Travel Guide to New Zealand, South of Oceania

Culture

New Zealanders have a unique and dynamic culture, with European, Maori, Pacific and Asian influences. It's a culture that celebrates the many different lifestyles being lived and the stories to be told.

People

Though a diverse and multicultural country, there are many qualities, including friendliness, individuality, invention and self-reliance that you'll find in most New Zealanders. It's their national character.

Climate

New Zealand has mild temperatures, high rainfall, but lots of sunshine.

With hot summers, beautiful spring and autumn colours, and crisp winter snow.

Geography

New Zealand's spectacularly beautiful landscape includes vast mountain chains, steaming volcanoes, sweeping coastlines, deeply indented fiords and lush rainforests.

Natural Resources

New Zealand produces coal, oil and natural gas and various metallic and non-metallic minerals. The most renowned non-metallic mineral is pounamu/greenstone, used in jewellery. Principal exports are dairy products, meat, forest products, machinery, fruit and fish. Food processing is the largest manufacturing industry and there are a variety of small, light manufacturing industries.

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Wildflowers

Whether you spend time in the wilderness areas of National Parks or lovingly manicured private gardens, you'll find an abundance of fascinating native plants found nowhere else on earth but New Zealand

Time zones

New Zealand is one of the first places in the world to see the new day, 12 hours ahead of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time). In summer New Zealand uses 'daylight saving', with clocks put forward one hour to GMT+13. Daylight saving begins on the first Sunday in October and ends on the third Sunday of the following March, when clocks are put back to GMT+12.

Post Office

Most Post Offices are open 9am-5pm Monday-Friday. This varies from state to state with some open earlier/later and most major city offices also open Saturday 9am-12pm. Rural areas are generally open Monday-Friday only, with some towns open seven days a week if trading through the local post office.

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