New Zealand . . .

Aotearoa: Land of the Long White Cloud - New Zealand is located in the southern hemisphere. It spans 1,600 km from north to south and is approximately 2,250 km east of Australia. It is made up of the North Island, the South Island, Stewart Island and various small islands surrounding.  New Zealand has a population of approximately 3.8 million people and the official languages are English and Mäori.

New Zealand is positioned on the boundary of the Australian and Pacific tectonic plates and consequently is a seismically active region. Information about the latest earthquakes can be found here. Around the central North Island in both Rotorua and Taupo there are geothermal areas with hot pools, geysers and boiling mud. New Zealand also has some prominent active volcanoes; Mt Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe, Mt Taranaki and White Island.