Observations on New Zealand

We have found New Zealand a lot more crowded than we expected, considering the population is only 4 million, but that may be because we are at tourist resorts in the middle of their summer hols. Perhaps when he children go back to school, or maybe when we get to South Island, we may find it different. N Z is only 3 hours flying time from Australia but has a completely different climate and culture. Spectacular scenery, dramatic hills,dense vegetation but it's difficult to take it in as the roads are very tortuous, and there are no lookout points or pull ins where you can get off the road to admire the views. The campsites are not quite up to the standards of Australian sites but are adequate, which is a little strange as the majority of Kiwis go camping. They don't seem to have as many colourful birds or the roaming wild life that they do in Australia, but we've only been here 6 days so far.
We hadn't realised that the Kiwis have as much fun at the expense of the Aussies, as the Aussies do out of the Brits and they have loved the last test match as much as we have, seems the Kiwis will support anyone who is playing Australia.
Overall the weather seems gentler but that's possibly because we caught it on some good days! Here in the north of North Island it is tropical.