New Zealand an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island and the South Island — and over 700 smaller islands. The islands of New Zealand were the last large habitable land to be settled by humans. Between about 1280 and 1350, Polynesians began to settle in the islands and then developed a distinctive Māori culture. In 1642, the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman became the first European to sight and record New Zealand. We can't wait to spend a week with you in this beautiful country.