When you look at a map, you could view New Zealand as the runt in the litter of the world; it looks like the country fighting for attention amongst its bigger brothers and sisters. Placed in the bottom corner of a standard map, it is dwarfed by neighbouring Australia, as if uninvited to the colourful party of continents.
To others looking, New Zealand might spark a romantic longing for isolation. The two islands contain the prospect of space, despite their small size – a means of escaping crowds of people in crowded cities. The country exists as an edge-of-the-world mystery; a space in which to indulge nostalgic fantasies. The space it inhabits on the map becomes synonymous with our imagined experience.
Being in New Zealand, you can feel as remote as the country itself – small and untouchable. But its exterior remoteness is also palpable: there are attitudes and ways of living which appear to be a result of its location. And in both cases, there is this same sense of double-edge that we might feel looking at New Zealand on a map: the country’s remoteness is both its biggest advantage, and its greatest disadvantage.
It is beautiful, peaceful, wild and free; mainly small coastal towns and just a few cities (Auckland the only large and busy one). The small population allows you to stand on a beach, or venture into the bush, and feel like the only person in the world – momentary liberation. But this is a state most people only crave temporarily, and perhaps for some the country as a whole lacks hustle and bustle; a little too quiet. Then, in most places, it seems touristic to the perfect extent: welcoming but without altering its integrity – Kiwis have a pride in their country’s beauty which has not yet been overpowered by commercialism. But it is also, in lots of ways, a new country still playing catch up. There seems to be a clash between those resistant to a more modern way of living, and those frustrated by the financial and social limitations of living in a small and remote town.
As a visitor, it is easy to idealise a place – to experience a different style of living to your own, and see only the advantages. About many people on the South Island, there is a gratifying sense of contentment; an appreciation for their life and the beauty of where they live. But you can’t assume that they don’t feel the disadvantages also, or that there aren’t people who feel held back by the place they grew up in. New Zealand offers you so much and not so much, all at the same time. To many it is paradise, to some it is home, and to others it is a temporary stop to admire the view. I can only say that for now, it feels like the perfect place to be.
2 replies on “So Far from Anywhere”
I certainly feel the disadvantages, often I wish we were a lot bigger, busier and more commercialised. However as the global population grows, and air travel becomes faster and cheaper, NZ will get the hustle and bustle even in the small towns. We certainly don’t want to compromise our natural environment though, it would be like selling your soul.
Sitting as I do in the traffic jam on the way into work every morning – even in the sleepy little county of Dorset – means the great open spaces of New Zealand seem entirely positive to me! What amazing photos, Katie – they convey all that you’re describing in your blog in terms of the extraordinarily beautiful natural environment. This world really needs the dream of a country like New Zealand – though I can that my turning your country into an escapist fantasy will be irritating to those who actually live there – apologies!