Point and Counterpoint

Queenstown and Rotorua are two towns that encapsulate essential and contrasting themes in modern New Zealand.

Rotorua suggests a sense of aged Maori dignity. The Maoris themselves take great pride in introducing their culture to others. They talk about their legends of colonizing New Zealand from the east, crossing the Pacific Ocean in boats, a journey that must have drawn on immensely deep reserves of courage and sea-craft. They demonstrate their arts, music and craft, and delight in intimidating visitors with the haka, their traditional war dance.

And they tell the story of Tutanekai and Hinemoa. Tutanekai was strong and clever and Hinemoa loved him. But her tribe thought him unworthy. So she decided to leave her tribe and join him on his island in the middle of Lake Rotorua. Her tribe hid away all the canoes but that did not stop her. She tied gourds around her waist so that she could float on the water and still reach Tutanekai. When her tribe saw the strength of her determination they relented, and Tutanekai and Hinemoa founded a new tribe.

After an evening spent listening to these stories in a recreated Maori village I had an impression of a culture that looked back proudly across the centuries and drew great strength and self-assurance from its heritage.

Queenstown, on the other hand, suggests neither age nor dignity. Instead it radiates exuberance. The town is tiny, a fraction of Rotorua’s size, but it is crammed with people looking for adventure and other people seeking to sell it. It has restaurants that stay open till 3am, even 5am. It’s a town that is the size of a village but has an unmistakable big-city buzz.

And as different as they are from each other, it is hard to imagine New Zealand without either. The Maori are central to the country. Their ways infuse what it means to live in New Zealand much more than the aborigines seem to do in Australia, or American Indians in the US. But the New Zealand of today is also forward-looking, with a strong sense of possibilities. It has an unassuming self-confidence which is displayed for instance in the country’s decision to disband their air force as an unnecessary anachronism (who are they going to defend against – Western Samoa?). It’s the same sort of self-confidence that looks at you cockily from posters inviting you to quad-bike, heli-ski, jet-boat, sky-dive or otherwise get your adrenaline pumping in the mountains and valleys around Queenstown.

Together, they represent the contrasting threads that intertwine to make travel in New Zealand unforgettable.