A love affair with New Zealand

On my year abroad I did the one thing you are not supposed to do; I got a boyfriend. To make matters worse, he lives in New Zealand. Yep, I am now in a relationship that is the very definition of ‘long distance’. So, as I’m the one who is keen to (maybe) move there after graduation, it was decided I should visit the country I could be living in.
This is how I ended up skiving off the last week of uni and flying the 23 hours to New Zealand instead of dancing around at Christmas POP dressed as a slutty elf. I had no idea what to expect – to be honest I hadn’t thought much beyond mine and the boyfriend’s airport reunion – but never mind that first kiss at the airport; it ended up being the country itself that really blew my mind.

Coming from the flatlands of East Anglia (Norfolk and proud), even the slightest hill – let alone a mountain – was pretty impressive to me, but I wasn’t prepared for such variation in the landscape. In a four-hour drive you can go from beautiful beach through lush rainforest, to a snowy mountain top, which turns out to be a volcano. And almost everywhere has a kind of Lord of the Rings quality, as though Peter Jackson built this view especially for you. Obviously Peter Jackson is not responsible for New Zealand’s bizarre beauty; it is the geological forces that carve out this crazy landscape. Of course with New Zealand’s history of earthquakes and volcanoes there is a downright terrifying side to such awesome views. This was hammered home when immediately upon arrival my boyfriend gave me a brief rundown of what do in an earthquake, tsunami or huge volcanic eruption.

The natural forces of New Zealand don’t all work to create dramatic vistas of tectonic doom; there is a downright weird side to the country’s landscape, too. The few days I spent in Rotorua taught me how truly weird the world can be. Rotorua is a geothermal city that smells like rotten eggs, full of bubbly mud puddles and covered with boiling hot pools all the colours of the rainbow. Seriously, mud pools are awesome (I have the 70-odd photos to prove it).

But there is also a decent dose of history for all those who think travelling is not worth it unless you learn something along the way, especially if one doesn’t mind a certain amount of colonial guilt along with their knowledge. Paihia (pie-here) was a great place to learn about New Zealand history, as it is only a short walk to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, where the founding document of New Zealand was signed by various Maori tribes and the British. Unfortunately, this then lead to all sorts of terrible colonial behaviour on our part. It was a great reminder that, as Vern, a friendly Maori man I met in the B’n’B I stayed at phrased it, “It is my history too”. Beyond a questionable colonial impact, the British influence is pretty noticeable – every second person you meet is British, and Kiwis manage to find some way of making typically English things their own. They have even managed to claim fish’n’chips as their thing; to be honest I am inclined to give it to them – eating fish and chips overlooking a beautiful sub-tropical harbour is hard to beat.

I spent most of my time in New Zealand playing it cool, not wanting to seem too keen, but then I arrived in Wellington. This was the deal-breaker. Wellington is very cool indeed. Best of all, it doesn’t even know it. Being a city girl (read: wannabe hipster), Wellington was perfect for me as it has more vintage shops, cool cafes, and awesome dive bars than even the most organised indie kid could visit in a lifetime. It even has enough second-hand bookshops, my own particular weakness, to keep me busy for years. The flourishing music scene is also worth a mention, with numerous awesome bands you can guarantee no one at home will ever heard of. All in all, I think Wellington and I could be very happy together.
So will I be abandoning dear old Blighty and moving to New Zealand after graduation, I hear you ask? Well a lady never kisses and tells, but I can’t wait to go back, and, as everyone has told me that it is the South Island you really fall in love with, that is where I am heading next. I guess only time will tell how deep my New Zealand love goes…