New Zealanders have a proud history of celebrating the opportunity to escape into the back country and as a people we have long admired the great kiwi masculine ideals of ruggedness and toughness. It was started by Māori who travelled hundreds of kilometres across mountain passes in search of precious pounamu (greenstone) and continued by the colonisers who “discovered” and tamed this wild country. Despite their best efforts to create productive farmland, large tracts of native bush remain – 6.
4 million hectares, or about one-quarter of the country, according to government figures, much of it protected by the Department of Conservation (DOC). We market this countryside to potential visitors, we mostly treasure it and definitely celebrate it. It is uniquely New Zealand and a part of national character.
The 21st century version of spending time in our great outdoors is watered down for many of us. We camp in caravans, and tramp through our National Parks on Great Walks where huts with beds are provided. But we still send our kids to school camps, Scouts and Outward Bound to learn the essential skills to survive in the great outdoors.
Hunt for the Wilderpeople is New Zealand’s biggest-ever home-made box office earner. Credit: Madman Entertainment There’s something heroic about a weekend out pig hunting with the family, duck shooting with the lads or joining Central Otago’s annual Easter Bunny Hunt. Loading I won’t intentionally kill anything for dinner, though I .