Experience New Zealand Light

An increasing number of young german „Abiturienten” is saying YES to Wanderlust and is going for one year or more abroad to New Zealand on a Working Holiday Visa. It is almost one year ago that one of my best friends left for a big adventure down south. She started her trip in Auckland, which is on the north coast during our European spring. So guess what? Then you get two winters in a row and houses in New Zealand have very thin walls. So make sure you pack some knitted sweaters and wool socks in your big 70l backpack!

If you leave the city behind pure nature is waiting for you. If you weren’t enthusiastic about hiking before, you definitely will be after one of the Day Walks when you can climb into caves where millions of glowworms enlighten the dark.

In severel ways light is special in New Zealand. When I first heard of the unpolluted light I literally had no idea what that meant. But then it reminded me of the stunning sky with thousands of stars in the middle of Canada some years ago.

There are three reasons for the clarity of the sky. New Zealand’s distance from major industrial countries, the low level of coal-burning and the constant cleansing weather. They say that you can compare the clearness of the air with the one of Antarctica. Sadly you can’t benefit from it in the cities, where most New-Zealanders live. Besides that, the clearness of the air also leads to a higher level of ultraviolet light, which results in a high risk of skin cancer. The Māori word ‘Aotearoa’ for New Zealand, which is normally translated as ‘land of the long white cloud’, also might refer to the extraordinary light of New Zealand.

If you want to read more about the light and especially its role in the understanding of the Universe of the Maori, check out that link: http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/light/page-1.

Besides that, you have probably never heard about the Southern Lights before! Actually they can be as stunning as their more popular big brother The Northern lights and appear in green and pink colours. So watch out and climb mountains during the night so that you have a chance to experience one of the wonderful natural events in New Zealand!

For further information check out: http://www.backpackerguide.nz/5-places-to-see-the-southern-lights-in-new-zealand/.