Certainly New Zealand has plenty of outdoors. In a country roughly the size of Japan, or the United Kingdom, we have only four and half million people - and more than a million of those live in one large area in the North Island. Consequently there's plenty of space around us: huge mountains, flat plains, national parks and plenty of bush - that's rugged terrain to the rest of you. People go hunting, shooting, fishing and mostly don't get in each other's way. But they also get lost fairly often, fall out of boats, out of the sky (while paragliding), or break their legs on the ski slopes. And that's just the locals. The tourists who come here seem to have the idea that their bullet-proof: an awful lot of them go missing through thinking that the Great Outdoors is very safe. Though there aren't any wild animals to eat you, there are quite a few other hazards - especially if you decide to go off trekking on your own.

The Bach 

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As it's known in the North Island, or the Crib, as it's known in the South. Thousands of people have one of these. It's a holiday home, often by the sea, or in a remote and sunny place. In the past you could knock one of these buildings up as the mood took you, if you had a little bit of land, and there were no one to stop you putting it up pretty much as you liked. Now a bach/crib has to conform to so many by-laws it's not funny, or else is so much more splendiferous than your town house that you'd be better off living in it full-time. 

Backyard Geniuses

Thirdly, New Zealand is known for its back-yard geniuses. It's a country where people like to invent things, both useful and not-so-useful. Often it's called the "number eight fencing wire mentality" after the idea that anyone with a bit of gumption can make anything work by using a bit of fencing wire.

And certainly the list of inventions the NZ Herald gives us is impressive: cars that float, treatments for blindness and disease on a global scale, tranquilliser guns, spreadable butter and chocolate fish. I wrote elsewhere about a New Zealander who invented a jetpack so individuals can fly. This is typical of the sort of thing they come up with.

I'm grateful that there are plenty of geniuses working out in their garages; if it was up to me, we'd still be using things invented in the 19th century.

The New Zealand Beach

The Herald's number four item was very general: the New Zealand beach. Of course other countries have beaches too, but we New Zealanders think that ours are just the best.

I was talking to my four-year-old grandson this morning, and naming the beaches around Dunedin, where we live: St Kilda, St Clair, Tomahawk, Smaill's Beach, Taieri Mouth, Brighton, Pilot Beach, Blackhead, Warrington, Karitane…the list goes on and on. And none of them are more than twenty minutes away from our door. Mile after mile of coastline, most of it accessible. That's something I really do appreciate.

Optimism

Overall, we're laid-back and optimistic, even when we have to live with a government ruled by Helen Clark, (it isn't that she's a woman - she just comes across as grumpy all the time), or with endless rules about everything, many of them from the PC Brigade. Generally we can laugh at ourselves, and generally we're pretty friendly to visitors and each other. Of course there are a few annoying people who spoil that image, but the bulk of us are live and let live people.

Tolerance

Even though there was a good deal of fighting back in the past between the Europeans and the Maori, for the most part in this country we've lived alongside each other fairly well. Yes, there have been some ups and downs, but in due course we overcome them all. And now we're becoming an increasingly multicultural society: people with European backgrounds living together with the Tangata Whenua (the Maori), with Pacific Islanders (there are ten times as many Nuieans in New Zealand as there are in Nuie, for instance), with a host of people from Asian countries.

Buzzy Bee

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The seventh point will mean nothing to anyone who's never seen one, but the Buzzy Bee is an important icon. It began as a toy that was popular with children in the middle of the twentieth century, and it's still with us. It couldn't be simpler: a bee-shaped thing with wheels that's pulled along by the child and which makes a clacking noise in the process. (Certainly not a buzzing noise!)

Why this toy took off, and why it's become so iconic is anyone's guess. But there you go - you can never tell what will make the grade.

Ice Cream

The eighth point is that we produce the best ice-cream in the world. None of your Italian gelato and its way of slopping all over, or the English pasty-tasting ice-cream, or that European stodge they put on cones for us. Ice-cream in New Zealand tastes as ice-cream should. And there are so many flavours, you could eat ice-cream until the cows came home and not repeat yourself. (Okay, I exaggerate a little there.)

Jandals

We claim invention of the next on the list: Jandals. Though called by other names - flip-flops or thongs - their proper name is jandals. At one point everyone wore them. They're still found everywhere, and plenty of people still catch their toes on stones or other sharp objects while wearing them, and they don't show any sign of departing the scene just yet. If all the jandals in New Zealand, new and old, were piled up on top of each other, we'd have another mountain.

Seafood

According to the Herald, we have "the freshest and most plentiful seafood of anywhere in the world - succulent prawns, mussels and oysters, whitebait fritters and just-caught fish." Whether we'll still have it in the next few years is debatable, since we're catching so many fish that they're barely getting a chance to regenerate. A moratorium on fishing might be a good thing for a few years, except that it would put an awful lot of people out of work.

The English won't like it, but we claim our fish and chips are far superior. And we don't serve them with vinegar, something that's anathema to most of us (except the English ex-pats.) Tomato sauce is the sauce of choice for many of us; personally good old plain salt does the trick for me.

Wine

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And finally something that wouldn't have been thought of as a New Zealand thing only a few decades ago: wine. We've been producing wine in certain parts of the country for well over a century, but it was small-scale. Now everywhere you go you'll find vineyards. There are so many New Zealand wines that few of us know even a fraction of the names. Yes, certain people carp that our wine isn't a patch on the wines produced in France, or other longstanding wine-producing countries. Carp they may, but people are still drinking NZ wine around the world.

When the great English explorer and navigator, James Cook sailed into the beauty of a tranquil bay at the northern tip of New Zealand's South Island in 1770, his description of the place suggested he'd reached Paradise. Shortly after dropping anchor in the calm, clear water of the small bay, his ship was surrounded by curious dolphins and penguins. His crew feasted on a staggering variety of fish that abounded there. Cook revisited this magic retreat five times until his last visit in 1777. Astonishing as it may seem, Ship Cove is the same today. It is part of a network of drowned valleys containing 4000km of sounds, islands and peninsulas.

The Marlborough Sounds continue to weave magic on the modern day visitor, with the sheer beauty of its steep, wooded hills and small quiet bays. It's a sparsely populated area with many of the small settlements and isolated houses only accessible by boat. This truly is an unspoiled destination waiting to be discovered by the overseas tourist.

It's a clear, sunny day with the odd cloud standing out with digital clarity against the deep blue only seen in skies this far south. I amble along the main street of Picton, the main port in the area. The salty tang in the air mingles with the freshness of the air itself. It makes me feel alive and content. This little town has a population of four thousand, and lies at the head of Queen Charlotte Sound. It was created by European sealers in the 1840's, and is the terminus for the South Island's main railway and road systems. It is also the port for the inter island ferry. (It's a three hour voyage across Cook Strait to the North Island and the capital, Wellington). I watch the Kaitaki, the largest of the three ships currently on the inter island service, as its white bulk glides up to the terminal. I don't stop to see the 600 cars and 1600 passengers disembark. I prefer to remain in the moment and to savour the special atmosphere this part of New Zealand offers. Most of the traffic from the ship will head south, without lingering, to explore the world famous scenic attractions the South Island has to offer. I can't understand why the Marlborough Sounds, are not part of this tourist circuit. It might be something to do with New Zealanders being spoilt with the number of magic places they can visit.

I hop into a car and drive the short distance around to Kenepuru Sound. The road along the finger of land separating it from Queen Charlotte Sound, offers a series of lookouts. I look across the sparkling water to the densely wooded peninsula that separates me from Pelorus Sound, the third waterway in the Marlborough Sounds.

Fur seals are common in this network of bays, and it's also possible to see magnificent orca whales. Here in these beautiful stretches of water, pods of dusky, bottlenose and occasionally, the rare Hectors dolphins accompany the boats that use the sounds for recreation. Groupings can consist of as many as five hundred. To be in the company of these friendly mammals is to experience one of the true delights of being a human lucky enough to visit this truly amazing world.

Pelorus Jack was a dolphin who made this area his home. In 1904, he became the first "fish" in the world to be protected by law. This remarkable dolphin became famous as a "guide" in French Pass, an unpredictable stretch of water at the approaches to the Marlborough Sounds. He escorted ships through these treacherous waters from 1888 until he disappeared in April 1912. He was fond of steamers, and crews would wait for him to appear before sailing through the pass. His loss caused an outpouring of grief throughout New Zealand. I can remember as a kid, having a picture book with drawings of this little dolphin enjoying the attention swimmers gave him. I didn't believe the story was true. How could a "fish" do all those amazing things?

Only four hundred people live in Havelock, the other settlement in the Sounds. It's known as the Greenshell Mussel Capital of the world, but a better claim to fame is surely that Lord Rutherford, the man who helped split the atom, opening up the nuclear age, and Dr. William Pickering, the developer of the first American satellite, both went to school in this tiny fishing settlement. Wandering around its peaceful streets is like being on a film set. All that's needed is for the film crew to arrive and create some action.

It's not only the waterways that make this place so special. The award winning Queen Charlotte Track winds its way through 12km of beautiful native forest. It was created by European pioneers in the mid 1800's as a bridal track. It's named after the wife of King George the Third. I'm sure she would be humbled to know such a magical place carried her name. I walk slowly along the narrow walkway, peering into the thick bush either side of me. I pause to watch a sparkling drop of water make its way to the very tip of a superbly intricate frond of the native fern. I fail to understand why this exquisite symbol of nature's craftwork, is not on the New Zealand flag, as has been suggested. As I watch this delicate tiny marble of water plop onto a pebble below, I smile to myself. I'm a character in a kid's fantasy story. Nearby, I hear a light rustling and turn to see a cheeky little fantail flip open its beautiful tail in excitement. Further along the track, another bird found in the New Zealand forests, a friendly bush robin, hops close behind me. He pecks at my last footprint. I've disturbed a grub. I'm pleased to be able to help him find food so easily. He keeps me company and reminds me how special this place is.

I stop for dinner at the Portage Hotel. It has been located in a small bay in Kenepuru Sound for a hundred years. This is no swanky metropolitan style hotel, but it's comfortable and inviting and the roast lamb with mint sauce, was tasty and satisfying after a day in paradise. This hotel is accessible by road and motorists driving along it are rewarded with postcard perfect views around every corner. The view up the sound from the hotel is claimed to be one of the most memorable views from any hotel in the world. It has to be seen to be appreciated. The isolation, stillness and natural beauty, all work to touch my heart. I'm at peace with the world. I feel strangely free. There's also something wonderful about the quality of the light here. The colours are intense. Everything seems so vivid. Sounds seem to be amplified. The flutter of a bird in the near distance is as clear as the trickle of a baby stream a few feet away. The leaves in the trees, disturbed by a light breeze, have a crispness to their rustling. Everything seems to be, well, sort of unreal, sort of magical. I'm that character in a kid's fantasy story again, in a fantastic place, far, far away from my ordinary world.

D'Urville Island is at the very tip of the sounds. It is surrounded by a temperamental sea that has challenged sailors for centuries. It's still a challenge, and quite a contrast from the waters in the Sounds themselves, but it serves to keep boatmen on their guard. It rains a bit, and the summer temperatures hover around the mid 20's centigrade.. But this is what makes the place so verdant. This is why there are so many shades of green in the trees and so many beautiful shades of blue in the sea. .

It's a mystery why this magical place, only fifteen minutes by air from the capital of a country with such a highly developed tourist industry, should be so under commercialized. Man has been afraid to tamper here. Any effort to change the place would be doomed to failure as nature has created the perfect blend of forest, water and hills. To scar it with concrete hotels and apartment blocks would be a sacrilege. Nature has the final say here. There are no fast food outlets, billboards, traffic lights, or convoys of tour buses to taint this precious jewel in New Zealand's world famous scenic crown. The magic is still here as nature has designed it. The visitor can only marvel at the pristine beauty of a place that helps the soul soar and the mind rest and ponder.

Writer: Ceidrik Hewasrd

ceidrik@gmail.com

1. Per capita, New Zealand contains more bookshops and more golf-courses than any other country in the world. The image of New Zealand as ‘just a sporting nation’ is actually false. New Zealanders are intelligent too.
2. Per capita New Zealand has more sheep than any other country in the world. (The Japanese tourists go crazy over them.) In recent years the highest number of sheep the country had was some 70 million in 1981. The sheep population, however, has dwindled since then, so that by 1999 there were only around 45 million. That’s still around 11 sheep per man, woman and child.
3. New Zealand is the first country to see the sunrise, and consequently was the first country to see in the new Millennium. That’s officially correct only because the first place in the world to see the sunrise each day, the Chatham Islands, belongs to New Zealand. The three islands making up New Zealand itself are some 45 minutes behind the Chathams.
4. New Zealand has the most southerly railway station, vineyard and pub in the world. These are all in the South Island. The most southerly capital city in the world, Wellington, is in the North Island.
5. This same capital city, Wellington, has more restaurants per capita than any other city in the world - including New York. Either Wellingtonians are a hungry lot and eat out frequently, or else there are plenty of restaurants that don’t do very well.
6. Auckland, which some New Zealanders (mostly Aucklanders) consider should be the capital city, has more boats per capita than any other city in the world. Auckland has several fine harbours, and of course, the Americas Cup was hosted there with great success in the past.
7. Per capita, New Zealanders have more access to the Internet than any other country in the world. This is not to say that every New Zealander has broadband, or even good access to the Net. Some enterprising New Zealanders have found their own way to get access, with more or less success. And Wellington gets in on the act once more: it’s the most wired city in the world - per capita.
8. Per capita, New Zealanders have the second highest rate of car ownership in the world. Fortunately, New Zealanders are spread over the land fairly thinly, so there are still plenty of places where you can drive for miles without seeing another car.
9. New Zealand was the first country in the world to give women the vote, to adopt the eight-hour working day, to operate a tourist board and to introduce the retirement pension. Unfortunately, these great gains have been eroded somewhat over the last few decades. Women, of course, still have the vote - in fact, New Zealand has had two female Prime Ministers - but many people work longer hours for less money now. With the advent of retail weekends, where shops are expected to be open at all hours, many people in retail have lost their right to any sort of proper weekend. And the retirement pension, which used to be set at 60, is now up to 65 - and may climb higher. For better or worse, people in New Zealand are just living longer.
10. The Lord of the Rings trilogy was filmed entirely in New Zealand, in spite of concerns from the American producers, in spite of the fact that the director, Peter Jackson, had never directed one film of that scale before, let alone three, and in spite of the fact that they all said it couldn’t be done. ‘They’ were wrong as usual. New Zealanders aren’t the sort of people who give in easily.