Turn, Turn, Turn...
Just as the seasons have changed down here in the South Pacific, so too has our country. As summer becomes fall, we go from Kiwis to Aussies. In New Zealand, summer becomes fall like a light goes from on to off. There's no seasonal dimmer switch in NZ; no setting the seasonal mood to prepare for colder weather. When the weather man said today is the last day of summer, he wasn't kidding. On the other hand, as the leaves fall from their purchase here in Sydney, the weather seems no to have gotten the memo. Today is a scorching 27 degrees Celsius (about 80) with, roughly, 75% humidity. As soon as you step out of the shower, you sweat like fat kid tied to a treadmill. But the leaves still fall.
And so, as we become acclimated to a new environment, we are reminded of what we learned and loved in NZ:
New Zealand is an up and coming country, but a diamond in the rough, quite literally. There is so much of New Zealand that is still undeveloped, and soon, we think, this will change. But for the time being, New Zealand remains one of the last great lands in the world that remains almost virginal in its immaturity. The work force that leaves for work around 9 in the morning, rarely with a tie on, always in jandals (flip-flops); the friendly, unjaded attitude of Kiwis towards travellers; the pristine mountains and beaches that haven't yet appeared on the radar of commercial developers. All these things give NZ traveller the feeling that they've discovered something that no one else knows about; and while most are compelled to keep their treasure to themselves, we, in all our generosity and benevolence, want to tell the world that there is a land where you can experience everything or nothing, and still be in awe.
While NZ is a pre-pubescent country still, it will soon mature at which point it will realize that it has the resources to become a commercially competitive nation in the tourism industry. So, readers, we urge you, go, now, while it is still the young and willing country it is before it becomes a cynical adult.
