I visited this island when I was a lad years ago. Thanks for the article...

Makes me proud to be a kiwi .. it truly is beautiful .. so make it one of your top choices for a vacation, you'll love it :)

We moved from Salt Lake City to the North Island of New Zealand and can't say enough about this astonishingly beautiful country. After experiencing this country and its people and peaceful way of life, it would take a lot to pull me back to Utah--and this is where my family is. Too bad it's not closer:) We got a lot of flack from people back in Utah, thinking we were crazy for moving to New Zealand and leaving Utah. Now that we're here, we wonder why we didn't move here sooner. We're enjoying daily the white sand beaches, turquoise blue water and year round excellent weather, gorgeous green hills and jungles. Just want to encourage people to try living in a country outside the USA like New Zealand. You'll be pleasantly surprised and NZ is probably the best country to live in the world. It was also rated the most peaceful country in the world, and I'm proud to now call New Zealand home!

My family history in NZ can be traced back many hundreds of years, yet we recently moved to the US. Yes, NZ is a beautiful place - golden beaches, clear water and a unique lifestyle (for some). It is a wonderful place to live. But lets not do the "NZ is better than America" thing. I am proud to call this great country home. Reality is, that a place like the Bay of Islands is not where most New Zealanders live.Gang violence has a devastating effect in main city schools; drugs, abuse, violence are very much alive and well in NZ as it is here. As for being the most peaceful - well, as much as I love my country and that of my ancestors, the only reason NZ can afford to be 'peaceful' is because countries like America, Australia and England can and will keep despots away so we dont have to fight (and the NZ govt knows it). I am more than a little embarrassed that NZ in recent years is willing to let other mothers sons die but has the "not my son" attitude. So yes, it is paradise; a paradise that everyone else is protecting.

... wish I lived in New Zealand. No place is perfect, but from what I've heard from friends who moved there from California several years ago, they have nothing but wonderful comments but nothing about gangs. They have a few children and are happy raising them in New Zealand. (Perhaps the gangs are in the big cities, just like in all the U.S. cities). Salt Lake valley is rampant with gangs. Since problems are everywhere in the world, NZ sure looks like a very lovely place to live. I think I'd like to move there if I could!

Oh how I miss the land of the long white cloud.

Happy memories of New Zealand, and Russell.
Visting the church and then sitting near the jetty watching the sun go down
sipping cold New Zealand wine....heaven.

The S. Island is generally considered the most scenic but the Bay is one of the many beautiful places in the N. Island. I resent the previous comment about NZ not contributing to your 'Military Madness" poisoning the world with cruelty and suffering. Stop with the blame game!