New Zealand – the land of the long white cloud

New Zealand

– the land of the long white cloud

New Zealand was once a part of the southernmost of the two super-continents, Gondwana, broke away 80 million years ago and first settled by Polynesians around 1300s to develop a distinctive Maori culture. They arrived in their longboats while more recently Europeans came in their tall ships, with sails flying high.

People visit this South Pacific island group to swim in the sea, climb a mountain or just to slip back in time. New Zealand is where one can visit a church of shared faith, be surrounded by a valley of lupins brilliant in colour, enjoy a town painted with murals so realistic one can almost hear the children’s laughter or take a seat in the Hundertwasser toilet of golden orbs, copper handwork, mosaic tiling, undulating floors and sculptures.

Then there is the concealed world of caves, with rivers and an underground life of its own; of eels, cave plants and glow worms. And last but not least is New Zealand’s volcanic wonderland of geothermal marvels where the air is pungent with the scent of sulfur, where pools of red, green and blue bubble and steam; a land alive with activity, enticing people and could erupt at any moment.

New Zealand is a world of legends and myths that have passed through the generations; with ancient Maori burial sites and Cape Reinga‘s leaping off place of spirits.