The 'youngest country in the world' is nevertheless very proud of its short but fiery history. The Maori population are revered for their connections to the country's tribal past and sympathised with for their forebears' suffering under the colonisers' rule. We are saddened however by the general negative opinions towards a majority of Maori youth, responsible mainly for the rash of petty crime which regularly takes place in the more remote areas. The strength of the Maori culture comes from pride, which can it seems, sometimes manifest itself in a belief that things are owed. Of course, it is fact that much land was unlawfully taken and atrosities occured, however it is Maori that are now often blamed for unreasonable charging to see the thermal wonderlands which they have been gifted back as part of the nation's apology. It is human nature that when oppressed, people will inherantly react differently and there are a great number of worthy Maori projects going on too. It might also be said that when a culture's heritage is being suppressed, there's a tendancy to attempt to rejuvenate the stories of that culture to more great a status than if they hadn't been suppressed in the first place. The question can be posed, what role can the practise of Maori culture have in a modern world? A line can be drawn, separating cultural practices for preservation purposes and the good of today's Maori and the pursuit of old battles causing continuing unrest between the indigenous and Pakeha (white) populations. This is not to say that we witnessed any racism, we did not. New Zealand is a very accommodating nation, with large populations of Chinese and Japanese, in Auckland especially, obviously enjoying the free thinking attitudes of their second nearest Western neighbour. Sushi is one of the nation's current favourite foods. This doesn't really fit with the typical stereotype of the New Zealand male, all macho with his hunting and fishing gear, hammering around in the wilderness on his quadbike. These guys do still exist in the rural areas but increasingly, the cities are becoming more forward thinking and the arts are playing a much bigger role than they ever did.
But, aside from all these humans, it's New Zealand's great outdoors, that is it's ace card. Although having just experienced the thrills of mountainous South America, we've failed to detach ourselves from the magic that is true New Zealand. We've gained a fondness for the green hills, snow topped mountains, great lakes and impressive coastlines we've encountered on our road trip. It's a small land but encompasses a great many types of geological formations, volcanic landscapes, ancient rainforests and marine and bird life. I am troubled by the fact that I may not be able to remember the distinct call of the Tui bird. It's different to any other bird and sounds so exotic with it's combination of throat clucks and bending notes. Oh well, it'll just have to be logged with all the other sensoral experiences that we have come across so far and may or may not be lost as my brain becomes foggy with all the stuff we've been taking in and gets older!
