Sir Edmund Hillary

Legendary New Zealand mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary has praised his home country as a destination for adventurers.

In an interview marking the 50th anniversary of the first ascent of the world's highest mountain, Sir Edmund recalls his early years climbing in New Zealand and says the country still has much in store for travellers.

Q. How was your interest for the mountains first inspired?

A. I went with a school winter party down to Mt. Ruapehu and for 10 days we skied and climbed. There was a wonderful amount of snow there and I really built up a tremendous enthusiasm for snow and ice and really it was for the first time something I discovered that I could do well and I could excel at and it really completely changed my life.

Q. Where in New Zealand did you train for your attempt on Everest?

A. Any spare moments I could get I would head off to the mountains. And finally later on I spent a great deal of time down in the Southern Alps of New Zealand which are wonderful mountains with vast quantities of snow and ice.

Q. You have traveled throughout the world, but now live in New Zealand?

A. I have never considered living anywhere else except New Zealand. I have obviously enjoyed travelling over wide parts of the globe…but I always return back to my home in New Zealand.

Q. What's your favourite getaway spot in New Zealand?

A. We do have a cottage at Waihi Beach right on the sea shore, and particularly just after Christmas we will spend a few weeks there. I would love to spend more time there but the demands to lecture and travel overseas and travel around New Zealand are so great we simply don't get as much time at the beach as we would like.

Q. How would you recommend New Zealand as a tourist destination?

A. I think New Zealand is an amazing place for tourists to come. There are so many things to do here, in a relatively small space. We're very strong on adventure here, so any young people who want to experience adventure can certainly find it in New Zealand.

But also all my overseas friends, who I talk to frequently, say that New Zealanders are so friendly. They welcome them to New Zealand and this makes for a very pleasant relationship for our visitors here.

I think myself as I travel around the country a great deal that even though we get, I believe, a million tourists a year, one is hardly aware of them. They travel relatively silently around, enjoying the scenery, getting on well with the local people and leave New Zealand feeling that they are almost half- New Zealanders themselves.