I just got back from getting a late dinner at one of the only places still open this late at night in Auckland, New Zealand, where I’ve been since last Wednesday the 11th for mid-semester break: a cafe just off Queen St., near the Viaduct Harbour. On a whim I decided to buy one of the few remaining copies of The New Zealand Herald (the preeminent newspaper around here) that they had on display, because after looking I had a look at its headline and realized and how odd and possibly even outrageus it and its byline (is that the right name for a subtitle?) would seem appearing on the front page of a major newspaper in the States (that’s what the Aussies and I think the Kiwis call the U..S.):
Outrage as police reveal brutal rape claim was a fake
30 police officers, hundreds of hours, thousands of dollars…and the attack ‘never happened
 (source: The New Zealand Herald, Auckland edition, front page, Monday, April 16th, 2007)
All that over a false police claim? The rest of the front-page headlines are, in no particular order (but basically from top to bottom):
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“Why the Springboks [whatever they are] are a growing worry”
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“America’s Cup: Someone’s got a SECRET WEAPON… and it may not be us” (sailing’s really big over here, in the “City of Sails”)
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 ”The Nearly Princess: After Kate, Prince William faces an even greater media frenzy”
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“Protesters swept from streets, shouting ‘Russia without Putin’”
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“Ex-staff blame Ralston [the "TVNZ news boss"] for ‘rot’”
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“Kiwis star Sonny Bill Williams professes his love for his partner after a tryst with another woman in a toilet”
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“Flash joins the after-parties of Kri Te Kanawa’s Auckland night with the NZSO [whatever that is]“
(all quotes are from The New Zealand Herald, Auckland edition, front page, Monday, April 16th, 2007).Â
Now compare that with the front page of, say, the New York Times, or the L.A. Times. The NZ Herald only has one international story, a local story of what would seem like little import to a foreigner is taking up a large part of the page, and the right sidebar includes something about a star athlete’s “tryst.” Interesting, don’t you think?
But then again, maybe that rape story that we think maybe shouldn’t be on the front page is of much more importance to people whose primary place of residence is New Zealand: I got a ride to the city of Auckland from its airport (it was too late for the bus) from a guy whose sister lives in Christchurch, and he told me that there’s so little crime here that the police don’t even carry guns. So maybe when somebody rapes someone here it’s a really, really, REALLY big deal (even bigger a deal than in the States).
Today I went on a really fulfilling Coast-to-Coast walk of New Zealand. Yep, that’s right: I walked from the Pacific Ocean to the Tasman Sea. All in about six-seven hours. You see, Auckland sits on (or actually fills up) an isthmus, about 9 kilometers (I’m not sure what that is in miles; I’m also not sure if I have the number right), wide, between the Pacific and the Tasman. It is New Zealand’s narrowest point. I started at Viaduct Harbour, which is where the America’s Cup was held, and followed the path (and got lost a few times along the way) until I reached Onehunga Bay. I just looked at a picture I have on my camera of the sign at Onehunga Bay, and it was roughly a 16 km walk. I passed through some amazing sites, and the best way to tell you about the walk is to post my pictures — which I’ll do on Wednesday, or thereabouts, when I get back to Sydney.
 Talk to you later.