New Zealand is a mecca for adventure junkies. There are loads of great adventure activities to take part in every day. Sky diving, bungy jumping, cave tubing and white water rafting to name a few.

After initial exploration in about 950AD by the legendary navigator Kupe, it is believed the Maori migration of seven canoes from Hawaiiki (thought to be the Society Islands near Tahiti) arrived here around 1350AD.

New Zealand's Fauna - Unique and Wonderful. About 80-100 million years ago, New Zealand drifted away from the massive super continent of Gondwanaland into the South Pacific. Since then, a unique flora and fauna has evolved, with a large number of beautiful native birds and plants, as well as direct descendants of prehistoric wildlife, including the tuatara, weta, and giant snail. As Time magazine said, New Zealand is an ultimate storehouse for discontinued zoological models.

New Zealand's high rainfall and many sunshine hours give the country a lush and diverse flora - with 80 percent of the trees, ferns, and flowering plants being native.

You'll find a variety of awesome landscapes in New Zealand, all within easy reach of each other. Spectacular glaciers, picturesque fiords, rugged mountains, vast plains, rolling hillsides, subtropical forest, volcanic plateau, miles of coastline with gorgeous sandy beaches  it's all here. No wonder New Zealand is becoming very popular as a location for shooting movies!

Since the Maori people named New Zealand Land of the Long White Cloud, weather and climate has been of paramount importance to the people of New Zealand  many of whom make their living from the land. New Zealand has mild temperatures, moderately high rainfall, and many hours of sunshine throughout most of the country. Its climate is dominated by two main geographical features  the mountains and the sea.

There are 6,500 payphones throughout New Zealand. The blue and yellow Telecom payphones will take phone cards, credit cards, Telecom TalkAway cards, Telecom Calling cards, and some will accept coins too. Telecom payphone cards come in $5, $10, $20 and $50 denominations. Five hundred indoor payphones also offer modem access.

Money can be exchanged at banks which are open from 9am to 4.30 pm or bureaux de change which exist in the major tourist towns, cities and also at airports. There are no restriction on the amount of foreign currency or travellers checks that can be brought in or taken out of New Zealand

.

Gumboots, Buzzy Bee? toys, marching girls, a meringue dessert, shell ashtrays, and a cookbook may not seem terribly important objects. But to many Kiwis (New Zealanders), such things assume vital importance as major icons of Kiwiana! What is Kiwiana? It could be described as all the weird and wonderful quirky things from years gone by that contribute to sense of nationhood - kiwi identity.

Today Maori people live throughout New Zealand, and many are actively involved with keeping their culture and language alive. Within any Maori community, the marae provides a focus for social, cultural and spiritual life. The term marae describes a communal 'plaza' area that includes a wharenui (meeting house) and wharekai (dining room).

Today, New Zealanders are largely sophisticated and highly educated urban dwellers. Members of a unique and vibrant multicultural society, New Zealanders are embracing 21st century technology and culture in record numbers. But New Zealanders also have a background of quiet but rugged individualism, self-reliance, and a genius for invention qualities still evident in the population today.

Located in the south-west Pacific, New Zealand has two main islands - the North (115,000sq km) and South (151,000sq km) - and a number of smaller islands, including bushclad Stewart Island (1700sq km). The country is famous for its natural beauty and scenic attractions, from snowcapped mountains, glaciers and fiords to thermal geysers, volcanoes, subtropical rainforests and magnificent sandy beaches.

Hitching around New Zealand in fairly easy, most of kiwis are very friendly and will go out of the way to help a traveller out. However, there is a fair share of nutters, so as anywhere in the world you should always be alert. Some places seem to be harder to hitch than others, just out of Blenheim at the top of the South Island is one of those spots, the sign post just out of town has graffiti reading "been waiting for 5 hours now".

The main highway through New Zealand is State Highway 1 (SH1), which extends from Kaitaia to Wellington in the North Island and from Picton to Bluff in the South Island. State highway numbers are printed on signs with a red background. Provincial highway number signs have a blue background.

You will need full health insurance, unless you come from the United Kingdom or Australia, who have cover for emergency medical treatment under reciprocal health agreements (this does not include non-urgent medical attention). If you usually live in the Cook Islands, Niue or Tokelau and are temporarily residing in New Zealand, you also qualify for emergency medical treatment. Visitors who have student, visitor or work permit visas issued by the Department of Immigration for two years or more are eligible to access publicly funded health services. All other visitors are liable for the full cost of medical treatment.