"The Big Fish - New Zealands North Island " a North Island Travel Page by Bernd_L

When we visited New Zealand in January 2006 we had to decide, where to go because our vacation time was limited and we were not able to see all the interesting places, this fantastic country offers. After reading some travel guides (and pages on VT of course) we went for the North Island, because in my opinion there's a bigger varity of attractions.

The main part of New Zealands population lives on this island - most of them in the two biggest urbanizations Auckland and Wellington. But outside of this urban areas you'll find a rural and almost empty country, the nature paradies which is the reason for so many travellers to visit New Zealand. Maybe the nature experience is somehow more gigantic on the South Island but if you want to see some interesting cities and some culture as well then go North.

But what has this all to do with a big fish? Well a legend of the maoris, the native population of New Zealand, tells a story about two demigods who caught a big fish while they were out on the sea in there canoe. The canoe and the fish have been transformed into the two big islands of New Zealand. And if you look on a map and have a bit imaginative power you can see the fish with Northland as its tail and the bay of Wellington as its mouth.