New Zealand is a country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two large islands (the North Island and the South Island) and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. In Māori, New Zealand has come to be known as Aotearoa, which is usually translated into English as The Land of the Long White Cloud. The Realm of New Zealand also includes the Cook Islands and Niue, which are self-governing but in free association; Tokelau; and the Ross Dependency (New Zealand's territorial claim in Antarctica).

• New Zealand is notable for its geographic isolation, being separated from Australia to the northwest by the Tasman Sea, approximately 2000 kilometres (1250 miles) across. Its closest neighbours to the north are New Caledonia, Fiji and Tonga.
• New Zealand is a world in miniature; in half a day it is possible to travel from coast to coast, from the surging surf of the Tasman Sea to gilded crescent beaches of the Pacific Ocean.
• Nearly any landscape can be found. 
• It is split in two main islands, the winterless, tropical North and the colder alpine South.
• No inland point is more than 120 km from sea, and you are always close to a crystal clear Lake, a rapid River, or snow-capped Mountain. Over 15,000 km of coastline surround the land; varying from long, easy accessible sandy beaches, to spectacular fiords.
• In geopolitical terms it is a Jung Land and lies on the pacific fault line, and the North Island was formed by volcanic activity. The largest volcano, Mt Ruapehu, erupted in 1996 and 1997 and lies in the centre of the North Island near Taupo, an area full of geysers and geothermal activity.
• Mountains dominate the scenery in the South Island with the highest mountain, Mt Cook, having a peak of 3,754 meters, surrounded by magnificent glaciers.