New Zealand Travel Facts
New Zealand is a long narrow country lying roughly north-south. Consisting of the North and South Islands (and a number of smaller islands), it covers 103,736 square miles (166,940 square kilometers) and is 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) long. It covers an area slightly larger than the United Kingdom.

New Zealand is situated in the South Pacific, approximately 6,500 miles (10,400 kilometers) south west of North America and 1,400 miles (2,250 kilometers) east of Australia.

Population
New Zealand has a population of approximately 3.8 million people, three quarters of whom live in the North Island, one of the two main islands. New Zealand Maori make up approximately 10% of the population, and Polynesian people approximately 4% of New Zealand's multi-cultural society. Chinese, Indian and Asian ethnic groups are increasing in population size within New Zealand.

Climate
New Zealand has a particularly clear and unpolluted atmosphere with average daily sunshine hours ranging from seven to eight in summer and four to five in winter.

New Zealand's seasons are the opposite to those in the northern hemisphere. Spring is from September to November, Summer from December to January, Autumn/Fall from March to May and Winter from June to August. Whilst New Zealand is an all year round destination, most people travel to New Zealand between October and April.

Ranging from subtropical in the north to temperate in the south, summer daytime temperatures are between 60-85°F, (15-29°C), and 40-60°F, (4-15°C) in winter.

Because of the varied terrain in New Zealand, the weather and climate can vary significantly between regions, and you should bring clothing to suit a variety of weather conditions.

The Yahoo Weather website offers up to date New Zealand weather forecasts and information.

Time Zone
New Zealand is exactly twelve hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time, or approximately 19 hours ahead of the North American West Coast time zone. This varies slightly due to daylight saving, which in New Zealand is from early October to late March, where an extra hour of daylight saving extends the warm summer evenings.