SERENITY WOODS ROMANCE
  • Home
  • Books
    • All of my Books
    • A Boss in a Billion >
      • Talking Dirty with the Billionaire Boss
      • One Night with the Billionaire Boss
      • Faking Love with the Billionaire Boss
    • Bay of Islands Brides >
      • Bride in Trouble
      • Bride by Mistake
      • Bride in Secret
      • Bride for a Night
      • Bride for Hire
      • Bride for Christmas
      • Bay of Islands Brides Collection
      • Bay of Islands Brides 2
    • Between the Sheets >
      • Between the Sheets 5-in-1 Collection
      • A Secret Between Friends
      • An Ocean Between Us
      • Right Between the Eyes
      • Reading Between the Lines
      • Between You, Me & The Bedpost
    • The Billionaire Kings >
      • The Billionaire Kings 3-in-1 Collection
      • The Billionaire Kings 2: 4-in-1 Collection
      • My Best Friend, the Billionaire
      • My Boss, the Billionaire
      • My Roommate, the Billionaire
      • My Lonely Billionaire
      • My Wounded Billionaire
      • My Wicked Billionaire
      • My Christmas Billionaire
    • The Billionaire Princes >
      • The Irresistible Billionaire
      • The Castaway Billionaire
      • The English Billionaire
      • Santa, The Billionaire
      • The Valentine Billionaire
      • The Secret Billionaire
    • Blue Penguin Bay >
      • As Deep as the Ocean
      • As Beautiful as the Bay
      • As Timeless as the Sea
      • Blue Penguin Bay Box Set
    • Christmas Wishes >
      • Santa's Secret
      • White-Hot Christmas
      • His Christmas Present
      • If Kisses Were Snowflakes
      • Holly's First Noel
      • Tell Me Your Wish
      • Christmas Wishes Box Set
    • Dartmoor Big Cat Brides >
      • Wild Heart
      • Savage Instinct
      • Fierce Desire
      • Dartmoor Big Cat Brides Box Set
    • Doubtless Bay >
      • Doubtless Bay 6-in-1 Collection
      • Friends Don't Date
      • Friends Don't Kiss
      • Friends Don't Have a Fling
      • Friends Don't Share a Bed
      • Friends Don't Fall in Love
      • Friends Don't Have a One-Night Stand
      • A Taste of Things to Come
    • Elemental Wars >
      • Heartwood
      • Sunstone
    • Four Seasons >
      • Seducing Summer
      • Tempting Autumn
      • Bewitching Winter
      • Persuading Spring
      • The Four Seasons Box Set
    • Hartfield House >
      • Twice Knightley in my Bed
    • Heartfelt >
      • Mr. Sinful
      • Mr. Seductive
      • Mr. Sensational
      • Heartfelt Box Set
    • Like a Boss >
      • Taking Charge
      • Taking Over
      • Taking Liberties
      • Taking Time
      • Like a Boss Box Set
    • Love Comes Later >
      • My Christmas Fiance
      • My New Year Fling
      • My Valentine Seduction
      • Love Comes Later Box Set
    • A Murder of Crows >
      • Hunter's Moon Witch
      • Black Moon Witch
    • The Prince's Harem Box Set
    • Sensual Healing >
      • An Uncommon Sense
      • Making Sense
      • Talking Sense
      • Sensual Healing Box Set
    • Serenity's Standalones >
      • Serenity's Standalones Collection 1
      • Serenity's Standalones Collection 2
      • Kiss and Make Up
      • One Hot Winter's Night
      • Set me Free
      • Remember Me
      • Mr. Insatiable
      • Something Blue
    • Serenity's Paranormal Collection >
      • Serenity's Paranormal 1-in-3 Collection
    • Three Wise Men >
      • The Perfect Gift
      • An Ideal Present
      • A Secret Parcel
      • Three Wise Men Box Set
      • Casanova
    • Thrillers >
      • Cold to Her Bones
      • The Forgotten Girls
      • The Ties That Bind Me
    • Treats to Tempt You
  • About
    • Privacy Policy
    • Cookies Policy
    • New Zealand
  • Contact
  • Newsletter

New Zealand Aotearoa

On this page you can find out more about New Zealand, also known by its Maori name, Aotearoa. (To pronounce this, say "Ah-oh-teh-ah-roh-ah".)

New Zealand is such a beautiful country, from the breath-taking mountains of the south island to the sub-tropical forests and palms of the Far North. 

Picture
Looking to visit the country for a special occasion like an anniversary or honeymoon? Romantic Gestures offers personalised romantic planning and luxurious getaways. Hermione's business in An Ocean Between Us was based on Romantic Gestures! Go here to find out more.

Picture
Abel Tasman Bay
Photo credit: Foter / Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.5)
Picture
Lake Wanaka
Photo credit: Sami Keinänen / Foter / Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Once a country that—even if they’d heard of it (which was rare)—most people couldn’t point to on the map, now we are enjoying relative fame as the place where Peter Jackson filmed the movie adaptations of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. New Zealand’s mountain ranges and green pastures have become synonymous with Middle Earth, and even if your average reader still can’t point to it on a map, most people have at least heard of us now.

But what do you really know about New Zealand? Firstly, it’s not the same as Australia. We’re some 1400 miles east of Australia—that’s apparently around the distance from NYC to New Orleans, or London to Marrakesh in Morocco. And no, there’s no bridge between the two countries. Our capital is Wellington—not the biggest city, Auckland, as many people think. And yes, sheep do outnumber humans by a ratio of about thirteen to one.

Here it is on the map, in case you didn’t know:
Picture
Other interesting facts about the country:
• New Zealand was the first country to give votes to women in 1893
• The country got its name from Dutch explorer Abel Tasman who named it after the Netherlands province “Zeeland”
• New Zealanders are called “kiwis”—after both the flightless kiwi bird, which is indigenous to the country, and the kiwifruit that grows here in abundance.
• Yes, I often go under the name Kiwi Bird on the internet.

The country consists of two islands (called, rather unimaginatively, North and South Island) plus a smaller island called Stewart Island at the bottom. Interestingly, Stewart Island used to be called South Island and the South Island was referred to as Middle Island! Oh, and Kiwis still jokingly refer to Australia as West Island

The whole country is about 1000 miles long – roughly the same size as Japan or Great Britain (but there’s only 4 million people here compared to Japan’s 127 million or the UK’s 63 million!) This means that the South Island is relatively cool with a similar climate to much of North America and the UK, with distinct seasons, warm, dryish summers and cool, wet winters. But the Northland where I live is sub-tropical, hot, sultry and humid.

However, let's get on to the important stuff. The country's national games are rugby for the men and netball for the women. Before every national rugby match, our team - the All Blacks - perform the haka, a Maori war song. If you've not been treated to a display of this before, have a peek now.
And finally, to those of you who have read/are reading my Doubtless Bay series, here are a few pictures taken at Mangonui, in Doubtless Bay, where the books are set. It was a bit of a gloomy day, but hopefully it gives you an idea of where the shop would be located!

Serenity x

Picture
Picture
Picture
Treats to Tempt You is based here
Picture
Only in NZ!
To read the site's privacy policy, click here
​

KEEP UP WITH SERENITY

Follow Serenity on AMAZON
(Click the yellow "follow" button on Serenity's Amazon page to be informed when she has new releases)
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
  • Home
  • Books
    • All of my Books
    • A Boss in a Billion >
      • Talking Dirty with the Billionaire Boss
      • One Night with the Billionaire Boss
      • Faking Love with the Billionaire Boss
    • Bay of Islands Brides >
      • Bride in Trouble
      • Bride by Mistake
      • Bride in Secret
      • Bride for a Night
      • Bride for Hire
      • Bride for Christmas
      • Bay of Islands Brides Collection
      • Bay of Islands Brides 2
    • Between the Sheets >
      • Between the Sheets 5-in-1 Collection
      • A Secret Between Friends
      • An Ocean Between Us
      • Right Between the Eyes
      • Reading Between the Lines
      • Between You, Me & The Bedpost
    • The Billionaire Kings >
      • The Billionaire Kings 3-in-1 Collection
      • The Billionaire Kings 2: 4-in-1 Collection
      • My Best Friend, the Billionaire
      • My Boss, the Billionaire
      • My Roommate, the Billionaire
      • My Lonely Billionaire
      • My Wounded Billionaire
      • My Wicked Billionaire
      • My Christmas Billionaire
    • The Billionaire Princes >
      • The Irresistible Billionaire
      • The Castaway Billionaire
      • The English Billionaire
      • Santa, The Billionaire
      • The Valentine Billionaire
      • The Secret Billionaire
    • Blue Penguin Bay >
      • As Deep as the Ocean
      • As Beautiful as the Bay
      • As Timeless as the Sea
      • Blue Penguin Bay Box Set
    • Christmas Wishes >
      • Santa's Secret
      • White-Hot Christmas
      • His Christmas Present
      • If Kisses Were Snowflakes
      • Holly's First Noel
      • Tell Me Your Wish
      • Christmas Wishes Box Set
    • Dartmoor Big Cat Brides >
      • Wild Heart
      • Savage Instinct
      • Fierce Desire
      • Dartmoor Big Cat Brides Box Set
    • Doubtless Bay >
      • Doubtless Bay 6-in-1 Collection
      • Friends Don't Date
      • Friends Don't Kiss
      • Friends Don't Have a Fling
      • Friends Don't Share a Bed
      • Friends Don't Fall in Love
      • Friends Don't Have a One-Night Stand
      • A Taste of Things to Come
    • Elemental Wars >
      • Heartwood
      • Sunstone
    • Four Seasons >
      • Seducing Summer
      • Tempting Autumn
      • Bewitching Winter
      • Persuading Spring
      • The Four Seasons Box Set
    • Hartfield House >
      • Twice Knightley in my Bed
    • Heartfelt >
      • Mr. Sinful
      • Mr. Seductive
      • Mr. Sensational
      • Heartfelt Box Set
    • Like a Boss >
      • Taking Charge
      • Taking Over
      • Taking Liberties
      • Taking Time
      • Like a Boss Box Set
    • Love Comes Later >
      • My Christmas Fiance
      • My New Year Fling
      • My Valentine Seduction
      • Love Comes Later Box Set
    • A Murder of Crows >
      • Hunter's Moon Witch
      • Black Moon Witch
    • The Prince's Harem Box Set
    • Sensual Healing >
      • An Uncommon Sense
      • Making Sense
      • Talking Sense
      • Sensual Healing Box Set
    • Serenity's Standalones >
      • Serenity's Standalones Collection 1
      • Serenity's Standalones Collection 2
      • Kiss and Make Up
      • One Hot Winter's Night
      • Set me Free
      • Remember Me
      • Mr. Insatiable
      • Something Blue
    • Serenity's Paranormal Collection >
      • Serenity's Paranormal 1-in-3 Collection
    • Three Wise Men >
      • The Perfect Gift
      • An Ideal Present
      • A Secret Parcel
      • Three Wise Men Box Set
      • Casanova
    • Thrillers >
      • Cold to Her Bones
      • The Forgotten Girls
      • The Ties That Bind Me
    • Treats to Tempt You
  • About
    • Privacy Policy
    • Cookies Policy
    • New Zealand
  • Contact
  • Newsletter