Beautiful on the Inside Too

Novelist Emily Perkins points out the lesser-known urban pleasures to be found in her NZ homeland in a travel feature for the Observer. It is the latest in a line of “yes, but…” travel features on NZ, all stressing that there is much more to the country than (admittedly jaw-dropping) rural scenery. She writes: “The reality of New Zealand is that the urban and the rural are never entirely separate. You can find luxuriant greenery in Auckland, wild seas in Wellington and the perfect caffe latte in most small towns down the country. But if you’re after a lively, uniquely New Zealand culture, it would be a shame to overlook the cities. Away from the clean, green, home-spun wool version of the country there is a dynamic urban life that is neither 100 per cent pure nor exactly impure, just life-stained enough to provide a bit of grit and traction to your travels.”