Season's Greetings - AHKs

CoMMUniTY TRAVEL
To the paradise - please follow this way
Another
Spelling for
Paradise:
Aotearoa
Suddenly so close: New
Zealand is only half a day’s
flight away from China
Christchurch is the largest city on the South Island
80 December - January 2009/2010
Natives call it the land of the long white cloud.
Visiting is a must if you take a shine to nature,
tranquillity and vastness. This is mixed with not
only very kind people, but also thousands of
friendly baaing sheep.
It was in 1865 when the German explorer Julius von Haast named a
glacier of the Southern Alps – running across the southern island of
New Zealand - after Emperor Franz Josef I of Austria. Von Haast had
originally travelled the island in 1858 to research the possibility of
forming a suitable colony for German emigrants. At that time he was
not striving at all to become the famous scientist he eventually did.
Germans Join the “Kiwis”
A good one and a half centuries later, there are more and more
Germans who decide to spend the rest of their lives on one of the
two main islands. To many it is a kind of dream to “escape” here,
not alone because of the country’s remote location. There are plenty
of other obvious reasons to fall in love with “God’s own country”,
a name that was given to New Zealand by its inhabitants, amicably
referred to as ‘Kiwis’ around the world. For many immigrants the
love affair began as tourists, when discovering the country by car or
campervan, as currently close to three million visitors do every year.
Sheep and Cows Awaiting You
“If you have been to Norway, Ireland and Switzerland, you won’t
find too much new there”, is a common deterring statement heard
about the island. Yet the mentioned countries are quite far away
from each other in Europe, whereas you can find the best of all
of them only a few hundred kilometres apart in New Zealand:
fjords, mountains, rivers and green as far as your eyes reach. Not to
mention the tens of thousands of friendly sheep that populate the
meadows and the cosily ruminating cows among them. This idyllic
image does not even include the beaches yet! The longest distance
to the coastline never exceeds 110kms in New Zealand. Especially in
the warmer northern part there are plenty of amazing beaches. While
some are exposed to the sunbathing crowds, others are tucked away
beneath cliffs and rocks, hardly accessible but worth all the effort of
those who still try.
Never Forget to Pay Respect
Beyond scenery, there are heaps of wonders to add to your to-do list
in New Zealand. From the still vivid Maori culture, geothermal areas
and hot springs in the volcanic zone, to the vineyards, mountains and
extraordinary biodiversity, the list continues with the possibility to
swim with dolphins, hike for several days on hidden tracks or watch
whales in their natural environment. These sights are complemented
by picturesque cities and villages, all of them inhabited by kind
people welcoming strangers with a warm “Haere mai”, or, at least
a jovial “hello”. New Zealanders are not only very friendly, but also
seem to be very clever. Although tourism plays a major role in the
country’s economy, adding about ten percent to the GDP, Aotearoa
– its old Maori name - is far from kneeling down to this sector. On
the contrary, tourists are expected to pay respect to this paradise.
The Kiwis love their country and are well aware of its beauty and
uniqueness, sparing no effort to preserve it. You may sometimes
wish you could move faster than the small winding country highway
permits. You might expect the ferries to run more frequently so you
would not have to plan ahead that far. Or you might hope to find five
star accommodations on your way – stop. The speed of life in New