Anyone ever been to New Zealand?

Another thing to remember is that it is a land of extremes. Folks tend to think of the place as temperate, and it by and large is in Auckland. But the South Island has some excellent snow skiing (albeit in our summer). Wanaka in the Otago region is where many world class skiers train in the off season. Also many rugged mountains in the area for climbing in summer. Not the sort of geography most folks who haven't been in country associate with NZ.