Travel Essays New Zealand

New Zealand is a country of stunning and diverse natural beauty: jagged mountains, rolling pasture land, steep fjords, pristine trout-filled lakes, raging rivers, scenic beaches, and active volcanic zones. These islands are one of Earth's most peculiar bioregions, inhabited by flightless birds seen nowhere else such as a nocturnal, burrowing parrot called the kakapo, and kiwi. Kiwi are not only one of the national symbols but also the name New Zealanders usually call themselves.

After ten years in New Zealand, Joe Bennett asked himself what the hell he was doing there. Other than his dogs, what was it about these two small islands on the edge of the world that had kept him—an otherwise restless traveler—for really much longer than they seemed to deserve? It wasn't the sheep, the hobbits had left, and they could no longer claim the best rugby team in the world—what else was there? Bennett thought he'd better pack his bag and find out.