Volume XVII, No. 4

JUNE 2005

KIWIS OVERSEAS

(from Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand)

New Zealanders have always been travelers: the first Polynesian settlers sailed to New Zealand from Hawaiki, and the first Pakeha people arrived from Britain and Europe. Until the mid-20th century, the centre of the British Empire, England, was considered to be "home" by many New Zealanders. A large number traveled back, while others sought opportunities in other parts of the empire, such as India, Australia and African countries.

As a new country, New Zealand did not have an independent cultural identity until recently. This meant that in the past many New Zealand writers, artists, academics and scientists had to go overseas to make their mark.

Many New Zealanders do not return once they leave. Those who have a British parent or grandparent are entitled to stay in the United Kingdom for four years, after which they may apply for citizenship. Once expatriates get married and have children, it becomes more difficult to consider returning to New Zealand.

In 2003 the British Home Office reported that about 400,000 New Zealanders had a British passport. Many Kiwis go to the United Kingdom on working holidays. Estimates vary, but at any one time 50,000- 200,000 New Zealanders may be living in the U.K.

Australia is also a popular home of choice for many New Zealanders, because of cultural similarities, work opportunities and because it is close and inex pensive to get to. In 2002, over 80% of Kiwis living there were employed. Kiwis can claim welfare bene fits in Australia, as Australians can in New Zealand. In 2003 almost half a million New Zealanders were living in Australia-easily the largest expatriate New Zealand community in the world.

Famous New Zealanders who are living overseas include the opera singer Kiri Te Kanawa, film-maker Jane Campion and actor Russell Crowe.

Because many New Zealand professionals seek work in other countries, there have been worries about a 'brain drain'. However, many return, and those who leave are replaced by highly skilled migrants from other countries.

LET 'EM DRINK CAKE

Now you can have your cake and drink it. A Christchurch brewer is creating a Black Forest gateau-flavoured beer, aimed at his fastest growing market - women.

Dicky Fife, from the Dux de Lux in Hereford Street, said the new brew was designed to increase female converts to beer drinking. "I'm sitting here hoping I can do it," said Fife.

He came up with the idea after tasting an aged stout he had stored for two years in pinot noir barrels from Central Otago. The beer had developed sweet fruits of the forest flavours, like those found in the famous German chocolate dessert.

Fife added: "Anything in the dessert line is going to be popular with women. Most ladies tend to have a sweet tooth and they indulge in the beautiful flavours of chocolate, vanilla and cream."

His plan is to blend the stout with a freshly brewed dark porter, bringing chocolaty flavours, and to launch the result at the Queenstown Winter Festival in July.

Fife, a former chef, has created several beers with women in mind, he said, including blueberry brown, a beer with added berries, maple syrup and vanilla.

"These types of beer would be enjoyed pre dominantly by ladies. Men aren't as curious.

"I think women are more in touch with flavours because they have a sense of the kitchen and food, because they're making food for their families," said Fife.

Tracy Banner, master brewer for Speights in Dunedin and a consultant with Mac's in Nelson, said

she had seen a massive change in the number of women beer drinkers since she first moved to New Zealand from the United Kingdom in 1994.

"It's great to see more and more women taking an interest in beer."

She said women often found traditional beers, made with hops, too bitter.

Martin Bennett, who runs Christchurch micro breweiy and bar The Twisted Hop, said many of his female customers chose beer over wine or spirits.

"I think beer is not a drink that you just simply drink large quantities of for the effect. It's something people are drinking for the taste." THE PRESS

REPORT FROM AN AMERICAN VISITOR

I'm dreaming, but after dragging my son around bits of NZ this week, I sure hope he likes what he's seen. We went up to the big trees on Friday. He should have some gorgeous shots of Te Matua Ngahere. He brought his medium format camera and the lighting was perfect.

Yesterday we left for Rotorua. We got back this morning. He's meeting some guys for a bit of demonstration footbag in Aotea Square at 2pm. We went up the gondola and he was able to take some more really nice scenic shots of the lake and town. I took the grandson back to the motel while the Spousal Unit and Eldest Son went to Whakawerawera and ES had a look at, and a few photos of geysers.

One little thing, (it's only due to Scrooge that I even considered that this might be the case) and it could actually have been an oversight, but you know how it's pretty much standard to have milk in the room, either in the fridge or longlife milk in little single serve containers if there's no fridge? Well the room had a fudge, but when I looked inside, there was no milk and when we paid for the room, she hadn't handed us any. So I was getting ready to make a cup of tea, and remembered that I needed milk. I went to the office and asked nicely, "Do you normally put milk in the rooms, or do I need to go out and get some?"

"Didn't I give you any?"

I shook my head and smiled. "I'm afraid not. If you don't normally do it, I understand..."

She looked a little embarrassed. "Oh, no, I just thought I gave you some."

She went back inside and got a jug of milk. I thanked her and made my tea. Later I wondered if she was just trying to save a little money by not providing milk to what she thought were American

tourists who wouldn't know the difference anyway. Or maybe it was just as it appeared and she forgot. Doesn't matter. I had my tea, and a nice hot soak in the spa and all was good in my world.

This country has so much to offer. I wish I were rich. It would be like living life in an amusement park. We had brekkie in a little café run by a nice Kiwi family, with what appeared to be exceptionally nice kids. You know how you can get a sense that something's going really right or really wrong? Well this place felt really right. In just a brief exchange of words between two of the kids and the father and myself, I got this feeling that he loved the hell out of his kids, but made them responsible and hard-working.

We took Route lb on the way back to avoid having to go through Hamilton. As serendipity would have it, we all needed a pee break at the same time and pulled into a parking lot which abutted a church and the public toilets. It was also this parking lot which the local Zephyr club had chosen to use while taking a brief break on their Sunday drive-about. So out came the camera, and the ES got a couple of great shots of the cars and the local flavour.

This is such a lovely, compact, perfect country. I chose brilliantly. Tarla

NEW PLYMOUTH, TARANAKI (Next)

They say love can move mountains.

You'll find the proof in New Plymouth.

Since the beginning of time Mt Taranaki has been the perfect place for unrequited lovers to seek solace.

For according to one Maori legend, Mount Taranaki is where it is today because of an affair of the heart.

As the story goes, Mt. Taranaki once rubbed shoulders with all the mountains of the North Island - clustered together in one group at the southern end of Lake Taupo.

This group was dominated by Ruapehu, Tonganro, Ngauruhoe & Taranaki, who were chiefs in their own right.

Around these four chiefs, clustered a number of smaller mountains, one of whom was the exception ally beautiful mountain - Pihanga.

Were it not for her presence the chief

mountains may have gone on living happily together.

But of course, boys being boys, they became rivals for Pihanga's affection.

Pihanga liked Taranaki. And the others jealously challenged him to a fight. Pihanga would be the prize.

Tongariro and Taranaki came to battle. In the fight that ensued Taranaki suffered many blows but Tongariro was beaten to his knees and the top of his head cut off and flung into Taupo, where it remains to this day as Motutaiko Island.

Ngauruhoe then had his turn. A bloody battle ensued and although heavily wounded, Taranaki pre vailed.

Finally, Ruapehu challenged Taranaki. Taranaki's love for Pihanga was great but after two battles he was too wounded to fight, so exhausted, Taranaki turned away and headed for the setting sun.

Leaving the Central North Island, Taranaki traveled in a straight line to where he stands today.

Pihanga, who up to now had been the centre of attention, realized that Taranaki was gone and it was him to whom her heart belonged - but it was too late to follow.

And to this day, she still shuns the advances of the other mountains.

So if you ever feel the need to get away from it all and inject a little romance into your life you won't find a more fitting place to muse over the power of love than on the slopes of Mt Taranaki, overlooking thousands of hectares of unspoiled native forest, hundreds of beautiful gardens and out to the coastline that stopped Taranaki in his tracks all those years ago.

To find out what else you can do to put some romance back in your life, call The New Plymouth Information Centre on 0800 80 90 50 and ask for your free 'Holiday Pack' or visit our website at www.newplymouthnz.com

BETTER TO BE POOR IN NZ THAN IN GERMANY, SAYS SURVEY (stuff)

A new survey of state pensions in affluent nations shows that it may be better to be poor in retirement in New Zealand than in Germany.

The Pensions at a Glance survey, recently released by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) says that only New Zealand and Ireland outperform the United States in re-distributing income to their poorest retirees, because they have simple flat-rate state pensions.

These types of scheme are simple, cheap and good at preventing poverty, but the lack of any link to earnings risks future pensioners voting for political parties that promise higher benefits.

The two countries have the lowest "net replacement rate" of less than 40 percent: the replacement rate indicates the extent to which a pension preserves the previous personal standard of living of a worker. Other workers on average earnings in OECD countries can expect their post-tax pension to be worth just under 70 per cent of their previous earnings after tax.

In Ireland, workers on half the average earnings can expect a retirement income after tax of 63 per cent of their previous earnings, but workers earning twice the average wage can expect to retire on only 22 per cent of their former earnings.

In New Zealand, workers retiring on the average wage could expect to receive 38 per cent of those earnings. The average New Zealand worker received $NZ39,912 in 2002.

The OECD says the United States and British systems are similar in their effects, redistributing heavily towards the poor, but because neither is a flat-rate, they are not simple.

At the other end of the scale are many European nations that relate state pensions closely to earnings, which give good benefits to workers on average earnings and above, but are expensive.

And in some countries, such as Germany and Italy, poorer employees fare badly; the OECD estimates that German employees on half the average wage can expect to receive 62 per cent of their after-tax incomes as a state pension, but those on 1.5 times the average wage - three times the money paid to the poorer workers - will receive 79 per cent.

The lowest pension wealth for someone who has earned average earnings when working is found in New Zealand, Ireland, Mexico, the United Kingdom and the United States, where it is less than six times average earnings. This is about two thirds of the OECD average.

From WYSIWYG NEWS - By Brian Harmer

(Copyright by Brian Harmer, reprinted by permission)

Two editions ago, I mentioned that Mary had found a folder full of pamphlets collectively entitled "Walk Tasman". These, together with a companion set called "Walk Nelson", are available for purchase at most information centres in the region. What my cunning wife had not revealed to me, was that these walks all subordinated scenic value to their principal goal of inducing a sedentary population to be more active. So it came to pass that, on our third and final day in the region, with

me in blissful ignorance of this awful plot, we left our motel in Tahunanui to do the Waimea River walkway which runs from Brightwater to Appleby. According to the glowing prose of the pamphlet, it sounded quite attractive, and figuring that a riverside walk is usually more or less horizontal, I preferred it to some of the sub-alpine alternatives that Mary proposed.

Bnghtwater is, of course, the birthplace of Ernest Rutherford. Apart from that, it is quite possible to pass through it without realizing that you have done so, and you might even be forgiven for not feeling especially deprived as a consequence. I am sure that Appleby also has some redeeming features.

Armed with our pamphlet, we searched for the start of the chosen walkway. After failing to find it, we showed the pamphlet to the shopkeeper in the dairy where I was buying a roast beef filled roll (US = sandwich) for my lunch. The shopkeeper was as mystified as I, and was quite unable to match the lines on the map with his knowledge of the area.

Frustrated, we drove off in approximately the right direction, knowing that we needed to be to the west of the river. Eventually we found a friendly pedestrian who, after turning the map ninety degrees clockwise three or four times gave us some rather tentative directions as to where we should start.

A quiet side road beside the high hedge of an orchard, terminating at a gate beside a stop bank did indeed turn out to be the proper beginning point of our forthcoming trek. Despite a high light haze, the sun was strong and there was little wind, so we ensured that our drink bottles were in the day packs we carried, and we slopped on the necessary quantity of sunscreen.

Over the stile and up onto the bank, we began our trip to Appleby. This is clearly not a heavily used track, since the grasses on it were tall and compara tively untrodden. Paspalum seed heads (Paspalum dilatum) such as I had not seen since we left Auckland in the 80s stuck to the shins as we pushed through them, but as the path progressed, the grass did get thinner.

To the west of the path were orchards and vineyards, and to the east some rather rough looking paddocks beyond which were the willows that both marked and obscured the edge of the river. In some senses, this walkway is a lot like the one beside the Hutt River, in that it runs along the top of the raised flood protection stop-banks. The Wannea seems to run rather straighter than the Hutt, so the path stretched out for quite long distances ahead, with few bends to conceal any scenic surprises.

Apple orchards beside our path were heavily laden with ripening red fruit, and the ground beneath the trees was absolutely carpeted with vast quantities of windfall apples. Nature is such a wastrel!

As we moved northward, the type of crop changed. Apples gave way to kiwifruit, then netting- covered grapes, and finally hops which have always been something of a mystery to me, at least as a living plant. I tend to be a consumer at the end-user part of the supply chain.

Then the ground seemed to get poorer, and eventually fruit gave way to cattle. To the right, the flood plain between the river and the stop-bank became increasingly scrubby, and less cultivated. There was much gorse and broom, and plenty of thistle.

At one place, a pathway led off towards the river itself, hitherto unseen, so we decided to stop for a drink and a nibble. Alas, behind the willows, there was no serene view of a quietly flowing river. Instead, great piles of gravel and river stone, and the tracks of heavy machinery made the view more post-apocalypse industrial than scenic.

Across the tom-up strands of the river, a quarry was at work, loading graded river stone up a variety of long conveyer belts into trucks, presumably for use in roadworks and engineering. Thus our chosen rest spot was not only very ugly, but also noisy. Its only redeeming feature was the shade provided by the trees, and the pretty little fantails flitting among the insects disturbed by our arrival.

Somewhat grumpy, but too thirsty to wait for a more promising spot to get that drink, we chose to rest there for a few minutes. Refreshed in body if not in spirit, we resumed our journey northward, looking across the now open farmland to our left, admiring the old farmhouses and the pretty little white-painted wooden country church tucked away in a cluster of trees.

Here and there a magnificent new farmhouse surrounded by an acre of immaculate lawn indicated that though the land may look hard to the lay eye, hard work and knowledge combine to extract a modicum of wealth from it. The oddity was the use of the farm's mobile irrigation system in the vicinity of the house, and the pulsing of the water as the faithful tractor half a mile away pumps water from the bore. At the end of the walkway, there was nothing to be done but turn around and come back.

I think that was Appleby, but it was hard to tell. Lest you get the mistaken impression that I found the whole thing utterly boring and without value,

there was much to see, especially for those who, in the words of William Blake, have a propensity to "... see a world in a grain of sand, and heaven in a wild flower". We saw an amazing variety of birds, insects and indeed plentiful wild flowers. Pheasants, quail, ducks, gulls, swallows, finches, sparrows, starlings, a few rooks, and the impertinent fantails all added to our enjoyment.

I was, however, astonished at the number of noxious weeds running rampant. At one point, there were three different noxious weeds competing for supremacy on one fencepost. Most particularly, "Old Man's Beard" (Clematis vitalba) seemed to be running wild along the fences that marked the edges of other wise orderly orchards.

As the walk progressed, the temperature rose, the breeze disappeared entirely, and I had to mop my head quite frequently. I began to think wistful thoughts of amber liquids in glass containers with a frosting of moisture on the outside. What a surprise then, when we returned at last to the car and drove to a nearby riverbank recreation area to eat our lunch, that Mary had secreted an insulated bag in the boot of the car. There, nestling on a bundle of frozen chilly packs was just such an amber coloured frosted treasure.

"A capable, intelligent, and virtuous woman- who is he who can find her? She is far more precious than jewels and her value is far above rubies or pearls." (Prov. 31:10). I even forgave her for that sneaky thing with the exercise! Besides, we have been married 35 years tomorrow and she really is a treasure!

A FIRST VISIT TO NEW ZEALAND

March 2005: My husband Tom and I took off from LAX. At the airport was a group of very happy and friendly New Zealanders. Tom is very gregarious, so he conversed with some of them, and before we boarded the plane we had an invitation to visit a couple who live in Hawkes Bay, NZ. The husband (Jim) wanted us to stop by and stay at their place. And if we have any problems while in NZ, to call him collect. That was hard to believe!

On the plane we sat next to a friendly Tahitian gentleman. The plane seemed to be filled with cheer ful and friendly Australians.

Arriving early in the morning in Auckland, we went directly to our very comfortable and clean motel room. We were bleary-eyed, but after our car was delivered to us, we managed to get around enough to look up a book store and a deli.

The next day we drove to Rotorua where we attended a Maori concert-wonderful, and we enjoyed the Agrodome sheep experience.

It was lovely driving through the green North Island. We stopped in Taupo one night, next day in Palmerston North, which we found to be a clean, lovely town.

We weren't in Wellington very long-got up early to take the ferry to Picton. Met lots of interesting people on board and enjoyed the voyage across Cook Strait.

Our drive to Nelson and then down the west coast of the South Island was fabulous. We loved the little town of Murchison where we took in the museum and the general store. Then Greymouth was most interesting, as was Hokitika. At the post office in Hokitika Tom mentioned to the woman working there how beautiful New Zealand is. She replied, 'Well, we just haven't had time to muck it up yet."

Going inland to the glacier area, we had a nice dinner at the Vacation Hotel, and Tom asked the lovely Maori waitress if we could have a packed lunch the next morning. When we picked it up we found it was HUGE-enough food to last for 2 days! There was lots of bread and butter, ham, chicken, tomatoes, oranges, apples and sweet rolls. At the Pleasant Flats Bridge we shared some of our lunch with the sparrows.

We enjoyed stopping at many roadside stands for fruits and vegetables-leaving our money in the "honesty" boxes.

Loved Queenstown so much we wanted to buy property there! We enjoyed Arrowtown also. Lots of good little places there for lunch-some outside.

Took the bus and launch trip to Milford Sound and had lunch on board. The day was incredibly beautiful (after storms the day before)-never to be forgotten. Stayed in TeAnau overnight.

We enjoyed the Cadbury tour in Dunedin. Lots of bargains in the gift shop.

We enjoyed the Hermitage at Mt Cook, and met some good Kiwi friends there (new to us). They invited us to visit them in Christchurch, which we did.

We took a great walk in the afternoon and saw many interesting birds: yellow-breasted tomtits, so curious and friendly-(they got within 2 feet of us), riflemen, fantails. In the morning we were awakened by the strange calls of keas on the roof of the hotel.

It was sad to fly out of Christchurch for the trip home. We will return to New Zealand, we're sure of that. - Laura Ingersoll, Oregon

NEW ZEALAND LITERATURE (from Te Ara)

Maori and settler experiences have provided different insights into life in New Zealand, and a rich literature has developed. Writers from diverse cultural backgrounds, such as poet Bill Manhire, novelists Patricia Grace, Albert Wendt, Maurice Gee and children's writer Margaret Mahy, are prominent in New Zealand and elsewhere.

Maori people quickly saw the advantages of writing and printing for conveying ideas, in their own language and in English. Song poetry, part of a vigorous oral tradition, was published in collections, notably Nga moteatea, compiled by Apirana Ngata from the 1920s. In the 1960s and 1970s poet Hone Tuwhare and novelist Witi Ihimaera led the way for creative writing in English.

Nineteenth-century settlers were initially more convincing when they wrote of actual rather than imagined events, as the diaries and reportage of that period show. With the passing of time, however, many writers such as Jane Mander, Ursula Bethell, Frank Sargeson, Allen Curnow and James K. Baxter produced poetry and fiction of lasting value. A self-conscious nationalist literary movement beginning in the 1930s influenced writers for several decades. Since then a more international literature has emerged, with exponents such as novelist Elizabeth Knox.

The New Zealand Society of Authors (PEN NZ) Inc lobbies for the interests of professional writers in dealing with publishers, broadcasting organisations and professional theatres, and negotiating copyright and royalty issues. The New Zealand Writers' Guild represents writers in the fields of film, television, radio, theatre, video and multimedia. There are now over 50 awards, grants and competitions for writers, and a growing number of writing courses, many offered by universities and polytechnics. Literary magazines have come and gone since Landfall was founded in 1947; they now include Sport and New Zealand Books.

Local publishing houses, including university presses, operate in a small, competitive market. Their concerns are addressed by the Book Publishers Association of New Zealand. Some large national publishing firms like Whitcombe & Tombs have been absorbed into multinational companies. Booksellers New Zealand promotes the sale of New Zealand books and manages several national book awards. The Montana New Zealand Book Awards are the big literary event of the year.

In New Zealand, book groups-usually consisting of 7 to 12 people-are extremely popular. Members usually discuss a particular book at convivial monthly meetings, where eating, drinking and socializing are often an important component. The Book Discussion Scheme run by the Federation of Workers Educational Associations has been operating since 1973. It has over 640 groups nationwide, and 56% of the membership is outside the four main urban centres.

New Zealanders are enthusiastic readers. According to a 2002 survey, 44% of the adult population had purchased books in the previous four weeks, and 39% had visited locally funded public libraries. They are encouraged by organizations like the New Zealand Book Council, and by local events and national festivals such as the Listener Women's Book Festival and the biennial New Zealand Post Readers and Writers Week.

THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA:

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

To be released 9 December '05

C. S. Lewis' timeless adventure THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA follows the exploits of the four Pevensie siblings-Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter-in World War II England.

The movie, filmed in New Zealand, marks the first live-action directorial effort for New Zealander Andrew Adamson (the Oscar-winning "Shrek", "Shrek 2"), who also co-wrote the screenplay adaptation with Emmy Award-winner Anne Peacock. The film is produced by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Mark Johnson.

Also coming up is KING KONG, filmed in New Zealand, and scheduled for release 14 December. Though most filming has finished, post-production would continue till at least October. Visual effects photography director Alex Funke said about 1400 shots had yet to be filmed using miniatures-different- scaled models of jungles, buildings and ships- constructed by Weta. Double the number of miniature shots in The Lord of the Rings were involved.

For information on films of the past produced in New Zealand, go to http://www.nzvideos.org/. The most recently added film is THE SEEKERS (also known as "Land of Fury"). This was an English production, filmed in the early 1930s, partially in New Zealand (near Rotorua and Whakatane).

Comments by Charles Eggen who does the nzvideos website:

"The screenplay is not the best, and some of the acting is a bit rough. The major thing of note is the colonial and maori perspectives demonstrated by the Europeans. If the story was being made today, it would be a very different film."

WINDOW ON THE WORLD

Broadcast film crews from around the world have been flocking to New Zealand over the past few months, taking home stories of our country to audiences of millions.

Tourism New Zealand's International Media Programme has attracted a range of high-quality television shows to this country-a great way of getting New Zealand's stunning landscape and tourism onto television screens around the world.

Between November 2004 and January 2005, five television features on New Zealand aired in Germany, to a combined audience of around six million.

The most popular travel show in Latin America also paid a visit to New Zealand recently. Resto del Mundo, fronted by an ex-Argentinian footballer, spent five days in the North Island filming four New Zealand specials. They are set to screen to a potential audience of 16 million in Spanish-speaking Latin America.

And there has been a plethora of New Zealand coverage on screen across the Tasman with both major travel shows-Getaway and The Great Outdoors- screening one hour specials on New Zealand in March and April, to a combined audience of over two million.

MILKING BEFORE DAWN

In the drifting rain the cows in the yard are as black

Of the man in the city asleep; he does not feel the night encircle him, the grasp of mud.

But now the hills in the east return, are soft

And grey with mist, the night recedes, and the rain.

The earth as it turns towards the sun is young

Again, renewed, its history wiped away

Like the tears of a child. Can the earth be young again

And not the heart? Let the man in the city sleep.

Ruth Dallas

NEW ZEALAND IMPRESSIONS

At first the only thing to see is the unending ocean of white clouds. The clouds seem to move with a mind and spirit of their own. They are a living, breathing entity. The unprotected clouds can be seen clinging to mountaintops as a young child clings to its mother. They descend into the crevices of the valleys finding shelter from unknown enemies. They slowly disperse into thin air to reveal a beautiful land of mystery.

The wide variety of trees can be seen soon thereafter. Ancient trees that look as though they have seen the beginning of time itself. Trees so nurturing that smaller plants, ferns and lichens find their home upon their wide trunks and many branches. These trees are the mothers of the ground. They shield the smaller plants that have found safety beneath the unending shelter of their branches, like the protective wing of a mother hen over her helpless baby chicks. These trees, so dense in numbers, absorb all the distant sounds of modem civilization like jets and cars, moving you back to a time before engines, planes, and modern living.

The sounds that can be heard are so soothing and natural that it brings an indescribable peace to even the most unsettled mind. The gentle dripping of water can be traced to the early morning dew falling from leaves. The dripping becomes slightly more audible in the form of a quiet little stream, tucked between small rocks and bushes. When following this stream, it is possible to hear more and more of a rush and tumble to the water as it transforms into a river, quickening its pace. The rush of the river will soon rise to a roar as it becomes a magnificent waterfall, filling the air below it with wild mists and rainbows of color.

The rocks below this waterfall are aged smooth with the wear of unending water running over them like an artist's hand, manipulating them into

glistening orbs of nature's beauty. The painter's pallet pales in comparison to the vibrant colors revealed only through time. Smaller stones directly beneath the brute force of the waters' pounding fist, are slowly ground against each other, until they are no more than fine grains of shiny sand on their way to the shore of the island.

Just beyond the shoreline is the great expanse of vibrant turquoise ocean. The ocean seems to draw the sky to it, connecting them in a seamless union. The ocean mirrors the weather. When the sky is a trans parent blue, the ocean is smooth and polished as a shard of glass. However, when the sky turns an ominous charcoal gray, the ocean churns and foams in rage at the unsettling weather.

Peeking in the distance is what appears to be a blinding white growth on the perfect skin of the earth. It is one of the more impressive sights to be seen. A colossal mountain covered in crystallized water that stubbornly refuses to melt away from the place it has landed. This mass of shining snow reflects harsh sunlight, quiet pale moonlight, and even barely visible starlight from worlds light-years away.

Over this mountain gem, in the valley beyond is a vibrant blue and green glacial slide that brings all life to a stop. The air itself is sharp with the ancient cold that bites at exposed skin. Within this wall of frozen water, life fonns long since dead have made permanent residence here. They hold tales of the past that may never be told to the world as we know it.

The sun begins to slowly droop as the weight of the day takes its toll. Deep midnight blue begins to show in the sky. The sun changes from its dazzling yellows and golds, to reds and purples in cooler hues. The sky throws out fantastic colors to embrace the coming of darkness. The day is finished but night is now beginning to stretch its wings.

The last rays of the ending day finally cease, and now the reign of night has begun. Slowly stars can be seen emerging from the darkness. More and more appear in the sky, creating constellations that seem to come to life, and planets that seem to be merely feet away. Before long, the sky is so bright it lights up the ground, creating dim shadows, as on a foggy day. Yet even more shadows are cast on the earth as the moon makes its slow assent in the sky.

The moon and the stars are the beginning and ending to a new day; the connectors to an unending cycle. A piece of perfection. Sky and clouds, trees

and land, oceans and rivers, mountains and glaciers. Natural splendors that cannot be fabricated by mere mortals, but to be treasured for what they are.. . New Zealand.

Bonnie Lawler

BOOKS (from NEXT)

The New Zealand Oxford Dictionary, (Oxford

University Press.)

I'll never be lost for words again after exploring this impressive and extensive tome compiled by the New Zealand Dictionary Centre and Oxford University Press. It contains over 100,000 headwords and more than 10,000 New Zealand special interest words. There are hours of fun and information to be had fmding all our colloquial terms, such as "throw a wobbly", and some of our newer words, like "munted", as well as many of the Maori words we use in everyday language, such as koha and whanau. One of the extra features are the encyclopaedic entries on famous people, historical events and notes on towns and cities.

New Zealand's Islands, by Pamela McGeorge (David Bateman)

Until I delved into this "roving survey", I was unaware that Aotearoa is surrounded by as many as 800 islands. Over 130 of these-including volcanoes, gannet rock colonies, lighthouse stations, wildlife sanctuaries and quarantine islands-feature, as well as the remote Chatham Islands from where my father's family hails. Include an island or two in your holiday itineraiy. The details of how to get there can be found here, too.

KIWIphile FILE

Published quarterly by Eva Trapani

E-mail: KiwiET1@aol.com