New Zealand EXPERIENCE OF A LIFETIME

Overshadowed by its more popular neighbour Australia, New Zealand is often and ill-advisedly included as a two-day, free add-on to tours of Oz. However, the island nation whose stunning landscapes captivated movie fans around the world in the hugely successful cinematic trilogy Lord of the Rings, merits more than a stop-over

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On December 13, 1642, Dutch explorer Abel Tasman, sailing the Pacific Ocean, ordered his captain to steer the ship northwards but fierce winds drove them to the shores of a landmass we now know as New Zealand — a country of striking natural landscapes. Overshadowed by its more popular neighbour Australia, New Zealand — (pop.5.36 million) is often ill-advisedly, thrown in as a two-day, free add-on to ten-day or two-week tours of Oz. However, the island nation whose stunning landscapes captivated movie fans around the world in the hugely successful Lord of the Rings trilogy, merits more than a stopover. A minimum seven-day vacation to soak up the natural wonders of this captivating country is recommended.

New Zealand has an interesting geography. It sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a 40,000 km horse shoe shaped area in the basin of the Pacific Ocean, where there is constant minor seismic activity. Consequently, ancient earthquakes and volcanic eruptions have shaped a diverse topography ranging from bubbling mud pools, hot springs, geysers and smoking earth to splendid beaches, verdant forests, deep fiords and lofty glaciers carved by ice on rocks that are almost 500 million years old. By virtue of its location in the Southern Hemisphere, New Zealand's seasons are opposite to the norm. So while much of the world experiences cold winters, New Zealand has a blazing hot Christmas — winter runs from June to August and spring from September to November.

According to legend and folklore, New Zealand was fished out by Maui, the gifted demi-god of Polynesian mythology, who is said to have tamed the sun and fire. According to Polynesian Maoris who were the first to inhabit NZ a thousand years ago, South Island resembles the head of the fish and North Island, its tail. Today, the Maoris constitute 14.6 percent of the total population of 4.6 million (