Wish you were here...

EVEN for non-sports enthusiasts, there can be no doubt they know how much the All Blacks rugby brand has done for New Zealand tourism over the years.

Yet, Lions rugby tours apart, it’s not the beauty of the game but the beauty of the land and culture that attracts increasingly huge numbers of tourists to the Land of the Long White Cloud.

I have visited regularly since 1983, always on rugby-related journeys, always in winter, but always with an opportunity to embrace the beauty of the land. That tends to happen when you travel from north to south, east to west, on both the north and south New Zealand islands.

In that 20 odd years, there have been many changes. You’re still likely be thrown back to the ’50s in parts of rural New Zealand, but the larger cities and towns have kept pace with the changing times, and Auckland is a vibrant cosmopolitan city. With a population of 1.3 million, Auckland sits about two-thirds of the way up the North Island, and the isthmus on which the city sits is so narrow you can walk from one coast to the other.

Then again, wherever you are in New Zealand, you’re never too far from the sea. For those living inland, there are mountains, lakes, valleys, plains and plateaux; the North Island is dotted with volcanic cones, the South Island with a long spine of mountains called the Southern Alps.

Polynesians arrived there first in huge canoes during mass migrations in the 14th century, 400 years after their ancestor, Kupe, had found the country and named it “Land of the Long White Cloud”.

Dutch explorer Abel Tasman called it “Nieuw Zeeland” after his homeland when he arrived in 1642, and British navigator James Cook sailed there in 1769.

Still, it wasn’t until 1840 that European settlement began — the same year as the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi.

This agreement confirmed New Zealand as a British colony and put Maori people under the protection of the crown, but promised them continuing rights to tribal lands. Next year marks the 60th anniversary of the country’s independence as a member of the (British) Commonwealth.

If some aspects of New Zealand life — particularly in areas of low population — appear quaint to the visitor, there is nothing backward about the nation’s politics. New Zealand was the first nation to give women the vote (1893) and many of today’s top public and private-sector posts are held by women — Prime Minister (Helen Clarke), Governor General (Dame Silvia Cartwright) and Chief Justice (Dame Sian Elias) to name but three.

For the tourist, Auckland is a good starting off point. This coastal city offers a variety of activities and a host of shopping as well, of course, as a good climate where, even in winter, temperatures rarely drop to freezing point.

Moving up, subtropical Northland has beaches, island-studded bays, historic sites, giant trees and teeming underwater worlds. It has been described, aptly, as the winterless north, and the best way of exploring is to hire a car or motor home. It’s a must to meander upwards to Cape Reinga, where, according to Maori legend, the spirits of the dead depart for the ancestral homeland of Hawaiki. There’s a lighthouse and marvellous views of the rolling meeting of a sea and an ocean; the Pacific and the Tasman.

Further away, the Bay of Islands is a fabulous (but quiet) holiday playground. Paihia is the main resort town, from where one should take a boat trip to the Hole in the Rock, sail the bay, swim with dolphins, go deep-sea fishing or catch the ferry across to Russell. This town was once a whaling station and in 1840 was briefly New Zealand’s capital.

Looping back towards Whangarei, it’s worth detouring east at Hikurangi to the great bays, beaches and dive spots such as Matapouri, Tutukaka and Ngunguru. Northland’s pristine waters offer spectacular diving and the Poor Knights Islands off Tutukaka were named by Jacques Cousteau as one of the top dive sites in the world.

Speaking of dives, bungy jumping is a big thing in New Zealand, and opportunities to put your life in somebody else’s hands are widespread. From the safety of the sidewalk in an Auckland street, you’re likely to get light in the head simply by looking up and noting that someone is way up there, clinging white-knuckled to a railing at the end of a metal platform outside the city’s Sky Tower — getting ready to fall for 16 seconds at around 75 km/h. Don’t worry, the victims land gently on a platform just above your head — or at least they’re supposed to.

Having done the Auckland and Northland bit, most visitors to New Zealand want to explore further south, maybe take in a bit of golf, horse-riding or other sporting pursuit, available in such abundance throughout the country.

It’s really essential, having made the decision to make such a long journey, that one makes the most of it, because Auckland and Northland, though offering a sample of different types of worlds, do not represent everything that New Zealand has to offer.

On the shores of a lake that bears the same name, Rotorua is the thermal heartland of the volcanic central North Island, and a visit is mandatory. It’s built upon a steaming underground cauldron caused by a break between the Indo-Pacific and Australasian plates, and boiling water hurtles up through the ground and hisses into geysers that plume like tall fountains.

Belching vents and mud pools are natural hazards at Rororua’s Arikikapakapa Golf Club; hit a ball in and you can say goodbye to it. Bar the occasional overpowering smell of sulphur (take a guess what it smells like), Rotorua is a fun place to be and visitor numbers of 1m annually testify to that. The area is also the spiritual home of the Maori, and its people make up a sizeable number of the 55,000 population. The Maori culture and heritage influences many local activities, from traditional earth-oven hangi meals to Maori concert parties.

Take a trip to the Hawkes Bay area, famous for gastronomic delights and where wine is produced in abundance. There are close to 45 wineries in the area, from the Esk Valley north of Napier to Waipakurau in Central Hawkes Bay. Over 30 of them have cellar door outlets where one can taste and buy excellent reds and whites, especially Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

Take in Wanganui (pronounced Fonganui) on the way south to Wellington. Once (at least in 1983) a pleasant but very backward town, it has come on in leaps and bounds while retaining its old world charm. The central Victoria Avenue is now one of New Zealand’s most attractive main streets, with gaslights, wrought iron sets, palm and plane trees in place to invite strollers and shoppers.

The turn-of-the-century Royal Wanganui Opera House has a regular programme of local, national and international performances, and the surrounding region offers a wilderness experience which includes the W(h)anganui National Park — the largest tract of lowland forest in the North Island. Definitely take in a cruise on the 100-year-old paddle steamer Waimarie, or try an exciting jetboat ride.

South of the Rimutaka Ranges lies Wellington, the country’s capital, which today can rightly portray itself as a sophisticated modern city. It is, of course, home to the nation’s public services and is the starting point to suburban strands curling northwards and across to the rugged Kapiti Coast. Wellington is the launch pad for ferry travel to the South Island, where the first stop is Picton.

Tourists should also take in Nelson (named after guess who), a pretty town nestled beside a large and bustling fishing port, which is noted for a sunny Mediterranean type climate that is also conducive to wine production.

THE Southern Alps loom large to the west of the Canterbury Plains, and if there’s time, one should try to taste life on both sides. The ‘Garden City’ of Christchurch, home to the world-renowned Botanic Gardens, will be of particular interest to green-fingered tourists. Christchurch (population about 350,000) is a great base from which to explore the Canterbury region, with its numerous golf courses, wineries, thermal pools and pretty harbours. For a breathtaking view of the region, it’s worth considering a hot-air balloon ride from Christchurch.

The balloon won’t take you across the Alps, but you can fly across. Better still, take the really scenic route by boarding the TranzAlpine train from Christchurch to Greymouth, where you will find the local people to be a rare, independent, feisty breed; down to earth and very hospitable. Within its borders, the west coast boasts five of New Zealand’s 14 spectacular national parks.

Back to the east, Dunedin is a fascinating “recreation” of Scotland. The name is Gaelic for Edinburgh, and the South Island’s second city, famed for its university, is an example of Otago’s Scottish heritage and for a wealth of sub-Antarctic wildlife which has earned it the title of eco-tourism capital of New Zealand.

New Zealand’s reputation for being a land of surprises doesn’t end there; flying into Queenstown on a clear day is a joy that never pales. It used to be a sleepy place, but now the worldwide market has discovered it. Long, hot summer days, great fishing, snow-clad mountains and hills in winter, allied to great food, shopping and accommodation in an area of stunning natural beauty have helped make this a year-round destination.