According to anthropologists, the Aborigines have inhabited Australia for between 40,000 and 60,000 years. Yet today it is common to hear white Australians refer to themselves as having descended from the “first settlers.” Unfortunately, the indigenous population of Australia has been abused, neglected, terrorized, and denied basic human rights since the days these “first settlers” … Read more
No sooner had my feet hit the ground in Sydney, Australia, on Friday morning than my friend, Jane Walker, whisked me off to the Sydney Writer’s Festival. This is the third largest Writer’s Festival in the world, after Wales and Edinborough. Jane was attending to hear her friend, Claire Scobie, give a presentation about her … Read more
Alas, I had but one day in Christchurch, so I spent it walking around the city center. The weather here is positively balmy after the deep freeze of Queenstown and I stripped down from four layers of clothing to two. Even the flowers are still in bloom here – these pink roses hanging over blue … Read more
New Zealand’s TranzAlpine Express is reputed to be one of the world’s greatest train rides, crossing beech forests, alpine tussock, glacial rivers, peaceful lakes, and the snow-capped Southern Alps on its 223.8 kilometer (134 mile) journey between Greymouth on the west coast and Christchurch on the east coast. Although I made few advance reservations for … Read more
Let’s put this into perspective. New Zealand has a total population of 4.5 million people, 45 million sheep, and between 80 and 90 million possum. The possum is not indigenous to New Zealand. It was originally imported from Australia by the British when they discovered there were no fur-bearing animals in the country. They probably … Read more
