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.

Those who appreciate art and music can visit the Kulturforum. This city also has many special events that are held annually such as the Berlin Film Festival, the Jazz Fest and the Christmas markets.

Those who love nature can visit Bavaria. This city which is near Austria has the Neuschwanstein castle which is like one of those only heard of in fairy tales. Those who love to drink should drop by in October for the beer fest.

There are many activities to do such as hiking and climbing the Zugspitze which is known as the tallest mountain in Germany. This place has lakes for fishing and swimming that can really make the person fall in love with the countryside.

Much of classical music comes from people like Johann Bach. The person can learn more about the artist by visiting the city of Leipzig. German culture has brought some of the greatest artists in the 20th century such as Mr. Hans Zimmer who is the composer of many successful films such as Rain Man which won an Oscar and one that children love. The Lion King.

Germany has many festivals throughout the year and makes it a very good travel destination. The best time to visit this country is between May and October and since it is still cold here compared to other parts of Europe, it will be a good idea to bring a lot of warm clothes when seeing the sights.

Given there many sights to see in this country, it will really be a good idea to bring a camera and a lot of film. This will be handy when traveling on the train which is one of the country's most popular forms of transportation.

Germany has so much to offer to anyone who has not been there. This is home to Volkswagen and Mercedes. Two of the world's greatest car manufacturers.

The person can do some research on the internet or contact the travel agent to get some good rates. Some airline companies give good packages making the person visit more than one city. Before leaving, it will be best to check the weather and prepare all the important documents.

Germany is truly a place to visit. To make it fun, it is best to bring friends or join a travel group. Given that there are many things to see, it will be a good idea to pack a lot of clothes for the person to enjoy the trip.

A vacation is never complete without seeing the sights and listening to the sounds of Germany.