About the country
| New Zealand (Maori) | Aotearoa |
| Capital | Wellington |
| Currency | New Zealand Dollar |
Aotearoa, the long white cloud. That’s the Maori name of New Zealand. I wish to live somewhere closer to New Zealand as it is such an amazing country which I would want to visit again. When I studied in Brisbane in 2014-15, the only country which I wanted to travel to apart from around Australia was New Zealand. So after my two semesters were over, I still had 4 months available to travel around. Together with two friends, one German girl who I got to know down under as well as an Australian girl, both based in Sydney, I went to New Zealand for one month (February). We rented a Camper in Christchurch, traveled across the South Island, and after a little over 2 weeks we took the ferry to the North Island.
The landscapes are stunning! You find mountains right next to beaches, glaciers, sounds (similar to fjords, just a little different), (glacier) lakes, busy towns, volcanoes, geothermal activity, subtropical plants, as well as big city life such as in Auckland. No matter where you are in Aotearoa, you will always find a place to get some coffee – I am wondering how the Maori expression for this would be. 😀 Moreover, if you enter a museum such as the Te Papa in Wellington (I am not a museum-person, but this one was the best I have ever visited!), you will be impressed by how the Maori are respected. Any text is written in Maori language first, having an English translation next to it or below.
My experiences and recommendations for New Zealand are a little more extensive, so it will most likely take me some more time to write them all up. Therefore, please excuse the delay in posts regarding my time in Aotearoa.