New Zealand Part of the Canterbury Promotion Kit more info New Zealand, with a population of 3.6 million people, lies in the South Pacific 1,600km east of Australia at its nearest point. New Zealand is made up of two main and a number of smaller islands with a total land area of 268,000 km2. It has a long coastline in proportion to the land mass which is 450km wide at its widest part.
Mountain ranges and hill country dominate the North and South Islands.
The vast coastal plains of Canterbury and Southland add to the variety of the South Island landscape. Popular attractions include ski-fields and numerous native bushwalks such as the Milford Track in Fiordland. Hot springs, geysers and mudpools connected with the volcanic system are centred around Rotorua. New Zealand lies in the South temperate zone. The seasons are opposite those in the Northern Hemisphere, with January and February the warmest months and July the coldest.