Country-New Zealand

Creative Commons picture by Chris Gin.

Rangitoto is Maori for “Bloody Sky.”

Ironically, it was not named “Bloody Sky” because of the way it appears at dawn.

New Zealand’s southern island is know for being an area of intense rugged natural beauty that is inhabited by actually penguins and fictional hobbits. While it is obvious how one should deal with fictional hobbits (make a movie) it is sometimes difficult to figure out how to deal with rugged natural beauty. Here is a quick look at some of the approaches made by the people of Dunedin in recent history.

Keep it & Build an Awesome Utopia

Some time around 1848 the Free Church of Scotland became overwhelmed by the feeling that Edinburgh, Scotland was WAY too cool of a place not to have a more utopia version in New Zealand. So, they founded Dunedin.

They chose a site of exquisite rugged natural beauty that was close to a good natural harbor and a peninsula inhabited by penguins It seemed almost impossible for such a wonderful place not to be a utopia. Hell, they even showed their great respect for Edinburgh by basing the name of the town on the Gaelic word for Edinburgh, Dùn ÈidÈideann.

Dig up and Sell the Shinny parts (aka “you sat on my utopia!”)

Not everyone agreed that the rugged natural beauty of the area was best utilized as a backdrop for a utopia that really liked Edinburgh. Read the rest of this entry »

Creative Commons picture by m.bjerke.

Despite the fact that it is a “neat” place where women have had the right to vote 27 years longer than they have in the United States, New Zealand was not noticed by many people until recently. After all, it is really far away.

The discovery of New Zealand’s rich natural deposits of extreme sports videos and fuzzy fruit have changed all that. Now they are the source of about a quarter of the world’s supply of kiwi fruit. This fruit has become so important to the United States that there are rumors the US government may try to liberate the country from its cruel oppressors in order to stabilize the fuzzy fruit market.
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