Discover New Zealand! » New Zealand Maps

Driving New Zealand

cat — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 16:50:23 +0000

Driving New Zealand is the best way to get around this country. Bus schedules are hard to coordinate and you will lose time and flexibility if you rely on public transportation. If you have all the time in the world and want to save money, then buses are your best bet, however. Don’t forget, when driving New Zealand, stay on the left side of the road, like the British.

Drive to Northland

If you rent a car, then you can take a road trip to Northland on the Twin Coast Discovery Highway. This road loops around the Northland region so you can explore any way you like. There’s the east coast section and the west coast section, so you could do one section going up and one section going down. Time it right and catch the sunrise on the east coast, then the sunset on the west on the return trip a few days later.

Queenstown

cat — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 15:44:28 +0000

Queenstown New Zealand is located on the South Island, in the lower quarter of the island. It’s not a coastal town, but rather nestled way inland. It’s a hustle bustle world here, with energy pulsing around the city like elecrtricity. There are so many pubs and restaurants.

For a laid-back experience, have dinner at Joe’s Garage. They have toasted sandwiches and they serve breakfast all day long! With your rental car drive just ten minutes outside of Queenstown New Zealand and visit Amisfield Winery & Bistro. The structure is stone and wood, very interesting itself. Eat lunch here for a pleasant and delicious afternoon of local eating. View the vineyards from your table and see how good life really is! It’s located at 10 Lake Hayes Road.

For more how about some shopping? This town is full of quaint shops to explore. Discover Queenstown shopping.

The Terrain of New Zealand

cat — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 18:37:15 +0000

Because of the island setting and abundant rainfall, New Zealand has lots of vegetation. Even today, much of this country is untouched, leaving a lush natural environment, of which 30 percent is protected by parks and reserves.

The islands have no native land mammals…those you will find were brought by early Maoris and Europeans. Northland’s forests contain massive Kauri trees, kiwis (the bird), and giant wetas, which are crickets that can’t fly.

Other climates of New Zealand include the Shrublands which are shorter forests that may once have been logged and are now making a comeback, coastal areas with rocky terrain and sandy beaches AND 11,300 miles of coastline, and mountain regions, ranging from 2,900 feet in the South Island to 4,270+ feet above sea level on the North Island.

The mountain regions experience severe weather in all directions, from frigid conditions to dry heat and high winds. It’s here that visitors will find Keas, or mountain parrots, who possess intelligence and playfulness, and therefore make for excellent bird-watching.

New Zealand Map

cat — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 18:03:51 +0000

Situated in the South Pacific Ocean, almost 1000 miles from Australia and about 6,200 miles from both San Francisco and Tokyo, the country of New Zealand is comprised of two main islands, simply named The North Island and The South Island, and a number of smaller islands. It’s roughly the size of Japan, with a total land area of 104,420 sq miles.

Cook Strait cuts a 12 mile gap between the two main islands, with the country’s capital, Wellington, situated on the tip of the North Island. The biggest city is Auckland, which is also on the North Island. Auckland is home to the world’s largest concentration of Polynesial culture. The North Island also has a central plateau region that sees much volcanic and thermal activity. New Zealand travel will take you from beaches to ocean-view bluffs and everywhere in between!

Cheap holidays – Co-op travel offer fantastic deals on cheap holidays to popular holiday destinations around the world.

South Island

cat — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 00:34:20 +0000

Although it’s the larger of the two islands, the South Island is much less populated. The largest city is Christchurch, at only 330,000 inhabitants. Dunedin is a college town and is smaller yet.

The Southern Alps run down almost the entire spine of the South Island, providing the island with spectacular variety of hiking, with over 200 named peaks topping 7,000 feet. The island seems to have dual personality, with dry, non-forested land on one side of the mountain range, and lush, rainy, forested lake area on the west side. Parts of the island are coursing with water, in the form lakes, riers, inlets, bays and fiords.

Stewart Island

cat — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 00:37:40 +0000

New Zealand’s third largest island is Stewart Island, which is just south of the South Island city of Invercargill. Steward Island has a domestic airport, and it’s main city is Oban, which has ferry service to the main island.