We've been in New Zealand for under two years and still haven't had a chance to get to the South Island which is supposed to be amazing. But what we've seen so far is really cool too.
There are less than 4 million people here so there's lots of space basically. In some places you can trek for a full day (or more!) and not see another soul. Pretty amazing for a country this size.
Auckland is the biggest city and often dismissed by travellers. But then that's not what most people travel to NZ for. Yes the natural beauty of this country is amazing but if you have to get down to work to earn your travel money Auckland is ideal.
Where else can you find such a modern, progressive, multicultural city with the feeling of a friendly village? It's big enough so that you can find everything you need or want and small enough (pop. 1 million) to keep the pollution at bay.
Green issues in general are quite important here. There is even a Green Party Rastafari MP in Parliament down in Wellington. We've met up with him on the street a few times. That's the sort of place it is...you see someone you recognise and you just say hello.
The cool thing is that people here seem to realise that they have a good thing and do a lot to try to keep it that way.
We want to keep it that way too so we probably shouldn't be telling everyone about this (for fear of population explosion) but it's hard to keep a good secret. |
