed with great climate with coastline and beaches. There is a thermal beach known as the Hot Water Beach. The tourists can create a spa pool by just digging a hole in sand which will be later filled with warm water of the sea. The warm water is because of the volcanic heat.