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Just Where Are The Victoria Falls? - Some-Where Near Taupo Perhaps? Or Why Do Kiwis Often Ignore Their Own Beautiful And Diverse Country?
While the title above may seem odd and somewhat irrelevant, it is taken from an advertisement shown on NZ television some time ago. It deals with the tendency of travelers from NZ to ignore the bountiful destinations available within the boundaries of their own beautiful and diverse country.
Ranging from the wonderful stone constructions of south Canterbury and Southland to the Unique and fragile Beech forests of the West Coast; to the extensive sandy beaches of Northland, the secure sandy coves of the East Coast; to the grandeur of the looming, often snow covered slopes, of the active volcano that is Ruapehu. The night life of the biggest cities contrast with the comparatively sedate rural existences lived by people within half a day easy drive from the centre of these busy metropolis.
Roads are almost entirely sealed now, though unsealed and less frequented ways with evocative titles still exist. The 'forgotten highway' which travels from Taranaki into the Ruapehu District is one such example. The 'Bridge to nowhere' is NZ's monument to the rugged and demanding terrain of the central North Island. Even this small territory nestled in the South Pacific, after almost 400 years of human habitation, there are still essentially untraveled tracts of land in existence.
Wooden churches and stone stores from the colonial past still exist. With history textbooks in hand, one is able to still view the carved wooden markers to the graves of those participants within those same pages. Having studied New Zealand's heritage in my years at university, such personal markers give substance to the languid advancement of time in regions of this land, my homeland, New Zealand.
Referring again, to the essence intended in the title, I will tell you, the visitor, that as a teenager, myself and my close friend cycled many of the pathways of this beautiful and diverse country. I am certain that I have at least a fundamental appreciation of this landscape. Also, my experiences as a boy scout saw me hiking about the old tram tracks and logging skids of mining and forestry operations about Wairongomai. Now, as then, bush covered and less than 'easy going' country. The men and women that moulded a state from this wilderness that was pre-colonial NZ were indeed of sturdy stock. Often the settlers were military veterans of the Victorian Empire's conquests about the globe. They were not unaccustomed to discipline and physical labour.
It can thus, be seen, that NZ has vast scope of interest for the adventure seeking and those people wishing to experience a vigorous, and not too distant, history. You can be having muffins in a cafe near the shores of the great Lake Taupo in the morning, then be skiing on the slopes of Ruapehu before lunch. You can be browsing historical documents in a provincial museum in one of many little towns around the country, then, that night be dancing the night away in a fashionable night club in one of the main city centres.
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