Everything you need to know about New Zealand
New Zealand runs from the subtropical beaches of Northland past the volcanoes of the North Island to the glaciers and fiords of the far south. Explore its sixteen regions, discover the history and everyday life behind the places, then learn the first words of te reo Mฤori, the language of Aotearoa.
Read it, then make it stick
Geography of New Zealand
New Zealand is two main islands and hundreds of small ones on the edge of two tectonic plates. The North Island is volcanic, and the South Island is split by the Southern Alps.
Know the shape of the country
Start with the sixteen regions, nine on the North Island and seven on the South. Then place twenty cities and explore seventeen waters, from the Waikato River and Lake Taupล to Cook Strait and the seas on either side.
Places worth visiting
Essential ยท Fiord
Milford Sound
Waterfalls pour off sheer cliffs into the fiord. Take a cruise or a kayak out.
Combine the fiords and mountains of the South Island with the volcanic heart and Mฤori culture of the North Island. Essential is our shortlist for a first trip, and worth a detour goes further. Select a pin to read about a place, then play the map and find them all.
Take Maori with you
Greetings and politeness
Hello, please, thank you, sorry: the ten openers everything else builds on.
Keep going one country deeper
When you have had your fill of New Zealand, the countries marked guide have a page like this one, and every other has maps of its own.
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