Ant

Anthttps://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/about/contributors/antAnthttps://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/southern-africa/south-africa/south-africas-train-of-thoughtFrom South Africa's Karoo desert to the foothills of the Cape Wineland region, Ant celebrates the unsung hero of South African travel.2019-07-02T10:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/southern-africa/south-africa/south-africas-train-of-thoughthttps://www.worldnomads.comIs South Africa still being persecuted for its torrid past? The <a href="/explore/southern-africa/south-africa/3-road-trips-near-cape-town">Cape Wineland</a> region features some of the best vineyards you've never heard of. The Kruger National Park homes the <a href="/travel-safety/southern-africa/south-africa/wild-weather-wild-animals-south-africa" target="_blank">Big 5</a> and the Small 400 (bird species), yet the safari of the Serengeti are the first to tip most tongues. The penal colony Robben Island held Nelson Mandela for 18 years, yet Alcatraz bends its bars, and it appears the Supertube wave of Jeffreys Bay lies flat in the water compared to the more popular swells of Bali, Hawai'i <g class="gr_ gr_106 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="106" data-gr-id="106">and</g> Australia. It's little wonder Table Mountain looks a little flat up top. For me, the greatest unsung hero of South African tourism is its railway. One exhilarating route stretches 869 miles from Cape Town to Johannesburg. A historic journey, filling 26 hours with the arid plains of the eponymous Karoo desert, and the lush foothills of the <g class="gr_ gr_108 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="108" data-gr-id="108">winelands</g>. <ul> <li><a href="#track-record"> Historic track record </a></li> <li><a href="#options"> Choose your rails </a></li> <li><a href="#karoo"> Journey across the Karoo </a></li> <li><a href="#opportunity"> A solid platform </a></li> </ul> <h2 id="track-record">Historic track record</h2> South Africa’s railway network is a residue of crusty colonial <g class="gr_ gr_102 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-del replaceWithoutSep" id="102" data-gr-id="102">times,</g> when the British Empire seeped inland in search of commercial gain; first battling the indigenous Zulu tribe, and then the feisty Boer settlers. The British hoped to secure the <g class="gr_ gr_95 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="95" data-gr-id="95">mineral rich</g> heart of South Africa, a goal they eventually — and brutally — achieved. Aside from war, the South African railway provided the rigid backdrop of significant events in the lives of two of the world’s most prominent icons: in 1893 a young Indian lawyer by the name of Mahatma Gandhi was ejected from a train at Pietermaritzburg for refusing to vacate a whites-only carriage; and sixty-nine years later, the activist Nelson Mandela was arrested beside the railway tracks of the same city, and to face the charge of sabotage which would eventually <g class="gr_ gr_100 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="100" data-gr-id="100">condem</g> him to a 27-year jail term. <h2 id="options">Choose your rails</h2> Tourists and <g class="gr_ gr_94 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="94" data-gr-id="94">travelers</g> who have the foresight to explore South Africa are gifted a plethora of budget-savvy travel options. The luxury private operators Rovos Rail and the curiously titled, Blue Train offer visitors a "window into the soul of Africa", but it’s the national railway operator, Shosholoza Meyl who earn the backpacker bucks, as they operate two great value options for the exact same journey. The <a href="http://www.bluetrain.co.za/" target="_blank" title="Blue Train">Blue Train</a> costs from R10,120 (£886) <g class="gr_ gr_113 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-del replaceWithoutSep" id="113" data-gr-id="113">all-inclusive,</g> and now terminates in Pretoria due to the apparent lack of demand for Johannesburg as a destination (Johannesburg's Park Station is considered safe, and is constantly patrolled by security guards. <g class="gr_ gr_114 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="114" data-gr-id="114">However</g> you should exercise caution in the surrounding streets, and consider arranging transport to pick you up from the station entrance.) <g class="gr_ gr_115 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="115" data-gr-id="115">Meanwhile</g> Rovos Rail <g class="gr_ gr_112 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="112" data-gr-id="112">carry</g> all-inclusive tourists from R11,000 (£963); while the friendly <a href="http://www.premierclasse.co.za/" target="_blank" title="Premier Classe"><g class="gr_ gr_109 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del" id="109" data-gr-id="109">Premier</g> Classe</a> offer all-inclusive from R1,500 (£131). The real steals for backpackers, remain Shosholoza Meyl's, 'Trans-Karoo' options which cost from as little as R350 (£31) for a sleeper, or — for the really hardcore — from R170 (£15) for an economy class seat. As an ardent fan of budget rail travel, I can tell you that the comfortable Trans-Karoo option will be filled with curious characters, rather than the plump pockets and paunches of the more luxurious iron snakes. This is exactly where you'll find the right opportunity to interact with regular South Africans, on their chosen turf. A night aboard the Shosholoza Meyl's, 'Trans-Karoo' is best spent in a simple sleeper cabin, consisting of a fold-down bed, with a small hand basin and hatch window. With a bit of luck, couples can secure a 2-berth cabin by booking in advance (which is good <g class="gr_ gr_80 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="80" data-gr-id="80"><g class="gr_ gr_76 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="76" data-gr-id="76">practise</g></g> for all train travel in South Africa). <h2 id="karoo">Journey across the Karoo</h2> Few journeys of this price in the world afford backpackers such an amount of adventure and distance. The quaint air-conditioned dining cars are the perfect place to escape the midday <g class="gr_ gr_70 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-del replaceWithoutSep" id="70" data-gr-id="70">heat,</g> or to watch the <g class="gr_ gr_73 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del" id="73" data-gr-id="73">sun set</g> the horizon ablaze while gorging on the European-style menu. Through the large windows, observe the townships of urban Africa flake to dust as the mighty Karoo takes charge of your gaze. Covering a third of the country, this vast and ancient plateau was a former feeding ground for some of the planet’s largest plant-eating dinosaurs, and it remains one of the world’s foremost hunting grounds for fossil hunters. Today the plateau is dappled and draped in less-menacing scrubland, and a variety of fleeting animals such as the warthog, zebra and impala filter through the vast sheep stations of outback South Africa. One of the natural stops along the Trans-Karoo route, is the fabled diamond-mining town of Kimberley, home to the largest <g class="gr_ gr_71 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="71" data-gr-id="71">man made</g> hole in the world: the imaginatively named <a title="The Big Hole" target="_blank" href="http://www.thebighole.co.za/">Big Hole</a> glistens from the sweat of the 50,000 people who had extracted a yield of 2.7 metric tons of diamonds by the time the mine closed in 1914. The real diamond of South Africa’s beauty <g class="gr_ gr_89 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="89" data-gr-id="89">however</g>, falls to the Cape Wineland region north of Cape Town. This intimate wine region produces some of the world’s best <g class="gr_ gr_85 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-del replaceWithoutSep" id="85" data-gr-id="85">wines,</g> and offers passengers <g class="gr_ gr_96 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="96" data-gr-id="96">travelling</g> Trans-Karoo a refreshing gulp of greenery, furnished by large expanses of glistening water which serve some of the country’s most idyllic getaways. Known as the gourmet capital of South Africa, the local vineyards of Paarl, Wellington, Tulbagh, Stellenbosch <g class="gr_ gr_92 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="92" data-gr-id="92">and</g> Franschhoek provide the perfect reason to return from whence you came. Lest we forget the bright lights of Cape Town, which swirls between the foothills of Table Mountain and a shoreline that splices the Indian and Atlantic oceans. The city is an easy and exciting base from which to explore the local countryside, and there’s the opportunity to learn the mandala of stories that tighten the famed townships. <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/Explore/africa/paarl-south-africa-pixabay.jpg" /> <figcaption> Winding roads through Paarl, South Africa. Photo credit: Pixabay</figcaption></figure> <h2 id="opportunity">A solid platform</h2> The opportunity to travel by rail for such distances in Africa is a rarity these days.  I've highlighted the Trans-Karoo — and the wild adventure playground that it spears — as one of the major lures for backpackers over the coming years. Asia is more frequently descending into spontaneous unrest, while the prices in Europe and the Antipodes continue to skyrocket. So perhaps my question shifts: when will South Africa still be celebrated for its stirring future?iStock/nattrass 0840750818 iStock Running on a sandy road in the Cederberg Mountains

https://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/south-america/peru/introducing-peruYou say Peru. I think alpaca. Ant can count on one hand the number of things he knew about the country before he traveled there.2010-02-28T11:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/south-america/peru/introducing-peruhttps://www.worldnomads.comI only learned of the alpaca connection since arriving in New Zealand in August. By September, I was obsessed with a pipe-dream to chew straw, grow leeks and breed alpacas. I was almost over it, but the task to write an article on <a href="/travel-safety/south-america/peru/peru-transport-how-to-get-get-around-safely-a-quickguide" target="_blank">Peru</a> has hurled me back into the herd. I love alpacas! No, I don’t. Yes, I do! My immediate reaction was to write about <a href="/travel-safety/south-america/peru/safety-on-perus-inca-trail" target="_blank">Machu Picchu</a>. Paste over an image of cloud tangled on its rocky, green crumbly summit, and no one will notice I’ve never visited. Then the Urubamba River flooded and isolated the ancient ruins until April, and I was forced back into the imaginary paunch of a sympathetic alpaca. So what do I know about Peru? Well, I know it’s a South American hotspot, popular with backpackers. Its capital is Lima, and its most famous site — the tourist capital — is the aforementioned Machu Picchu. I also know of the city of Cuzco, from Che Guevara who spluttered through on The Mighty One (his Norton motorcycle). I’m sure they speak Spanish, and I recall hearing that Peruvians eat roasted guinea pigs. Yes, those over-sized hamsters, more often found limping around cages in children’s bedrooms. Two and a half cities, and a Spanish speaking, guinea-pig-nibbling alpaca. <g class="gr_ gr_172 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="172" data-gr-id="172">Go</g> Peru! So, I had a one-hour lunch break. How much more could I discover? <ul> <li><a href="#leaks"> Backpacker Taps Government Leaks </a></li> <li><a href="#crime"> Peru: The Brown Stuff </a></li> <li><a href="#costs"> Cost of Basic Living in Peru </a></li> <li><a href="#worldnomads"> Hostess with the Mostess </a></li> <li><a href="#twitter">Travel in Peru </a></li> <li><a href="#locals"> Local Knowledge </a></li> </ul> <h2 id="leaks">Backpacker Taps Government Leaks</h2> The first stop on my fact-finding tour was the CIA Factbook. Yes, the same CIA which fuels the X-Files which fuels TV addicts, which fuels obesity, which fuels death — however, World Nomads aren’t keen on my conspiracy theories, so I’ll keep this clean and to the point. There are aliens in Per...[censored]. The <a href="https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/pe.html" target="_blank" title="CIA World Factbook">CIA World Factbook</a> is always one of the first places I check when I’m researching a destination. It delivers no-nonsense facts about the country, giving me a non-emotional framework to build an opinion. The CIA informed me that Peru is on the west coast of South America, and borders five of continent’s twelve countries. Apparently, the country suffers from deforestation, and its capital, Lima is choked by air pollution. The nation shares control of Lago Titicaca — the world's highest navigable lake — with Bolivia, and one of the peaks of Nevado Mismi is the ultimate source of the <a href="explore/south-america/brazil/brazil-preparing-for-the-amazon-and-exploring-manaus" target="_blank">Amazon River</a>. It’s also home to 29.5m people (the world’s 39th highest) and its terrain is a mixture of dry and rugged highlands, lowland jungle, and coastal plains. Coastal plains full of cigar-shaped <g class="gr_ gr_132 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="132" data-gr-id="132">spacesh</g>... [censored]. The predominant religion is Roman Catholic (81.3%), and Independence Day is July 28th. I even know it has 144 unpaved runways, and the <a href="/travel-safety/south-america/colombia/drugs-in-colombia" target="_blank">notorious Colombian drug trade</a> has stained the shared border. In fact, Peru is now the world’s second-largest producer of cocaine. That took me five <g class="gr_ gr_166 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-del replaceWithoutSep" id="166" data-gr-id="166">minutes,</g> and sprang a hundred possibilities. I could now second-guess festivals, and search out cathedrals. I knew I could drift across the border into the continent proper, and began to presume the cities are reasonably cramped. <h2 id="crime">Peru: The Brown Stuff</h2> After the official facts, I <g class="gr_ gr_128 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del" id="128" data-gr-id="128">sought</g> some official advice from Gordon Brown’s crew. The British <a href="http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/south-america/peru1" target="_blank" title="FCO website on Peru">FCO website</a> isn’t just for the brolly-sporting Brit’s amongst you. The FCO usefully informed me that I can travel to Peru for up to 180 days on a Tourist Visa, and that “You can drive for up to one month in Peru on <g class="gr_ gr_150 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="150" data-gr-id="150">a UK</g> driving licence and up to one year on an international driving licence”, while warning that “Driving standards in Peru (particularly in Lima) are poor”.   Gordie’s Gang also highlights that “Street demonstrations and protests are commonplace in Peru, frequently occurring suddenly and sometimes turning violent”, and that the drug trade is a reality, while sensibly concluding that travel insurance wouldn’t be such a bad idea. They state, “Street crime, including muggings and thefts, is a significant problem in Lima, Cusco, Arequipa and other major cities.” They suggest caution when booking white-water rafting trips on Lake Titicaca, and helpfully point out that “If you plan to travel to Venezuela and some Central American destinations from Peru, you will be required to present a Yellow Fever vaccination certificate, issued at least 10 days prior to departure, at the airline desk.” Priceless information. One page. Cinco <g class="gr_ gr_130 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="130" data-gr-id="130">minutos</g>. <h2 id="costs">Cost of Basic Living in Peru</h2> For a rough cost of living, I skim <a href="http://www.hostelworld.com/hostels/Lima" target="_blank" title="Hostelworld Hostels in Lima">HostelWorld</a> and discovered I can score a private room in Lima for £8 a night, and <a href="http://www.pintprice.com/region.php?/Peru/GBP.htm" target="_blank" title="Price of beer in Peru">PintPrice.com</a> told me a beer averages around 80p, which according to <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/world/city_guides/results.shtml?tt=TT001940" target="_blank" title="BBC Weather">BBC Weather</a>, can be supped in Lima in comfortable year-round temperatures. I felt the Peruvian in me rising up. Suddenly I was a coked-up, Spanish-speaking Roman Catholic alpaca, in search of the Amazon River’s source, some grilled guinea pig <g class="gr_ gr_185 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="185" data-gr-id="185">and</g> some £8 hay. My kind of trip. Except I don’t do drugs. Neither does Paddington Bear — Peru’s most famous foreign ambassador who emigrated from Darkest Peru in the fifties, surviving the journey by scoffing marmalade sandwiches. Perhaps he lived at Machu Picchu? Perhaps he dealt coke, factory-farmed guinea pigs, and rode around on an alpaca called Softy? Who knows? Just twenty minutes into my whirlwind perusal of Peru, and I was addicted. Peru — seemingly studded with mischief and natural adventure — was empowering me. <h2 id="worldnomads">Hostess with the Mostess</h2> This article’s host, WorldNomads.com aren’t purely purveyors of great value travel insurance, they also store a swollen cache of travel information. A quick <g class="gr_ gr_131 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del" id="131" data-gr-id="131">squiz</g> at their destination guide (provided by Lonely Planet) began to give my opinion of Peru some depth. A clump of brilliant advice and information warmed me with titbits about the <g class="gr_ gr_155 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-del replaceWithoutSep" id="155" data-gr-id="155">people,</g> and warned me that my UK size 10 shoes are impossible to find in the Andean foothills. That’s without even touching the <a href="http://www.lonelyplanet.com/peru" target="_blank" title="Lonely Planet Peru">Lonely Planet’s</a> official montage of alpaca-sponsored advice. I ventured eagerly into the domain of World Nomads’ well-known <g class="gr_ gr_174 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-del replaceWithoutSep" id="174" data-gr-id="174">bloggers,</g> and became spellbound by 67 fantastic independent travelogues. Not the type with their own fancy web address, or an environment littered with Google Ads promising my girlfriend a better deal. A real community; a collective of true experience. With all this Peru-based information crammed into the web, I began to wonder how anything else got a look in. <h2 id="twitter">Travel in Peru</h2> With half an hour to <g class="gr_ gr_175 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="175" data-gr-id="175">go</g> I dived onto Twitter, scribbled a search for "Travel Peru” and began scraping off tweets about, “...140 more days until sand-boarding in Peru...”, and a million-and-one people proclaiming there’s “Much More than Machu Picchu”. I’m promised links to clothing tips, Peruvian bullfighting, volunteer programmes, and even a warning that Twix bars melt together in Peru. Lest we forget Twitter’s local rival. I challenged the behemoth of Facebook to deliver “Peru” and it slammed down over 3,200 results (though many are in native Spanish). Narrowing this down by searching “Travel Peru” drew me closer to the point, and before I knew it I was trotting around dozens of Peruvian viewpoints, marveling at the jaunts that had gone before me. “Spare a thought for the guinea pigs!” I typed, before deleting it and LOL to myself. The great thing about both of these platforms, is that they’re run by Real People™ who would be blown away if you just asked them, “So, what’s good to do in Peru?” <h2 id="locals">Local Knowledge</h2> That’s what I asked <a title="Stuart Starrs on Twitter" target="_blank" href="http://twitter.com/stuenperu">Stuart Starrs</a>, who was lured to Lima from his native London, and where he now publishes the incredibly resourceful <a title="En Peru blog" target="_blank" href="http://enperublog.com">...en Perú blog</a>. Stuart confirms <g class="gr_ gr_141 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-del replaceWithoutSep" id="141" data-gr-id="141">that,</g> “Peru rightfully makes a big thing out of the phrase ’the country that has it all’, when marketing itself abroad. In the course of a two week trip, you could visit barren deserts filled with pyramids of civilisations far older than those in Mexico; sand-board down some of the world’s largest sand dunes; hike through tropical dry forests, spot Spectacled Bears; clamber up the world's most famous mountain ranges to visit small villages, where people live a life unchanged for hundreds of years; hike across fabulous snow-capped mountain ranges above blue glacial lakes; descend into cloud forests and discover the lost city of Machu Picchu, or hundreds more like it; before taking a river boat through the most bio-diverse rainforests on the planet, spotting rare animals like pink dolphins.” So I slumped — like a wheezing tourist on the top of a Peruvian pyramid — and realized I had fifteen minutes remaining in my quest for eternal Peruvian knowledge. I’d made the e-nation of Twitter giddy with my questions. I’d linked arms with hundreds of likeminded Facebook “friends”. I’d bookmarked enough blogs to buckle the knees of an aging alpaca, and I’d stashed a secret folder with information from the CIA, and the British government. Things were too easy. I couldn’t help myself. How much was a flight to Peru? I ducked and dived through Expedia, Momondo <g class="gr_ gr_158 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="158" data-gr-id="158">and</g> Kayak. Wellington to Auckland to Santiago to Lima and back; £1140. I price checked two months worth of World Nomads travel insurance (of course, using my 6% discount promo code, TRLANT); £95. I gasped. I called my girlfriend; “What are we doing next Tuesday?” A moment’s silence. “If you think we’re going to look at alpaca farms again, you can think again!”Getty Images/Anna Gorin 1598965428 Getty Images Historic architecture of Cusco along steep street northwest of Plaza de Armas, Peru

https://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/oceania/new-zealand/new-zealand-the-sporting-nationSurfing, rugby, horse racing and fishing. Ant shares his insights on New Zealand's favourite sports.2019-07-02T10:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/oceania/new-zealand/new-zealand-the-sporting-nationhttps://www.worldnomads.comRinga pakia! Uma tiraha! Turi whatia! Hope whai ake! Waewae takahia kia kino! Ka mate, ka mate. Ka ora', Ka ora'. Ka mate, ka mate. Ka ora’, Ka ora’. Tēnei te tangata pūhuruhuru. Nāna i tiki mai whakawhiti te rā. Upane. Upane. Upane Kaupane. Whiti te rā,! Hī!<o:p></o:p> The resounding words of the world’s most famous challenge: the Haka. In Māoridom, this is the moment the gauntlet is ardently thrown down. The first haka was first performed in 1884 but it wasn’t until 1987 that All Black, Wayne Shelford ramped it up to the fiery spectacle we know and love (and fear) today. Shelford is also famous for having a testicle ripped out during a test match against France, and playing on. Characters like Shelford continue to define the Kiwi sports arenas. Never say die, never lay down; you’re a New Zealander, a ‘Can-Do’ Kiwi.<o:p></o:p> <h2>The Name Game<o:p></o:p></h2> Kiwi team names even appear competitive. We all know the All Blacks (men’s rugby), and most Antipodeans will know the Silver Ferns (women’s netball). Then there’s the Tall Blacks (basketball), Black Caps (cricket), All Whites (football) and the Black Sticks Men and Women (hockey). In 2005, the NZ badminton team caused a furor when they motioned for their team to be called — what else — the Black Cocks. It flopped.<o:p></o:p> New Zealand is a small nation of just 4.2 million people. Consider this, as we take a look at the myriad sports they partake in, and consider that almost every sport requires a governing body and a gang of referees, and all of them deserve a raucous crowd. During any one week, 79% of the adult population participates in at least one sport or recreation. Over the course of a year, one in four Kiwi’s volunteer and 40% will take part in an organized competition. <o:p></o:p> New Zealand is also fuelling their loyal fan base. It hosted the 2011 Rugby World Cup, and the All Whites qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, for the first time since 1982.<o:p></o:p> <h2>Surf’s up down under<o:p></o:p></h2> When we think of surfing, we automatically think of New Zealand’s, West Island (aka Australia), or perhaps Hawaii. New Zealand boasts around 150,000 surfers. Early Māori were seen surfing their waka’s (canoes), planks (kōpapa) and even kelp bags (pōhā) over the breakers. The sport was phased out by prudish missionaries before Hawaiian George Freeth began the national resurgence. Surfers were one of the first alternative cultures to hit Aotearoa (New Zealand); infusing the nation with a typically laidback lifestyle, while they searched for their perfect wave.<o:p></o:p> <h2>Practical sports<o:p></o:p></h2> New Zealand was perceived as a blank canvas for European immigrants, so competition was imminent. The residual effect is a splattering of practical rural sports, such as sheep shearing. The synonymous fact about New Zealand is the ratio of sheep to humans, which currently stands at 10:1. Established in 1961 to raise the profile of the gruff, and lonesome shearer, the national highlight of the shearing calendar is the Golden Shears (3rd - 6th March 2010, Masterton). Naturally coupled to shearing is another rural celebration; wood chopping has been contested since early Europeans earmarked their favored plots. The settlers needed the land cleared and also the resulting timber to build; down came the axe and up went the trophy cabinets. The success continues today, the World Champion is Aucklander, Jason Wynard.<o:p></o:p> <h2>Two-wheel hero<o:p></o:p></h2> The epitome of a Can-Do Kiwi is a man who New Zealander’s hold close to their hearts. John Britten (1950-1995) is famous for his super shed story — though he shouldn’t be confused with Burt Munro (The World’s Fastest Indian). Britten and a team of neighbors designed and built the V-1000 motorcycle in his shed. In 1992 he arrived in Daytona to compete with the motorcycle manufacturing giants in the Battle of the Twins race. The bike was a huge success, however, the battery failed going into the last lap and he failed to finish. A year later the bike snatched four world speed records, and in 1994 he returned to Daytona to claim the elusive title. The bike can be seen in Wellington’s Te Papa museum.<o:p></o:p> <h2>Famous Kiwi sports personalities<o:p></o:p></h2> Britten isn’t the most famous Kiwi in sport. That honour is probably bestowed upon one of these national icons: <o:p></o:p> Bruce McLaren: A popular, and successful racing car driver, best known today as the founder of the eponymous Team McLaren. Bruce died at the wheel aged just 32, and his legacy lives on in one of the most celebrated racing teams of our day.<o:p></o:p> Sir Peter Blake: Led Team New Zealand to successive sailing victories in the America’s Cup, he also claimed the coveted Jules Verne Trophy for the fastest circumnavigation of the world in a yacht. Blake was shot and killed by pirates while on an environmental exploration of South America in 1991.<o:p></o:p> Sir Edmund Hillary: The indomitable mountaineer. Together with his Tibetan/Nepali Sherpa, Tenzing Norgay they became the first climbers known to summit Mount Chomolungma (Everest). Hillary returned time and again to the Himalaya to scale ten more peaks, he also reached the South Pole.<o:p></o:p> <h2>The legend of Phar Lap<o:p></o:p></h2> Racing is also at the heart of an equine hero: Kiwi racehorse Phar Lap (Thai for Lightning in the Sky). Aussie’s the world over controversially claim him as their own (the chestnut red was trained across the Tasman and dominated races there). Grief was shared on a fateful day in California. Phar Lap hemorrhaged to death after munching through an arsenic-laced lawn, ending a career that saw 37 wins from 51 starts. Divided in death, Phar Lap is apportioned to the Melbourne Museum (hide); Wellington’s Te Papa Museum (skeleton); and the National Museum of Australia in Canberra (heart).  <o:p></o:p> <h2>Controversial moments in NZ sport <o:p></o:p></h2> Controversy is as abundant in New Zealand as it is anywhere. As early as 1905 when The Original All Blacks (or simply, The Originals) toured Britain. They scored an incredible 830 points over thirty-two games, conceding just 39 but amazingly, they lost their game against Wales after the referee disallowed a try. <o:p></o:p> The most infamous incident occurred during a 1981 One Day International cricket match, against not-so-neighborly Australia. New Zealand needed a ‘six’ to tie the match, but in a premeditated moment of unsportsmanship, the Aussie captain Greg Chappell ordered his brother Trevor to bowl underarm to avoid the possibility. Two years later, during the 1983 Challenger Series for the America’s Cup (the oldest trophy in sport) the Kiwi’s came under fire from the Yanks for using a radical fiberglass hull. The spirit of the coveted cup sank in all too familiar courtroom conundrums. <o:p></o:p> In July 1981, the South African rugby team arrived for The Springbok Tour. South Africa was in the grip of apartheid, and many New Zealander’s supported the international boycott of South African sport. However rural New Zealand cherishes rugby, where it creates the nucleus of many communities. Thus came the moment when politics met sport, in fanatical riots. As the tour stubbornly continued, the brutality of clashes increased. By the final game in Auckland, the protesters were better equipped than the police, and a circling plane dropped flour bombs and reputedly threatened to crash into the stadium. The nation remains split on whether the tour should have happened, or indeed whether previous All Black tours of South Africa in the years prior should have occurred (when Māori players were forcibly dropped). <o:p></o:p> <h2>Best of British <o:p></o:p></h2> There’s a healthy Scottish population in New Zealand, and similarities are drawn between the clan system of the Scots and the iwi (tribe) system of the Māori. The small town of Waipu (120km north of Auckland) brings the New Year with the world’s most southerly Highland Games, complete with kilts and cables. January 1 2010 will see the town’s 139th games. At the opposite end of the country, the Scottish sport of curling is strewn across the icy sheets of the wintry south. Lest we forget marching — that regimented parade of high hats and hoops — has been a fully-fledged sport in New Zealand since 1990. The NZ Championships will rally through Rotorua on the North Island from 19-21 March 2010.<o:p></o:p> <h2>Start your engines<o:p></o:p></h2> Far from the marching brigades, is Kaikohe (pop. 4113). This small town became infamous around the world in 1991 when local kids attacked Santa during the Christmas parade; the 2004 documentary, Kaikohe Demolition regained the affable nature of the town’s population and at the heart of the recovery, was destruction. Demolition Derby isn’t restrained to Kaikohe, but it is another slab of the Can-Do Kiwi attitude. The only rule appears to be that you don’t hit another car’s door, and the winner seems to be the one with a smashed up car, and bragging rights in the natural hot spring.<o:p></o:p> <h2>Fishing, the original New Zealand sport<o:p></o:p></h2> Almost 17% of New Zealanders enjoy casting out a line, but among all of Aotearoa, there’s just one fisherman whose tale is revered. The whimsical Māori demigod, Māui is credited with creating Aotearoa as we know it today. In a masterful moment, he crafted a fishhook from his grandfather’s magic jawbone, baited it with his own blood and hooked the great fish. And so it is, that the South Island is known as Te Waka a Māui (The Canoe of Māui), and the North Island as Te Ika a Māui (The Fish of Māui) — without which, none of the aforementioned could have occurred.Getty Images/Image by Lesley McEwan Images 1174282796 Getty Images Fishing on Lake Pearson, New Zealand