Tour of New Zealand

Thanks to the acclaimed “The Lord of the Rings” movies directed by Peter Jackson, New Zealand has now become one of the world’s most popular tourists destinations.

All the breath-taking landscapes captured in the movies are not a result of CGI effects, but they all actually exist. Obviously I am not referring to Mordor, or the Elf cliff town, which were created with computer programs; what I am talking about here is the green mountains framing infinite plains covered in forest, or the never-ending rivers crossing green hills and rocky mountains.

Anyway, The Golden Scope prepared a selection of places and pictures for you to take a peak and try understanding the beauty of New Zealand.

Before doing that, let us give you some insights on the country’s history.

New Zealand includes two main landmasses, the North Island and the South Island, surrounded by smaller islands.

It is situated east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and it is not far from the Pacific island areas of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga.

New Zealand’s capital city is Wellington, while its most populous city is Auckland.

The country was first habited by Polynesians—in 1250-1300 AC—who little by little developed their own culture, called Māori.

In 1642 AC a Dutch explorer named Abel Tasman discovered New Zealand, and in 1840, Britain and the Māori signed the Treaty of Waitangi, which declared that New Zealand would have been a British colony.

EXPLORING NEW ZEALAND

The Purakaunui Falls

Located in the Catlins in the southern South Island, the Purakaunui Falls are three waterfalls cascading in the Purakaunui River. To reach the fall you could drive from the small town of Owaka, which is 17 km away from the Purakaunui waterfalls.

Aoraki Mount Cook National Park

The park includes the beautiful peaks of Aoraki Mount Cook, which is considered New Zealand’s highest mountain, and of Mount Tasman. The stunning natural landscape that Aoraki Mount Cook National Park features is uniquely wonderful. When there it is possible to see colossal glaciers, mountain peaks, and beautiful forests.

Franz Josef Glacier

Frank Josef is a 12 km long glacier situated in Westland Tai Poutini National Park in South Island. The glacier is extremely unique as it descends to 300 metres above sea level, and it is contoured by a green and lush rainforest.

The Moeraki Boulders

Known as the ‘aliens eggs’, the Moeraki Boulders are not other than large and spherical rocks positioned along Koekohe Beach. The peculiar shape of these massive stones is given by the sea erosion and external agents. Don’t worry it has been scientifically proven that these rocks are not aliens’ eggs.

Akaroa

This is a small village located on Banks Peninsula in South Island. Akaroa overlooks scenic volcanic hills and its main attraction are the Hector’s dolphins, which are not so scared of men, so they would swim with you if you dare jumping in the ocean.

T H E   V I D E O

(All the photos are taken from Google.com, all the videos are taken from YouTube.com, and all belong to their original owners-We do not own any of the content posted-Removal upon request)