Volume XIV, No. 2
DECEMBER 2001
In the aftermath of September 11th's tragedies, here are words by Mahatma Gandhi:

"When I despair, I remember that all through history the ways of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants, and rriurderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fall. Think of it.. .always."

LANDSCAPE - New Zealand is an island nation full of drama and discovery. The land is young, mystical, tempestuous and refreshing. It is a land of spiritual places and a place to feel free.
CULTURE — New Zealand's culture has come of age as a modern form of Pacifica. There is a new wave of thinking spreading across the land — evident in culinary culture and sport, in contemporary and wearable arts, all taking a distinctly New Zealand flavour.
PEOPLE — New Zealanders are an ingenious, passionate, inspiring, yet straightforward people. They are voyagers famous for looking at things in new ways and doing things with an attitude and an eye for adventure.
ADVENTURE — New Zealand's recreational activities are intense and innovative. They unlock the senses. With a breath-taking landscape ajid an adventurous soul, Kiwis have a love of exploring new ways to be touched by nature. The experience is inner- invigoration.

GIVE IT A BOOT AT THE FARMERS MARKET (Journal — Hunter)

A Sunday morning ritual that I buzzed through was the Hawke's Bay Farmers Market at the A & P Showgrounds. Signposted by a symbol of a pair of gumboots, the market on the outskirts of Hastings was easy to find. Food and artisan producers from around the Bay converged on the one place, with the emphasis on colourful fresh local and seasonal produce.
Hawthorne, a local coffee roaster, were turning over a quick trade, their espresso machine hissing and steaming. Nearby, a line of hungry people headed for the more traditional rural breakfast fare of bacon and eggs.
Clyde Potter was behind the Epicurean Supplies Ltd table, laden with baskets and boxes of fresh organic herbs, including basil, celeriac, fennel, specialty shallots and Russian kale as well as Maori potato. Next to him was Te Aute Hill Free Range Organic Chickens, and owner, Adrian Kinross, had Junko Mori and Issei Masuda from Japan helping him cook and serve sizzling pan fried titbits. The Japanese duo were working on his bio-dynamic farm and learning about Kiwi culture. They asked me to take a photograph of them at the market, beaming huge smiles for my camera.
There were so many taste opportunities to choose from, including venison, gourmet pickles and chutneys, Mississippi Mud Cake, fresh fruits, organic breads, ostrich meat, fruit juices and French artisan foods. The bright red and yellow Orcona Chillies stall grabbed my attention. I tried their dried Jalapeno chilli powder, with the understated name of Dynamic Dust, which was sprinkled lightly onto the palm of my hand.
It was wickedly hot.
To end a perfect day in Hawke's Bay, I headed for McHardy House, situated on Napier's Northern Hill, with expansive views across the Pacific Ocean.
Over a century old, McHardy House has been sumptuously restored to its original grandeur by Markus Burkhard and Brenda Robins from Vancouver. They greeted me warmly on my arrival and proudly gave me a tour of the impressive surroundings.
Exquisite furnishings, upholstery, bed linens and furniture, coupled with a full size dining room in luscious greens and hues of pink, complemented the
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gourmet cuisine prepared by Swiss-born Markus. The impressive wine list was obviously selected with the same enthusiasm the two imparted as hosts. Come bedtime, I discovered the crisp sheets folded back on the firm bed, and two complimentary chocolates on the bedside table, with a sprig of red flowering pineapple sage for colour.
In my three days tiki touring I uncovered a wealth of wineries and food producers, passionate in their endeavours, knowledgeable and welcoming. As I packed to leave I was already planning to return in the future, to follow my nose around the many more attractions and festivities that I had yet to experience.
As I departed the area, I thought ahead to the wines, Russian kale, rocket and Mexican chillies that I had purchased along the way to take home. I would savour the flavours of Napier for a while longer.

AIRPORT SECURITY
(NZNEWS)

The Aviation Security Service (NZ) says passengers travelling to the United States or on US airlines may have to get to the airport up to six hours before departure. Spokesman Mark Everitt says airport security had been stepped up considerably after the September 11 attacks on the United States, with more intensive baggage and passenger scanning. He says many of the delays will be caused by the introduction of manual hand-searching of luggage.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health says it has measures in place to deal with anthrax or any other act of bioterrorism if the situation arises. Director-General Dr. Karen Poutasi says New Zealand is in regular contact with the World Health Organisation, and we have an established national emergency plan.
A New Zealand Red Cross nurse says aid agencies will have to renegotiate security arrangements before they can resume taking aid through to the needy in Afghanistan. Aid agencies have suspended convoys into Afghanistan because of the danger from US military action and because they fear the aid may be confiscated by the Taliban. Margaret Bryson was one of the last international Red Cross staff working in the country to leave and arrived back in Hastings a few weeks ago. She says whatever happens now, aid workers will be going back to a new scenario and it will be as if they were starting all over again. Margaret Bryson says she is concerned for the plight of millions of people in Afghanistan who rely on aid for survival.
WELLINGTON'S AIRPORT (Copyright by Brian
Harmer, reprinted by permission)

Wellington's airport comes in for much criticism from many sources. As I understand it, the International Airline Pilots Association says the single runway is too short, and that the steep drops at each end are positively dangerous. Not being a pilot, I am not well enough informed to take issue with those views. Perhaps I lack imagination, but I have never had the slightest apprehension as a passenger about flying into or out of Rongotai, and I have enjoyed that experience in DC3, Friendship, HS748, Viscount, 737, Metroliner, SAAB 340, DC8, Bandeirante, Dash 7, Dash 8, ATR 72, and BAe 146.
Of course there have been times when the arrival has been less than comfortable. A turbulent arrival from either direction is memorable to say the least. From the north, the sight of the aerial on the top of Mt. Victoria lurching up and down through thirty degrees of arc is quite exciting. From the south, the issue seems to be to keep the wings somewhere near horizontal in the rolling plane, and the nose pointed down the runway in the yaw axis. To judge from the frantic opening and closing of the lift dumping devices on the wings of the Boeings, the flight crew have their hands full in such conditions. The pilots usually manage to straighten up sometime after the aircraft crosses the threshold. It seems necessary to fly the aircraft positively into contact with the runway judging by the solid thump of arrival.
I like flying and everything to do with aviation. Thus when Mary wanted to go for a walk recently, and I was unable to join her following surgery on my foot, and unable to drive for medical reasons, I asked her to leave me in the car in the little parking area on the knoll off Calabar Road, where I had a clear view to the south down the runway and could watch the comings and goings.
Various small regional turboprop aircraft taxied busily along the runway, and disappeared behind the blast screen installed when Quantas first brought their stumpy 747SP aircraft here in the early 80s. Whatever became of those? Anyway, each aircraft duly turned into the southerly, to emerge moments later from behind the screen with fans spinning frantically, and accelerated off to the south. Some lifted quickly, heading skywards like an express elevator. Others made a long laboured climb of the kind I haven't seen since the Bristol Freighters of fond memory went out of service.
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On the horizon, the interisland ferry "Aratere" appeared, demonstrating that the horizon is much closer than it looks without a reference object. It moved steadily westward heading for Tory Channel looking like a stage prop towed on a string, and was soon out of sight.
On the other side of the field, there is that funny little hill, covered with houses, in the midst of which sits the control tower, an architectural oddity in a misplaced island of suburbia.
Freedom Air's bright yellow 737-300 came in over the northern boundary, and seemed to float forever before its wheels finally thumped down somewhere up near the defence hangar. Full shuddering reverse thrust slowed this improbable great canary to a trundling turn onto the main apron where it disappeared from my view.
In quick succession, two more 737s in the colours of Quantas and Air New Zealand floated in, each demonstrating the lifting power of those large flaps in the stiff Wellington breeze. Next in line after a respectful pause to allow the vortices from the three Boeings to dissipate, a little Tomahawk came waffling in, seemingly way too high, but dropping like the proverbial brick. Of course, it flared prettily just before it hit the runway, rolled along for a few meters, and then puttered off into the sky again like a sort of airborne Iawnmower. Of course, with so many movements on the runway, I did little of the reading I had planned while I waited for Mary. But for me at least, it was a restorative time.

TIlE GREAT SOUTHERN LAKES

The steamer of the 19th and 20th century is today's catamaran or jetboat. It provided critical passenger and cargo transport for both tourists and locals on our many lakes and rivers.
Manapouri and Te Anau:
The first Europeans to visit Fiordland were men of the sea. So it wasn't until 1852 that explorers ventured inland to find the great Lakes of Te Anau and Manapouri, which form the eastern boundaries of Fiordland National Park, one of the largest in the world. Te Anau is the largest lake in the South Island and Manapouri the deepest, and together they provide access and recreation to the sounds and walks of Fiordland.
Tourists are responsible for the first townships of Te Anau and Manapouri. With the opening of the Milford Track in 1890, accommodation and transport needs provided the impetus for these townships to
develop. As early as 1890, Captain Brod's Te Uira, was taking tourists to the head of Lake Te Anau to start the Milford Track, while Mr. Snodgrass's 24- room Lake Te Anau Hotel and Robert Murrell's Grandview House (Manapouri) were built. Two years later, the first tourist steamer, the Titiroa, was operating out on Manapouri.
As the Milford Track's reputation grew so did
the tourist traffic and the demand to see Fiordland.
By 1911 the Murrells had launched a new steamer, the Manurere on Manapouri and were taking tourists to Doubtful Sound.
Today, the great Murrell tradition of hospitality lives on, with Grandview House still providing accommodation — l990s style Bed and Breakfast, with hosts Jack and Klaske Murrell.
Wakatipu's 'lady' of the Lake:
Today's Lady of the Lake is as hard working as ever. At age 88 the TSS Earnslaw still does regular 14-hour summer days and sails 11 months of the year on Lake Wakatipu. She keeps up the historic tradition of more than 130 years of steamers on the Lake.
With an historic category one status protecting her, the TSS Earnslaw will keep her place as a Queenstown icon for many years to come.
Steamers first served the isolated communities on the shores of the Lake, both as passengers and cargo, starting in the gold rush days of the 1860s. The steamers were operated by a succession of local companies until they were bought by the Government in 1902.
Built in 1912, the TSS Earnslaw was the fourth government steamer for Lake Wakitipu. Her passenger and freight functions had dwindled by the early 1960s, with the new Kingston and Glenorchy roads (to Queenstown) signalling the demise of the steamboats.
In 1969 the Government granted a charter of the TSS Earnslaw to Fiordland Travel, who revived her tourist and scenic cruise capabilities and set her on a new path.
Today she hosts daily cruises with a stop-off option at Walter Peak High Country Farm, and claims among her famous passengers Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip, the King and Queen of Belgium, and the Prince of Thailand.


Please send in articles and letters for the next issue. I need them by January 15. Thank you.
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DRINK-CAN ROADSIDE LOOS GET GO- AHEAD - Stuff: National News

Transit NZ has given toilet maker Barry Lucinsky the all-clear to install his roadside drink-can toilets throughout New Zealand.
Eleven of the plastic toilets, which are equipped with a hand basin., paper towels, air freshener and a rubbish bin, have been tested at highway rest areas between Paekakariki and Sanson during the past six years.
Now Mr. Lucinsky is looking for shareholders to help expand his Te Horo-based Kiwi Loo business, trading under the name of Environmental Edeavour Co. He expects the toilets to be popular, citing an enthusiastic response from district councils on the West Coast.
The cleaning, emptying and restocking of the toilets is done by 69-year-old Mr. Lucinsky and his wife Anita two or three times a week. The busiest toilet is at Himatangi, used by up to 800 people a week and producing 2000 litres of waste every month.
Sponsorship of three of the toilets helps pay their costs, though Mr. Lucinsky said the business lost money for the first three years.
The former civil engineering contractor, a 35- year veteran of road building, excavation and site preparation in Wellington and Manawatu, became concerned at the amount of pollution going into streams and rivers from people using the outdoors as their toilet.
The solution to this problem came to him one day when he was drinking a can of beer.
"I started playing with it. I cut it open and made a door to fit on the side. I thought 'This could be it—why not give it a go'."
He took the idea to Transit chief executive Robin Dunlop, who agreed to a trial.
Mr. Lucinsky's dream is to see toilets, a rubbish bin and a waste collection bin at rest areas every 50 to 75 kilometres for the 5000 campervans using New Zealand's highways.
"It could be paid for by an extra 50 cents on
each car registration and would create employment. Best of all, it would mean a much cleaner environment," he said.


LORD OF THE RINGS COUNTRY The Complete Guide (from TheOneRing.net)

Where to see the enchanted world of Middle- earth, from Hobbiton's grassy knolls to the sinister terrain of Mordor and Mount Doom,
recreated by film director Peter Jackson in his native New Zealand. By Simon Cunliffe 13 October 2001 Lord of the Rings, let me see, is that the new Harry Potter story?
Where have you been? Not in Middle-earth evidently, nor in the far-flung reaches of the Antipodes. John Ronald Reuel Tolkien's famous trilogy, comprising The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King, was begun as a sequel to the Hobbit in 1938, but the first volume was not published until 1954.
The saga of a perilous quest by a small band of hobbits, elves, dwarves and men to save Middle- earth from dark forces my have begun with a cult following, but its subsequent trajectory is publishing history. Its evolution from fantastical fiction to post- modern cultural phenomenon—complete with merchandising—is about to be crowned with an ambitious movie trilogy filmed, at vast expense, in New Zealand.
Why New Zealand?
Putting aside the convoluted tale of Tolkien licensing rights, studio machinations, tax incentives and so on, New Zealand was chosen because the director Peter Jackson is, er, a New Zealander. In an early interview on his plans for the project, Jackson said: "New Zealand is the best country in the world to shoot this film, because of the variety of locations we have.
"A lot of our location shooting will be enhanced with a computer. We'll add a different sky to some scenes, play around with cloud formations, use rays of sunlight, do a lot of subtle tweaks on the computer to give it a magical ambience. But I want it to feel real. The ideal scenario is that you get a sense that we have gone to Middle-earth, that the castles are all still there. We have done this by taking our camera crew and extras and filmed it in the real places Tolkien wrote about." As Elijah Wood, who plays Frodo Baggins, says, "That's actually the first thing I thought when Peter showed me the pictures and things of the locations... This is Middle-earth. I mean, it has every sort of geographical, geological formation and landscape. It's got everything. So, it's absolutely perfect."
Is New Zealand one big film set, then?
No, not exactly. Tracts of the trilogy were shot in miniature with models and morphed into movie reality with digital wizardry. The "real-life" physical backdrops are there, but much of the project was filmed either on private property or Department of Conservation land, subsequently returned to its natural state.
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Fictional landmarks are often constructed from a number of locations, sometimes hundreds of kilo- metres apart. Throw in the zealous measures taken by the film company to protect its intellectual property and licensing rights, and you have to know where to look.
Lead on then, Bilbo.
November is a great month to go. Besides being early summer in NZ, the leading airlines-- Singapore Airlines, Air New Zealand and Quantas— have cut London-Auckland fares to below 600 pounds. Let's assume you have flown into New Zealand's largest city with vivid cinematic images of The Fellowship of the Ring interfering with your sleep patterns, the standard guidebook in your suitcase and a loosely formed plan to head south. Let's also assume that, for economy's sake, you are equally interested in locations that are "in the can" but will not appear in your local cinema until the release of Rings II and III, at Christmas 2002 and 2003 respectively.
Starting at Hobbiton, of course.
Rent a car and head south-east to the picturesque and relaxing Coromandel Peninsula to slough off the jet lag for a day or so. Turning back in- land on your quest proper, head for the grassy Waikato plains. Not exactly on the tourist route, Matamata is a small farming centre hitherto famous for the odd sporting hero, some nearby hot pools, the butterfat yields of its dairy industry and not a lot else. Still, it was in these environs that the village of Hobbiton, with its famous hobbit-hole Bag End, was built and filmed. Whether Matamata is ready for an influx of hobbit-spotters is another matter. Locals are reputedly puzzled by all the fuss. Tourism Coromandel: 00 64 7 868 5985; www.thecoromandel.com.
And then?
Head south through the Waikato towards Lake Taupo and beyond to Tongariro National Park; Destination Lake Taupo (00 64 7 376 0403, www.laketauponz.com ) can help. Encompassing the mountains of Ngauruhoe, Tongariro and the still-live volcano of Ruapehu, the park provided footage for Mordor, the slopes of Mount Doom and the plains of Gorgoroth.
One of New Zealand's better-known and pop- ular day-long hikes, the Tongariro Crossing traverses the lunar landscapes, crater lakes and sulphurous geo- thermal crevices of the region. On an overcast day, with the mist closing in, shut your eyes and you'll smell the Black Riders at your back. Time to make tracks to the capital. +
Windy Wellington?
Correct. Home of Peter Jackson's burgeoning cinematic empire, including the renowned Weta Digital effects studio, the capital city and its environs provided set and studio locations for numerous scenes in the trilogy. Outer Shire, Chetwood forest, the Weathertop hillside, Bree streets, Bree Gate, Helm's Deep, the Black Gate of Mordor and Minas Tirith; all were shot here.
Wellington fancies itself as the new home of LOTR; a big rebranding exercise around the Tolkien project has been envisaged. That initiative appears to have fallen foul of the limitless legal tentacles of the project's intellectual property right provisions. But Totally Wellington Tourism (00 64 4 916 1208, www. wellingtonnz.com) will offer pointers and anecdotes to Rings fanatics on an informal basis.
While in the capital you will want to visit Te Papa (our place), the national museum of New Zealand. Regarded, alternately, as a multi-million- dollar amusement arcade or the very model of a major postmodern museum, Te Papa is thought to be negoti- ating for the rights to mount a travelling Lord of the Rings exhibition. Stroll along the waterfront from Te Papa and into the heart of the city's café culture. Until recently Spot The Cast Member was a favourite sport among Wellington patrons. "Isn't that Sean Bean over there?" "Look, there goes Liv Tyler." "No, silly, that's Cate Blanchett."
So where to now?
Pop your seasickness pills and take the ferry to the South Island. Cook Strait is not exactly the Great Sea of Middle-earth, but it can cut up pretty rough. Sometimes, though, the two to three-hour trip can be as smooth as glass. You are heading for the Nelson/Golden Bay region, but as your journey brings you to Marlborough. you should linger for a day or so among the vineyards. This is prime sauvignon blanc country, but don't pass up the chardonnays and pinot noirs by Cloudy Bay, Montana, Allan Scott, Hunters, Seresin Wine Estate, Oyster Bay and many other first- rate producers.
Nelson is no slouch in the wine department either, but to get back on the trail, you need to head for Takaka Hill and Golden Bay. This massive, mountain- ous outcrop topped by limestone and granite formations overlooks the Abel Tasman National Park, which offers one of the most beautiful shoreline walking tracks in New Zealand. The hill, which in less dramatic country would surely classify as a mountain, has made a name for itself w,ith an annual New Year rave called The Gathering (more from Latitude Nelson: 00 64 3 546 6228; www.neIsonnz.com).
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The road over it is sufficiently steep and wind- ing to discourage visitors, which makes Golden Bay on the other side all the more enticing. Chetwood forest was filmed on the hill, and beyond on Mount Olympus, not easily accessible, the Eregion Hills and rough country south of Rivendell.
You could turn back from the biblically named Canaan Downs near the top, but as you have come this far it would be a shame not to explore the region further. Walk into the Mussel Inn at Onekaka, a few kilometres beyond Takaka, for instance, and you could be entering the Prancing Pony Inn at Bree. Try a home-brewed Pale Whale Ale, Golden Goose lager or Strong Dark Ox and enjoy the company of local artists, farmers, alternative lifestylers and holiday- makers while enjoying a bowl of mussel chowder and planning the next leg.
Westward Ho!
For the purist, a trip down the rugged West Coast may be more pain than gain, and they may de- cide to bypass the west, head for Christchurch and take a rail trip south on the TranzAlpine Express. But they will miss out on the striking beauty of the moun- tain passes and wild coastlines, plus the Franz Joseph glacier area, which has a cameo in the trilogy. A visit to the glacier itself, regarded by many as a highlight of any trip to NZ, should more than make up for the paucity of hobbit sightings. Never fear, richer pickings—not to mention some hair-raising adven- tures—are to be had to the southeast.
Bungee jumping, sport of hobbits? -
Probably not, since by repute—and contrary to the deeds of Frodo and his pals—the little people discouraged excessive or adventurous behaviour.
Nonetheless, the road south from the glaciers through the Haast Pass to the Wanaka area (home to the East Road where the Black Riders chase Frodo and Arwen), eventually brings you to Queenstown, adven- ture capital of the south. If hurling yourself off bridges attached to this good life only by a pair of giant rubber bands is not your thing, how about a spot of tandem parapenting (a cross between hang-gliding and para- chuting)?
High above Lake Wakatipu, in the face of the Remarkables mountains, would be an excellent vantage point to spot the locations that hosted scenes from the West Road, the White Mountains, the Pillars of Argonath, Osgiliath hilltop and the Ford of Bruinen. At Glenorchy, up the lake a little, Lothiorien woods, the slopes of Amon Hen and the outskirts of Fangorn forest took celluloid shape.
At nearby Arrowtown Recreational Reserve, an old goldmining town, more footage of the Ford of Bruinen was shot, and further south near Te Anau, staging post for a trip to the famous Milford Sound are the scenes at the Dead and midgewater marshes. But it's time to head north again.
North by Northwest
Heading back in the direction of Christchurch with the magnificent Alps on your left, you pass through the township of Twizel. A nearby sheep station, Ben Ohau, was the site for the battle of Pelennor Fields, one of the most important clashes in the saga of Middle-earth. The area also pops up as the foothills of the White Mountains.
Further north still, near Mount Somers in the Rangitata Valley, Edoras in Middle-earth's Rohan rose off a peak in the foothills of the range. It looked spectacular at the time, but like most other sets has since been dismantled.
Back-track across the Rangitata river, head up the valley on the south side, and you will eventually find a sheep station called Mesopotamia. This was the run founded by a young Samuel Butler in the 1 860s after he arrived in the infant colony eager to seek his fortune. It was amid these spectacular backdrops that he conceived his own imaginary world of Erewhon.
Journey's end
Samuel Butler had set out from Christchurch, and although Wellington lays claim to Peter Jackson, arguably it was as much from Christchurch that the director embarked on his own quest to helm one of the most ambitious movie projects ever. Much of his critically acclaimed Heavenly Creatures, (the tale of the Parker-Hulme murder that scandalised Christ- church in the 1950s, and even now makes it blush), was filmed in the vicinity of the city. And just over the sun-seamed Port Hills, there's the harbour town of Lyttelton, where the colony's "first four ships" landed in 1850. Here, in the mid-1990s, Peter Jackson produced his special effects bonanza, the Frighteners, starring Michael J. Fox.
Take a stroll, or a punt, along the Avon, the shallow river that meanders through the city, step into the cathedral that dominates the central square, or wander through the Botanic Gardens. Christchurch and Canterbury Marketing (00 64 3 353 1188; www.christchurchnz.net ) can help you feel at home. It's easy to imagine J R R Tolkien being comfortable here.
Was Tolkien a Kiwi?
No, I'm afraid not. South Africa can lay some claim to the young man born in Bloemfontein in the
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Orange Free State in 1892, but that's probably as close as he came to the land of the long white cloud. The New Zealand phone books stubbornly resist blandish- ments to produce Tolkien heirs or relatives, the closest being one or two namesakes who turn up in Australia. Still, if atom-splitter Ernest Rutherford can be passed off as a Porn and Sir Edmund Hillary can be the figurehead of the "British" expedition that conquered Mount Everest, there will be those who are only too willing to suggest that it is merely an accident of his- tory that Tolkien is not a Kiwi. At the very least, as The Fellowship of the Ring hits the big screen in Dec- ember, and all those magnificent locations are evident for all to see, he will duly be accorded honorary Kiwi status.
Meanwhile, back in Oxford...
where Tolkien was professor of Anglo- Saxon, the Tolkien Society (18 Howard Street, Oxford OX4 3BE, www.tolkiensociety.org ) can provide back- ground on the man who made the hobbit.
What it means for New Zealand
The filming of The Lord of the Rings and its impending release is anticipated to be the biggest thing for New Zealand since the America's Cup came to Auckland, "an unparallelled opportunity to promote New Zealand to the world", in government-speak. Film New Zealand, the New Zealand Film Com- mission, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tourism New Zealand, Creative New Zealand, Trade New Zealand and Investment New Zealand are all hoping to hitch a ride on Gandaif's cloak-tails.
To iron out potential roadblocks in this ambitious quest, Pete Hodgson, the Associate Minister of Economic Development, who also handles the portfolios of Technology and Trade, has been unof- ficially designated Minister for Lord of the Rings. "If this movie is going to be as big as people are saying, then presumably we have to see some marketing opportunities for New Zealand Inc," says a spokes- man. "Mr. Hodgson has simply been identified by cabinet as the person best placed to take charge of co- ordinating these efforts."
While no one is prepared to put figures on the potential returns, tourism operatives are anticipating the film's release with a certain frustrated excitement. Tourism is one of New Zealand's biggest foreign- exchange earners. At local levels, people are already fielding interest, but find themselves hamstrung. Everyone involved in the production of the trilogy was required to sign a confidentiality form preventing them from talking to the media, or from revealing details of the film's production. A Wellington
newspaper, which produced a poster of local sets to give away to readers, was prevented from doing so in the courts. The production company is evidently keeping its powder dry for a coordinated roll-out.- Nonetheless, excitement at the prospect of
release is rising. New Zealand, which bobs about on the high seas of world economic trends, is expecting the current downturn to have an effect. It will take a magic wand to avoid a serious buffeting.
Helen Clark's Labour government, grappling with fallout from the US terrorist attacks, and having to repurchase the national airline to save it, will be hoping The Fellowship of the Ring will do the business.

NEW ZEALAND VIDEOS - Charles Eggen

Just a note to let you know that I now have information on some 90 NZ film titles at my website (http://www.nzvideos.org), and have just put up information on over 30 soundtrack CDs, related to those films.
I have just received another 9 film videos, which I will include before the end of the year. The soundtrack info includes LORD OF THE RINGS — FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, which is being released to theatres December 20. The info includes links to sites that allow hearing audio clips of the soundtrack. The latest info is listed within the NEWS section of the site.
LATER - from Charles Eggen
The NZ Post Official Lord of the Rings Products Website can now be viewed at http://www.nzstamps.co.nz
The Peter Jackson authorized Official Lord of the Rings New Zealand Stamp Site is launched. Orders may be placed for a variety of postal stamp items, including: stamps, cards, first day covers, and booklets. Full graphic details can be viewed at the site. Shipping costs are nominal, and all prices are in New Zealand dollars.

CRUISE SHIP VISITS UP FOR NEW SEASON

The cruise ship season officially sets sail this month and there will be a record number of ships visiting New Zealand ports getting a taste of sailing the untroubled waters of Aotearoa.
Despite the recent international events, "the overall figure of cruise liners heading to New Zealand is substantially up on previous years," says Chairperson of Cruise New Zealand Craig Harris. "340 port calls will be made by vessels this season. That is a huge increase on last season where 240 port calls were made."
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For the first time, a number of new ports have been opened up to cruise liners. They include Golden Bay, Nelson., White Island, Coromandel and Akaroa. Commitments have also been made for the 2002-2003 season.
However, says Craig, the horrific events of
September 11 have taken their toll. "Approximately 47
port calls have been cancelled which equates to 6000
less visitors coming to our shores," he said.
The terrorist attacks also had a severe impact on one cruise ship company. Renaissance Cruises, which accounts for 2% of the global cruise ship market. went under as a direct result of the events in the United States. This would have been their first season in New Zealand. A number of other cruise liners have gone into temporary layup.

ALL BLACKS UPDATE - Stephen J. Mangum

The New Zealand All Blacks concluded the Tri-Nations/Bledisloe Cup with a heartbreaking 29-26 loss to Australia at Sydney on September 1, 2001. The AB's staged a great comeback to lead 26-22, only to fall to a last minute try after turning over the ball. Following the match, Wayne Smith resigned as coach.
John Mitchell was chosen as the new coach by the New Zealand Rugby Football Union selectors. Mitchell, 37, is a veteran forward who previously served as assistant coach for England and most recently was head coach for Waikato. He received a contract through the 2003 Rugby World Cup.
Upon completion of the NPC season, Mitchell chose a 30 man squad for the fall international tour of Ireland, Scotland, and Argentina. The team is a good mix of veterans and 11 new players. Several well known players were dumped from the team including Tame Randell and Jeff Wilson.
New Zealand opened with a hard-fought 40- 29 win over Ireland in Dublin. Trailing 21-7 early in the second half, the boys opened up with tries to Ruben Thorne, Doug Howlett, Aaron Mauger, Jonah Lomu, and replacement Dave Hewett. Two new caps, Mauger and openside flanker Richard McCaw, both age 20, played brilliantly. McCaw was named man of the match. Ireland showed great improvement but failed to beat the AB's for the 15th consecutive time since 1905.
Over 67,000 turned out one week later as Scotland hosted NZ at Murrayfield, Edinburgh. It was a defensive struggle with New Zealand leading 9-6 at halftime behind the boot of Andrew Mehrtens. Finally, with 8 minutes left, the All Blacks exploded for tries by Tana Umaga, Mark Robinson, and Jonah Lomu. Mehrtens scored 22 points on penalty and conversion kicks. Scotland gave it a good try but still has never defeated New Zealand. Byron Kelleher and Leon McDonald both sustained injuries and flew back to New Zealand.
Mitchell can be pleased by the 80 minute effort shown in both tests, but the squad made far too many handling errors and again had lineout problems.
The All Blacks midweek squad also defeated the Ireland A and Scotland A teams.
South Africa and Australia both toured Europe for several matches. Both lost to England and France. England has shown lots of improvement, so at the present time the rugby union world appears to be in flux with no one dominant team.
My choice for match of the year was the third and deciding test between Australia and British
and Irish Lions in Sydney. After 8 lead changes, the Aussies finally head off a late charge from the Lions to pull out a 29-23 victory. It was top quality all the way as both skilled teams fought till they dropped.
My pick for player of the year is the great Australian lock and captain John Eales. He led his team to the Rugby World Cup, two Tn-Nations Cups, and four consecutive Bledisloe Cups vs New Zealand. Eales retired from international competition after the Lions series.
More news to come in future KIWIphile issues about forthcoming action and changes to occur on the rugby world horizon. Until next time, play on!

NIFTY OVER FIFTY
WALKING ON THE WILDSIDE
(Escorted by Jan Coyle)
March 14-April 1, 2002

Since our 2001 tour was such a success we have made very few changes to that itinerary. In fact, the only major change is the addition of two nights in the lovely city of Christchurch to hike and have lunch with members of a local walking club; also a change in the location of our farmstay to an area where deer farms are mixed with sheep and cattle.
This is not a birdwatching tour, neither is it a grueling program of heavy duty mountain climbing and long distance hiking. Rather, it is a relaxed trip
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through New Zealand spending as little time as possible in the coach and as much time as possible enjoying daily walks in a variety of locations where wildlife is abundant. We will have ample opportunity to observe the variety of native forest plants and birdlife, and to linger at points of interest along the way. The walks may be shortened or lengthened to suit the individual, and they are optional.
We will have time to explore the cities of Auckland and Christchurch, the thermal areas of Rotorua, the mountains of the Southern Alps and the glaciers of the West Coast, the magnificence of Fiordland and Milford Sound and the tranquil beauty of Stewart Island, and, as we wander, we will become familiar with the plants and creatures who share these islands.
We will also make friends with the non-avian Kiwis as we hike with them, share meals in their homes, enjoy an overnight farmstay and experience a genuine cultural event with a Maori family in Rotorua. Definitely not on the usual tourist route!
This year we are not following with an Australia trip but, should you also wish to visit Australia, it is a very simple matter to add on Great Barrier or anywhere else in that country. For the really laid back, we strongly recommend spending a couple of extra days relaxing on Stewart Island in New Zealand or, for the more energetic, add on the guided Hollyford Valley walk or Abel Tasman guided walking and sea kayaking.
Pacific Pathways, 1919 Chula Vista Drive, Belmont, CA 94002 PH: (650) 595 2090 FAX: (650) 591 7721
E-Mail: nzaustours@pacificpathways.com
Website: www.pacificpathways.com

NEW TRACK OPENS DOOR TO DEEP SOUTH

When Humpridge Track opened on November 1st it was to become the southernmost walking track
in New Zealand.
Hotly anticipated by locals and international visitors for its spectacular and varied scenery, the three-day, 53-kilometre adventure is located at the southern end of the Fiordland National Park.
Operations Manager Bill Mannix says no one will go home disappointed. "In three days you'll see wonderful forests with towering Rimu, stunning coast- line, unique wildlife including seals and Hector's Dolphins. The area is also steeped in Maori and European history."
The track is expected to provide a significant economic boost to the region, drawing an extra 4000 travellers each year. The Trust expects the majority of
visitors to be from within New Zealand in the first 12 months, but as word spreads Bill Mannix believes there'll be significant overseas interest.
DOC and the Hump Ridge Track Trust are working closely together for four years to look at impact on the environment of these extra visitors. DOC officer Tony Lockwood is confident therell be no adverse effects.
"Safeguards have been put in place and the area will be closely monitored to ensure the wilderness does not suffer."
Among the strict conditions is the limit of only 40 people per day on the track, not allowing water taken from streams and lakes and extensive boardwalking of parts of the track.
But like most of New Zealand's walking tracks, Mannix cautions the Hump Ridge Track is for the well prepared and fit.
(Advance bookings essential. Tuatapere Flump Ridge Track [rust office, P0 Box 21. Tuatapere, Southland. NZ. PH +64 3 2266739 www.humpridgetrack.co.nz )

THINGS WITH THE WORD 'KIWI' IN THE TITLE - (from "No. 8 WIRE, The Best of Kiwi Ingenuity")

This section of the book is a cold, hard, factual look at some things with the word "kiwi" in them. Unfortunately trying to claim any of these things as Kiwi inventions is the very definition of clutching at straws....
First of all comes the kiwi bird. It is entirely indigenous to New Zealand. Nobody else can claim it, but while we should be proud of it, it is not an invention of ours at all.
Next comes the Kiwi boot polish. You're not going to like this. The company that made Kiwi polish started making it in 1906. It has become an international success story, expanding to Britain and the United States as well as France, Canada, South Africa, Spain and Pakistan. The polish has made the word "kiwi" a commonplace word all over the world. The company didn't invent shoe polish, just made a new kind, but that's not the bad bit. Here's the bit you won't like: the company is Australian. In 1901 William Ramsay visited New Zealand from Melbourne. He married a woman from Oamaru called Annie Meek. Later, back in Melbourne, he started making the soon-to-be-famous polish and his wife suggested the name "Kiwi". Kiwi polish is Aussie.
Ramsay's wife didn't suggest calling the polish "Kiwi" after the people of New Zealand, because we weren't known as Kiwis until a little later.
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lndeed, the first time the kiwi is thought to have been used as an emblem was in 1887, when the University of Auckland used three kiwis on its seal. In 1905. the New Zealand Herald printed the first known cartoon where a kiwi was used to represent New Zealand, depicting a huge kiwi eating the Welsh rugby team. The existence of the Australian boot polish may in fact have added impetus to the naming of our people. During the first World War, the polish was widely used by Allied troops, and "kiwi" became a well-known word. By the end of the war, it was common to call New Zealanders and things New Zealand, Kiwi. But that isn't a New Zealand invention either, it's just a name.
The kiwifruit was first grown in the Yangtze Valley in China. Its name in Chinese (which it would be fair to say is its real name) translates to mean "Monkey Peach", maybe because while it is yummy like a peach, it is hairy like a monkey. In the 1940s and '50s, many New Zealand homes had a vine in their backyard. Because the tree was from China, and despite the fact that the fruit looks absolutely nothing like a gooseberry, the fruit was called the Chinese gooseberry by New Zealanders.
The fruit would have stayed named that if it hadn't been for the fact that during the late 1940s Turners and Growers began exporting the fruit to the United States. The Americans had a problem with the name "Chinese gooseberry" as it seemed to describe another fruit altogether (and a yucky one at that). The Turner brothers put their thinking caps on and came up with "melonettes", Nice, yes, but anything to do with melons attracts a 35 percent import duty in America so the name was dropped. Figuring that the word "kiwi" was the only word that foreigners would associate uniquely with New Zealand, they renamed the fruit "kiwifruit".
While New Zealanders did not invent the kiwifruit, we did perfect it by refining the plant to produce perfect fruit for human consumption. It remains today our largest horticultural export, and might be larger if it weren't for the fact that we also exported the plants so that other countries like Chile could benefit from the world kiwifruit boom. Some people see that as a mistake, but let's look at it as a form of foreign aid.
Since we could not patent the kiwifruit, or even trademark the name, the kiwifruit marketing agency has come up with an appellation for New Zealand kiwifruit that no one else is allowed to use. Just like only sparkling wine from the French province of Champagne is allowed to be called "Champagne", only kiwifruit from New Zealand can be called "Zespri". This way we'll all get rich!

BOOKS
Legends of Aotearoa (Winitana and Reisinger)
Fourteen Maori stones and legends from different tribes and regions are sensitively retold and portrayed, with superb photographs, in this unique book celebrating the rich tapestry of our natural and cultural heritage. (NZ$59.95)
Spinners (Anthony McCarten)
The setting is the semi-rural Opunake perched on the western edge of North Island's Mount Taranaki. McCarten, described by Esquire as "a kiwi-flavored Garrison Keillor," starts with the unlikely claim by several of the town's teenagers that they have been impregnated by spacemen. What follows will leave you rolling in laughter. No wonder this will soon be a movie. (from Book Passage News & Reviews) (US$13)


The first step to bringing peace into the world is to realize the peace that
alreadp dwells within you... Anonymous


HELP YOUR FELLOW KIWIPHILES!
Some of you must have been in NZ during the last year or so. Please send along your notes, your memories, your suggestions to help others in their planning. THANKS.
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