Ahhh, how to keep this short and sweet... I was surprised to find that many Maori have utilized modern technology to express themselves. By the same coin, many Pakeha (and Australians also, that's leg two of my journey) are ushering in some of the most original design the web has seen. Because I only have eight to ten weeks to travel this summer, I feel that New Zealand's modest size allows me to gain a reasonably good understanding of the country considering this time constraint. More importantly, the nation has a unique challenge of identity, because it has a relatively well-survived indigenous group in the Maori, and more or less a second indigenous group in the Pakeha, that are trying to establish their own reputation in the world.

I plan to stay with a few families at many different locations, to see how national identity is affected by topics such as indigenous relations and the growing presence of technology. In particular, the works of Ranganui Walker and Michael King have made me redefine this question daily as I prepare for arrival in Auckland on the 14th.

At the moment, I'm planning on visiting Auckland first. I'm expecting Auckland to be an important focus, if only as a contrast to the rest of the country. Then I'll visit friends in the Northland/Bay of Islands area before travelling back through Auckland to Rotorua. I'll be comparing Rotorua's representation of the Maori to that found in Gisborne. I have a few friends I'd like to visit on farms in the King Country. In fact, I'm hoping to run across as many small towns as possible. I'll keep travelling south into Wellington. Ultimately, I'll reach Christchurch, from which I'll fly to Melbourne where I'll begin my comparative research in Australia.

Altogether I hope to spend about 5 weeks in each country. If I have time, I'll try to reach Queenstown, but I doubt it's going to happen. I concede that this is a very north-island biased study, which is unfortunate. However, since my goal is to consider technology's effects, I felt the Auckland stop was more important than a Christchurch stop (sorry if this may be an ignorant dismissal of south-island technology!) On top of this, the Maori culture appears to be more visible in the north. If anyone has any suggestions for places to witness the cultural frontline or areas in severe identity-crises, please do send a word. This travelogue will take as its source the raw clash of opinion from the people of New Zealand.

Thank you, James. Indeed all those little details are going to take some ironing out this week. All the best to the NZ web design community.