You cross the Tasman Sea, and there it is – The Land of the Long White Cloud. The plane dips and turns, and out beneath you unfolds the verdant green of hills and forests, the houses dotted below as if scattered by hand from some great height. The Southern Alps, snow-peaked, shrouded in cloud, as if here this land is tall enough to touch the sky. The vision takes your breath away. ‘Go any further and your reach Antarctica,’ I am told, ‘but if you wanted to reach Antarctica it would be smarter to come around the other way.’
And so it is – half-way around the world, a land mass only slightly larger than the United Kingdom – and me, here for the first time, coming from the very place where Tolkien penned ‘Lord Of The Rings’, and having read it, and having seen the film made here, I am still in wonder that somewhere on earth could really look this way.
The houses crowd up the hills as if seeking some higher destination. The stunning sweep of emerald vegetation, the trees, the birds, the expanse of sea behind me. Outcrops of rock stand like an archipelago, a chain of punctuation marks all the way to the horizon.
I can see why people come, and I can see why people stay.
This is my introduction to New Zealand, and when I leave – as I soon will – I believe some small part of my heart will remain.
My son, all of thirteen years old, sees me travel.
‘Where now?’ he says.
‘America,’ I say, ‘and then Europe, the Middle East.’
He has no interest in such places.
But New Zealand?
‘I want to go there,’ he says. ‘I cannot believe you are going to New Zealand without me.’
‘Why?’ I ask. “Why does this place intrigue you?’
‘I don’t know,’ he says. ‘It just does. Of all the places you’ve been it’s the only one I want to see.’
‘Next time,’ I tell him. ‘Next time you’ll come with me, because for sure I will return.’
‘Make it soon,’ he says. “Make it soon.’
As I have said so many times before, places are just places without people there that you care for. No matter where you might find yourself in the world, and I have found myself in some pretty far-flung locations, unless there are people with whom you can share the experiences, well it all seems a little flat and uninspiring.
Being an author, I know find myself travelling extensively, and the thing that I always find when I arrive, and this applies no matter where I am, that there are readers there, and readers are the same the world over. Whether it be France or Holland, Dubai, Canada, America or England, readers are readers. We all have that love affair with books. We all have that one passion in common, and that common interest and enthusiasm for great stories means that no matter the circumstances we are always able to make new friends.
Last night I was at Marsden Books in Wellington, earlier in the afternoon I was at the library in Nelson, the day before I was talking to new-found friends in Takapuna.
After such events conversations are pretty much the same: ‘Have you read so-and-so?’ 'Do you know that had it not been for my book club I never would have read your book?’, ‘What books have you read recently that you’ve loved?’
It’ll be the same in Dunedin tonight, and it’s always great, always fascinating, and the people that you meet are the kindest, smartest, most literate, and most interesting people you could ever hope to meet. John Lennon said, ‘Find a job you love and you’ll never work another day.’ I concur. I would also say, ‘Find a job where you can spend your time with people who have the same interests as you and no matter where you go you will always have friends.’
That applies to writing, most definitely, and I feel like every time I venture away from home I return with people I will always remember. New Zealand has been wonderful, of course, but the thing that has made New Zealand so special is the people. I thank them for that. Spending time here has been so important and so memorable, and that has been because they have made me feel that I am just as important for coming.
Footnote:
'For details of Roger's Dunedin events see the author tour section of http://www.hachette.co.nz/
I will talk more about our conversation when I review your book here on the blog.
Travel well.
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