FARMING, including dairy production, remains New Zealand’s leading industry, but thanks to hit movie trilogies and other family-friendly attractions, tourism has moved from fourth to second spot as that country’s top dollar earner.
The cold and rainy weather failed to dampen this writer’s spirits a few weeks ago when we set foot in Hobbiton, the fictional village of the Hobbits set and shot among the rolling hills of Matamata in New Zealand.
Galloping like a handsome stallion, the Year of the Horse is coming, and it will bring lots of good luck next year. There are just two days left in 2013 but still around 30 days left in the Year of the Water Snake.
The sheep farmer was rooting for New Zealand’s national rugby team All Blacks in a hotly-contested game when he heard someone at the door. It was a stranger. Could he talk to him, the man said, about a possible business deal?
