You won't escape unscathed from your encounter with the country's unique natural life, such is the wealth of natural treasures, as varied as they are unique, that New Zealand possesses.
New Zealand is similar to the coastal regions of Brittany, both in terms of temperatures and its oceanic climate. However, its light is even more spectacular, more intense, and sometimes incomprehensible in an unsettling and uncertain way that the camera cannot capture. Made up of three main islands (North Island, South Island and Stewart Island) the country contains a plethora of landscapes including fjords, green pastures, volcanoes, fine sandy beaches and rugged coastlines. There a number of national parks, and the nine famous Great Walks, New Zealand's most famous hiking trails, which are so popular that they generally require advance reservations!
New Zealand's national symbol is a fern. The country has over 1,200 varieties! You can't avoid talking about the beech forests and flowering plants of South Island, nor the bush of North Island. As well as these major families of plants, New Zealand has an abundance of indigenous tree species, such as the thousand-year-old kauris and the pohutukawa (also known as the New Zealand Christmas Tree) because of its vibrant red flowers that bloom in December, which is the start of summer in the southern hemisphere. After suffering intensive deforestation a few decades ago, which was intended to increase the size of the grasslands, the country now protects its forests. When you hike you'll follow clearly defined trails that are intended to conserve the nature that is there for you to admire.
If you love seeing sea birds and marine mammals, you'll be completely spoiled in New Zealand! As far as birds are concerned, you will search for New Zealand's national symbol, the kiwi in vain: this long-beaked, nocturnal bird is under threat because it has been hunted by multiple predators including the opossum, ferrets, cats, and dogs. Even if we can't see the kiwi outside the wildlife parks, it's easy to encounter the tui with its guttural squawks, the brooding weka, the imposing albatross, the mischievous kea or the melodious bellbird.
As far as marine life is concerned, you'll be bowled over during your journey to New Zealand, with whales, dolphins, blue penguins, yellow-eyed penguins, sea lions, sea lions, killer whales... and there must be some that I'm forgetting! There is no single adjective that is strong enough to describe New Zealand: you absolutely have to visit it and experience it first-hand.
