By LonelyPlanet.com

On top of their looks, the islands’ rich Maori culture, passion for rugby, sheep outnumbering people, and exquisite sauvignon blanc create a country that defies even the most imaginative adventurers’ expectations.

But it’s not all look and don’t touch. In New Zealand, adventure sports rule. This is, after all, a nation so dedicated to doing odd things with bits of rubber and plastic that it invented bungee jumping, black-water rafting and zorbing. Whether you’re climbing the Fox glacier or skydiving over a stunning patchwork of mountains and fields, New Zealand is certain to get adrenaline coursing through your veins.

And there’s another aspect of Aotearoa – as New Zealand is known to Maori people - that keeps people coming back for more. The average Kiwi wants you to have a really, really good time. It is in the interactions with exuberant, everyday Kiwis that lasting memories will be made. As a Maori proverb suggests: He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata! He tangata! (What is the most important thing in the world? It is people! It is people!).

Kiwis love sharing their spectacular country with visitors and in turn seeing it anew through foreign eyes. They never tire of being reminded of the rugged beauty of their beaches, mountains, fiords, glaciers, native forests and thermal regions. And once you experience these natural highlights, you won’t tire of reminding them.

Last updated: May 24, 2012