Embrace quirk
Australia and New Zealand are like cousins.
We ‘cross the ditch’ (The Tasman Sea) almost as a commute. (It’s a three-hour flight).
We can live in each other’s countries freely.
We are both island homes.
Yet the nuance in culture is beautifully different.
The Kiwis embrace quirk. There is an individuated identity that few nations I have been to celebrate, particularly those of the British colonies.
In their colonisation, they managed to get a few things right. The language and culture of the Maori are everywhere, in names, streets and spoken on TV. The current government, most like leaning right governments, seeks to change that. I hope they lose this attempt.
National parks and protected green spaces are common. The beauty of Nature is interwoven into New Zealand as a central feature.
The food scene is amazing, with local products taking centre stage, a wine and beverage list at last night’s restaurant eating Middle Eastern food, entirely from New Zealand.
Hiking and walking (tramping) paths are clearly marked and frequently used.
I love the cooler temperature after a steamy hot few months, the walking into the hills around Wellington, the crisp air and the smell of the forest. I missed the call of the Kookaburras, and the kangaroos crossing my path.
There feels to be a far more integrated mixed-race and accepted diversity here.
I am sharing this trip with my daughter, someone with mixed race blood, her Maori heritage more evident than her English heritage.
There is something powerful in being of mixed race. I hope all white skins will be browned at some stage as the world mixes up completely. Then we can stop this ridiculous drama about race and skin colour.
Today, in Wellington, I am celebrating New Zealand culture, happy to be here.
Photo Taken February 12th 2024