'Natural beauty becomes a kind of devastation' …Avalanche Peak in the Southern Alps. Photograph: Alamy
There is a playful antagonism between the inhabitants of New Zealand's two islands, North and South. If you're a North Islander: the South might have better views, but the North is superior because it has richer culture. If you're a South Islander: the North might have richer culture, but the South is superior because it has better views. It's a quarrel between substance and form, if you like, a question of emphasis – does a country's nature owe most to its history, or to its land? In both senses New Zealand is curiously compressed.
The first Polynesian settlers landed less than 1,000 years ago, the first Europeans less than 300. Geographically, too, the land is compact: a five-hour drive over the spine of the Southern Alps will take you through a dozen entirely different landscapes – beach river valley marshland rainforest gorge foothill highland alps plains peninsula beach –and each with its own weather, its own skies, its own quality of light. (It is a strange thing how swiftly the forecast can change in the Pacific – dress for all weather, the backcountry guides advise you, and expect four seasons in a single day.)
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The first Polynesian settlers landed less than 1,000 years ago, the first Europeans less than 300. Geographically, too, the land is compact: a five-hour drive over the spine of the Southern Alps will take you through a dozen entirely different landscapes – beach river valley marshland rainforest gorge foothill highland alps plains peninsula beach –and each with its own weather, its own skies, its own quality of light. (It is a strange thing how swiftly the forecast can change in the Pacific – dress for all weather, the backcountry guides advise you, and expect four seasons in a single day.)
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