Kia Ora! Welcome to the land of the long white cloud—New Zealand!

A stunning island nation in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. There are around 5 million people living here, and the capital is Wellington, known as the windiest city in the world, while Auckland is the largest and most cosmopolitan hub. The official languages are English, Māori, and New Zealand Sign Language.

New Zealand covers about 268,021 square kilometers (103,483 square miles). To imagine its size, the country is roughly the same size as the state of Colorado in the U.S., or about the same size as the United Kingdom. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island and the South Island—along with numerous smaller islands, featuring everything from subtropical forests to alpine glaciers.

The most popular sport is Rugby Union, and the national team, the All Blacks, is famous for performing the Haka (a traditional Māori challenge) before every match. Their national animal is the Kiwi, a unique, flightless bird that is so iconic the people themselves are often called “Kiwis.”

The flag consists of a dark blue field with the British Union Jack in the upper left corner and four red stars with white borders representing the Southern Cross constellation, where the blue represents the sea and sky, and the stars symbolize the country’s location in the South Pacific.

The food is fresh and focuses on high-quality local ingredients. You must try a Hāngī, a traditional Māori method of cooking meat and vegetables in an underground pit oven. Another favorite is Lamb, which is a world-famous export. For dessert, there is the Pavlova, a meringue-based cake topped with cream and fresh fruit, and the iconic Hokey Pokey ice cream (vanilla with honeycomb toffee).

New Zealand is home to Hobbiton, the permanent movie set created for The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film trilogies. The country features the Southern Alps, where you can find Aoraki / Mount Cook, the highest peak in the country. For adventure seekers, Queenstown is known as the “Adventure Capital of the World,” being the birthplace of commercial bungy jumping. You can also visit Milford Sound, a breathtaking fjord that Rudyard Kipling once called the “eighth wonder of the world.” Interestingly, New Zealand was the first self-governing country in the world to grant women the right to vote in 1893.

From the geothermal wonders of Rotorua to the star-filled skies of the Aoraki Mackenzie Dark Sky Reserve, New Zealand is a land of epic landscapes and “manaakitanga” (hospitality). Ngā mihi! That means “Thank you!”