Conservation and Colonization: Post-Trip Great Walks

Department of Conservation (DOC) owned Heaphy Hut and Anchorage Hut on the Heaphy and Abel Tasman Coast Tracks of New Zealand.

restored colonial homesteads or chic European buildings,
in places with sleeping access only for those who pay

for those who can pay, it's a privilege to stay here,
and gaze out onto the manicured lawns and pristine landscapes
(aside from the high-end European villages and boats that still reside in the parks of course)

behind a window in a fire-heated space,
I still get chills from seeing how conservation embodies present-day colonialism

these DOC huts embody present-day colonialism,
since when was conservation about bringing in wealthy, often White Europeans,
and leaving the rest out?

certainly the indigenous Maori peoples deserve more,
than one statue at the edge of this hut and its accompanying spread of campsites

certainly I shouldn't feel like I'm in a sanitized space, an invitation-only space,
a space full of motor sounds and the sounds of passers-through,
but no sounds of true human-nature connection,
yet this is the status of many conservation lands