Time was when a trip from Britain to New Zealand seemed out of reach for most people. The long flight times coupled with expensive fares made the trip unappealing, especially when you factor in the considerable effects of jetlag. Now, with cheap flights to New Zealand available from the likes of DialAFlight (click link for more), a holiday down under is not so far-fetched. Not only that, but those arduous flights have cut their duration by a few, vital hours over the years, and… well just read on for more reasons to head to New Zealand!
New Zealand has almost the same geographical mass as the United Kingdom, but with far less people – just 4 million inhabitants in fact. This makes it wonderfully crowd-free, wherever you go, which is a real treat for travellers from bustling Western Europe. If hell is other people, New Zealand must be heaven.
Driving is a pleasure here. Apart from the aforementioned lack of people, the roads are of a high standard and driving is on the left, so Britons needn’t adjust to a counter-intuitive system. The only thing likely to distract you is the incredible views of the truly unique landscape.
Average temperatures range from 20-30 degrees centigrade, depending on where you are. NZ is a long country, with its northern tip stretching into the subtropics and the south pointing the way to Antarctica
New Zealand was first settled by Polynesians in around 1250AD. They made what must have been a very tough journey from East Polynesia in canoes, and finally reached the last undiscovered corners of the earth, which they enjoyed alone – as Maoris – until 1642 when Dutch sailor Abel Tasman ‘discovered’ the islands on behalf of Europe, and named them after the Dutch province of Zeeland. He soon high-tailed it out of there after Maoris killed a number of his crew. It was another 130 odd years before Captain James Cook claimed the lands for the British crown. Ironically, linguistic evidence suggests that the original Maori settlers came from the islands that would later be discovered by and named after Captain Cook.
Famed for its high quality lamb, New Zealand has around 9 sheep to every 1 person. The country is fiercely protective of its organic integrity, severely quarantining any live organism that comes into the country, or banning their introduction outright.
One of NZ’s most popular tourist destinations, Lake Taupo, was the volcano responsible for the largest known eruption in human history, with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 8. It issued 530 cubic kilometres of magma onto the surrounding area.
New Zealand boasts a number of famous sons and historical figures, considering its small population. Ernest Rutherford became known as the ‘father of nuclear physics’ for his orbital atomic theory, for which he won a Nobel Prize. Edmund Hillary was born in Auckland, New Zealand. He received a knighthood (and his face appears on the $5 bill). More recently, Jonah Lomu and other kiwi rugby internationals have set the world stage alight with their first-rate sportsmanship, while Jermaine and Bret of Flight of the Conchords have conquered America and the world with their very Wellington brand of musical comedy.
