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March 30, 2009
I'm in the Paparoa National Park in the West Coast of NZ, shortly to depart for Kahurangi National Park, further north.
I am in what could be called an internet cafe. You line up to access the one of the 5 computers paying by the hour, only to discover that two of the five PC's don't work, and the other three have problems. The one I'm on has problems with internet explorer---it crashes---and I cannot download Firefox. So I am on the margins of the global village. Barely connected.
This is largely bushwalking territory in what could be called wilderness areas---luxuriant coastal forest, limestone cliffs and canyons, caves and flowing rivers and creeks. There is water everywhere, even at the end of summer. I'm off the beaten global tourism circuit and have entered backbacker territory. The backpackers can be seen as the cutting edge of tourism in that they are opening new areas for tourism.
The national parks have been set up for eco-tourism and they want no other form, even though the West Coast economy is dependent on coal mining in and around Greymouth. Industrialization never happened on the West Coast of the South Island whilst the tourism appears to be run by the Department of Conservation. They are the ones providing the information to explore the wilderness.
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Eh you should have gone to the Philippines. An internet café on every corner, average cost 50 cents an hour.