New Zealand: a mid-term evaluation

We are now about 1,5 week in New Zealand. Time to write something about this country. First the New Zealanders are called Kiwi's: after the bird that is their national symbol and the fruit which resembles the bird (or is it the bird that resembles the fruit?). Next to the Kiwi bird, another symbol is the fern. This plant you see everywhere and in a lot of variaties in New Zealand. Like Bangladeshis are crazy about cricket, so are the Kiwi's about rugby. Rugby is the national sport and like soccerfields in Europe, in even the tiniest township you'll find a rugbyfield.

Driving in a camper is a whole new experience. Except for driving on the left side of the road and a few different traffic-rules, camperdrivers greet each other on the road. The first week we didn't know that
(we must have seemed so inpolite ;)), but now we wave to every camperdriver and they wave back :)

The Kiwi's (people) are friendly and seem really country-oriented. No wonder, because there are no big cities. And they are really hygenic and scared of foreign diseases. At the airport you and your baggage are checked for food (you have to leave it at the airport) and even dirty hiking boots are cleaned (you never no what's in the dirt) and in the supermarket the chicken (although already packed and sealed) goes in a different bag, seperated from the other meat and groceries (chicken may have bad bacteria).

What I like most about this country is it's incredible nature. It's so untouched and it varies so much; the huge mountains, the clear lakes, the unique fiords and so on. And ofcourse the silence... That's really a relief after 4,5 months Bangladesh :)