Something Thoughtful

Nicholas Reid reflects in essay form on general matters and ideas related to literature, history, popular culture and the arts, or just life in general. You are free to agree or disagree with him.  

                           MY FAVOURITE PLACES IN NEW ZEALAND

In an earlier posting called The Auckland I Used To Know, I said that I am an Aucklander through and through. But I also made it clear that I am not parochial. I do not criticise or belittle other New Zealand cities or towns and locations, and there are many such which I have explored and enjoyed.

Sure there are many beaches around Auckland where one can swim in the summer, and west of the city there are the Waitakere ranges where often I used to tramp between Huia and Muriwai. But when I go up north of Auckland into Northland, there is also much beauty. Opononi with its wild waves and formidable sand-bars. Going further up, the forest with Tane Mahuta, the biggest kaori tree in the country. Going even further north, there is Dargaville. Please to not laugh when I mention this town. If you go up the hill nearby, near a settlers museum, there’s the majestic view of the river winding its way leisurely to the sea. And the last time we drove down from Dargaville, we took a side road and had a good look at the Maungaraho Rock, dominating the nearby countryside [I wrote about this on my blog The Charisma of a Rock]]. Of course I have to admit that I am biased about Northland, because it’s where one of my daughters lives and we love visiting her in her rural area.

But to other places far from Auckland.

I spent most of a year lecturing at the University of Otago and I loved Dunedin’s compact nature, its interesting city centre and its delightful culture in having so many bookshops and enthusiastic groups offering poetry nights and plays. At least that was how it was when I experienced the city. As for the nearby beaches, cold though they were, it was bracing to walk along St Kilda or St Clair and sometimes pass a barking seal  … even if the lower part of the city is sometimes plagued by flooding.  

I spent a full year in Wellington when I was awarded the Stout Fellowship. Again, even if some Wellingtonians can be condescending and haughty because they live in the capital, I again enjoyed a rich culture and delighted in the fact that about half of Wellington was hidden away in the hills. I do not mean this as a snide comment. I mean that the isolated towns that are part of the city are almost like villages in themselves… and in these little enclaves things seem less hurried than they were in the centre of the city. Pity that the airport is such a limited one in size. But again, I like The Hutt… because one of my sons lives there.

I will not criticise Christchurch too much, because it would be nasty to say negative things about a city that has gone through so much, especially the earthquakes. For various reasons, although I have been there many times, I never had to stay in Christchurch for long. There’s the city’s great Hadley Park and its botany and the colonial buildings that are now being restored, though as an Aucklander I sometimes felt disoriented by the fact that the city is built on such flat territory. Where are the hills, dammit ? Of course you could point to the nearby Port Hills, but its not the same as living in a city [like Auckland] where there are many small hills to climb. I admit that the last time I saw Christchurch was before the great earthquake and of course it is a pity that the Anglican Cathedral and the Catholic Basilica are not what they were.

As for Hamilton – yes, a  popular sneer says that it’s on its way to becoming a colony of Auckland. Sorry Hamiltonians, but it’s a fact that very many work in Auckland but sleep in Hamilton - even if it means one-and-a-half-hours drive each way. So for them Hamilton becomes a dormitory suburb of Auckland. Anyway, having visited Hamilton often and often, I like the place – the river running through, the daring art-works, the friends I made there when I tutored at the University of Waikato for a while, and the famous Gardens – even if non-Hamiltonians now have to pay to see it …and, of course, the fact that part of my family lives in Hamilton.

I could say much more about other towns and cities in New Zealand that I love. Going down to “The Mount” and holidaying in Papamoa. Old-fashioned Nelson, warmed for us by the fact that good friends of ours live there. New Plymouth and Whanganui with their excellent art galleries. That one and only visit we had to Gisborne…                               Oops! I’m beginning to sound like a travel-agency brochure. There are many other places in New Zealand that I love. And of course I’ve judiciously not mentioned all the dull, run-down or unwelcoming places.  But I come back to the fact that I am not parochial. There’s too much to like and admire in this country to think that way.

But I’m still at heart an Aucklander.