christopherbradford.com - New Zealand Photographs

New Zealand is one of those countries you almost want to dislike. Since everyone raves about how wonderful the country is, I found myself looking for something wrong. New Zealand, I have to admit, was everything I expected and more.

Background Information »

New Zealand is a country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean comprising two large islands (the North Island and the South Island) and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island and the Chatham Islands. In Māori, New Zealand is also known as Aotearoa, which is usually translated into English as the Land of the Long White Cloud.

The Realm of New Zealand also includes the Cook Islands and Niue, which are self-governing, but in free association; Tokelau; and the Ross Dependency (New Zealand's territorial claim in Antarctica).

New Zealand, Hawaii and Easter Island form what is known by anthropologists as the Polynesian Triangle.

New Zealand is notable for its geographic isolation, being separated from Australia to the northwest by the Tasman Sea, some 2000 kilometres (1250 miles) across. Its closest neighbours to the north are New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga.

Text courtesy of wikipedia.org