Before we arrived at our first garden, our guide told us a few facts about New Zealand as we drove through the beautiful countryside
New Zealand has 2 main islands – the North and the South. The population of the North is 4 million and of the South is 1 million. The largest city is Auckland with a population of 1.5 million. The capital city is Wellington which is on the south end of the North island. It is a 3 hour ferry ride from the North to the South Island.
There are no native pine trees in New Zealand but there are millions of pines mostly Monterey Pines from California.They were imported to be planted and used for wood.
The North island has one native palm (Nikau) and several native tree ferns (Dicksonia and others).
Agriculture is the main industry of New Zealand. They grow grapes and make wine, Kiwi, cattle and dairy.
So far the weather has been overcast with a little rain in the mornings and the people I am traveling with are great.
Here are 2 maps of the North Island tour:
Hello Barry, Hope Jenkins here. I traveled with you in May in Italy. I enjoyed & shared your garden blog with many friends then. Now I’m following your HPSO journey in New Zealand. I was there on an HPSO tour in 2016. Now I’ll get to enjoy some of the same experiences and some new ones through your wonderful blog. Great photos and videos. Thank you for all the time & effort you put in to share your experiences with us, your readers – and viewers. 💛