Together these forces and traumas prompted closeted murmurs to become wails of protest that morphed into defiant activism against the prevailing ignorance and bias. Then came AIDS, accompanied by a strengthened Stonewall mentality plus several anti-gay miscarriages of justice that allowed gay bashers/murderers to escape punishment. Thirty years ago New Zealand was a nation of leftover stuffy Victorian attitudes toward human sexuality and a dense homophobic mindset about lesbigay love and life. Among the population another sort of diversity exists: age-old Maori tribal ways, conservative British traditionalists and a colorful, out-proud Lesbigay community savoring their federally legislative rights. Intro: A drive across the breadth and length of this adventure-land reveals a biodiversity of nature, from ancient forests to dense glaciers, from ragged fjords to calm penguin beaches, from postcard villages to boiling volcanoes.
