First Impressions (my tribute to Jane Austen :) )

Somehow I thought that New Zealand would be a lot like North America – another country from the old British empire. I was wrong.

Some cities (Auckland, Hamilton) resemble many of the North American cities I’ve seen so far – quite nice but not very distinctive. However, there are a lot of smaller towns and townships, where houses seem to be taken from Scandinavian architecture catalogues. Passing through villages on the east shore of the Southern Island was a pure delight – little houses surrounded by all kinds of flowers, neatly painted and nestled in stunning landscapes.

Some Canadians we met on the way to New Zealand told us that the landscapes would be nice but not as impressive as the Rockies in Alberta. This may be true. Never having been to Alberta, we cannot verify that. What we found special about the Southern Island, though, was the diversity of landscapes within relatively short distances. Driving for only a couple of hours, we would pass from dry brownish landscape to lavishing rainforest (and believe me, it’s not called a RAIN forest for nothing!). And driving away from peaks of Southern Alps covered in snow, we would suddenly find ourselves among gentle hills and thousands of sheep.

And a definitely European flavour to New Zealand is its coffee culture. Practically every coffee shop has a respectable espresso machine. Even more surprising: practically every McDonald has a coffee corner with a big espresso machine! Imagine my delight when I ask for coffee and I get by default a nice strong cup of espresso! However, Marc is less upbeat about it, as he prefers a solid cup of filter coffee to a tiny espresso, as delicious as it might be .