New Zealand is a pretty awesome place! I left my home of Scotland to do a years backpacking around NZ and ended up staying for 14 months. I didn't want to leave but my visa was running out so I jumped across to Australia where I'm now working on my residency.
What I loved about NZ is that you're always close to nature and amazing sights. I climbed a glacier, I walked through national parks and I visited some amazing beaches.
Kiwis are some of the nicest people I've ever met, though some of the younger generation seem to be similar to those UK.. lots of binge drinking and fighting.
Auckland gets a lot of bad press, it really is a lot different than the rest of NZ but one thing I will say: If you want to party then Auckland is a great place to do it! The bars don't seem to ever close!
There are some downsides though, Internet access in most places sucked ass and was expensive. Wages are low and the weather wasn't too great, though I'm used to that being from Scotland.