New Zealand
New Zealand has two main islands - the North and South Islands - and many other small islands.
Māori are the Tangata Whenua ("people of the country") or indigenous people of Aotearoa (New Zealand) and arrived around 1,000 years ago by sea in several "waves of migration".
The Europeans didn't discover New Zealand until 1769 when the British navigator James Cook and his crew laid claim to the territory on the Endeavor.
Almost a third of the country has been protected in national parks, reserves and cultural heritage sites to preserve the country's ecological heritage. White to black sandy beaches, mountains, forests, rivers, lakes and volcanoes offer ideal conditions for nature photographers.