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!

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.