| |
|
|
Daylight fades from the waters of
the fiord at Milford Sound. With just a trace of a smile on my
face, I propose that New Zealand was the original "Garden of
Eden". After all, Adam and Eve lived in a perfect place. It was
a peaceful place where there was no contention. It wasn't until
after Adam and Eve disobeyed God that they were exiled from Eden
to never return again. Throughout human history New Zealand has
remained isolated in the middle of the sea, undiscovered and
uninhabited by man. There were no predators in New Zealand, no
lions, tigers, bears, or even snakes (okay, so maybe the
snake was exiled along with Adam.) It was only in such a peaceful
enviroment that a defenseless bird like the Kiwi, that cannot even
fly, lived and thrived to a population of about 12 million.
Albotross and penguins reared their young in safety. It wasn't until
about 700 years ago that the Maori first arrived in New Zealand, and
even then enviromental changes were minimal. In 1840 the
Treaty of Waitangi was signed with the British Empire, and with the
arrival of the Europeans the first predators appeared on the island,
including dogs, cats, and stoats. To boost the fur trade opossum
were brought to New Zealand, and by the 1980's the opossum
population exploded to 60 or 70 million. With all these imported
enemies, the Kiwi population has now been reduced to a mere
25,000... perhaps only symbolic of the broader changes throughout
paradise. To this day, however, New Zealand still shows some of the
characteristics of the lengendary "Garden of Eden"... extremely
eloquent in beauty, moderate in climate, and probably the only
country through which I have tromped in the brush completely
carefree of snake bite. |
|
|
|
