With just over 1 million inhabitants, it is one of the least densely populated cities of it's size in the world. An alluring harbour, warm climate and the New Zealand's most exciting cultural life, some have ranked Auckland alongside Sydney, though there's a modest small-town feel that prevails. Auckland is also the world's largest Polynesian city. Almost twenty percent of the city's population claim Maori descent or are the families of migrants who arrived in 1960s and 1970s from Tonga, Samoa, the Cook Islands and other South Pacific islands. Auckland's climate is never scorching hot, and the heat is mellowed by a sea breeze.
Winters are generally mild but rainy.
Christchurch, Capital of the Canterbury region and the largest city on the South Island, boasts a population of 306,000. A lively bar and restaurant nightlife has emerged recently, as well as scenes in the visual arts, theatre, music and street entertainment. Many of the outdoor activities for which New Zealand is famous are accessible from Christchurch, including rafting, paragliding, ballooning and mountain biking. Laid out in a grid pattern, Christchurch is a low-rise city, with the cathedral spire in the city centre serving as a useful landmark. The architecture is predominantly nineteenth century Gothic, a style which still inspires the more modern buildings.