Submitted by admin on April 22, 2009 - 23:46
TOURIST INDUSTRY
The growth of overseas air travel is bringing more and more people to New Zealand and for a longer stay than the more leisurely (and, for some, more enjoyable) sea travel alone would allow. Auckland is the main port of arrival as it is served by several overseas airlines (TEAL, Pan-American, Canadian Pacific, TAI, QANTAS) and is the main port of call for passenger ships. Wellington is also an important port of call and has (like Christchurch) daily air services to and from Australia – a mere four flying hours away.
New Zealand's natural attractions could hardly be more happily disposed for the visitor. Everywhere mountains and hills overshadow the comparatively small and isolated lowlands, with all the picturesque and sharp contrasts of a geologically young land unfolding in quick succession before the tourists' eyes in this small, well-roaded country. The climate is mild. Summer (December-March) is the most popular visiting time, but the Spring (September-November) and Autumn (April-May) can be most pleasant. Much of the country is sparsely peopled, especially the mountain and valley regions. Open landscapes can appear abruptly on the edges of cities. In a matter of hours one can travel from volcano and geyser to glacier; through deep, heavily bushed valleys; to fiords and mountain lakes; through rich and various farmlands; and from the subtropical north to the alpine snow. One can enjoy all manner of sport with the minimum of formality – hunting deer, pigs, and other animals, sea bathing, yachting, fishing, tramping, ski-ing, and mountaineering. In the matter of human social interest there is much for an inquiring mind to study – the pattern of life in a comparatively recently European-settled country which has had for centuries a vigorous native Maori population; modern housing and transport schemes; hydro-electric and geothermal power development; and the intensive and ingenious mechanisation of farming.