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Volume 22, No. 2
DECEMBER 2008/January
2009
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THE MAGIC THAT IS NEW ZEALAND -
New Zealand Information Net
New Zealand is renowned worldwide for its pure, natural environment, which is carefully preserved by the Department of Conservation. The far south has been designated a World Heritage Area in recognition of
its
natural, unspoilt beauty.
The country was first named Aotearoa (The Land of the Long. White Cloud) by Maori and has a population of 3.9 million. The North and South Islands and Stewart Island together cover an area the size of Britain but this compact land is a microcosm of the whole natural world. You can see towering peaks, active volcanoes, breathtaking glaciers, deep fords, sparkling lakes, primeval rainforests, geothermal areas, golden beaches and green pastures
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in a wilderness environment, that truly touches the spirit.
We would like to help you discover for yourself the heart and soul of this friendly nation. You will get a warm welcome wherever you travel around New Zealand. So why not join us and taste the Kiwi lifestyle of outdoor adventure and sports, indigenous Maori culture, breathtaking scenery, vibrant city life, fine food and wine, and much more.
You’ll find the lifestyle laid-back, but if you venture into the great outdoors look out for the amazing kiwis. They love to throw themselves off bungy platforms and get white knuckles clinging to inflatable rafts and jet boats. They keep devising new innovative physical challenges for visitors to experience and just can’t resist ‘having a go’ themselves.
Getting around New Zealand is easy with an efficient air service and flexible coach, rail and ferry network for tour groups and independent travelers.
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The range of climatic conditions varies from warm, sub-tropical areas in the far north to the cooler climates of the south.
We have a small country with a big outdoor attitude. Kiwis can’t fly but they’ll have a go at everything else. So come and join in the fun and experience a little of the magic that is New Zealand.
RADIO STATION FOR TOURISTS HITS THE AIRWAVES -
New Zealand Travel News
Tourists wanting to take a road trip in New Zealand can make the journey a lot more fun with the launch of Tourism Radio this month.
Forget about stuffy coach tours, regimented set stops and monotone tour guide operators
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now tourists can navigate their own way around New Zealand from the comfort of a rental car with a fun and informative radio station.
Imagine having a couple of friendly locals sitting in the back seat chattering away about every topic imaginable while you explore everything this country has to offer
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that’s the premise of Tourism Radio.
Combining unique software with GPS technology Tourism Radio is essentially a unique radio station designed specifically for the self-drive tourist.
This innovative service acts as a ‘virtual tour guide’ broadcasting content in real time relative to the location of the listeners
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so it’s always perfectly in tune to where the tourist is at any given time.
Tourism Radio’s unique IntelliPoint system overrides other broadcasts to play immediately relevant information depending on the particular region a tourist happens to be traveling through.
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This clever device draws the driver's attention to prominent landmarks and highlights as the vehicle approaches them, making sure the tourist doesn't miss key attractions.
The unique hardware is discretely fitted onto the windscreen of rental cars, and transmits the programming directly to the car's radio
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so it's easy to use no matter how technologically-minded a tourist maybe.
This innovative new service is the latest travel accessory for tourists who want to make their own way around New Zealand's vast landscape in their own good time.
As a result, car rental companies are rushing to install the system in their own fleets. Those already signed up include JUCY Rentals, Go Rentals, Kiwi Campers, Kiwi Autohomes, Spaceships, and Pegasus Rentals.
Hayden Braddock, Tourism Radio Director New Zealand and Australia, says the programmes on Tourism Radio have been written to capture the essence of the country using phrases and kiwi slang for an authentic listening experience.
"Tourism Radio is a fantastic way for tourists to get afeeling for what New Zealand is all about.
It's like having ten locals in the car with you, all pointing out their favourite spots and chipping in their two cents worth,"
he says.
With such a targeted audience, Tourism Radio has quickly become a popular marketing vehicle for local tourism enterprises seeking to capture their share of the lucrative tourism market.
Mr. Braddock says it's the targeted content of Tourism Radio that makes it such a great way to reach the right audience because any content broadcast is relative to the driver's location at that time -so you can direct them where to stop for a quick bite to eat or where to hang their hat for the night.
Mr. Braddock says the level of enthusiasm from advertisers has been matched by the Regional Tourism Organisations (RTO'S), 29 local government funded bodies responsible for marketing their regions domestically and internationally.
"The response from the Regional Tourism Organisations contacted has been really positive, with the majority all having indicated a strong interest in supporting and promoting Tourism Radio in their region, "
he says.
Tourism Radio was originally started in Cape Town, South Africa in 2005 and is set to launch in New Zealand this month.
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BLOOD TESTS BECOMING BLOODLESS
A new medical device is being launched in New Zealand this week that can measure a person's red blood cell levels, without using hypodermic needles. Distributer Jan Smeath of Pro-Med Technologies, says the sensor is put on the patient's finger and gives a continuous haemoglobin reading without removing a drop of blood. She says the results are instantaneous and there is no need to send a blood sample to a laboratory. Ms Smeath says that makes the procedure invaluable in operating theatres where it can provide continuous readings. She believes it will be fantastic for children who are frightened of needles.
HISTORY MYSTERIES
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North & South
How could 100 people-the estimated number of Polynesian arrivals aboard the first canoe to touch New Zealand shores about 1200 years ago-become a population of approximately 170,000 by the time of James Cook's first visit here in 1769? Were there several two-way voyages to Hawaiiki? Was there a fleet of canoes? These are questions which have long intrigued Pacific historians, and James Belich raises them again at the beginning of his radical work
Making Peoples
(Penguin, $39.95).
Belich then postulates other theories to explain the pre-European Maori population increase, and in so doing sets the tone for the book, which is racy, irreverent and frequently subversive of preconceived historical truths.
First, he argues, there were only about 85,000 Maori in New Zealand in 1769, half the previously estimated figure; secondly, he asserts, return voyaging was unlikely. Thirdly, the first arrival date was in the later 11th century, about 900 years ago, not 1200. And, crucially for a neolithic people, Maori enjoyed an un usually high protein intake obtained from ready supplies of seal and moa meat. This protein-rich diet stimulated birth rates. Ergo, the population growth sums now stack up.
Belich, author of the acclaimed
The New Zealand Wars
and
"I Shall Not Die". Titokawaru's War,
takes on a more daunting brief in
Making Peoples.
The book seeks to explain the nature of our evolution as immigrant peoples, first from Polynesia, then from Europe, who came to these islands seeking refuge, the first group from an unknown Pacific conflict, the second to escape European poverty and class distinction. Here the two strands intertwined, became frayed, then braided until we became what we
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are today: a unique people, bred from a unique set of historical circumstances.
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Ph: (+64) 3 543 3825
WHAT'S ON THE MOVIE SCREEN THIS SEASON?
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By Charles Eggen
A number of New Zealand feature films, released in 2007, are now available for rental or purchase in the U.S., as well as most other markets. Your local rental store may not have them, but Netflix does.
In my opinion, the best of them is Vincent Ward's 'River Queen' staning Samantha Norton, Kiefer Sutherland, Cliff Curtis and Temuera Morrison.
Others to look for are: 'The Tattooist', 'Men Shouldn't Sing', 'Black Sheep', 'The Devil Dared Me To' and 'Eagle vs Shark',
Trailers for all of these, as well as most New Zealand feature films, can be accessed at:
if you happen to be in the UK, do make a point to find a theatre showing 'Dean Spanley' starring Jeremy Northam, Sam Neill, Bryan Brown and Peter O'Toole. It was to start its theatrical release 12 December in the UK. It will be showing up in Australian and New Zealand theatres starting 26 February 2009. I do not yet have North American release dates. A link to its trailer, as well as trailers of other New Zealand films currently (or
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about to be) in theatrical release can be found at:
• Finally, there is a book that was released in November that would be perfect for lovers of New Zealand films: 'A Coming of Age: 30 Years of New Zealand Film' by Duncan Petrie and Duncan Stuart, Random House (NZ). You probably will not find it outside of New Zealand sources yet, but do a search for ISBN 9781869790196, It is selling for about $45nz and includes a dvd of the trailers of 25 films featured in the book. For further details go to:
KIWI ICON SINGS QUEENSTOWN'S PRAISES -
from www.fourcorners.co.nz
World renowned opera singer Dame Kiri Te Kanawa recently took time out for a spin on the world's most exciting jet boat ride while she was in Queenstown to perform at a private recital.
Shotover Jet Manager Clark Scott says the company was honoured to be able to host the Kiwi icon.
"It was a real buzz for the staff and other passengers to see the Kiwi legend enjoying the Shotover Jet experience so much."
Dame Kiri said she thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to start the day in such an exhilarating way with Shotover Jet.
"I just love coming to Queenstown - it's a little gem with stunning scenery, unique adventure opportunities and lots of fun as well, it should be on all visitors' 'must see' lists. I can't wait to come back,"
she said.
Dame Kiri left immediately after the recital for performance commitments in Iceland.
NEW RESEARCH ON ABORTIONS
New research may have implications for the legal status of abortions in this country. Otago University researchers have found women who have an abortion face a 30 percent greater risk of developing depression and anxiety. In New Zealand over 90 percent of abortions are authorized on the grounds that proceeding with the pregnancy will pose a serious threat to the woman's mental health. The researchers say they do not support either side of the abortion debate, and that the effect of abortion on the overall mental health of the population is very small.
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It raises the risk of depression and anxiety, but accounts for between just 1.5 percent and 5.5 percent of overall mental disorders in the general population.
GOOGLE LAUNCHES STREET VIEW FOR NZ
Google's Street View has kicked off in New Zealand, making it the seventh country in which the popular on-the-ground mapping service is available.
People should soon be able to walk the length of the country without leaving the comfort of their home. Google is launching "Street View" in New Zealand, which allows internet users to navigate 360 degree street level imagery of cities, towns, regions and remote areas.
Google spokesperson Annie Baxter says people worldwide will be able to explore parts of New Zealand they have never seen before. She says camera equipped cars have been driving the length of the country for the last 12 months taking pictures. Ms Baxter says the images are not in real time and anyone in the pictures cannot be identified.
SCIENTISTS FIND NEW PENGUIN, EXTINCT FOR 500 YEARS -
Associated Press
(Australian and New Zealand researchers studying one of the world's rare and endangered penguins have uncovered a previously unknown penguin species that disappeared about 500 years ago. The newly found 'Waitaha' penguin became extinct after Polynesian settlement of New Zealand but before A.D. 1500, researchers from Australia's University of Adelaide, New Zealand's University of Otago and Canterbury Museum, reported Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2008. The find came as the team was investigating changes in the endangered New Zealand yellow-eyed penguin population since human settlement of New Zealand around A.D. 1200-1300.)
Wellington, New Zealand
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Researchers studying a rare and endangered species of penguin have uncovered a previously unknown species that disappeared about 500 years ago.
The research suggests that the first humans in New Zealand hunted the newly found Waitaha penguin to extinction by 1500, about 250 years after their arrival on the islands. "But the loss of the Waitaha allowed another kind of penguin to thrive
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the yellow-eyed species that now also faces extinction," Philip Seddon of Otago University, a co-author of the study, said Wednesday.
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The team was testing DNA from the bones of prehistoric modern yellow-eyed penguins for genetic changes associated with human settlement when it found some bones that were older
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and had different DNA.
Tests on the older bones "lead us to describe a new penguin species that became extinct only a few hundred years ago," the team reported in a paper in the biological research journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.
Polynesian settlers came to New Zealand around 1250 and are known to have hunted species such as the large, flightless moa bird to extinction.
Seddon said dating techniques used on bones pulled from old Maori trash pits revealed a gap in time between the disappearance of the Waitaha and the arrival of the yellow-eyed penguin.
The gap indicates the extinction of the older bird created the opportunity for the newer to colonize New Zealand's main islands around 500 years ago, said Sanne Boessenkool, an Otago University doctoral student who led the team of researchers, including some from Australia's Adelaide University and New Zealand's Canterbury Museum.
Competition between the two penguin species may have previously prevented the yellow-eyed penguin from expanding north, the researchers noted.
David Penny of New Zealand's Massey University, who was not involved in the research, said the Waitaha was an example of another native species that was unable to adapt to a human presence.
"In addition, it is vitally important to know how species, such as the yellow-eyed penguin, are able to respond to new opportunities," he said. "It is becoming apparent that some species can respond to things like climate change, and others cannot. The more we know, the more we can help."
The yellow-eyed penguin is considered one of the world's rarest. An estimated population of 7,000 in New Zealand is the focus of an extensive conservation effort.
GOLDEN TIMES AT GABRIEL'S GULLY -
NZHPT
A golden period in Otago-and New Zealand's economic history is set for heritage recognition by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust (NZHPT).
NZHPT is undertaking formal registration of Gabriel's Gully near Lawrence, in Otago. It was the site where Gabriel Read, in May 1861, discovered gold and led to the gold rushes of the
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gold rushes of the early 1880s that transformed the province, making it the wealthiest in New Zealand.
At its peak Gabriel's Gully attracted more than 10,000 miners to the region to seek their fortune. Dunedin became the largest city in New Zealand and the influx of miners pushed the South Island's population ahead of the North.
Today, Gabriel's Gully is managed by the Department of Conservation as an historic reserve. NZHPT Otago/Southland manager Owen Graham said registration would complement the site that in May 2011 will celebrate its 150th anniversary.
"This registration is an appropriate way that NZHPT can recognise Gabriel's Gully's outstanding archaeological, historical and technological significance to New Zealand," says Owen.
"It transformed Dunedin and Otago to the point where much of our rich heritage that we celebrate today was due, in considerable part, to the riches that came from Gabriel's Gully."
A large number of archaeological features remain on site, including Pollard's Dam, water races, powder magazines, sluicing faces, mine shafts, remains of stamper batteries and tailing races and piles.
BEFORE THE WEB -
Judy Miller
Twenty-one years ago, almost to the day, I made my first trip to New Zealand. At about the same time, I met John and Eva Trapani who were organizing a group of fellow kiwiphiles and starting to publish a newsletter for those of us who wanted to know more about this beautiful country. There were no websites or blogs or instant messaging. We met at John and Eva's home to discuss our trips, pass along tips and pick up any information we could about places to stay, things to do, and to share experiences. The guest I remember most clearly was "Kiwi Dundee" who operated an adventure tour company on the Coromandel Peninsula.
John and Eva solicited articles and information for the KIWIphile File and after each trip I would try to contribute a story. They were both extremely supportive and that gave me confidence to put together a small collection of my own stories. John has been gone many years now but Eva has carried on with the KlWlphile File.
In a lot of ways twenty years doesn't seem so long, but technology wise it is a lifetime. Before each trip I spent hours going through information I had
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picked up on the previous trip and the current New Zealand Tourism Board brochure. Frommer's New Zealand on $25 a Day was my best friend. At first I used a travel agent but after a few trips started making my own arrangements. I would find a place I wanted to stay, write to see if they had availability and wait for weeks for a reply. I would then send credit card details and wait more weeks for confirmation. The anticipation lasted months.
Today I log on, google the property I want and book instantly. It is certainly faster but I kind of miss the old way. Not enough to go back, mind you, but miss it nevertheless.
WYSIWYG NEWS
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By Brian Harmer
(Copyright by Brian Harmer, reprinted by permission)
One of Canterbury's best kept secrets, Geraldine, is a picture perfect little town with a population of just under 2,500. Regrettably, after a single night's stay, we had to move on in order to reach Queenstown as early as possible. With the sun barely above the horizon, we set out along SH 79 towards Fairlie. Early geographers in New Zealand had a talent for the obvious when they named places. North Island, South Island-they must have figured they were on a roll. And so Beautiful Valley was named. Lovely farming country, especially in the bright light of early morning.
The next valley is more prosaically named Cattle Valley, though to my eye, it was no less beautiful. Fairlie was reached just as the school buses were leaving their depot to begin their rural pickups for the day. We turned right onto SH 8 on the road to Tekapo and Aoraki/Mt. Cook. And suddenly the road side was aflame with lupins, not the common yellow variety that can be found anywhere, but the riotously coloured Russell variety. These are a joy to the eye and a pain in the neck to conservationists who want them eradicated (see: http://www.doc.govt.nzipublications/conservation/threats-and-impacts/weeds/russell-lupin/). A friend said they are not native and don't belong here. Oddly, much the same can be said of almost everyone who has told me that. Blissful in my ignorance at the time, I enjoyed them anyway.
Mary was driving and we almost bypassed Lake Tekapo's most famous scenic spot, but she caught sight of it from the corner of her eye, and we did a swift u-turn and went back to the Church of the Good Shepherd on the southernmost shore of the lake. It was still too early for tourism so we
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couldn't see inside (except by peering through the panoramic window behind the altar at the back). The lake levels were low and vast expanses of gravel were apparent, or would have been if not for the stunning display of lupins. It made for good photo opportunities with the snow-capped peaks of the alps across a mirror calm lake.
Being in something of a hurry, we didn't linger too long and carried on down that colourful highway until we reached the southernmost edge of Lake Pukaki across whose glassy waters we had a clear view of the Aoraki/Mt Cook (and other only marginally less majestic peaks). Another pause for photographs, and we noted the proliferation of rabbits among the lupins. Every step we took as we walked down to the lakeside caused more bobbing tails to flee through the flowers. Looks like the Calicivirus has lost its power.
We paused at Twizel for a morning coffee break, and then carried on across the wide braided Ahuriri riverbed, through Omarama under suddenly threatening skies towards the Lindis Pass. I don't know how, but this is another road I have never previously travelled. Spectacular is an overworked word, and few of the adjectives that come to mind do justice to the scale and grandeur of this landscape. The wildness of the Lindis Pass lasts pretty much 80 km from Omarama in the north to Tarras in the southwest. Even in heavy overcast weather, this is scenery to treasure.
From Tarras, we carried on SH 8 beside Lake Dunstan to the bridge at Cromwell where we crossed over to join SH 6 near the entrance to the Kawarau Gorge. More rugged landscape, though of a totally different sharper edged character than that which had gone before. The river tumbled through the Gorge, with occasional stretches of white water, and past the tumbling outlets of the Roaring Meg Hydro scheme.
Soon we bypassed the Crown Range turnoff and the road to Arrowtown, and from there it was a straight run to Frankton and Queenstown.
WINE REGIONS -
New Zealand Wineries NZ
New Zealand's information Network has provided this summary of the main wine growing regions and local vineyard trails as a guide for the visiting wine enthusiast.
For a small country on the Pacific Rim, New Zealand is having a remarkable impact on the world wine scene. Missionaries planted our first vines as
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early as 1819, but only in the last two decades have we seen this country develop into one of the most consistent fine wine producers in the world. New Zealand has 13,000 hectares planted in vines, and over 480 wine producing companies. The principal white varieties are Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Muller Thurgau and Riesling. The main reds are Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Our Sauvignon Blanc is considered by many European Wine critics to be the best in the world.
New Zealand's 15 major wine growing regions fall between the 35th and 45th parallels of latitude, which is comparable with the wine growing areas of Europe. They extend some 1,500 kms from Northland to Central Otago, the southernmost cool- climate region in the world. Each region has its own unique mix of climate, terrain, soils and wine styles. Marlborough, Hawke's Bay and Gisborne have only one third of the wineries but produce 90% of the national grape harvest. Other regions have many family-owned boutique wineries specializing in top quality individual styles. Vineyards are often clustered together in one area, which means the traveler can enjoy a variety of cellar door sales and tastings.
Touring New Zealand wine regions is a marvelous way to explore the country, meet the Kiwis and experience our way of life. Anyone with a love of fine food and quality wines can take a pleasant gastronomic journey through New Zealand's heartland. Tasting wines at the vineyard where they have been handcrafted is a unique experience.
All of the regions offer the visitor stunning scenery, recreational activities and fine Pacific Rim cuisine to complement our wines. You will find that the vineyards have lots of rustic charm, and great hospitality. So here's to your personal voyage of discovery through New Zealand's wine regions.
Bon Appetit!
MAORIDOM "COOL" SAYS REPORT
A new report is encouraging companies to boast about their links to Maoridom. The study prepared by the Institute of Economic Research for Te Puni Kokiri (the Ministry of Maori Development), shows Maori culture has a good reputation and is quickly growing internationally. Chief executive Leith Comer says New Zealand could be levering off what he describes as a "Maori edge," using Maori images to brand New Zealand products and differentiate them overseas.
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"Points of difference are potentially very valuable and traditional Maori values, activities and protocols are providing Maori with natural advantages they can exploit."
The report points to the success of Michael Campbell's clothing range, Kia Kaha, as an example of the ease with which Maori spiritual and cultural elements can be fused with consumer preferences. It argues that interest in the clothing range springs not just from Campbell's sporting success but also in designs that have actual meaning and tell a story.
Mr. Comer says New Zealand businesses should act now to capture the positive demand for aspects of Maori culture. He says it appears to be "cool" to be Maori. He says the attitudes of Maori culture towards business could also be adopted, as they fit in with many Asian cultures.
The report states that Maori culture favours relationship building and putting faces to names, suggesting that Maori are well-suited to playing a leading role in negotiating and securing potentially lucrative deals with some overseas trading partners. The report says the size of the Maori asset base in 2005/06 was estimated to have grown to $16.5 billion, an increase of 83 percent compared with 2001.
NO-FLYING AIRCRAFT
Make like a pilot with a Flight Experience Flight Simulator experience. The New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority approved pilot training simulator is the same used by airlines for pilot assessment and is the next best thing to flying a real jet. Seated at the controls, you can choose among different experiences
short and tong flights, night flights, local and international, blue skies or stormy - targeted for the individual, from joyriders to plane-spotters, pilot wannabes and corporate groups. Available in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Tauranga and Queenstown. Visit www.flightexperience.co.nz
DATING KIWI PEOPLE -
from nzataglance.com
Ok, so you love the country, you love the scenery, you want to eat meat pies, and you love the kiwi accent. So try dating a kiwi sheila, or bloke. We're not all that bad, well us guys are pretty cool. I'm speaking from a small town guys point of view, so I might be a little narrow minded when I say, kiwi guys are really laid back, love sports (especially rugby), enjoy a few beers, and a few more beers, love the outdoors, like to travel, and love to chase sheilas.
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Girls in New Zealand are much the same as the guys (it's been a while since I've lived there). They are really laid back, very low maintenance, love to crack a joke or two, don't mind chucking the rugby ball around the backyard, and generally a pretty good mate. But be warned, don't piss them off. They are not afraid to let you know how they feel, be it with their mouth or their fists, you should know exactly where you stand with a kiwi chick.
In a nutshell, kiwi people are really easy to get along with, just don't knock their awesome country, their family, their friends, and most of all don't call them Australian.
BLUFFING IT -
Air New Zealand Magazine
Impassioned but subterranean dispute was fermenting when I arrived from New York at Bluff, the tiny (Pop.2277) port town at the bottom of the South Island that sits on a splodge of land that-from the air-resembles the shell of the oysters for which it is famous. The question, which I'll explain later, was essentially one that all such settlements must face: What is this place?
Briefly, Bluff is the country's oldest European settlement, and perhaps its most natural. The week before I visited, a 1.5m sea lion had hoisted itself from the briney and lolled about on Foreshore Street, taking the sun. Cars had driven around it.
But Bluff suffers. Citizens of nearby Invercargill look down on Bluff. Why? It has few shops, limited jobs and accommodation, no theme parks, and-apart from a recently installed mountain biking track-no dizzying rides. Perhaps the biggest event there occurs each April when the town hosts the Bluff Oyster and Southland Food Festival, often with complicated results. One year, I was told, the event was cancelled because "an explosive ship" was drifting dangerously close to the coastline. On another the tents got blown away. This year, in April, the festival will have more secure quarters.
"Can I go to a bank?" I asked. No, none of those here.
"Can I buy some 100 ASA film?" Mmmm, sorry, you'll have to go to Invercargil.
Wait. Let's balance the equation. Bluff happens to be exquisite, a pure product of nature, and the world's forgetfulness. It has heart. You can buy a copy of the photocopied
Bluff Beacon
(price: 60 cents, sample headline: Bluff Market Day"). It has nuance, also. Bite into raw oysters harvested from its waters, and you taste oyster, and-if you're of a whimsical
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disposition, as I am-the sea, seaweed and traces of fish that swam past. You can dawdle along the Glory Track at the end of Gunpit Road, staring upwards at the vivid red tendrils of flowering rata trees, then look down at your feet and watch a bee expiring its last, perched on a dry stone.
The burning issue in Bluff was this: Is Stirling Point, which is just out of Bluff, at the end of State Highway 1 (and thus the country, and thus-dear, dear-the world?? Or is it, as local tourism people were trying to aver, at the beginning? Veracity and identity filled people's conversations, and their actions also. The only way to be from Bluff, you see, to be a "Bluffie", is to arrange to get born there.
Existence-to the true Bluffie-must begin in the town and, I suppose, end there too, so when my friend proposed we visit the Old Bluff Cemetery, I couldn't resist. We drove up the hill through pretty houses, parked, then walked into a tundra of headstones. The sea lay behind us. The sea in Bluff is constantly present, its detritus punctuates the town, from the anchor in a car park, to the churches that are not necessarily patronised, but are there as measures of the superstition with which-in this fishing town- the deep is still regarded. It had lulled me to sleep the night before, the waves recalling the breath of a dozing lover: crucially absent, but present also. I had watched it change colour, running from royal purples to grass greens to-least interestingly-oceanic blue, like a man in his suit dressed for business.
The sea was on the graves as well, though we had to search for it. There, on the grave of James Coupar Spencer, where the legend read, "Aged 22 year 5 months. Drowned in Bluff Harbour, in attempting to save life on February 1908." The wind blew. Families lay together in the sod, women lost in childbirth, and-pathetically-their children, exited this world at five months.
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My friend was nattering about something, and I was slinging back. We walked over the brow of the hill, and abruptly Stewart Island loomed, suprisingly large, brooding like a prematurely developed teenager. The Cortlandt Street subway station in Manhattan, and its erroneous map, came to me. Looking to Stewart Island, with Bluff and its unfashionable virtues all around, I thought, "But you're not supposed to exist."
(Air New Zealand offers daily services to Invercargill, making it easy to get to the Bluff Oyster and Southland Seafood Festival. For information on fares and schedules, visit www.airnewzealand.co.nz)
PLEASE NOTE:
Rather than change subscription rates, beginning with this issue, the KIWIphile FILE will be published three times each year rather than four. Publication dates will be January, May and September. Renewal dates will remain in the lower left- hand corner of your envelope.
READERS - Please send in articles and letters for the next issue. I need them by April 15. Thank you.
KIWIphile FILE
Published by Eva Trapani
E-mail: KiwiET1@aol.com
Copyright 2009
by Eva Trapani
For subscriptions write to Eva Trapani.
Send a check for $10.00 for one year (3 issues), $18 for 2 years, $25 for 3 years. If you live in Canada send $12 per year; in other countries $18 per year. IN U.S. FUNDS ONLY.
Checks must be written to Eva Trapani, KIWIphile FILE. Thank you.
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