New Zealand can perhaps be considered to have two heritages, pre-Pakeha and post-Pakeha (pakeha = white people). The indigenous Maori people are descended from Polynesians that sailed across the South Pacific and are believed to have discovered New Zealand approximately 1,000 years ago. Since this time the Maori people have developed their own unique culture and associated arts and heritage that can be seen throughout New Zealand, but particularly in the North Island where the majority of New Zealand Maori lived and still live today. A well known activity that many tourists take part in is the hangi (pit-roasted feast of meat and vegetables) with traditional kapa haka (dancing). The Maori language was traditionally an oral language and their history and culture was passed down through the generations via stories incorporated around intricate carvings and weaving found upon the marae (meeting place). Maori heritage has only been written down since the first European missionaries arrived in the early 1800s and began to teach Maori to read and write, and is now considered the second language of New Zealander's after English.

The first Europeans to arrive in New Zealand (apart from the early explorers like Abel Tasman and Captain Cook who are credited with the original mapping of New Zealand's long coastline) were the sealers and whalers. Reports had arrived back in England about the bountiful nature of New Zealand's coastal waters and virgin forests. Millions of seals, thousands of whales and millions of hectares of huge podocarp forests filled to overflowing with native birds were enough to entice many an adventurous sailor looking to make some money. The wholesale slaughter of many of these animals is only just beginning to recover now, however numbers will never recover to what they were 200 years ago. Many of these sealers and whalers did not stay, however a small number did and ended up marrying local Maori girls, introducing their heritage and cultural ways to local Maori.

During the 1860s large numbers of Scottish and English settlers came out to New Zealand hoping for a better life compared to what they had left behind, many attracted by the goldrush and the large areas of land available for farming. They knew that once they arrived here they would probably never return home to see their family and friends again, and bought many of their traditional arts and culture with them. Christchurch City for example is considered on of the most English cities outside of England, whereas Dunedin City is touted as the Edinburgh of the South (Dunedin's streets are named exactly after Edinburgh's streets). Much of New Zealand was cleared of it's native forests and converted into pasture for the 60 million sheep that still are the backbone of New Zealand's economy to this day.

New Zealand has a vibrant arts and heritage scene, much of it unique to New Zealand and based around the Polynesian cultures that are so much a part of New Zealand and how these interact with the myriad other cultural groups that now make up New Zealand (pop: 4 million living in NZ, 1 million living overseas = many in Australia and the UK). You will find plenty of museums and galleries even in the smallest communities showcasing our Maori and Pakeha cultures. Te Papa in Wellington is New Zealand's national museum and is well worth a half day spent exploring its many collections.

Some of our favourite museums/galleries are: Eastern Southland Hokonui Moonshine Museum and John Money Collection (Gore), the Sutter Gallery (Nelson), Auckland Museum, Otago Museum (Dunedin), Invercargill Museum where they breed tuatara - the world's most ancient lizard species, Centre of Contemporary Art (Christchurch), Fossil Museum (Duntroon), and many many more.

New Zealand is also famous for it's film productions, mostly thanks to a certain Peter Jackson and his three Lord of the Rings films (all filmed here in New Zealand, with many of the original locations able to be viewed while on a GeoSavvy Tour) and most recently King Kong - filmed entirely at his Wellington film studios. Other famous New Zealand-based films include: Once Were Warriors, The Piano, Whalerider, The World's Fastest Indian starring Sir Anthony Hopkins as Burt Munro, Narnia, The Last Samurai starring Tom Cruise, and a new one out - Sione's Wedding (absolutely brilliant!).