Everything About New Zealand

New Zealand Festivals and Events

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Allshorts Film Festival

A short film and music video festival for NZ residents. It invites all 5 minute or less films made in the past 12 months. The festival will be hosted at the Village Theatre in Takaka, Golden Bay.

Air New Zealand Fashion Week

Auckland

Auckland events, festivals. Xtra

Auckland arts and entertainment guide, The Edge.

Auckland Dance Festival

Auckland Festival

More than 200 arts and entertainment events. The biennial festival is a feast of theatre, dance, concerts, cabaret, exhibitions, family events and more, featuring some of the finest national and international artists and companies.
Auckland Open Air Film Festival

Coromandel Pohutukawa Festival

A true celebration of summer and the Coromandel way of life. Highlights include Warbirds over Thames, a Pohutukawa Regatta, and the Kopine Junk to Funk Wearable Art Competition.

Auckland Writers and Readers Festival

Devonport Arts Festival, Auckland.

New Zealand Film Festival

Pasifika Festival

Reaction.The Auckland events and entertainment Matrix.

Tautai Contemporary Pacific Arts Trust Festival

Christchurch / Canterbury

Canterbury / Christchurch festivals and events.

Christchurch Arts Festival

Jazz, opera, cabaret,writing, theatre.

What's on in Christchurch

Events, entertainment, general information - a guide to Christchurch.

Be There. Listed Christchurch and Canterbury events.

Scape Biennial of Art in Public Space

World Buskers Festival, Christchurch.

Coromandel Pohutukawa Festival

D

Devonport Arts Festival, Auckland.

Dunedin

Bahai Association for the Arts, Dunedin.

City of Dunedin guide.

Visit Dunedin

Events, activities and places guide.

Edible Book Festival, Taranaki.

The Second Annual International Edible Book Feast/Festival.

Endless Summer Festival. Northland's art festival.

F

Globalfest

A living, breathing, global village. The festival will draw on the multiplicity and vibrancy of the diverse world cultures living in Rotorua. GLOBALfest will provide an active vehicle for cultural groups to showcase and share their language, arts and crafts, dance, music, games, dress, food and beverages, religion and customs.

Hamilton

Hamilton Gardens Summer Festival

A summer arts festival held in the magnificant settings within the Hamilton Gardens. Their programme includes: theatre, music, pantomime, shakespeare, major concerts, emerging artists, visual art and more.

The Pacific Rose Bowl Festival, Hamilton Gardens, Hamilton.

Hawkes Bay

Central Hawkes Bay. The Festival

A three-day festival extravaganza of arts in central Hawke's Bay.

Hero Festival, Auckland.

Two weeks of theatre, movies, music, art and entertainment.

Kiwiana festival at Otorohanga, official Kiwiana town of New Zealand.

N

Nelson

Nelson Arts Festival, 11-22 Oct.

Nelson Events and Festivals.

Nelson events and festivals.

New Zealand Chamber Music Festival

Newtown Festival

This 10 day extravaganza celebrates the diversity and vibrancy of Newtown, where so many cultures experience a real sense of place, belonging and community.

New Zealand Arts Festivals Index. Dates, times, events.

New Zealand Film Festival

New Zealand International Arts Festival 2006

New Zealand International Comedy Festival

NZ Live

A searcahble database of New Zealand events, exhibitions, organisations and culture/sport links.

New Zealand wine festivals and events.

The New Zealand Wine Tourism Network

O

Otago Festival of the Arts

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Otorohanga, official Kiwiana town of New Zealand.

The great Kiwiana festival of New Zealand.

Q

Queenstown

The Southern Lakes Festival of Colour

A diverse programme of over 40 performances and exhibitions showcasing many of New Zealand's most respected names in art, music, theatre and dance.

R

River City Film Festival, Wanganui.

Rotorua

GlobalFest

A living, breathing, global village. The festival will draw on the multiplicity and vibrancy of the diverse world cultures living in Rotorua. Globalfest will provide an active vehicle for cultural groups to showcase and share their language, arts and crafts, dance, music, games, dress, food and beverages, religion and customs.

Magma Film Short Film Festival

Taranaki Festival Of The Arts

Taupo Arts Festival

Tauranga Arts Festival

Waiheke Jazz Festival

Wairoa Maori International Film Festival

Wellington

Arts, Activities and Sights in Wellington

Cuba Street Carnival

International Jazz Festival

The New Zealand Fringe Festival, Wellington.

Montana World of Wearable Art Awards Show (WOW)

Newtown Festival

This 10 day extravaganza celebrates the diversity and vibrancy of Newtown, where so many cultures experience a real sense of place, belonging and community.

New Zealand International Arts Festival 2006

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The Organic River Festival

is a vibrant and upbeat celebration of music, healthy food and wine, creativity and the community.

A selection of international, national and top regional bands offers a continuous musical line-up on the various stages.

Wellington City Council events and festivals calender.

Wellington Fringe Festival

Lord of the Rings - Set-Locations in New Zealand (HQ)

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New Zealand has new Lord of Ring

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A New Zealand man who promised his wife he would find his wedding ring after it fell into the capital's harbour has been successful - 16 months later.

Ecologist Aleki Taumoepeau was working in Wellington harbour last year when the ring went into just over three metres (10 feet) of water.

He threw an anchor in to mark the spot, insisting he would find it.

Friends now call him Lord of the Ring, in a play on the Tolkien novel, the film of which was made in New Zealand.

"It flew off into the air and everyone on the boat was looking at it and said it was like a scene from "Lord of the Rings" in slow motion," Rachel Taumoepeau told the Dominion Post newspaper.

The couple had been married just three months when the ring took its dive.

An initial search three months after the loss failed, but Mr Taumoepeau was determined. He returned again recently for another dive, risking chilly midwinter temperatures.

"I was getting cold and tired so I said to God it would be really good to find the ring about now," he said, also using new global positioning co-ordinates.

He spotted the anchor - with the ring lying just inches away.

"I couldn't believe that I could see the ring so perfectly," he said. "The whole top surface of the ring was glowing."

Kiwi Creativity and Environmentally Friendly Filming

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Jackson's special effects team turned New Zealand's already impressive landscape into a magical Middle Earth with the help of ground breaking digital computer wizardry, adding buildings and mountains where they have never been.

New Zealand's creative talent came from far and wide. Around 2,000 people were employed during production; artisans including prop builders, set creators, make up artists and costume designers worked like elves to create Middle Earth. Kiwis Richard Taylor and Tania Rodger and their Weta Workshop team made tens of thousands of props, including armour, weaponry, household items, and 1,600 pairs of prosthetic feet and ears. Many of their sculptors and other staff have stayed on to produce Lord of the Rings collectable models.

The Lord of the Rings was filmed over 274 days, using 350 purpose-built sets in more than 150 locations all over New Zealand (including 30 Department of Conservation sites). The use of conservation sites and National Parks meant Jackson had to employ a specialist lawyer to gain consent to film in protected areas.

Filming in National Parks meant plants were uprooted to make room for the set, temporarily housed in big custom-made nurseries, then replanted at the end of the shoot. In Queenstown, the site of heavy battle scenes in The Lord of the Rings, up to 1100 people were on set each day. To protect plants from foot traffic, a massive amount of red carpet was laid. Location people also had to make sure they didn't destroy cultural symbols.

The Stars

Thousands of extras were brought in to join the internationally renowned cast of actors which includes Elijah Wood (Frodo), Ian McKellen (Gandalf), Liv Tyler (Arwen) and Cate Blanchett (Galadriel).

With New Zealand's capital, Wellington, home base for the stars for months on end, locals quickly got used to star spotting. The sight of "surfing hobbits" wasn't unusual with Elijah Wood, Dominic Monaghan (Merry Brandybuck), Sean Astin (Sam) and Billy Boyd (Pippin Took) among those who regularly took to New Zealand's numerous quality surf breaks.

Tours - Lord of the Rings Tours in New Zealand

The popularity of Lord of the Rings has seen New Zealand tourism companies offer a wide range of tours that cover location sites and general sightseeing or adventure activities. For Tolkien fans and those with just a mild interest, these tours vary in length with many personalised Lord of the Rings options available. Check out the LOTR tour options now.

The popularity of Lord of the Rings has seen New Zealand tourism companies offer a wide range of tours that cover location sites and general sightseeing or adventure activities. For Tolkien fans and those with just a mild interest, these tours vary in length with many personalised Lord of the Rings options available. Check out the LOTR tour options now.

The Department of Conservation also provides detailed information on Lord of the Rings' locations in New Zealand, including GPS co-ordinates, links to Google maps, access roads, scene references and information about the DOC parks and reserves where filming took place.

The Wizard of New Zealand

The Wizard of New Zealand is also the Archwizard of Canterbury, a "living work of art" at the National Gallery of Victoria and the Robert MacDougall Art Gallery, and "Cosmologer" at the University of Melbourne. Also the founder of the Imperial British Conservative Party.

Born in 1932 in London, England as Ian Brackenbury Channell, he was appointed Wizard of the University of New South Wales by the Vice Chancellor and Students' Union in 1969.

His maiden speech in Cathedral Square in Christchurch, New Zealand on September 17, 1974 was greeted with derision and eggs, later ones by objections from the City Council, but after many battles with bureaucracy he is now an institution and tourist attraction.

One of his pet peeves is filling out census forms, which he has tried to escape by such means as travelling off-shore in a small boat or by "magically disappearing" at the time of the census. He also claims that the traditional world views are incorrect, proposing the Upside-Down World, with Antartica and South at the top of the map, and the Inside-Out Universe, which inverts all dimensions and measurements.

On October 6, 1990 he was proclaimed Wizard of New Zealand by the then Prime Minister of New Zealand, Mike Moore. He has also been known as The Wizard of Christchurch or simply The Wizard.

Lord Of The Rings - New Zealand

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New Zealand is known as Middle Earth for its Lord of the Rings trilogy. New Zealand born Peter Jackson filmed the entire three films in various locations around New Zealand.

This Academy Award winning trilogy of films (four Oscars for The Fellowship of the Ring, two Oscars for The Two Towers and 11 Oscars for The Return of the King - including Best Film and Best Director awards) showcased the skills of the cast and crew. One of the big winners however is New Zealand. It took two years to film the LOTR trilogy but millions of years to build the sets. Click here for more on the Oscars.

New Zealand has recreated Middle Earth in three films:

The Fellowship of the Ring (December 2001)
The Two Towers (December 2002)
Return of the King (December 2003)

New Line Cinema, owned by the Time Warner Group, has financed the trilogy, said to have cost more than $640 million. It is the first time an entire feature film trilogy has been filmed all at once with the same director and cast, making it one of the longest and most massive productions in movie-making history.

Middle Earth is New Zealand

For Peter Jackson, choosing New Zealand to shoot his three Tolkien films was logical. It was not just because he lives there, and the capital city Wellington (Wellywood) is home to his hi-tech digital studios Weta Digital and his film company Three Foot Six. It was because Jackson knew what other international film-makers have been discovering in the last few years, that "New Zealand is the best country in the world to shoot this film, because of the variety of locations we have".

Jackson and his team scoured New Zealand for the most beautiful and diverse areas. The rolling hills of Matamata became Hobbiton, while the volcanic region of Mt Ruapehu transformed into the fiery Mt. Doom where Sauron forged The Ring, and Queenstown, New Zealand's adventure capital, was the setting for numerous scenes including the Eregion Hills, and the Pillars of Argonath.

Mirror Waters - Lake Matheson - New Zealand

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Queenstown

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Sunset Bird - Nelson - New Zealand

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What is New Zealand famous for?

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New Zealand is famous for its spectacular landscapes. South Island's scenery consists of plains, fjords, forests, mountains and the glaciers Fox and Franz Josef. North Island is known for its volcanoes and is known for its geothermal activity.

Many movie productions have chosen New Zealand to make films such as the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.

New Zealand is also known for sailing and rowing because the seas are just right for it. A few famous actors also come from there such as Orlando Bloom*. NZ is also very famous for exports of materials such as fish, wool, sheep meat, cows meat, dairy products and wood from the precious Kauri trees

*Orlando Bloom is NOT from New Zealand; he is from Canterbury in England. Some famous New Zealand actors are Karl Urban, Jemaine Clement, Bret McKenzie, Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings), David Wenham, Sam Neil, and Alan Dale.

Applying for a student visa for New Zealand

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Applying for a student visa

The application process below is for people who want to apply for a student visa or permit. This may include people who want to travel to New Zealand to study, people who want to stay temporarily in New Zealand to study, and people already here on another permit who want to study in New Zealand full time.

The application steps

Complete the form

Print and complete the form Student Visa/Permit Application (INZ 1012) PDF. Also available is the Student Visa/Permit Guide (INZ 1013) PDF, which will assist you in applying. If you cannot print the form and guide, they are available from your nearest Immigration New Zealand branch.

Make sure you submit everything we require, including the fee

Along with your completed (and signed) application form you will also need to provide all the information listed at the back of the application form and the correct fee. If you do not submit the required information with your application we cannot accept it for processing.

Make sure you meet our health requirements

What you have to provide us with depends on how long you will be staying in New Zealand.

Studying in New Zealand for between six months and one year?

You may also need to provide a completed Temporary Entry X-ray Certificate (NZIS 1096) PDF to show you have been screened for tuberculosis (TB).

Studying in New Zealand for more than one year?

You will need to complete a medical examination and a medical and X-ray certificate.

Pregnant women and children under the age of 11 years are not required to submit X-ray certificates unless a special report is required.

For full details on our health requirements, see the Health Requirements Leaflet (NZIS 1121) PDF.

Make sure your meet our character requirements

If you are studying in New Zealand for more than two years you will also have to provide a police certificate, less than six months old, from your country of citizenship and from any country in which you have lived for five or more years since reaching 17 years of age.

Lodge your application

If you are applying from outside of New Zealand, your application must be made and approved before you are able to travel to New Zealand. Find out where to send your application.

If you are in New Zealand, please send your student application direct to:

Student Processing Unit

Immigration New Zealand

P O Box 1049

Palmerston North 4440

Student applications may also be placed in the branch student drop box (Auckland Branches only) and will be forwarded to the Student Processing Unit in Palmerston North.

If your education provider is certified with Students Online you can make your application at your nearest certified educational institute.

To help you make sure you have everything you need to apply for your visa or permit, use our checklist.

Already here?

If you need to renew your permit to complete your course of study, you will still need to go through the application process. However, if your education institution is on our Students Online list of certified educators, they will be able to process your student permit on campus. Find out which institutes are with Students Online.

Or you may want to change the conditions of your permit if you:

are on another permit type and wish to study part time
are on a student permit and want to change courses or course providers, or
want to work while studying.

How to apply for a visitor visa or permit for New Zealand

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How to apply for a visitor visa or permit

There are four key steps in lodging a visitor visa or permit application.

If you're still not sure whether you need to lodge an application, take a look at our quick check.

1. Complete the correct form(s)

Complete the Visitor's Visa/Permit Application (INZ 1017) PDF. If you are located in the Auckland region and need a visitor permit, use the Visitor’s Permit Application for Auckland Region Applicants (INZ 1111) PDF. For help completing either form, see the Visitor's Visa/Permit Guide (INZ 1018) PDF.

If you are applying for a visitor’s permit/visa on the basis of your partnership with someone living either temporarily or permanently in New Zealand, your partner must complete a Form for Partners Supporting Partnership-Based Temporary Entry Applications (INZ 1146) PDF.

Note: There may be additional requirements you must meet depending on the category you are applying under, or the country from which you are applying. Any special requirements can be found in our guides and application forms or from your local branch.

2. Supply everything we ask for including the fee

Along with your completed and signed application form you will also need to provide all the information listed at the front of the application form, and the correct fee. If you do not submit the required information with your application it will not be able to be accepted for processing.

3. Find out if you need to provide us with a medical certificate

If you intend to be in New Zealand for more than six months, you may also need to provide a completed Temporary Entry X-ray Certificate (NZIS 1096) PDF.

If you intend to be in New Zealand for more than one year, you will need to provide a completed Medical and X-ray Certificate.

Note:

Pregnant women and children under the age of 11 years are not required to submit X-ray certificates unless a special report is required.
For full details on our health requirements, see our Health Requirements Leaflet (NZIS 1121) PDF.

4. Lodge your application at the correct office

If you are overseas, your application must be made and approved before you travel to New Zealand. Find out where to send your application.

If you are in New Zealand, you must send your application to your nearest Immigration New Zealand branch.

If you are applying for a visitor permit and you are in the Auckland region, your application must be sent to:

Immigration New Zealand
PO Box 76895
Auckland Mail Centre

Checklists

Use our checklists to help you apply for your visa or permit.

Recreational Activities for International Students Studying in New Zealand

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New Zealand Recreational Activities

New Zealand is a mecca for thrill seekers and is a prime location for anyone interested in wide-open spaces and physical activities. Experience bungy-jumping, parachuting, skydiving, abseiling and flying. You can go tramping, mountain biking, skiing, horseback riding, rock climbing, and 'zorbing'. If that isn't enough how about surface caving, cave rafting, hydro sliding? Thought that was all - wrong. You can go jet boating, white-water sledging, rafting, boogey boarding, canoeing, kayaking, surfing, surf-rafting, and scuba diving.

The most popular activity is still tramping (Kiwi lingo for hiking or trekking). Thousands of kilometers of marked tracks and an efficient network of trampers' huts make it a viable activity for everyone from experienced hikers to country strollers. Be warned that some of the more popular tracks such as the Great Walks will be fairly crowded, especially in summer, so if you prefer solitude contact the nearest Department of Conservation for further information on tramping in their area.

New Zealand is also one of the most popular destinations in the southern hemisphere for skiing and other winter sports because of its reliable and abundant snowfall. This occurs between June and October. There are a number of ski-package tours available and a variety of ski resorts scattered throughout both the north and south islands.

Climate, Seasons and Weather in New Zealand

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New Zealand Climate

The climate is temperate without great extremes. People from the northern hemisphere can escape their difficult winters by crossing the equator for a New Zealand summer. Winters, especially in the North Island, are mild so Kiwis can enjoy an outdoor lifestyle for most of the year.

New Zealand's Seasons

The North of New Zealand is sub-tropical and the South temperate. The warmest months are December to March and the coldest June, July and August.

In summer, the average maximum temperature ranges between 20-30 degrees C and in winter between 10-15 degrees C. You can check on weather conditions in New Zealand on the New Zealand Met Service website.

Recommended Clothing

Dress is informal and relaxed on most occasions. Smart casual clothes are acceptable at most restaurants and nightspots. Men are generally not expected to wear suits and ties, except in a few of the top formal bars and restaurants in major cities.

In summer a light jacket or sweater should be included in your luggage should the weather turn cooler or in case you visit the high country. You can expect some rain, so include a light waterproof jacket or coat. Pack warm winter clothing if visiting between May and September. Layer your clothing.

About New Zealand - New Zealand History

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Early History

The Polynesian Maori first settled New Zealand at least 1000 years ago. The first European visitor was the Dutchman Abel Tasman in 1642. But it was not until the voyages of Captain James Cook in 1769 and 1779 that the islands were charted and explored.

British settlers began to emigrate after British sovereignty was established in 1840, and Wellington was founded soon afterwards. New Zealand was granted internal self-government in 1852, and the later years of the century saw a rapid growth in investment, communications and agricultural production. In 1893, New Zealand became the first country in the world to extend the vote to women.

New Zealand became a Dominion in 1907, and its forces took part in both World Wars. The country is a member of the Commonwealth and also several other international organizations, including ANZUS, the Five Power Defense Agreement and the South Pacific Forum.
Membership of Western alliances was suspended, however, when Labour Prime Minister David Lange, elected in 1984, declared New Zealand nuclear-free and prevented US and British vessels which might be nuclear-powered or carrying nuclear weapons from entering New Zealand's ports. These policies put the small country on the international stage. New Zealand is now respected as a Green-Zone boasting clean and natural power generation from hydro and thermal sources. New Zealand's natural beauty is a memory that will capture your soul.

About New Zealand...!

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New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (commonly called the North Island and the South Island), and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The indigenous Māori named New Zealand Aotearoa, commonly translated as The Land of the Long White Cloud. The Realm of New Zealand also includes the Cook Islands and Niue (self-governing but in free association); Tokelau; and the Ross Dependency (New Zealand's territorial claim in Antarctica).

New Zealand is notable for its geographic isolation: it is situated about 2000 km (1250 miles) southeast of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and its closest neighbours to the north are New Caledonia, Fiji and Tonga. During its long isolation New Zealand developed a distinctive fauna dominated by birds, a number of which became extinct after the arrival of humans and the mammals they introduced.

The population of New Zealand is mostly of European descent; the indigenous Māori are the largest minority. Asians and non-Māori Polynesians are also significant minority groups, especially in urban areas. The most commonly spoken language is English.

New Zealand is a developed country that ranks highly in international comparisons on human development, quality of life, life expectancy, literacy, public education, peace, prosperity, economic freedom, ease of doing business, lack of corruption, press freedom, and the protection of civil liberties and political rights. Its cities also consistently rank among the world's most liveable.

Elizabeth II, as the Queen of New Zealand, is the country's head of state and is represented by a ceremonial Governor-General who holds reserve powers. The Queen has no real political influence, and her position is essentially symbolic. Political power is held by the democratically elected Parliament of New Zealand under the leadership of the Prime Minister, who is the head of government.

It is unknown whether Māori had a name for New Zealand as a whole before the arrival of Europeans, although they referred to the North Island as Te Ika a Māui (the fish of Māui) and the South Island as Te Wai Pounamu (the waters of greenstone) or Te Waka o Aoraki (the canoe of Aoraki). Until the early 20th century, the North Island was also referred to as Aotearoa (colloquially translated "land of the long white cloud"); in modern Māori usage, this name refers to the whole country. Aotearoa is also commonly used in this sense in New Zealand English, where it is sometimes used alone, and in some formal uses combined with the English name to express respect to the original inhabitants of the country, for example in the form of "[Organisation name] of Aotearoa New Zealand".

The first European name for New Zealand was Staten Landt, the name given to it by the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman, who in 1642 became the first European to see the islands. Tasman assumed it was part of a southern continent connected with land discovered in 1615 off the southern tip of South America by Jacob Le Maire, which had been named Staten Landt, meaning "Land of the (Dutch) States-General". The name New Zealand originated with Dutch cartographers, who called the islands Nova Zeelandia, after the Dutch province of Zeeland. No one is certain exactly who first coined the term, but it first appeared in 1645 and may have been the choice of cartographer Johan Blaeu. British explorer James Cook subsequently anglicised the name to New Zealand. There is no connection to the Danish island Zealand.

Although the North and South Islands have been known by these names for many years, the New Zealand Geographic Board has found that they have no official names. The board intends to make these their official names, along with alternative Māori names. Although several Māori names have been used, Maori Language Commissioner Erima Henare sees Te Ika-a-Māui and Te Wai Pounamu respectively as the most likely choices.