Last week in the North Island

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The last week in New-Zealand I decided to go back to Auckland and use that as a waypoint to go to other places. I did everything in Auckland I wanted to do before which were: The Auckland Museum, the Mt Eden and One Tree Hill walking tour and meet up with friends I made. The Auckland Museum was one of the biggest and comprehensive museum I have ever been to. It contained a huge collection of Maori artifacts from weaponry to the traditional houses. Here I learned about the bloody history the Maori have gone through. Until the Europeans and British started to arrive the Maori consisted of tribes which fought each other in bloody wars. The winning party had the decision to either enslave or incorporate the overwon tribe. Most of the time the losing tribe would be enslaved. The Maori first rejected the coming of the Europeans but after enough trading they realised it would be most profitable for them to start a relationship with the new coming population. As years went by the Maori began having less and less wars and even grew to the point of uniting all of the tribes. When the Europeans were settled in and were a definite part of the country, they started living together and even inter marrying with both parties. The conflict and hatred from both sides was still prevelent. Then WW1 began. Maori were allowed to inlist in the New-Zealand army and a small amount of them did. New-Zealand suffered significant losses amongst their troops, especially considering how little Kiwi's there were. WW1 ended and the world was relieved. But trouble continued to brew in the Fascist states of the world. Conflicts between countries escalated and WW2 began. This time the Maori inlisted in much larger numbers and so the Maori troops were born. Highly regarded in the Allied Forces armies for their battle morale and persiverence, the Maori troops gained fame. Even though they suffered a lot of casualties, people kept inlisting. WW2 ended and the world rejoiced for this was truly a horrific event that should be forever prevented from happening again. What I noticed and surprised me the most was that the Kiwi's treated the Maori people with more respect and had more trust in them than any other native people had with a colonizing force from the outside. The Native Americans for instance were the victim of mass genocide and were driven out of their land almost entirely. Where as the Maori, they even had rights from a very early stage of colonization and were more or less regarded as fellow citizens. But racism and hatred was still there. That night I met up with friends I made during my first stay in Auckland and it was great catching up with them.

Up next was the walking tour. Knowing Auckland is incredibly hilly and I had to walk a good amount that day, I packed up enough food and water for the day. Again and again I was lucky with the weather and it was a fantastic day for walking. Arriving on top of mt. Eden, I was struck once again by the insane views you would only get in New-Zealand. The landscape and nature is very impressive in New-Zealand and anyone looking for that should definitely go there. I looked the other way and I saw my next destination: One Tree Hill. Regarded as one of the most historical spots in Auckland I was excited to see what all the fuss is about. So after walking 10 km through beautiful residential areas and parks I arrived. The way up was a steep way up, no doubt, but I have grown to quite like intense hiking so I went up with joy. The summit had a monument on top visible from almost all higher parts of the city. This was one of the first big settlements and trading hubs in Auckland. Looking at the history of New-Zealand I can say that it is a interesting one. The Maori only arrived 1500 years ago and the Europeans as early as 200 years ago. And I noticed in almost all aspects that it is a very young country. It still has a lot to learn and change about their laws and the way they organize their life. New-Zealand was a very good experience and I had learned so much during my stay in this beautiful country. I made new friends, was pushed out of my comfort zone once again and gained new experiences that I will never forget.

But I felt it was time to leave for my next destination in Asia: Hong Kong. I was very excited to see Salman again, who had been studying there for a semester.

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