New Zealand - The Land of The Long White Cloud

rnEven though it is a developed country, New Zealand's economy is still very dependent on the farming community, although the the traditional meat, dairy and wool has been expanded to include fruit, wine, timber and others. Foreign trade is an essential ingredient of the New Zealand economic mix, which is one of the most open in the world. The country's economy is very trade-oriented, with the exports of goods and services accounting for 33% of the total output. The tourism industry is considered to be the biggest contributor to the Kiwi economy, and the country has successfully attracted several major filming contracts, the best known of these is the Lord of the Rings franchise, directed by New Zealander, Peter Jackson. Estimates have placed the expansion of travelers to New Zealand as rising by 4% annually, until 2013. New Zealand's economy has also been helped by strong economic relations with Australia. New Zealand's economy has traditionally been based on a base of exports from its very efficient agricultural system. The country also has substantial current economic trends. This year was a particularly difficult one for the automotive recruitment industry and this was reflected in the falling away of employment opportunities in this sector right across the board. However, recent figures show that confidence is rising in virtually all sectors of the motor industry, with the forestry sector for heavy machinery coming in very strongly on the job market. This is reflected in the steadily increasing numbers of jobs becoming available in the automotive industry. This is good news all round for anyone looking for mechanics jobs, car sales jobs etc and recent comments in this sector give a sense of optimism that there may be 'some light at the end of the tunnel". This may be due to the fact that several large road construction projects are due to start in the new year, meaning more automotive recruitment all round. New Zealand is also often called Aotearoa, which in Maori means "the land of the long white cloud". Especially in winter the winds from the huge warm continent of Australia and the cold Antarctic air clash to form gigantic swirls of clouds that blow across the country. This causes the country to have an annual rainfall of around 600mm to 1600mm. The rainy season is therefore in winter, though we do get rain throughout the year. These extended periods of cloud cover and rain often takes some getting used to.