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new zealand scenery

Old Jul 4th 2019, 8:15 am
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Default new zealand scenery

I'm at a loss to understand why people rave about the New Zealand scenery. We've been here for 10 years and first visited 14 years ago so we've travelled to most areas of the country, north and south. There's no question that it's beautiful but as a Brit I've seen many european countries and much of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland and when I hear people here say that the scenery here is unparalleled I can only think they haven't had a good look at Europe and the British Isles. I find there's not much to see here other than scenery. No history or grand cathedrals, castles, beautiful little villages, ancient towns. village pubs. I miss all of that. The traffic is much worse than when we first came here . We used to wonder where all the cars were - not now though. My advice, don't come here for the scenery and the beaches, they can be found much closer to home if you're from Britain.
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Old Jul 4th 2019, 10:34 am
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Default Re: new zealand scenery

Originally Posted by jayandbill
I'm at a loss to understand why people rave about the New Zealand scenery. We've been here for 10 years and first visited 14 years ago so we've travelled to most areas of the country, north and south. There's no question that it's beautiful but as a Brit I've seen many european countries and much of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland and when I hear people here say that the scenery here is unparalleled I can only think they haven't had a good look at Europe and the British Isles. I find there's not much to see here other than scenery. No history or grand cathedrals, castles, beautiful little villages, ancient towns. village pubs. I miss all of that. The traffic is much worse than when we first came here . We used to wonder where all the cars were - not now though. My advice, don't come here for the scenery and the beaches, they can be found much closer to home if you're from Britain.
It really depends where the people come from and you are probably right that those who just move for that specific reason don't know many other places back home. One factor is that many of these people wouldn't find it sexy to go kayaking in Wales or Ireland and they wouldn't be prepared to drive for 2 hours. When they move to NZ and kayak for the first time, maybe even post on social media, it's suddenly sexy and the 2 hour drive was worth it and scenery is amazing. No doubt that NZ has beautiful scenery and you can definitely rave about it but as you say, it can be just as amazing in Europe or back home. I live close to Galway myself and I must say that we are blessed with scenery and history around us. Luckily I'm also a very good weather reader, so we seem to always make the right choices for day trips too. Last weekend we just drove out to one of the beaches near Clifden and it was another glorious day. Apart from a few people swimming, the beaches were empty and the water crystal clear. We walked back to the car and met a Dutch couple who were in Ireland for the first time and they said that they've been to many places, but this place had it all. Luckily many people don't see the beauty around them, otherwise it would be crowded

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Old Jul 4th 2019, 7:04 pm
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Default Re: new zealand scenery

Never heard anyone say it's unparalleled ,but you'd have to have a huge bee in your bonnet or a be extremely bitter to say it's not got some beautiful and really quite stunning scenery. It's not really a, my countries prettier than your country competition is it. If you like somewhere else that's fine
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Old Jul 4th 2019, 11:28 pm
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Default Re: new zealand scenery

Originally Posted by Justcol
Never heard anyone say it's unparalleled ,
Try the phrase 'Best In The World' instead. Having said that the word 'Unparalleled' is used pretty often to describe the scenery thing here as ........ unparalleled.
Not surprising really as NZ relies on its scenery for the most part to attract its tourists.

I'd go along with JayandBill in a way. It can all become rather meh after a while. Still great scenery of course , myself and MrBEVS enjoy the view from our deck everyday , however variety and diversity is somewhat lacking and it is that which folk may find dull.


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Old Jul 5th 2019, 1:36 am
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Default Re: new zealand scenery

Oh jayandbill. Wash your mouth out!!!
You live in one of the most stunning places........period! The scenery here is gorgeous. What's not to like about looking out from the top of the Mount or the top of Papamoa Hills Regional Park (as I did this morning) plus many others around that I could name.
Yes I agree there's lots of other places with stunning scenery. I too have seen lots of it all over the UK and Europe. Spent a lot of my time in the Lake District from the mid 80's right through to coming here in 2012 as my mum lives there and lots of time in Scotland/Wales/Ireland golfing with the boys. The scenery here is equally as stunning. No better or worse, just different. I've never heard anyone say the scenery in NZ is unparalleled.
Impossible to have history when civilisation in this country only started around 200 years ago. We knew this before we came so don't let it bother us and means we may appreciate home more if and when we go back.
Yes the traffic here is getting worse but not a surprise. Tauranga is the fastest growing city in NZ and has been for years. There's more and more people coming to live here every day and the place is growing although the infrastructure is not. The roads and motorists will be at breaking point before anything is done about it which will be 10 years too late, but that's normal the world over. Has there ever been a government or local council that has ever spent $M's before the need for it.......Nope!
I'd still rather be here than in the UK just because, well it's NZ and not the UK.
Sounds like you may be ready to return.
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Old Jul 5th 2019, 1:52 am
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Default Re: new zealand scenery

Originally Posted by escapedtonz

Sounds like you may be ready to return.
To be fair , the OP did not say they did not like it, just that it was all much of a muchness for them.

To be fair again, the OP is not in a position to 'return'. This is an older couple . Well into their 70's. They took a huge plunge & burnt their bridge to come here because their children and grandchildren are in NZ. They did that out of love. This is not the only set of older parents I know that have done this and found themselves torn between the love of their family and the love of a place they called home for more decades than some of us have been alive.

So lets not be quite so glib about other peoples feeling and perceptions for we do not walk in their everyday shoes. What they did was brave. Applaud them for that . Allow them to express themselves w for they may not be able to do so to their immediate family. There is no real need to defend the realm & suggest something is wrong with them. There is nothing wrong with them at all. They stepped late in life into an unknown really and now will spend their twilight years with that horrible feeling of not quite belonging anywhere, anymore.

Be. Kind.
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Old Jul 5th 2019, 4:19 am
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Default Re: new zealand scenery

Jay and Bill, I have to agree with you. I miss the scenery in the UK and around Europe too, for me, things like drystone walls, old buildings, chalets etc just add to the ambience of the scenery. The history of much of the land just seems to make it far more interesting to me. This is something that I have only really started to appreciate more as I've reached middle-age. When my friends and I were running around the battlements of Beaumaris, Conwy or Caernarvon Castle or sat having our lunch next to the Roman walls of Chester on a school outing, it didn't cross my mind to think of the people who had built those walls or lived there all those years ago. Now I'm in awe of such things and feel a great sense of privilege to have been born into a world with such things.
Yes some of the scenery in NZ is equally stunning, I mean Milford Sound etc. is just awesome in the true sense of the word. Some days I feel very lucky to live in Whangaparaoa and I love the Auckland skyline on a sunny day. But there's always a 'but' there for me. I find the geology very interesting here with the geothermal and seismic activity but again it's not quite enough for me.
So I get were you are coming from. And of course NZ has only been inhabited for 800 years and is therefore short on history, I get that.
I was lucky enough to be taken to Cotehele in Cornwall by some friends a few weeks back, when I was home-home! The old house was fascinating and the history behind it. And then the gardens...I was in heaven, so beautiful and so much colour. Loved it. Driving through the narrow Cornish country lanes with the hedgerows full of cow parsley, bluebells and campions was idyllic....except with a car coming in the other direction of course

Doesn't help that it's winter here of course and there's nothing much to do that we haven't done a number of times in the 12+ years we've been here!
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Old Jul 5th 2019, 5:32 am
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Default Re: new zealand scenery

First time back here in months- Jay and Bill, I agree with you that Aotearoa doesn't have the historical setting pf European countries nor the social setting of villages- but as it has been said above, it is illogical to think that you would find monuments such as 'castles" in a country which has a less than two centuries of European influence. To make comparisons between this country's natural environment and Europe's historical environment doesn't make sense. Surely those who immigrate from the UK for example, would be aware of this prior to actually coming out here.
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Old Jul 5th 2019, 5:58 am
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Default Re: new zealand scenery

Originally Posted by KiwiDean
First time back here in months- Jay and Bill, I agree with you that Aotearoa doesn't have the historical setting pf European countries nor the social setting of villages- but as it has been said above, it is illogical to think that you would find monuments such as 'castles" in a country which has a less than two centuries of European influence. To make comparisons between this country's natural environment and Europe's historical environment doesn't make sense. Surely those who immigrate from the UK for example, would be aware of this prior to actually coming out here.
Whilst I was aware of the lack of history here, I personally didn't realise how much I would miss such things when we were first planning our "adventure". There were far more mundane things to consider, like work, housing, finances, selling up in the UK and so on. I don't remember looking up about the lack of a "Right to Roam" Law etc. before immigrating here. It was about doing something different. We've done and now I'm over it. It's not about one place being better than another, it's about how people feel personally after having lived here a while. Some love living here others don't. It's not a competition, it's just about how one feels and sometimes to reach out to others to see if they feel similarly. That can be reassuring, I find it to be.
When I came here we were in our early forties and whilst I enjoyed going to historic places, other things were more important to me back then and our personal situation was different. We've changed and we have become more accepting of our circumstances now and NZ is no longer a good fit for us. Hopefully we may get a chance to sample a few years in Australia (which feels more like home to me) before we head back to the UK or maybe we will be stuck here. Who knows what the future will hold.
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Old Jul 5th 2019, 6:21 am
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Default Re: new zealand scenery

TBH I think it's just scraping the barrel for something new to complain about.
No wonder we get lumbered with the whinging pom tag
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Old Jul 5th 2019, 6:30 am
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Default Re: new zealand scenery

Originally Posted by KiwiDean
Surely those who immigrate from the UK for example, would be aware of this prior to actually coming out here.
They emigrated. They are immigrants.

Please read my post #6 . I find it hard to understand why some cannot understand how it is for this couple. Empathy should not be a dry well of incompassionate insensitivity .

They may well have underestimated just how samey NZ would be. After all they never lived here year on year before emigrating here. Their focus would have been on joining those they loved. They may well have felt there was enough here for them to see and do & to interest them. Their immediate family may have peddled that as the case. Ten years on they find it dull.

This couple are mourning the loss of diversity in their surroundings & interests. That's OK isn't it.
Many Kiwis leave NZ because they find it confining. That's OK too isn't it.




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Old Jul 5th 2019, 6:33 am
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Default Re: new zealand scenery

Originally Posted by BEVS
They emigrated. They are immigrants.

Please read my post #6 . I find it hard to understand why some cannot understand how it is for this couple. Empathy should not be a dry well of incompassionate insensitivity .

They may well have underestimated just how samey NZ would be. After all they never lived here year on year before emigrating here. Their focus would have been on joining those they loved. They may well have felt there was enough here for them to see and do & to interest them. Their immediate family may have peddled that as the case. Ten years on they find it dull.

This couple are mourning the loss of diversity in their surroundings & interests. That's OK isn't it.
Many Kiwis leave NZ because they find it confining. That's OK too isn't it.
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Old Jul 5th 2019, 6:37 am
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Default Re: new zealand scenery

A lot of it is a bit meh, but Kiwis do like to big it up and go on endlessly about the 'world class' beaches and stunning scenery as if it is a competition and talking to them you would think NZ has the monopoly.

I miss the fact that a lot of it simply is not accessible and often not worth the drive to have a look, as it usually requires effort to plan and cater for yourself and stay in some crappy motel or camp. We simply don't have the supporting infrastructure, affordable accommodation, the little villages, chalet / caravan parks and such like. NZ doesn't make use of rivers and canals in the way that we do in Europe and all those things that go towards making places all the more interesting with quaint shops and pretty little places to walk around or stay overnight. Who doesn't enjoy a walk along the river or through some woods, check out the local church, feed the ducks and swans, followed by a hearty lunch and a pint at the village inn or an afternoon tea in some nice chocolate box village. There's simply not that many places you can do that here and you mosey through much of small town NZ you'll receive a lot of the side-eye and be looked upon suspiciously if you're mooching around anywhere that's not on the well beaten tourist tracks.
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Old Jul 5th 2019, 6:44 am
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Default Re: new zealand scenery

Originally Posted by Justcol
TBH I think it's just scraping the barrel for something new to complain about.
No wonder we get lumbered with the whinging pom tag
I think that it is you scraping a barrel Col with that post. I know you understand feelings and love. Why deny them their feelings and thoughts. It costs nothing to allow after all.
I am personally not lumbered with any tag like that at all. Mind you I've had some mega nastiness from NZ rissoles for no good reason so maybe my ears are deaf these years.

Stop and have a think. Look back through their posts love. Look at their ages. Their reasons.

They are not complaining . They are just expressing a mourning and a longing & they are using BEto do that. BE is all about that in a way. It is about support care and share.

Plainly. You may be happy and content so you have a little to share with someone else who is struggling, in a caring way.

Note: I have PMd the OPs to come back to this topic with their own thoughts and feelings. It is all very well to start a conversation but it is better to reamin part of that conversation.
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Old Jul 5th 2019, 9:43 am
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Default Re: new zealand scenery

I will assume they own a home, in which case they can afford to go to where all the lovely things they seem to prefer and miss are in abundance.
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