New Zealand is in the Southern Hemisphere which means their winter is May through October. There are many choices for flights to New Zealand from Los Angeles and San Francisco. Most of the population resides on the North Island where the major airports are. Airport taxi's cost about $10.00 New Zealand dollars or you can catch buses for about $2.00 to your hotel. Hotels range about $156.00 per night for a five star hotel. There are also hostels, Bed and Breakfast's and cheap hotels on both islands. Transportation can be rental cars for $40.00 a day, Train travel from $55.00 per person, the NakedBus which runs on both the South and North islands for $1.00 per person.

There are also Inter-Island ferries that charge from $57.20, depending upon where you want to go.
New Zealand offers unprecedented activities from ocean to land to skiing on both islands.

New Zealand is noted for it's geographical isolation and the animals and birds not found anywhere else in the world.
Cycling and mountain biking are very popular, play golf or take a hang gliding trip. Try your hand at fishing or kayaking, jet skis, sailing and surfing.

For the eco tourist, there are eco trips into the mountains, bird watching, visiting penguins and dolphins, whale watching and seal watching.

The indigenous culture of New Zealand are the Maori's, who make up a minority of the population. While still connected to Britian, New Zealand became an independent domain in 1947. Sheep farms abound as New Zealand is noted for wool production and some farms will invite you for dinner.

Seeing New Zealand on a helicopter flight is stunning as the large snow capped mountains melt into the green forests. These flights run about $200.00 per person but the views are worth it. The harbors are filled with all kinds of sea transportation and the prices are variable depending upon where you want to go. Be sure you know the currency conversion.