Private guides and guided tours in New Zealand

New Zealand

CAPITAL CITY OF New Zealand: Wellington
LANGUAGE OF New Zealand: English
CURRENCY OF New Zealand: New Zealand dollar (NZD)
COMMENTS ABOUT New Zealand:

New Zealand is a country in the south-western Pacific Ocean
Cities : Wellington (cappital), Auckland, Gisborne, Tauranga, Rotorua, Nelson, Christchurch, Queenstown, Dunedin, Invercargill
Best Places : Aoraki/Mount Cook, Elsthorpe, Feilding, Fiordland, Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers, Havelock North, Hokianga, Kaikoura, Lake Wakatipu, Lake Taupo, Milford Sound, Mount Cook, Mount Ruapehu, Ninety Mile Beach, Opiki, Omarama, Queenstown, The Canterbury plains, The Southern Alps
Visa / Passport : All visitors who are not citizens of New Zealand need a passport to enter. Australian passport holders may enter New Zealand without a visa and stay as long as they wish without restrictions (including on employment). British passport holders can be granted a visa-free Visitor's Permit for up to six months on arrival.
Electricity : 230V/50Hz (Australian plug)
Calling code : +64
Time zone : NZST9 (UTC+12)
The Polynesian Maori reached New Zealand in about A.D. 800. In 1840, their chieftains entered into a compact with Britain, the Treaty of Waitangi, in which they ceded sovereignty to Queen Victoria while retaining territorial rights. In that same year, the British began the first organized colonial settlement. A series of land wars between 1843 and 1872 ended with the defeat of the native peoples. The British colony of New Zealand became an independent dominion in 1907 and supported the UK militarily in both World Wars. New Zealand's full participation in a number of defense alliances lapsed by the 1980s. In recent years, the government has sought to address longstanding Maori grievances.

CLIMATE OF New Zealand: The climate throughout the country is mild and temperate, mainly maritime, with temperatures rarely falling below 0°C (32°F) or rising above 30°C (86°F) in populated areas.
RELIGION OF New Zealand: Anglican 17%, Roman Catholic 14%, Presbyterian 11%, Methodist 3%, Pentecostal 1.7%, Baptist 1.3%, other Christian 9%, other 3%, unspecified/none 43%
POPULATION OF New Zealand: 3,993,817 (July 2004 est.) New Zealand European 74.5%, Maori 9.7%, other European 4.6%, Pacific Islander 3.8%, Asian and others 7.4%>>>
ECONOMY OVERVIEW OF New Zealand: Over the past 20 years the government has transformed New Zealand from an agrarian economy dependent on concessionary British market access to a more industrialized, free market economy that can compete globally. This dynamic growth has boosted real incomes (but left behind many at the bottom of the ladder), broadened and deepened the technological capabilities of the industrial sector, and contained inflationary pressures. Per capita income has been rising and is now 80% of the level of the four largest EU economies. New Zealand is heavily dependent on trade - particularly in agricultural products - to drive growth, and it has been affected by the global economic slowdown and the slump in commodity prices. Thus far the economy has been resilient, and growth should continue at the same level in 2004. Expenditures on health, education, and pensions will increase proportionately.