Culture 

New Zealand has an incredibly rich and dynamic history and culture. It is thought that only the birds lived here before around 1400 AD so all of our human history is fairly recent. Our Maori heritage in particular is as much about the here and now as it is about the past. Yes, you can learn a lot about this amazing culture by visiting many of our museums and art galleries but you can also do so simply by pulling up a chair and sharing a quiet moment with someone who will quite likely be able to trace their lineage (whakapapa) back to the very first canoes to ever land here.

From the stirring emotion of the Haka to the thriving and often whacky, kitsch and eccentric art known as Kiwiana – Zealand’s culture, arts, music and history are not simply locked away in museums – they’re everywhere you look.