North and Auckland COMPARATIVES Rotorua reasons why the North Island is the best: The beaches and surf are better and the water is warmer There’s more Maori culture to experience There are more hot pools and geothermal activity to see here Sky Tower and Auckland Harbor Bridge - Experience two Marlborough famous manmade structures in NZ The Bay of Islands…that’s the reason in itself to visit the North Island Queenstown reasons why the South Island is the best: The South Island is more mountainous It has the Southern Alps which stretches for the length of the Island There are less people living here, which means more open spaces all to yourself More scenic ski fields, and the much more diverse club fields are in the South Queenstown - the adventure capital of the world The share diversity of nature, displayed in all its glory from the Sounds at the tip of the South Island to the Fiords at the bottom of the South Island There's not too much difference - most of New Zealand south of Auckland shares a maritime climate, with cool winters, warm summers, and frequent rain The South Island is less densely populated but still has the second largest city in NZ (Christchurch) The south island is also home to NZs biggest wine region, NZs adventure capital, four glaciers, four out of five of NZs biggest lakes, the beautiful Marlborough and Milford Sounds and it has gorgeous mountain ranges NZs five tallest mountains are all situated in the South Island The top of the North Island (i.e Auckland north) is described as between sub-tropical and maritime The North Island is more populated, while temperatures can be hotter there is also a higher percentage of rain with Auckland boasting highest rainfall in NZ It has some great beaches and has almost thirds of the population The North Island is home to NZs largest city Auckland and the capital city Wellington The largest lake in NZ is in the North Island Living costs in the large cities are more expensive than in the South but in smaller towns they are very similar