From it's breathtaking scenery, unique Maori culture, and delicious wine, to glaciers and fiords, volcanoes and geysers, to ancient Kauri forests, and rugged coastlines sporting whales, dolphins, and seals, New Zealand is a rare and beautiful place! Buzzing cosmopolitan cities, fascinating small towns, unspoiled landscape, volcanoes and rain forests... Wow wow wow I could go on and on!
New Zealand's human history began with the Maori, predicted to have arrived 1,000 years ago. Way different in look and lifestyle from the Aborigines in Australia, the Maori are descendants of a Polynesian people who came to NZ by canoe from their home island of Hawaiki. The Maori named their new home Aotearoa- "Land of the Long White Cloud".
The first European to sight New Zealand was Dutch explorer, Abel Tasman, in 1642. Originally named "Staten Landt", the land's name was changed to New Zealand by Dutch mapmakers. By 1839 there were about 2,000 Europeans in New Zealand. On February 6, 1840 the Treaty of Waitangi was signed between the British Crown and the Maori chiefs to establish British law in NZ but gave the Maori authority over their land and culture (I feel like a lot of problems in Australia would have been solved if the British had made a similar treaty with the Aborigines). British and Chinese migrants arrived to NZ in mass during the gold rush of the 1860s, and independence from Britain was formally proclaimed in 1947. Since then, NZ has developed a unique identity and cultural mix of all those who have settled in the country through the centuries, namely British, Maori (14% of the population), Pacific Islander, and Asian cultures.
The Maori are known as tangata whenua- people of the land. They have established deep relationships with the land that appears as if it literally exploded out of the ocean! Snow-capped mountains, sparkling inlets, pristine forests, and rugged coastlines, the Maori personified the land's natural features to create a history in which the people and the land are interwoven. The Maori are so lucky to be connected to such a magnificent and diverse land!
Today, there are 4.4 millions kiwis in New Zealand... people that is! The nickname for a New Zealander is a Kiwi. There are 70,000 kiwi birds in New Zealand... The cute little flightless bird with the round rump and long beak. I'm not sure of the number of kiwi fruits in New Zealand, but they are the least expensive fruit at the grocery store, which is a nice change from the US.
But get this- there are 40 million sheep in NZ! That's nearly ten times as many sheep as people! (Hah and there's just about that many Germans in NZ too... just kidding, though Germans are the most abundant kind of tourist). From the Morino sheep, Morino wool is a specialty in New Zealand. I'm glad that I bought a pair of Morino wool socks, as the nights have been getting very cold. Lamb is also a very popular meat to eat and can be purchased in any grocery store.
Kiwis are known to be very creative people with a "Number 8 Fencing Wire" mentality. This is a popular idea in NZ that a kiwi can fix just about anything with a standard gauge fencing wire. In the days of NZ's extreme geographic isolation, this was an essential skill. It still is today! As I drive through small towns that are a hundred kilometers from the nearest gas station and grocery store, I am in awe of how people survive out here and make a living for themselves.
In fact, kiwi creativity has grown far beyond daily living. It has produced powerful motifs and artistic forms (bone carvings and fiber weavings) and has been a haven for filmmakers. The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Last Samurai were all filmed in NZ, as well as the upcoming movie The Hobbit.
The term Kiwiana describes the unique and quirky items that have contributed to New Zealand's sense of nationhood and kiwi identity. These cultural icons include jandals (flip-flops), meat pies, the tiki symbol, "Number 8 Wire", sheep, and anything made of Paua shell. Additional NZ icons include the famous New Zealand personality of Sir Edmund Hillary (the first man to summit Mount Everest), hokey pokey ice cream (vanilla ice cream with crunchy bits of toffee), and L&P (short for Lemon & Paeroa, a sparkling lemon-flavored soft drink). I've tried L&P and hokey pokey ice cream. Great stuff!
Though the kiwi culture and arts are interesting, my favorite part of New Zealand is the landscape. I wish that I had a rich enough vocabulary to describe the magnificence of what I am seeing as I travel around the South and North Islands of New Zealand. I am beginning to believe that the scenery is purely indescribable.
The following quote is an excerpt from a guidebook that does a fair job describing New Zealand's landscape. Well, it does a better job than I could at this point.
"Heaven on Earth. At the far side of the Pacific Ocean, New Zealand is a landscape of contrasts. Glaciers snaking through rainforests, snow-capped mountains lording over turquoise lakes, fiords taking turns with golden beaches, and volcanic moonscapes interspersed with geothermal spectacles make for unrelentingly beautiful vistas and unforgettable walking tracks. Add this to New Zealand's unique wildlife ranging from endangered species to exotic animals, and you get the sense that this is a world apart."
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