While the headline above may seem perhaps odd and somewhat irrelevant, it is taken from an advertisement shown on New Zealand television several years ago. It is concerned with the tendency of travelers from NZ to ignore the wonderful destinations available within the limits of their own beautiful and diverse country.

Extending from the wonderful stone constructions of south Canterbury and Southland to the Unique and fragile Beech forests of the West Coast; to the broad sandy beaches of Northland, the secure sandy coves of the East Coast; to the splendour of the looming, often snow covered slopes, of the active volcano which is Mt Ruapehu. The night life of the principal cities contrast with the comparatively placid rural existences lived by people within half a day easy drive from the centre of these busy metropolis.

Roads are almost entirely sealed now, although unsealed and less frequented options with evocative titles still exist. The 'forgotten highway' which goes from Taranaki into the Ruapehu District is just one such example. The 'Bridge to nowhere' is New Zealand's monument to the rugged and daunting terrain of the central North Island. Even this small land nestled in the South Pacific, after almost 400 years of human habitation, there are still essentially untraveled tracts of land in existence.

Wooden churches and stone stores from a colonial past still exist. With history textbooks in hand, you are able to still see the carved wooden grave markers of the very participants within those same pages. Having studied NZ's heritage in my years at university, such personal markers give substance to the languid process of time in locations of this land, my homeland, New Zealand.

Returning again, to the essence intended in the title, I will inform you, the visitor, that as a teenager, myself and my good friend cycled many of the roads and byways of this beautiful and diverse country. I am confident that I have at least a fundamental appreciation of this landscape. In earlier years, my experiences as a boy scout saw me hiking about the old tram tracks and logging skids of gold mining and forestry operations around Wairongomai. Now, as it certainly was then, bush covered and less than 'easy going' terrain. The individuals that moulded a state from this wilderness that was pre-colonial NZ were indeed of sturdy stock. Often the settlers were military veterans of the Victorian Empire's conquests all-around the globe. They were not unaccustomed to discipline and hard physical labour.

It can therefore, be seen, that New Zealand has vast scope of appeal for the adventure seeking and also those wishing to experience a vigorous, and not too distant, history. You can be having muffins in a cafe near the shores of the great Lake Taupo in the morning, then be skiing the slopes of Ruapehu soon after lunch. You can be browsing through historical documents in a provincial museum in one of many small towns around the country, then, that same night be dancing the night away in a modern night club in one of the main city centres.

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