NZ is a small and isolated country, more than 1000 miles from Australia and more than 20 hours flying time from the UK. It has a population of 4 million, compared with 60 million in the UK and 21m in Australia and yet it's land mass is 10% larger than the UK's. A fault line passes through South Island and there is evidence all over of earthquake and volcanic activity in geologically recent times. As a result much of the land is strongly hilly or mountainous, and very picturesque. Towns are generally small and often several hours' drive apart.
From both a geological and human aspect NZ is a young country. Maoris first came from other islands in the Pacific Ocean in small and different groups about 1000 years ago. Whalers and sealers started the British settlement late in the 18th century and, later, settlers farmed or searched for gold. It's key economic activities now are farming and tourism. The weather is more changeable than Britain's but our experience was of copious sunshine.
It was the first nation to give women the vote.
Curiosities I found were:
Kiwis are very open with other people, even British strangers, a pleasant trait....except when they are ahead of you in a queue!
Service in shops and eateries is generally excellent even though tips are not expected – perhaps pay is fair?
I have seen recent statistics suggesting that NZ is one of the most content nations in the world, and very well educated (from the Economist).
Clothing – often shapeless and black, with occasional touches of grey or white. A cartoonist's delight!
Despite the plentiful active outdoor jobs TV adverts suggest that there is an obesity problem (e.g. 1 in 4 Maoris). And that women obsess about facial lines.
Their loo paper (in motels etc.) wouldn't qualify for rolled cigarettes in the UK.
Craghopper clothing is sold here as Kiwi style but we never saw it in the NZ shops!
We found few book shops, and these were small presumably because books are very expensive e.g £20 for a best selling paperback. What does this say for average literacy?
We saw very few churches and these were almost all small.
No comments:
Post a Comment