Volume XVII, No.2

DECEMBER 2004

FROM N TO Z(ED)

A hike's a tramp, a trail's a track, a teapot's a billy, meadows are paddocks, cabins are huts, a Z's a Zed, and a kiwi's a flightless bird or a fruit or a New Zealander.

NEW ZEALAND - YOU HAVE IT ALL

Recent results from international media around the world show the variety of experiences that are being talked about in the world's publications. The following are some recent highlights of Tourism New Zealand's international Media Programme, supported by the major airlines and the Regional Tourism Organisations of New Zealand.

Skiing the World

"Sometimes the things that are at our backdoor are the things we take for granted. New Zealand is one of the most beautiful countries on earth, and Queenstown, in the country's Deep South optimizes this beauty. . . when my partner started crying when we walked across the tarmac to Queenstown's quaint international airport, it reminded me just how special this place is." (Andrea Clarke, "Holidays for Couples "Australia Autumn/Winter edition 2004)

New Zealand-You can have it all!

New Zealand is heaven on earth for lovers of fine wines, nature and history, the arts and recreational sports, With a kaleidoscope of differing landscapes, from rolling hillsides and snowy peaks to rugged coastlines and dense forests, this island country is a "you can have it all" kind of place. (Linda Lange, "AAA Going Places" USA, March/April 2004)

New Zealand - Land's End

Having traversed the world a fair bit, I am not easily impressed. A bit jaded, my attitude to travelling is at the moment "been there done that". I want to be

taken by surprise, jolted out of my ennui. And it seems

I am not to be disappointed. (Rohit Chawla, India

Today, TravelPius, India, July 2004)

Das Land der weissen wolke - Land of the Long

White Cloud

With the smallest available room, an incredible variety of geographical, geological and botanical forms have manifested themselves to form spectacular natural scenery, leaving their witnesses completely astonished. The North Island plus the South Island add up to a simple equation whose answer is always the same. Paradise. (Roland F Karl, Tours Magazine, Germany, May/June 2004)

Hobbit-forming

Wellington today is more than hobbit

forming, it's absolutely positively addictive. (Rob

Ingram, Chris Chen, Australian Gourmet Traveliler,

Australia, May 2004)

12,000 miles to hook a man, but it was really New

Zealand I fell in love with.

"It says a great deal about the extraordinary beauty and hospitality of this unique land that despite my romantic efforts failing dismally, I still managed to come home a little bit in love.. .with the breathtaking variety of the landscape and the overwhelming gener osity of spirt of these islands at the other end of the world." (Frances Barber. The Mail on Sunday, United Kingdom, June 2004)

DEATH OF MAURICE SHADBOLT

New Zealand lost another of its renowned authors recently with the death of 72 year old Maurice Shadbolt. This follows the deaths of Michael King and Janet Frame in the past 12 months.

Shadbolt wrote his first book in 1959-"The New Zealanders"-and over the years published many novels, short stories, non-fiction titles, autobiographies and plays.

In 1989 he was awarded the CBE for services to literature and over the years won many premier literary awards including the New Zealand book of the year award four times and the Katherine Mansfield Short Story award three times.

His final five years saw his health deteriorate due to the onset of Alzheimers and he only wrote 3 books in this period.

TOMB OF THE UNKNOWN WARRIOR

In a moving ceremony, the remains of an unknown Kiwi soldier was laid to rest at the National War Memorial in Wellington on the anniversary of Armistice Day, the 11th November. The remains were exhumed from a gravesite in the Caterpillar Valley Cemetery near the village of Longueval, France, and transported back by the Air Force. The casket containing the remains lay in state at Parliament over night prior to a service at Wellington's Cathedral and then a parade through the streets of the city to its final resting place.

250,000 New Zealanders have served overseas with our anned forces with 30,000 losing their lives in service. The Unknown Warrior is one of over 9,000 who have no grave or whose remains could not be recovered. It is over 80 years since the idea for a New Zealand Tomb was first raised but political and financial concerns kept it from becoming a reality. However in 1999 the idea was again raised and in 2002 the Labour Government reached an agreement with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission to repatriate the remains of a New Zealand soldier killed in the First World War.

MILFORD ROAD INFO

Many people travel the Milford Road each year, particularly in the summer months of October to April. Drivers need to be aware that they will share the road with cars, coaches, campervans and minibuses.

The journey from Te Anau to Milford Sound takes a minimum of two hours driving without allowing for the many stops at scenic points and walkways. Drivers also need to bear in mind that delays can occur at the Homer Tunnel and other areas along the high way. Remember, there are no fuel stops or stations between Te Anau and Milford, and at 240 km you need to ensure that you have sufficient fuel before leaving Te Anau.

Milford is a scenic highway with the road fully

sealed and maintained to state highway standards, but is still a challenging and, in places, narrow and winding drive.

Take advantage of Te Anau-based local tour operators offering trips to the Sound, allowing you to view the scenery without the hassle of driving.

GREETINGS FROM TAILORED TRAVEL

Hi again. It's SPRING in New Zealand! We consider the 1st of September the start of Spring-why wait for the 21st?

FLIGHTS: You will notice that there are unbelievably good deals with Air New Zealand at the moment. They are revamping their air points system (change over by 17 November 2004) which will greatly affect New Zealanders with the air points. They have a new connection from San Francisco (starting in November) with direct flights in and out of Christchurch. This is great for trips focused on the South Island.

STATISTIC: For the first time in 17 years New Zealand has an unemployment rate of only 4%, source www.stats.govt.nz. Something New Zealand is proud of.

HISTORY (our 10 year milestone reached):

When I made the change after 5+ years leading South Island walking tours to my own company, my objectives were to focus on personal, private and quality New Zealand experiences for individual and discerning travelers. I am still maintaining this objective after 10 years! I have not conceded to large groups and lots of guides; it's still one very trusty part- time guide and myself. Consistently delivering the highest standards and personal experiences, I am proud of the feedback, which is not only "We had the best time" but more in-depth comments like "Being the perfect travel companion" and "excellent choice of accommodations", "exactly what we were looking for".

GUIDED TOURS: For people who want to KNOW the country rather than just see it, I provide a highly professional, unique, personal and private experience. This is endorsed by Qualmark New Zealand (a 5 star service so to speak).

Robert Panzer, Managing Director, Tailored Travel New Zealand Custom Tours, Thorpe-RD2 Wakefield-Nelson--New Zealand

(Phone 64 3 543 3825 - Fax 64 3 543 3640)
www.customtours.co.nz

COROMANDEL

The township of Coromandel is situated on an inlet called McGregor Bay and was named after the British Navy ship "HMS Coromandel" which anchored first off Colville on 13 June 1820. The ship stayed in the Hauraki Gulf for 12 months, then went back to England with a load of timber.

Captain James Cook visited the area in 1769. The first European settler to the Coromandel was a trader by the name of Bill Webster, a jovial American who was a deserter from an American whaling ship who set up his trading post on Whanganui Island (which is situated at the entrance to the Coromandel Harbour) in the 1830s. He was a carpenter by trade and after learning the Maori language, he used Maori labour to build small schooners and prepare timber cargoes for the Australian market. This island became the proposed site for the city of Auckland. One guest of Mr. Webster was a John Logan Campbell who moved to Waiomu and then to Auckland and later donated One Tree Hill to the city of Auckland. He has the "Logan Campbell Centre" in Auckland as a memorial also.

Another guest was Sir George Grey who came to Whanganui Island to obtain two signatures for the Treaty of Waitangi.

Coromandel first became known for its kauri trees, which were milled, clearing the countryside of its natural cover. Thousands of feet of timber was taken from the forests and the ruination of the great kauri forests began. From 1796 vessels were loaded with kauri which would be used for the masts and spars of the British navy. People began to realise the rape of the forests, but it was too late, as nearly 3/4 of the magnificent forests were felled. When milling finally ended, the forests that were once 200,000 hectares were reduced to 5000 hectares. A billion feet of timber was taken from this area within 20 years.

The first recorded gold discovery in New Zealand is marked by the naming of Rings Road, after Charles Ring who discovered gold in 1852. Mining for gold began in the early 1 860s and remains of mines and batteries can be seen along the associated walks but there is little trace of the outlying settlements which often boasted schools, halls, hotels and shops. In the peak of the gold rush days during 1880 through to the early 1900s, the population of Coromandel was well over 12,000 and had 19 hotels. Some of the old buildings are still standing today.

The School of Mines which is a fascinating place to visit, contains many relics of those early

years. It was built in 1898 to teach all aspects of mining and mines engineering.

Mussel and oyster farms are being established in the Coromandel Harbour and outlying islands, supplying shellfish of superior quality for export and to the city markets. Fishing and boating in and around the many islands of the harbour is fairly lucrative for

the holiday fisherman with kahawai, schnapper, and gumard being the common fish caught. There are sheltered beaches, exposed sandy beaches, rock strewn coves, open and sheltered water for recreation.

Cape Colville (58km north of Coromandel and named by Captain Cook after a Rear Admiral Colville in the British Navy) looks out on the Watchman, and Little and Great Barrier Islands, Little Barrier Island is mountainous, rising steeply out of the sea and is densely forested with pohutukawas, rata, kauri and tawa trees. The island is also a bird sanctuary with the only access by launch or amphibian aircraft, with landing by permit only.

Castle Rock (1710), majestic, dominant and shrouded with Maori legend, guides the modem yachts of the day into Coromandel. Harbour as it did to seafarers of the past.

ANOTHER SOUTH ISLAND ADVENTURE -

by Eva Trapani

Again, in April of this year ('04) I flew to New Zealand with my son Mike, his wife Pam, and two granddaughters-Annie (12) and Isabel (8). Nine teen-year-old Bonnie couldn't get off from school and work right away, so she flew down a few days later, and we picked her up at the great little Queenstown airport. (She was thrilled to be on the same plane with Buzz Aldrin who came to the huge international Wanaka Air Show). We had driven past the site of the show earlier, encountering masses of cars, but handled quite well by the authorities.

We landed in Auckland and took the flight to Christchurch 2 or 3 hours after arrival. We had a brief visit with Christchurch friends, then off to Arthur's Pass in our 6-passenger campervan.

It was exciting stopping at Woolworth's supermarket on the way out of town. So much great food to buy-some new temptations, other old favorites. One of our special treats on this trip turned out to be Anzac biscuits (story below). I'm sure they were always there, but we hadn't tried them. We brought home 2 or 3 packages of the gingery cookies, and part of a package is still in my freezer, to be enjoyed slowly over time.

The Arthur's Pass road was most enjoyable. The winding, narrow road has been tamed somewhat since the last time we drove it. When we arrived at Greymouth, on the west coast, we saw a cemetary and had to stop. The headstones were mostly for people who had died in the 1896 mine disaster. The mine site, no longer working, is being restored to its original condition. We had visited the site six years before when the area had grown wild. We enjoyed it both ways.

A new discovery at Greymouth for us, having been through there many times in the last 20+ years:

was the Greymouth Seawall. What a magnificent, exhilarating place to be! It was difficult to drive away and leave it. We wanted to stay on for hours.

We were fascinated by the Tasman Sea in all its magnificence, crashing onto the boulders and the seawall! We watched a fishing boat making its slow way through the treacherous sea.

On a memorial monument at the site we read sad stories of seamen who lost their lives in these waters, at this bar, over the years.

In the southerly distance were the white tops of the Alps glistening in the sun. If you drive through Greymouth try to find the seawall south of the city. It's in the area of Arthur Fong Park and Messenger Park, at Collins Street and Packers Quay. I think you will be thrilled and well rewarded.

On the Haast Pass road one day, Mike pulled the van off the road and we spotted a small sign- BLUE POOLS, and decided to take the 30 minute walk through the woods. Very soon Annie and I were excited to see tiny Riflemen (birds) exploring the trees and foliage for food. With our presence, they disappeared quickly.

A bit farther on we all took the steps up to a suspension bridge leading to the unbelievable blue pools. There's no way to describe the brilliant blue of those waters which were situated in a rocky canyon.

Near the waters we were greeted by a charming, friendly little Fantail flitting to and fro in its adorable way-tumbling in the air, seemingly for our entertainment. Several of them lit on branches and fence rails close enough to be touched. Don't miss this special stop along the road. We were fortunate to be at that spot in perfect weather. Others may come there after a rain, and the pools will not be at their best.

In Queenstown we picked up Bonnie at the great little airport and drove to Arrowtown, planning to stop at our beloved Stone Cottage for lunch or Devonshire tea. The Stone Cottage is gone!

Something new is going in that spot. That was a big disappointment for me.

Our campervan trips in New Zealand have been simple. We do almost all our meals, and enjoy shopping in the supermarkets. One of the new dishes we came up with this time was boiled kumera mashed with cream cheese. One evening, that, along with egg and cheese sandwiches and hokey-pokey ice cream for dessert was a banquet for us, crowded around the campervan table. Sometimes we made up a chocolate mousse mix served with lots of real whipped cream beaten up tediously with an old-fashioned egg beater.

Before we drove away from Queenstown we drove up Deer Park Hill to see the view and a few of the many Lord of the Ring sites. We met many animals along the winding road-a few sheep, cattle, pigs, llamas, goats-all friendly and hoping for a handout. The views from the narrow, twisting roads are indescribable, and there were rainbows galore.

In Dunedin we finally got our Cadbury chocolate factory tour. I had waited twenty years for this! Actually we didn't get the full tour because we were there on a holiday. Many fun experiences were there, and best of all was the huge "chocolate fall" (as in waterfall). Don't miss it. Also don't miss the Cadbury gift shop. Amazing prices.

We had many good and beautiful drives in the Dunedin area. Everything seems to be beautiful there! At Larnach Castle we had a bountiful lunch in the Grand Ballroom. We toured the castle on our own, and spoke casually with a young woman employee on the grounds. She told us that the castle is haunted by many ghosts because so many people have died there. It was once a hospital for the criminally insane, as well as serving as a hospital for soldiers during World Wars I and II,

In Christchurch we had a pleasant shopping trip to the Northlands Mall in the Riccarton area. In the afternoon we had a visit with the many animals at Willowbank, and in the evening attended the Willowbank Maori presentation. This was less an entertainment event as is usual in Rotorua-this was more about the Maori culture.

The next morning we all enjoyed boating on the Avon River, with lunch at the Boathouse Restaurant. We made another visit to Orana Wild Animal Park, always a pleasure, and in the evening rode on the Gondola-great in the early darkness with so many lights around the city far below.

General notes: On most of the wooden walkways in the parks and forests there is wire mesh to keep our feet from slipping and falling. Great idea.

We went shopping in a supermarket on Good Friday Evening, and saw the entire liquor area roped off. Another good idea.

The Auckland airport has what is called a Reading and Writing Room-a big open area for lounging, reading, snacking, using a computer, while waiting for a flight. I'm not very sophisticated about airports around the world, so all of this may not be unusual. On her walks in the Auckland airport Pam saw a small room (with door closed) set up for smokers. The room was packed and the air was thick with smoke. It was obvious one could get a nicotine fix by merely opening the door and taking a whiff.

There are several- guide books available on arrival in NZ for visitors to locate Lord of the Ring sites - You can look them over at the Auckland airport book shop.

THE ANZAC BISCUIT

The RNZRSA Story - The RNZRSA was founded by returned soldiers of the Gallipoli Campaign just days after the inaugural commemoration of ANZAC Day in 1916. Since then the RNZRSA has provided assistance in many forms to past and present members of the New Zealand Armed Forces and their families.

RNZRSA also supports the broader New Zealand community with assistance for youth activities, education and various fundraising projects.

By purchasing ANZAC biscuits you are directly assisting the RNZRSA to continue its great community work.

The ANZAC Biscuit - The ANZAC Biscuit, as it is known today, was a welcome addition to the basic rations which were issued to our soldiers during the Gallipoli Campaign of 1915.

It was the mothers, wives and sweethearts at home who baked these treats for the soldiers overseas (as well as for sale to raise funds for the war effort).

These biscuits are a tangible link to the ANZAC heritage.

When you make Inquiries about and/or reservations for anything in New Zealand, if you saw it here, please be sure to mention that you saw it in the KIWIphile FILE!! Thank you.

HUNT OF A LIFETIME

Thanks to the generosity of New Zealand tourism operators, a US cancer sufferer is getting to experience the best of New Zealand fishing.

Libby Rowland from Sheridan in the US state of Michigan, was diagnosed with malignant melanoma 18 months ago. Her father, Douglas, approached a new US charity called "Hunt of a Lifetime" to see if they could help grant her a wish-to go on a fishing trip to New Zealand.

"Hunt of a Lifetime" is a US-based non-profit organization with a mission to grant hunting and fishing adventures and dreams for children, age 21 and under, who have been diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses.

Twenty-year-old American Libby has been going fishing with her father since she was six weeks old, and he says that she has been wanting to come to New Zealand for a long time to try the fishing here.

"We are really grateful to all the people who have helped us get to New Zealand," says Douglas Rowland. "Everyone's done so much to help us; it really has been a wonderful trip."

The itinerary for Libby's trip, which took her from Auckland and Taupo down to Queenstown, was pulled together by Wendy Dobson from Art of Travel. She says she was overwhelmed with the response from New Zealand tourism operators.

"You hear a lot about New Zealand children who are ill getting to go to Disneyland and places like that, but you don't really think about the fact that these kids are being hosted by American tourism operators and suchlike."

Wendy coordinated operators from around New Zealand-Parakai Travel, Sky City, On the Point Lodge, Mai Ora, Hamill Charters, Superia Tours, Chris Jolly Fishing Tours, West Wellow Lodge, Flat Earth Tours, The Duxton, Limousine Services, Real Journeys, Pencarrow, Lakeland Adventures, President Plaza, Over the Top Helicopters, and Queenstown Fishing Guides all provided product at cost or free to enable Libby to enjoy her week-long fishing trip.

From WYSIWYG NEWS - By Brian Harmer

(Copyright by Brian Harmer, reprinted by permission)

At Greta Point, in Evans Bay, there is a restaurant that, in its present incarnation, is called Eden. I had occasion to take a guest lecturer there for

an early dinner before putting him on a plane back to Auckland.

After a grey and somewhat scruffy start to the day, the city turned on a perfect evening, and the restaurant provided the perfect vantage point from which to view it. This is not intended as an advert for Eden, though I usually enjoy the food there, even if I do resent vegetables or salad being "extra".

The restaurant is partially on piles over the water, and looks from Greta Point across the remains of the old patent slip and south across the harbour towards Kilbirnie. To the east the view is directly across the bay to the hills and the cutting that guard Miramar peninsula from the west.

Beyond the peninsula, the perfect golden clarity of the late afternoon light picked out the high peaks across the harbour. We were seated against the eastern windows, and had an uninterrupted view of the sea at our feet and the bay beyond. The water below us was glassy calm and provided a perfect place for the kayakers who were performing seemingly effortless laps around a circuit denoted by a set of coloured buoys.

Strands of the seaweed known as "Neptune's necklace floated by. A sudden ripple in the otherwise still water marked the emergence of a shag from a fishing expedition, apparently unsuccessfully. A large flock of terns swooped by in perfect formation, following some mysterious invisible pathway as if they were on rails.

Since it was the evening rush hour, a steady succession of Boeing 737s and the occasional Airbus made their growling ascent under noise abatement procedures to the north, and between times, the lesser fry, ATRs, Saabs, Jetstreams and Metroliners buzzed by at lower altitude. A fleet of small yachts emerged from the Evans Bay Marina and made small progress until a light wind arose to ruffle the previously perfect surface with a very light chop. Then it picked up.

Suddenly the yachts were flying, as yachts in Wellington are wont to do. Evans Bay runs more or less north and south between the bulk of Mt. Victoria to the west and the Miramar Peninsula to the east. Thus, daylight saving notwithstanding, the shadows of evening fall early across the water, leaving only the hills beyond in light. So it was as our meal came to an end and I delivered my guest back to the terminal before returning home.

N Z SCREEN PRODUCTION UPDATE

Billy Crystal's exhortation of New Zealand's screen production talent, creativity and infrastructure at this year's Oscars was well founded; 2004-05 will be a year of unprecedented activity for local and international production.

Peter Jackson continues production on King Kong, completing construction of a larger sound stage at his Stone St Studios where 80% of the movie will be shot.

Meanwhile, prodigal son and Shrek director Andrew Adamson has returned to direct The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe. Both movies are slated for US release in December 2005.

New Zealand is currently hosting film production and post-production from India, Taiwan, South Korea and the United States. Also, the BBC recently announced they will film a six-part series of Kidnapped, to be co-produced by Whale Rider creators, South Pacific Pictures.

The biggest stir on the local front is the premiere of In My Father's Den. Written and directed by Brad McGann, and based on a novel by acclaimed New Zealand author Maurice Gee, In My Father's Den is being hailed as the strongest local drama since Once Were Warriors and Heavenly Creatures.

Meanwhile, Fracture, another Maurice Gee adaptation, is currently featured at the Montreal World Film Festival.

For more information: www.filmnz.co.nz

THE END OF AN ERA (from KIWINEWS)

After running for 95 years the overnight train service between Wellington and Auckland and vice versa has been axed due to failing patronage and the advent of cheap air fares.

The 11 hour trip compares to a one hour flight. Prior to the advent of cheaper airfares, going by rail was the way to go. Refreshment stops were made along the way with pies, ham sandwiches and/or fruit cake being the popular items eaten, all to be washed down by tea served in a really thick cup. Latterly, the train had a dining car.

In 1953 New Zealand's biggest rail disaster occurred when the overnight express ploughed into the Whangaehu River, near Tangiwai (8km west of Waiouru) after the bridge was washed out. 151 were killed in that Christmas Eve disaster.

(from Charles Eggen: This means that NZ passenger rail service is now down to one long haul North Island train per day, each way, and two South Island and nothing south of Christchurch. Of course it is possible to occasionally take rail excursion runs to Gisborne, New Plymouth, Invercargill and even Kawakawa, but whether regular passenger rail service will ever return to those or other towns in my lifetime is doubtful. The future of passenger rail service in the U.S. is not promising, but with the increase in oil costs, that might change if we were to electrify the lines and equipment. I can hope. I love rail travel.)

SMART INVESTMENT IN SMART CANCER DRUG

Global medical giant Roche and their California-based biotech subsidiary Genentech have announced their investment in New Zealand healthcare company, Proacta Therapeutics.

Proacta Therapeutics is the commercial vehicle for a collaborative venture between researchers at Auckland. University and Stanford University in California.

Proacta is developing "prodrugs". These compounds have the potential to destroy cancer cells while leaving healthy tissues untouched. "The majority of people who are diagnosed with cancer have significant areas of hypoxia (oxygen-starved) cells in their tumors. Our scientists have produced compounds designed to specifically attack these can cers", says Aki von Roy, Ceo of Proacta.

The investment consortium is led by Melbourne-based GBS Venture Partners, and includes New Zealand's Number 8 Ventures.

For more:

www.proactatherapeutics.com.

HAYLEY WESTENRA

I hope you'll have a chance to see 17-year-old Hayley Westenra on PBS' Great Performances the afternoon of December 5.

Singing sensation Westenra is the biggest- selling local artist in the history of New Zealand. It's "Hayley Westenra Live from New Zealand", and will probably be shown again should you miss out.

IT MUST BE WATTIES' (from New Zealand! New Zealand! In Praise of Kiwiana)

"It must be Watties", During James Wattie's lifetime his products carried his signature as a personal

guarantee of quality. That his name had become a household one and his company, J. Wattie Canneries, one of the county's biggest, was due to his vision of a New Zealand self-sufficient in canned fruit and vegetables.

It was in the early 1930s, when the huge fruit and vegetable surplus of Hawke's Bay would each summer literally rot on the ground for want of a preserving facility, that James Wattie saw the opportunity for a local cannery.

It was a success from the very start and eventually the whole province felt the effect.

Directly and indirectly thusands of jobs were created in growing, canning and merchandising. From the bounty of the fertile Heretaunga Plains the province soon became known as the "fruit bowl of New Zealand". Some crops became of major commercial importance only because of the demand created by the canneries: peas, for example, were first grown for canning. Over the years, canned peaches, spaghetti, tomato sauce, baked beans, fruit salad, asparagus, as well as peas, came to be synonymous with the Wattie name.

Under James Wattie's direction, the situation that had existed in the early thirties, in which 80 percent of the country's canned food requirements were imported, was turned right around. In 1972, when Wattie retired, New Zealand was totally self- sufficient in fruit and vegetables and was a major exporter of these foodstuffs. As an indication of the importance the Wattie name had assumed, a university revue of the same period could include a song-sung to the tune of "Land of Hope and Glory"-that went:

Land of fern and paua,

Nestled by the sea,

Peaches, peas and baked beans,

Canned by James Wattie!

As with most successful ventures, innovation has always been to the fore in the history of Watties. There was a continual pioneering of foods for canning and a pursuit of better, more efficient ways of doing the job. It was the first company to introduce quick frozen foods to the New Zealand market in the late 1940s. In the mid-fifties, prompted by a desire to use the fish waste from the company's fish-processing operations, Watties introduced prepared pet food. The first trademarks were Felix and Fido. And during the war years it was Watties that was responsible for production of the armed forces' basic diet-"m & v", the canned meat and vegetable ration pack.

Today the Wattie name has ceased to exist as a single entity, rather it is a component of the New

Zealand food giant Goodman Fielder Wattie. Sir James Gisbome's most famous son, died in 1974.

WEST COAST-

A MOUNTAIN AND SEA SANDWICH (from The

New Zealand Handbook by Jane King)

The magnificent West Coast of the South Island, a narrow strip of land squeezed between the Tasman Sea and the Southern Alps, offers a taste of rock, ice, sand, and sea all at once.

Although it has the unfortunate reputation for having rainy weather, dull skies, and an abundant summer population of bloodthirsty sandflies, it also has extended periods of blue skies and sunshine (particularly in winter)-all you need is a bit of luck, and insect repellent smothering all exposed areas of your body!

Well-maintained Hwy 6 gives the closest lowland views of the Main Divide and good access to both coastal and mountain activities. Visit the coal- mining and fishing center of Westport in the north, wild and rugged surf beaches, a seal colony at Tauranga Bay, the amazing Punakaiki Pancake Rocks in Paparoa National Park, the West Coast commercial center of Greymouth, and the historic gold-mining town of Hokitika (a good place to browse for green- stone carvings and jewelry).

Stop along the highway for a spot of trout fishing in one of several major rivers, or take a photography break at one of the many small lakes that reflect distant snowcapped peaks in their mirror-still waters, then push on south to the lush rainforests and mighty glaciers of rugged Westland National Park.

The best way to see the West Coast is by car or bicycle (you'll want to stop many times along the way), but you can get your share of scenic delights from the bus. Getting to and traveling along the West Coast by public transportation (or thumb) is no problem. Air New Zealand serves Westport and Hokitika Airports, trains and buses run between Christchurch and Greymouth, buses connect Nelson in the north with Westport, Greymouth, and Hokitika, and several bus companies cover all the main West Coast roads (from Karamea to Haast).

BRILLIANT IDEA BEARS FRUIT - Stuff

A Kiwi invention which detects the ripeness of fruit has been dubbed one of the best brainstorms of the year.

The ripeSense labelling system was one of 36 inventions listed by Time magazine as the coolest in ventions of 2004.

Designed to measure the gases given off by fruit aroma, the label changes colour to indicate the stage of ripeness.

The system, available in selected super markets in New Zealand, Australia and Britain, removes the need to handle produce in an attempt to discover how ripe it is.

Promoting itself as the "world's first intelli gent ripeness indicator label", the system was developed by Jenkins Group and HortResearch over seven years.

The idea came to light several years ago over "a couple of bottles of wine", said ripeSense general manager Cameron Mclnness.

The sensors are only available for testing pears so far, but plans are under way for versions for kiwifruit, melons, mangos and avocados and other stone fruit.

Mclnness said the researchers wanted to start with fruit that didn't change colour during the ripening process because these were the most difficult ones for consumers to judge.

Time magazine contacted the company last month asking to profile them in their inventions issues.

Have a great holiday season and a happy 2005!

KIWIphile FILE

Published quarterly by Eva Trapani

E-mail: KiwiET1@aol.com