Just Where Are The Victoria Falls? - Somewhere Close To Tauranga I Do Think? Or Why Do Kiwis Often Ignore Their Own Beautiful And Diverse Country?

While the headline above may seem perhaps odd and inappropriate, it is taken from an advertisement shown on NZ television quite a while ago. It concerns the tendency of travelers from NZ to ignore the bountiful destinations available within the confines of their own beautiful and diverse country.

Extending from the wonderful stone architecture of south Canterbury and Southland to the Unique and fragile Beech forests of the West Coast; to the broad sandy beaches of Northland, the secure sandy coves of the East Coast; to the grandeur of the looming, sometimes snow covered slopes, of the active volcano which is Mt Ruapehu. The night life of the biggest cities contrast with the comparatively placid rural existences lived by those within half a day easy drive from the centre of these bubbling metropolis.

Roads are almost entirely sealed now, although unsealed and less frequented options with evocative titles still exist. The 'forgotten highway' which travels from Taranaki into the Ruapehu District is one particular such example. The 'Bridge to nowhere' is New Zealand's monument to the rugged and demanding terrain of the central North Island. Even this small land nestled in the South Pacific, after almost 400 years of human habitation, there are still largely untraveled tracts of land in existence.

Wooden churches and stone stores from a colonial past still exist. With history texts in hand, one is able to still visit the carved wooden grave markers of those participants within those same pages. Having studied NZ's heritage in my years at university, such tangible markers give substance to the languid process of time in locations of this land, my homeland, New Zealand.

Referring again, to the essence meant in the title, I will inform you, the visitor, that as a teenager, myself and my close friend cycled many of the roads and byways of this beautiful and diverse country. I am confident that I have at least a cursory appreciation of this landscape. In earlier years, my experiences as a boy scout saw me hiking about the old tram tracks and logging skids of mining and forestry operations at Wairongomai. Now, as it certainly was then, bush covered and less than 'easy going' country. The people that moulded a state from this wilderness that was pre-colonial NZ were indeed of hardy stock. Often the settlers were military veterans of the Victorian Empire's conquests all-around the globe. They were not unaccustomed to discipline and physical labour.

It can easily, be seen, that New Zealand has vast scope of interest for the adventure seeking and those wishing to experience a vigorous, and not too distant, history. You can be having eggs on toast in a cafe near the shores of the great Lake Taupo in the morning, then be skiing the slopes of Ruapehu soon after lunch. You can be browsing historical documents in a provincial museum in one of many townships around the country, then, that same night be dancing the night away in a fashionable night club in one of the main city centres.

Just Where Are The Victoria Falls? - Somewhere Close To Tauranga I Do Think? Or Why Do Kiwis Often Ignore Their Own Beautiful And Diverse Country?
Extending from the wonderful stone architecture of south Canterbury - to the Unique and delicate Beech forests of the West Coast; to the huge sandy beaches of Northland, the sheltered sandy coves of the East Coast; to the grandeur of the active volcano that is Ruapehu.

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