New Zealand
New Zealand comes with a reputation as a unique land packed with magnificent, raw scenery: craggy coastlines, sweeping beaches, primeval forests, snowcapped glacier-fed lakes, and unparalleled wildlife, all beneath a brilliant blue sky. Even Kiwis – named after the endearing, if decidedly odd, flightless bird that has become the national emblem – are filled with astonishment at the stupendous vistas and variety of what they call "Godzone" (God's own country).
All of this provides a canvas for boundless diversions, from moody strolls along windswept beaches and multi-day tramps over alpine passes to adrenaline-charged adventure activities like bungy jumping and whitewater rafting; in fact, some visitors take on the country as a kind of large-scale assault course, aiming to tackle as many challenges as possible in the time available. The one-time albatross of isolation (even Australia is almost two thousand kilometres away) has become a boon, bolstering New Zealand's clean, green image – in truth, more an accident of geography than the result of past government policy.
Despite New Zealand's immense popularity, it remains unfettered by the crowds you'd find elsewhere. Almost everything is easily accessible, packed into a land area little larger than Britain but with a population of only 4.1 million, over half of it tucked away in the three largest cities: Auckland, the capital Wellington, and Christchurch on the South Island. Elsewhere, you can travel miles through verdant steep-hilled farmland rarely seeing a soul, and there are even remote spots that, it's reliably contended, no human has yet visited.
Only in the last thirty years has New Zealand come of age and developed a true national self-confidence, something partly forced on it by Britain severing the colonial apron strings in the early 1970s, and partly by the resurgence of Maori identity. Maori demands have been nurtured by a willingness on the part of most Pakeha to redress the wrongs perpetrated over the last century and a half, as long as it doesn't impinge on their high standard of living or overall feeling of control. More recently, integration has been replaced with a policy of biculturalism – promoting two cultures alongside each other, but with maximum interaction. The uncertainties of this future are further compounded by extensive recent immigration, partly from south Asia but the majority from China and Korea.
Discover more to see and do in New Zealand at www.roughguides.co.uk
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