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New Zealand is a popular GAP year destination because of its natural beauty, diverse landscape and cultural history. The country consists of two big islands and a couple of smaller ones around it. The country has the same size as the entire United Kingdom, but has only just over 4 million inhabitants. Most of the New Zealand inhabitants are native Europeans and live in the bigger cities. The biggest city is Auckland, which has a population of 1.25 million. The New Zealand GAP jobs available in Auckland and Christchurch are numerous.
 Within the cities you will be able to find paid jobs on monthly bases. Especially in these two big cities there are a lot of au pair jobs available. Although if you want to see the true face of New Zealand. Avoid the big cities and travel around the country. The different land types are a phenomenon in New Zealand. You can live right next to tropical rainforest, put your skiing equipment in the back of your car, drive for three hours and enjoy snow covered mountains.
Another reason is that you will not find any traditional Polynesian inhabitants in the big cities. The Maori are the original inhabitants of the country they call it Aotearoa, country of the long white cloud. Only 14% of population still call themselves Maori. They are spread throughout the country, most of them living in national parks. However some of these native villages can be visited to enjoy the true New Zealand GAP year experience. It is wise to do some research after the Maori before visiting them. They are people of tradition and can easily be offended. Make sure you are aware of their most important customs.
Apart from culture, the countryside offers a wide variety of GAP year jobs. New Zealand has a strong farming countryside. For every person living in New Zealand there are 12 sheep’s! A popular New Zealand GAP year job is volunteering to work on a sheep farm at the countryside. You will have lots of spare time to discover the natural beauty of New Zealand.
If you are interested in becoming a sports instructor, you’ll have various options. There are a couple of very popular skiing areas which allow you to become a skiing or snowboarding instructor. These job offers often include a training course at the start of the program. Next to skiing there are a lot of other outdoor sports that are popular in NZ which are excellent for New Zealand GAP year volunteering.
 By far the most popular sport in New Zealand is rugby. The national team, called the Allblacks is probably the best team in the world. In your GAP year, you are able to join a Rugby academy in this country full of specialists. During your time you will be trained by former professionals and tactical masterminds of the sport. Another option is to become a rugby sports instructor. You will teach kids the basics of the game. If you would like to do this, a little experience with the game is required.
Whether you decide to stay inland or near the coastline, there will always be plenty of activities left to do. The coastline near cities offers a great variety of water sports: Kayaking, surfing, kite surfing etc. While the inlands offer you the outdoor sports such as hiking, mountain biking, climbing, skydiving, bungee jumping and so on. For most of these sports you can train to become an instructor. Except for the most extreme ones such as skydiving which require years of experience.
Within the different sort of GAP jobs there are several functions and work places available. These are just a couple of examples of GAP Year job offers in New Zealand.
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