Burbeen Free Lecture - The Real World of New Zealand

BURBEEN FREE LECTURE SERIES

Presents

“The Real World of New Zealand”

by Rick Howard

Most of the time you have to pay to see one of Rick Howard’s travel films, but in keeping with the promise that the trustees of the Burbeen Free Lecture Series made to the community 116 years ago, this Tuesday night, March 25th, you can see it for free at the Joyce Middle School Auditorium in Woburn. And this time Rick Howard will bring you to a land that the United States has a lot in common with, but that is so far away many of you have probably never been there, but with his presentation of “The Real World of New Zealand” you will go there without having to go through airport security.

According the Rick Howard, New Zealand, made up of two spectacular islands located off the eastern coast of Australia, has been called the most beautiful place on earth, and they offer visitors action, adventure, history and beauty. So get ready to experience all four when you come Tuesday night.

You will begin in Auckland, New Zealand’s capital city, located on an isthmus surrounded by the Pacific Ocean on one side and the Tasman Sea on the other. And what better way to view the city than from Sky Tower. The Sky Tower, completed in March of 1997, is the tallest free-standing structure in the Southern Hemisphere. It looms over Auckland and has a 360 degree panoramic view of the city and the oceans that surround it.

Then onto Cape Regina on the northern most part of North Island where most New Zealanders live. With its warmer climate, thriving action and adventure sports, it’s like the Florida of New Zealand. Jet boats were invented there as well as bungee jumping so a tourist, you can bungee from the high bridges, or speed along tranquil rivers on powerful jet boats almost anywhere in the country.

Then onto Gisborn, a town full of history. According to legend it’s the spot where the famous explorer, Captain James Cook, first set foot on New Zealand soil. That was in 1769, but, of course, the native Maori people were there first. The Māori came to New Zealand from eastern Polynesia sometime around 1350. They spread throughout the country and developed a distinct culture, but by 1840 they had lost much of their land and their numbers began a steep decline. But in the 1960s they
managed to form a cultural revival and get back a more permanent connection to
their roots, and today you can feel the Maori influence everywhere.

After a brief intermission, you will find yourself motorcycling through some of the most beautiful parts of the country as you speed along the coast. Your first stop will be in Cape Foulwind, first named Rocky Cape by Able Tasman in 1642. But when
Captain Cook’s ship, the Endeavor, was blown miles off shore there in 1770, he
renamed it Cape Foulwind and the name stuck.

Then onto the South Island of New Zealand which is much colder and less populated than the North Island, but still beautiful. You will visit the towns of Westport and Graymouth and the amazing Pancake Rocks of Punakaiki, located near the centre of the "Coast Road". It is one of the most spectacular coastal drives in the world and once you spy Pancake Rocks, the limestone formations that are over 30 million years old, it will take your breath away. And when ocean swells thunder into the caverns beneath the rocks, huge water spouts blast skywards creating a truly spectacular sight.

You will take your leave of New Zealand aboard helicopter that will take you over the Fox and Franz Joseph glacier. Then a thrilling flight on a small aircraft called an Ultralight that skims along the crests of waves and flies into the clouds leaving you with a lasting impression of New Zealand’s beauty.

If Rick Howard looks familiar to you, perhaps you saw him on television. For a time, Rick appeared in a number of commercials and TV shows. But after his graduation from California State University he forgot his acting career and went into the production of documentary and training films. But he soon realized he was more people-oriented and needed a broader canvas. This quest led him to the Philippines and his first travel-adventure film. Since then Rick has returned time and again to the hauntingly exotic countries of South East Asia and the Pacific. He has now moved into Europe, always in search of stories of the people and their land. When not traveling and filming, Rick makes his home in Santa Monica, California.

So come join him in Rick Howard’s latest adventure and see “The Real World of New Zealand” next Tuesday night at the Joyce Middle School Auditorium. The program begins at 7 pm but the doors will open at 6:30 pm, as they have for 116 years. And of course, admission is free for the Burbeen Free Lecture Series.