Viewing New Zealand
Features
Essence
Time Line
Peace & Quiet
Famous People
Early Travel
In the early 20th century, before the railway came through, the Whanganui River was promoted as "New Zealand's Rhine." Thus three days of river cruising, including a night spent on a houseboat miles from civilization, became a fashionable way to travel.
According to tradition, the early Polynesian Maori peoples were the first human beings to inhabit New Zealand, traveling to the islands in fleets of canoes during the 10th to 14th centuries. They were followed by European explorers and merchants, and later, in the 19th century, settlers and soldiers, gold-diggers and opportunists arrived. Today, tourists come from all over the world.
The New Zealand Tourism Board promotes the country as "100% Pure New Zealand," at "the most beautiful end of the Earth." To convince potential visitors that New Zealand is removed from the everyday hassles of the world; to explain that life here is how it used to be, and yet provide assurance that it is a thoroughly modern country with civilization never far away; and to convince them that, despite occupying such a tiny area on a world map, it offers a tremendous variety of scenery and attractions, requires some degree of marketing skill.
To live in one of the world's most desirable holiday destinations is my good fortune for, with its easy-going lifestyle, clean, uncrowded environment, and spectacular landscapes ranging from volcanoes to glaciers, New Zealand surely is a favored country.
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