Time to write, but about what, I know not. We are now into our third year in New Zealand. Sunday 1st June marked the first day of winter; yesterday, 2nd June was Queen’s birthday. (I believe originally King’s, i.e. her father’s, birthday) and a public holiday. Today was warm and sunny between the hours of 10am and 3pm, as have been most days of late, though the nights have been somewhat nippy. There are those for whom T-shirts and shorts, even bare feet, are still the norm, we sit stoically in cafes with the doors and windows open, and even those fortunate to have and be able to afford good heating at home, still appear to be in denial that this part of New Zealand actually ‘does’ winter. I confess to becoming a little weary of the layers on and off game, especially as getting rid of your thermal undies in the middle of the day can be tricky. Still, there’s no way certain of my joints are going to accept being cold, so better put up and shut up, and get the layers sorted!
We took the opportunity to travel to the Eastern Bay of Plenty at the weekend, and found yet more glorious beaches, bush, rivers and hills. This is one of the most remote parts of the North Island, its people are some of the first to see the sun each day. The first Maori canoes landed here, and it seems that this is one area where contemporary Maori still follow a more traditional pattern of life with more ease than perhaps elsewhere. Lots of research needed here on my part into the impact of the Waitangi Treaty.
The tentacles of our consumer society are reaching rapidly over New Zealand. Is this what catching up with the rest of the world means? One of the country’s potential charms for me was that it was considered 20 years behind. If this is what produced people with ingenuity, creativity, a Kiwi-can-do attitude, and a more laisser-faire attitude with regards to image, then please don’t catch up, or at least try to do it slowly and avoid some of the traps, which manifest elsewhere in the world. Perhaps New Zealand is far enough away to keep a semblance of originality and uniqueness. At least there is still plenty of untamed land here, nature is clearly powerful, potentially violent and in control, all of which may help to keep our human greed a little more in perspective.