Ecology

This is a landscape still evolving, with thermal valleys bubbling and steaming, creating matchless views through the native bush.

About a quarter of New Zealand is forested and largely protected as national and forest parks, where you will find native species of evergreen podocarps like rimu, totara, matai, miro and kahikatea mingling with 80 species of tree ferns. Guided tours on the coast and deeper inland can open up the secrets of fauna as unusual as the flora

On Stewart Island you can go out late at night to see our national bird, the nocturnal flightless kiwi, in its natural habitat. Further north, there are blue- and yellow-eyed penguins to be visited, and seal colonies to observe. Offshore, marine reserves have been set up, best appreciated from a boat or by skin diving. By day you can hear and see our other native birds everywhere, and do take the time to try some of the short walks signposted by the road. Often there's a little gem of nature just 15 minutes away.

In the past, it's been said New Zealand was built on the back of the sheep, acknowledging our dependence on agriculture. Now our skills at innovation are being displayed in new fields like software and communications, but farming is still important. Lodges on sheep and cattle stations (ranches) offer a unique lifestyle, isolated but cultivated, and are delighted to share it with you and show you the best of the countryside. Many of the lodges provide expert advice for 4WD and walking experiences into remote but benign (no snakes!) wilderness.

Find prehistoric temperate rainforests with 1,000-year-old trees, hidden lakes in mountain tussock country, wild sea coasts, and vivid memories, and enjoy the best of creature comforts after a day of adventures.