New Zealand is an island country located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean . It includes two of the major islands and many small islands. New Zealand is also famous by the name of Aotearoa, which can be translated as "The Land of the Long White Cloud".

The total land area of New Zealand is about 268, 680 sq. km. The South Island of New Zealand is the major landmass and is separated along its length by the Southern Alps Mountain . Aoraki or Mount Cook is the highest peak and is the great tourist attraction. There are in total 18 peaks ranging more than 3000 meters in the South Island . You will find the North Island of New Zealand quite less mountainous than the South one. The highest North Island Mountain , Mount Ruapehu , is a dynamic cone volcano.

New Zealand is a parliamentary democracy and a commonwealth realm. The self-governing states of the Cook Islands and Niue and administers Tokelau and the Ross Dependency are also under the responsibility of New Zealand

New Zealand can be seen as the most isolated country in the world, when seen geographically. It is nearest neighbour country is Australia , located towards the Tasman Sea . The only island to the south is Antarctica , while on the north are New Caledonia , Fiji , and Tonga .

The overall climate throughout the country is mild and mostly ranges from cool temperate to hot temperate. Christchurch is the driest region of New Zealand , receiving just about 500 millimeters of rain annually. Auckland is the wettest, which receives about three times rain of that amount.

New Zealand is famous for its scenic backdrop and thus attracts a lot of tourists and television or film shooting units. Many famous films and television programmes have been shoot here like, Hercules, Xena Heavenly Creatures, The Lord of the Rings, The Last Samurai, King Kong, The Lion, the Witch, the Wardrobe and many others.