Volume XIV, No. 1

SEPTEMBER 2001

TOURISM BEGINNINGS IN NZ

With European settlement in 1840 came publicity and curiosity about the new British colony.

New Zealand's natural wonderland and its opportunities for exploration soon drew the adventurous traveller as well as the European immigrant to its distant shores. Hampered by lack of access, accommodation, facilities and publicity, the path of the tourist was long, arduous and expensive in the latter half of the 1800s. But this was certainly no hindrance to those intrepid travellers with a sense of spirit, adventure and a few spare pounds.

Although Maori, followed by the early European settler, had long been reaping the benefits of New Zealand's natural thermal springs, it was pioneer Robert Graham who developed the first hot springs resort at Waiwere (north west of Auckland) in 1845. The earliest hosts and guides in the tourism industry were the Te Arawa people of the Rotorua district, particularly the women, who became legendary guides to the Pink and White Terraces (before they were destroyed in 1886) and afterwards at Whakarewarewa Reserve. Guides such as Sophia Hinerangi, Maggie Papakura and Rangitira Dennan (Guide Rangi) were well renowned and popular with visitors for providing the warmest of welcomes to Rotorua's thermal attractions. It was not until 1876, when the Government took control of the provincial railway system, that the beginnings of a national tourist system started to emerge.

By the 1890s tourists had access to the Rotorua, Te Aroha and Hanmer Springs thermal areas, and were being guided on the Milford Track, Tasman Glaciers and in to the Waitomo Caves, and taken by steamer on the Whanganui River and southern lakes of Manapouri, Te Anau and Wakatipu. Climbers were tackling Mt. Cook for the first time in 1882, the Hermitage Hotel was built in 1884 and the first guiding service to the Mt. Cook area was offered the same year.

By 1901 tourist traffic was sufficient to instigate the setting up of the world's first national tourism organisation -- the Department of Tourist and Health Resorts.

NATURE JOURNEYS & CRUISES

In recent years civilisation has pushed back the boundaries of our wilderness experiences. It is getting harder for amateur naturalists to find unspoiled corners of the globe where they can go and pursue their interests. Southern Heritage Tours Ltd. is owned and operated by naturalists so we appreciate the difficulties you have. With you in mind we have put together some unique cruises and journeys which provide the sorts of opportunities you have wanted.

Opportunities to visit areas where nature still comes first. Places where the birds outnumber the people and plants can grow without fear of being trampled on by the crowds. Such places are rare today. New Zealand is unique in that it still has a number of these 'special places'.

Whatever your interest you will find something or some area to interest you in our range of cruises and journeys. If you have difficulty in settling on one particular journey or cruise because you want to do them all or because you have limited time ask about our special Overland New Zealand Journey. This 12-day journey takes the highlights from our other journeys and cruises (with the exception of the Chatham Islands and Subantarctic), and gives you an action packed overview of New Zealand's natural history.

An alternative to booking as an individual on one of our journeys or cruises is to arrange your own group. Check with us first for the maximum allowable number on the journey or cruise of your choice. Group travel has so many advantages, one of which is that we give you a generous discount.

You can also choose your own departure date and amend the itinerary to suit your group's interest, if you wish.

All our journeys and cruises are led by experienced and qualified naturalists. There is a reference library for your use and some optional evening lectures that you may find helpful. We deliberately restrict the numbers on each departure so that you get the opportunities that we believe you deserve.

INFORMATION AND RESERVATIONS THROUGH YOUR TRAVEL AGENT ONLY.

RELEASING FISH - from the Wakatipu Advertiser

There is a growing trend among anglers to release, unharmed, a portion of their allowable catch. Fisheries Management staff heartily endorse this philosophy of voluntary "catch and release."

By following a few simple rules you can be certain that released fish will live to spawn and/or be caught again. Remember that a fish that appears unharmed when released may not survive if not carefully handled.

1. Time is of the essence. Play and release the fish as rapidly as possible. A fish played gently for too long may be too exhausted to recover.

2. Keep the fish in the water as much as possible. A fish out of water is suffocating and, in addition, is many times heavier. He may seriously injure himself if allowed to flop on the beach or rocks. Even a few inches of water under a thrashing fish acts as a protective cushion.

3. Gentleness in handling is essential. Keep your fingers out of the gills. Do not squeeze small fish ... they can easily be held by the lower lip. Nets may be helpful provided the mesh does not become entangled in the gills. Hooks and lines tangling in nets may delay release, so keep the net in the water.

4. Unhooking. Remove the hook as rapidly as possible with long-nose pliers. IF THE FISH IS DEEPLY HOOKED, cut the leader and leave the hook in. Be quick but gentle-do not roughly tear out hooks. Small fish are particularly susceptible to the shock of a torn-out hook.

5. Reviving. Some fish, especially after a long struggle, may lose consciousness and float belly up. Always hold the fish in the water (heading upstream in streams). Propel it back and forth, pumping water through its gills.

When it revives, begins to struggle and can swim normally, let it go to survive and challenge another fisherman.

UP, UP AND AWAY

— by Judy Miller (by permission)

Lynne Gibson, Jean Paterson, Cathy and I were together again, this. time in Methven at the Mt. Hutt Chalets. Methven is the bedroom for Mt. Huti Ski area, but since ski season hadn't started yet, we pretty much had the town to ourselves. The Chalet was really a small motel on the northwest side of town. If you walked outside and into the parking lot there was a view of the two Thumb Ranges and the price was right, $119 for the four of us in the family suite with three bedrooms, bath, large kitchen and a sunken living room with an open hearth, wood burning, cast-iron stove. Dinner was pate, salami, cheese, crackers, peanuts, frozen pizzas, salad and a certain amount of alcohol.

Up while it was still dark, each of us, in turn, walked to the window, pushed back a corner of the curtain, wiped away the condensation that had formed overnight and peered into the blackness. It looked cold, it looked clear, it looked calm, and it looked like we were finally going to get our long delayed hot air balloon trip off the ground.

Our instructions were to dress warmly in layers and we took them very seriously, about four layers worth each in fact. Lyn's Jaguar started reluctantly, warmed slowly and we wiped fog off the windows all the way to town, pulling up at the visitors information office just as it started to get light. A few minutes later we were joined by our fellow passengers, a couple from North Otago and shortly after that by George and Chris of Aoraki Balloon Safaris. They arrived in an old, refurbished ambulance that served as passenger transport and towed the trailer bearing the balloon and gondola.

First things first so we went inside to take care of payment, paperwork and orientation. Payment is pretty self-explanatory and relatively painless. The paperwork is worse. That is where they say "please write your name and weight on this form" (in pounds, kilos or stone depending on your country of origin) and you don't want to lie, not even a little bit as this is how the pilot calculates the number of passengers that the balloon can safely carry. Don't lie!

The orientation was simple and consisted of some history, some geography, the credentials and safety record of the pilot, how the balloon works, how it is steered, and why we had to be up so early and in such cold weather. The six of us scrambled into the back of the ambulance, not dwelling on the connotations of our mode of transportation, and settled onto bench seats facing each other. Chris and George climbed into the cab. There were no windows so if we wanted to see out at all, we had to crouch down and peer between the two of them out the front window. This is not a good thing for those prone to motion sickness. Within a few minutes we arrived at the launch site, in this case a sports field recently used, apparently, from the organic matter underfoot, as a sheep paddock.

The rising sun was just starting to reflect off the dusting of new snow on the Two Thumbs Range and Southern Alps, turning them pink and white and where the shadows still fell, a deep blue. It had not touched the lower elevations yet so our breath hung in front of us and the grass crunched as we stomped our feet to keep them warm. Chris soon had us too busy to feel very cold. He climbed on the back of the trailer and into the gondola and began to check out the LPG tanks and burners. A loud roar and a pillar of flame shot ten feet into the morning sky. A few minutes later another roar and burst of hot air confirmed that the burners were working just fine. Skids were placed against the tail of the trailer and George and Chris were able to get the gondola tipped onto these wooden planks. The trailer was then slowly pulled out from under the gondola and it settled none too gently onto the grass. The balloon itself was packed in a canvas bag that doesn't look nearly big enough to contain something that can hold 175,000 cubic feet of hot air. Between the eight of us we managed to get it off the trailer and onto the grass alongside the gondola. The gondola itself is about 10 x 5 feet and is divided into compartrnents (similar to a milk crate) in which the passengers stand. It is constructed of wicker with 3 footholds on either end that are used to climb into and out of the gondola which is certified to hold up to ten passengers. Our group of six felt just right.

Getting into the gondola quickly was important and we were asked to practice our various techniques, some of which were graceful, others only successful, but we all got in and back out one way or the other. The balloon was stretched out across the field, a length of 83 feet; its red, blue, orange, green and yellow stripes vivid against grass. The rigging that connected it and the gondola was checked and re- checked. Lynne and Pat now struggled to hold open the large opening at the bottom of the balloon.

It was a cold job, as two large fans were blowing cold morning air past them into the balloon in order to inflate it to the point where the burners could be used. Chris and George looked miniature size as they worked inside the balloon checking its condition and making sure that the inflation process went smoothly. As more and more air was forced into the balloon it grew silently, first spreading out on its side and then slowly rising until most of the bulk was clear of the ground. The fans were jerked out of the way, the burners roared, flames shot into the balloon and it started to come upright. Now we had to move quickly, putting to use our various boarding techniques as we needed to be inside the gondola before the balloon swung fully above us. A few more short, noisy blasts and we were fifteen feet off the ground before I even realized we had moved.

The sun was fully up by now reflecting off the mountains and casting shadows over the vast Canterbury Plains spread out below. Our own shadow followed us, stretching or shrinking in relationship to our altitude. It was perfectly silent except for the occasional burst of flame to raise us higher and higher above the plains, a patchwork stretching from the Southern Alps to the South Pacific; homesteads, paddocks, canals, rock walls, fences, wind breaks, and rivers. We were exhilarated peeping toms peering down onto houses and into back yards. The noisy burners sent mobs of sheep swirling and flowing under us and rabbits bounced zig zag patterns across the fields.

We climbed to about 500 feet drifting down the Plains toward Ashburton. It was breathtaking. About 30 minutes into our flight Chris started to do burns more frequently and with no sensation at all we steadily gained altitude. Objects on the ground became smaller and more distant peaks started to emerge above the horizon. I watched the altimeter climb through 4,000, 5,000 and finally stop at just over 6,000 feet. I wanted to look down but couldn't, keeping my eyes firmly on the distant beauties of Mt. Cook, Mt. Aspiring, Mt. Tasman and to the east Christchurch, Ashburton and the Pacific.

From a mile up we started our descent, pushed gently along by a prevailing northeasterly breeze. The farmhouses and vehicles grew larger, we could hear dogs barking again, and caused minor panic among more sheep. Drifting just above the tree tops Chris spotted a field large enough to provide a safe landing and we took our positions, facing backward, knees bent, holding tightly to rope handholds. The gondola thumped the ground once, became airborne again and

then thumped down a second time heeling over as we were dragged gently down the field. Chris tugged on the lines, collapsing the balloon rapidly into the shape of a sailing spinnaker and the gondola came upright. Having warned us about hard landings where the gondola is dragged onto its side forcing the passengers into undignified gondola exits, Chris felt this one went entirely too well and while we stood there enjoying our good fortune, another tug on the lines and over we went. Of course, that was a photo opportunity and while we remained trapped in our little gondola nests he scrambled out and recorded the event on film. Now our hard-earned lesson on how to get out of the basket was meaningless and there were no graceful exits this time, only successful ones.

You can't land something that big and that bright in someone's field without drawing a great deal of attention. Ballooners have a legal right to land wherever and whenever the need arises but must try not to abuse the privilege, landing on a different prop- erty each time. Before George could arrive with the chase vehicle the farm manager, three farm hands, and one sheep dog converged on the site looking quite amazed at what had come down in their quiet field. We were pleased to see them too as the balloon had to be repacked quickly to get it out of the sun and it turned out to be awkward, heavy work. In order to get everything to fit back into the bag, all of the air first had to be squashed out and the material folded in toward the center until only a long narrow ribbon of balloon stretched on the ground. Two people then had to hold the bag open and move backward while everyone else lifted, stuffed, walked forward; lifted, stuffed, walked forward until all of the balloon was back in the bag, the top zipped shut and the heavy, clumsy load hoisted back into the trailer. By the time we finished our job, George had changed into tails, top hat and cummerbund and laid a feast of croissants, cheese and jam; coffee, champagne and hot spiced wine which we happily shared with all of our helpers.

The six of us knelt on the wet grass in the warm morning sunshine, our glasses raised in a toast.

"May the winds welcome you with their softness.

May the sun bless you with his warm hands.

May you fly so high and so well that God will join you in your laughter,

And set you gently down in the loving arms of mother earth."

Chris recited and touched each of our foreheads with a dampened champagne cork officially bringing our adventure to an end

(The ballooner's prayer was originally recited prior to a flight asking for a safe flight and gentle return. It is done today at the end of the flight for traditional reasons and to allow our minds to go back to the early days and the mystery of the venture.)

(This story is taken from KIWI TALES by Judy Miller. Contact your editor to buy a copy.)

GOOD SPORT - From Barry Harcourt's Images South 2000

If there is one characteristic of the locals that a visitor to the southern half of New Zealand quickly notices it is their intense love of sport.

Social scientists might provide a thesis full of reasons, from the environment to the sociable nature of sporting endeavour in sparsely populated provinces.

There is no doubt that a strongly competitive spirit drove pioneering settlers who overcome great odds from 200 years ago to break in farms, build cities and create industries from the resources of the land. They have passed on their spirit and the mental rigour it took to survive. Combine that with the fitness an outdoor life builds and the determination of southerners to prove themselves in world arenas and they succeed out of proportion to their numbers.

But there are influences that lift them beyond genetic gifts or physical and mental prowess. The passion for sport in the south gives a pride in achievement where every small community shares the success of "their" sporting heroes. The passion is almost there to touch when the terraces are packed at Carisbrook in Dunedin or Homestead Stadium in Invercargill. There's an atmosphere that could charge the national power grid; a fervour that seems not to reach such heights in other parts of the country. It reaches fever pitch when the All Blacks—half of them Otago and Southland representatives—play South Africa on home grounds; when the Highlanders rub northern noses in the rugby Super 12 competition; or the Southern Sting netballers dominate the national courts. But it's also a passion that lines the streets in support of the cycling Tour of Southland, or lines the banks of the rivers for the opening of the fishing season.

Such is the southerner's love of sport that it would be rare not to find a country field on a winter weekend where rugged-up spectators were cheering on the juniors, or an iced pond where the area's farmers were engaged in the gentlemanly sport of curling.

In summer the bowling greens will be quietly alive; the beaches crowded with swimmers and surfers.

If you wanted to get away from the frenzy for fitness you could take a hike in the mountains. But you are likely to stumble upon a team abseiling down a cliff to practise for the Great Southern Traverse.

NEW ZEALAND FILMS ON VIDEO - from Charles Eggen

I have loaded up what New Zealand film information I have completed, at its permanent domain site. That address is: http://www.nzvideos.org

By the way, the sequel to Once Were Warriors, i.e. What Becomes of the Broken Hearted was scheduled for its US video release on July 26. Essentially the same cast, but a different director.

On the website you will, hopefully, be able to locate information regarding New Zealand Feature Film titles (+ four featurettes) that can be found on VHS video (NTSC and PAL) as well as DVD discs.

Gradually more information will be available, such as details of notable personages, soundtrack info, related books and detailed info on how to buy and sell titles.

If someone has a New Zealand title, on video, that I do not list, I most certainly would like to hear from you, but bear in mind that I am not yet listing any title with a release date after 1996. I am working on 1998-2000.

In short I want to hear your ideas that could improve on the content of this site. This site will gradually change in content and appearance, so check back periodically. Enjoy!

HAYLEY WESTENRA (Copyright by Brian Harmer, reprinted by permission)

Mary and I went into town on Tuesday evening to a concert starring the young soprano Hayley Westenra in the Michael Fowler Centre. It was one of those moody nights with reasonably clear weather in the Hutt Valley and something dense and grey obscuring the city from view. The skyline to the west where the remnants of the sunset should have been was dense and black. Waterfront lights at the container terminal were soft and diffuse, and it became clear that a cloudburst was occurring. Even from as close as the Ngauranga Gorge it was not possible to see any trace of anything other than the brightest lights on the water's side. Suddenly it started raining.

Since I had been driving towards it for the last ten minutes this ought not to have been a surprise. Wham! From dry windscreen to the need for the high speed wiper setting in less than three seconds! However, we soon emerged on the other side, and found ourselves in the prowling process of looking for a park near the Michael Fowler Centre.

Considering that the star of the show is a mere 14 years old, she may have felt intimidated by an audience which seemed to contain very few under- fifties. Since our decision to go was very much at the last minute, we were near the back in a very full house. In front of us was a vast sea of predominantly grey hair, which, now that I think of it, was nicely offset against the lovely warm timber of the hall.

Now I have neither the competence nor the intention to offer a concert review, yet I can't avoid passing a few comments. For those who have never heard of her, Hayley is a young Christchurch girl who is attracting favourable comparisons with the British soprano Charlotte Church. I don't mean to "spam" you, but I commend to your attention the site which advertises her CD, which was the third top seller in NZ this week according to RIANZ.

http://netcd.co.nz/cgi-bin/netCD/Recordings.cgj?61781

There are a few samples on the site, so if you are willing to download them, you can hear Hayley's voice.

Considering this is a 14 year old with no serious training, imagine how she will sound as her voice matures, and perhaps is formally trained. Patrick Shepherd reviewed the album in today's Press. "Hayley Westenra has an undoubted talent, a crystal, pure voice which promises much. For any singer, this is a most accomplished album. For a 14-year-old, it is remarkable. Her voice has an ethereal quality in the live recording of Amazing Grace, which is both very moving and, to be honest, more satisfying than some of the bigger production numbers."

I had been reluctant to go to the concert because there were so many supporting artists I had never heard of including two male singers and a violinist, a guitarist, and a choir. Well the guitarist was Gary Bartlett who quit his career as an accountant when I was about 15. This had the appearance of opportunistic exploitation of the young singer's sudden fume. In the event, I concluded that this was a stunning line up of young talent which deserves to be aired in any and every way possible. The two male singers were Shaun Dixon and Tim Beveridge. The violinist, also a mere 14 years, was Ben Morrison. And unadvertised, Hayley's younger sister Sophie, 11, and her brother Isaac who is 8, also creditably accompanied her for a few numbers. What an amazing family.

The programme was skillfully selected for the audience, with lyric pieces for almost everyone. Among the many pieces sung by the two men was the duet "Au fond du temple sant" from Bizet's "The Pearl Fishers." They made the hair stand up on the back of my neck. But as I said, I am no reviewer. I am just so delighted to have heard such a marvellous pool of genuine young New Zealand talent.

ALL-BLACKS, WALLABIES,

LIONS, BARBARIANS - Stephen J. Mangum

The New Zealand All-Blacks are off to an excellent start this season with four consecutive wins.

The AB's opened with a 50-6 win over Samoa on June 16 at North Harbour, followed by a big 67-19 margin vs Argentina on June 23 at Christchurch. The boys then stepped it up with a convincing 37-12 triumph over France at Wellington.

Tn-Nations competition began with New Zea- land defeating South Africa 12-3 in adverse weather conditions at Capetown, S.A. The test was a great defensive struggle with tremendous goal-line stands and superior kicking winning the match for the All Blacks. New skipper Anton Oliver, Taine Randell, Tony Brown, and Tana Umaga turned in outstanding performances.

The New Zealand Maori team gave Australia all it could handle in a tough match at Stadium Australia, Sydney, in early June. The Wallabies hung on for a 4 1-29 win which ended a 24 match victory streak for the Maori side over seven years.

The Black Ferns split a two-match series with England's women's team. New Zealand won 15-10 at Rotorua on June 9. England then pulled out a victory with a last minute try for a 22-17 margin at Albany on June 16th Thus ended the Black Ferns 27 match un- beaten record over ten years.

New Zealand retained the World Series

Sevens title in the final round at Cardiff, Wales.

Australia was runner-up followed by Fiji, Samoa, and South Africa.

The Rugby Football Unions (RFU's) of Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa have de- clined to participate in a proposed one-off test in 2002 between the winner of the Tri-Nations and Six Nations tournaments.

Australia's Wallabies, for the first time ever, won a brilliant three match test series with the British and Irish Lions. The Lions are an amalgated team selected from the top players in England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, and tour every four years in one of

the down under nations. After splitting the first two tests in Brisbane and Melbourne, the Wallabies put on a scintillating performance to triumph 30-24 at Sydney for a delirious crowd.

The A.C.T. Brumbies crushed the Natal Sharks 36-6 at Canberra in the Super 12 final held at Canberra.

Jonah Lomu led the Barbarians, a side of international players, on a three game rampage through the British Isles. Lomu blasted over, under, around, and through Scotland for four first half tries at Edinburgh. Later he scored one try and set up two more as the Babas defeated England 41-29 at Twickenham.

EXPERIENCE THE BEST OF NEW ZEALAND AND AUSTRALIA with Pacific Pathways

From Jan Coyle *

Dear Friends and Travelers,

Having just returned from three weeks in New Zealand where I attended the Tourism Conference, I can safely recommend the month of May as a great time of the year to travel there: low season air and accommodation prices, fewer tourists, and, to my surprise and joy, hardly a drop of rain! However, the first snowfall of the year occurred the day before I traveled through Southland and Fiordland and I must say, I have never seen those areas look more beautiful. May is also a good time to be in Australia as both the heat of midsummer and the numbers of tourists are diminished.

While in New Zealand I had the very great pleasure of walking the Hollyford Track,, just one of New Zealand's breathtakingly beautiful three day guided walks. It is an easy walk through the Hollyford Valley from the Milford Road to the Tasman Sea and, though one can return by wa!king back to the road, I elected to take the fly out option, cruising in a 5 seater plane along the coast and into Milford Sound from the west, a new experience for me!

Our March Nifty, Over Fifty Tour was delightful. A small group of very compatible people, perfect weather, lovely walks and a few unexpected challenges made for a memorable trip and much laughter at our post tour reunion! Two of our 70+ hikers joined me in a parapenting adventure in Queenstown, jumping off the top of Coronet Peak ski field and gently floating through the clouds to the valley floor below! (Not part of the scheduled tour and not for the faint hearted but this was a very young at heart group!)

Now we are looking ahead to Birds in the Bush of Australia, the Gardens and Glaciers of New Zealand and our Spring Garden Tours of both New Zealand and Australia. If you can't make these I would be happy to arrange an individual tour for you or, to fmd another group tour operated in New Zealand or Australia that would suit you. Jan Coyle

(Pacific Pathways, 1919 Chula Vista Dr., Belmont, CA 94002.

Ph: (650) 595 2090. Fax: (650) 591 7721.

E-mail: nzaustours@pacificpathways.com

Website: www.pacificpathways.com)

From Pacific Pathways newsletter:

You can now take a ride in a submarine at Milford Sound descending to 900 ft below the surface.

The jet boat was invented in New Zealand by CWF Hamilton. There are many opportunities to experience the thrill of a jet boat ride on New Zealand's shallow, glacial fed rivers.

Exclusive luxury accommodations can now be found throughout New Zealand. Some are old estates or hotels that have been remodeled. Others are pur- pose built. Some feature fishing or hunting, others wildlife. All are well appointed and serve delicious dinners and breakfasts.

The population of New Zealand is around 3.5 million. There are about 40 million sheep and it is estimated there are 70 million opossums. These un- welcome critters were introduced from Australia for the fur trade. They love our native trees and are decimating our precious forests.

* (Pacific Pathways is a small company devoted to offering personalized tours of New Zealand and Australia. Owner Jan Coyle, was born and grew up in New Zealand. Since 1992 she has been designing and escorting tours to her homeland and Australia. Jan also assists individuals with planning and booking their own itineraries, helping them make contact with New Zealanders and Australians who share their special interest whether it be collecting beer memorabilia, studying fossils, or simply meeting the people and seeing the country.)

AUSSIERULES - from NEXT

The enternal battle between the Aussies and New Zealand has moved now from the playing fields to supermarket wine shelves. There's no doubt that Australia can produce large quantities of reasonable quality wine at prices New Zealand winemakers can only dream of. So far this year, New Zealand has imported 14,000,000 litres of Australian wine worth around $68 million, while exports to Australia were only 1,850,000 litres worth $20 million. The sheer size of the Australian wine industry is one reason.

Southcorp, one of Australia's largest companies, crushes more grapes each vintage than New Zealand's entire production. Australia has a warmer climate than New Zealand and, consequently, it's easier to harvest large quantities of ripe grapes. But as consumers rush to snap up these bargain-priced bottles, spare a thought for our Kiwi wines. They may look expensive compared to the bold, brassy Aussies but competing on price just isn't an option. New Zealand is a cool-climate producer, which means grape growing can be lucky, at the mercy of our un- predictable weather. However, cool-climate wines also have more intense aromas and flavours than grapes from warmer regions. Which is why our exported wines are in such demand everywhere, If we want to continue enjoying the best of New Zealand wine, and not see our top wines sent offshore, we must accept that New Zealand is a quality not quantity producer and dip a bit deeper into our pockets.

HOPES OF FLAX, POSSUM MONEY-SPINNER

- from STUFF

A unique New Zealand fabric—a weave of flax fibre and possum fur—is being developed with the aim of creating a New Zealand-wide Maori cottage industry.

The hard-wearing fabric, the brainchild of scientist George Sanford, has the backing of a North Island Maori trust and possum products marketer Greg Howard.

Mr. Howard said they hoped to create jobs, especially for Maori, from two of New Zealand's most common products. The trust hoped to develop Maori flax-harvesting businesses that would feed a processing factory.

Mr. Sanford, an industrial chemist who has been researching Maori medicine, said he was analys- ing flax's chemical structure and was pondering uses for the fibre when he read in The Dominion of Mr. Howard's difficulty in getting government backing to develop a possum processing industry. "I had a flash of inspiration—why not combine the two? The result ought to be pretty interesting."

He contacted Mr. Howard, who found a factory in Belgium that could process the flax and one in New Zealand that could weave the processed flax with possum fur.

Resulting clothing and textiles such as bed linen would have high tensile strength, excellent recovery from stretching and be hard-wearing and water-resistant, Mr. Sanford said.

The new product is called Di-Coll. "It's named after Diane Collins, a friend and mentor. She does a lot of good in the world and I want to mark that in perpetuity."

NICOLE'S NEW ZEALAND - from Book Passage "One of our favorite travelers Nicole Howard recently returned from an extended trip to New Zealand. Here are afew excerpts and tips from her travel journals:"

The ferry crossing over Cook Strait

"The crossing from Wellington to Picton was smooth despite dire warnings from the locals about it being one of the roughest stretches of water in the world. In fact, it was amazingly gorgeous. A pod of dusky dolphins appeared about half way across to race the boat. They seemed to compete for who could jump higher and faster on the way to the wake line."

Abel Tasman National Park

"The Abel Tasman is the stuff of travel brochures. The water is aquamarine lapping white sand remote beaches, the rocks perfectly dotting the coastline, and the forest relatively untouched. You have to plan your hiking (locally called 'tramping') carefully, so that you can cross the estuaries at low tide. When I did, the sandbed was filled with mollusk shells, oysters, clams, green-lipped mussels. As you can imagine, it attracts all kinds of sea birds. One of the best things about the Abel Tasman track is that there are water taxis to porter your pack from bay to bay, so you don't have to carry all your gear and food more than a short distance."

Collingwood

"Collingwood is a small town on the north end of Golden Bay, which borders the Farewell Spit. Nearby is a gorgeous, temperate rainforest, through which we kayaked. Our guide owned the hostel, called the Inn-Let, where we stayed for three nights. True to the pun, the hostel was situated in an inlet. It's a great old house with high ceilings, verandas, riotous gardens, and a creekside outdoor fireplace for farmstyle barbeques. It includes an organic garden, as well as a blue penguin nesting ground at the end of the driveway."

Fiordland National Park

"Took an all day excursion which included a boat across Lake Manapouri, a bus ride over the mountains, a boat down Doubtful Sound to the Tasman Sea, and back. The Sound was amazing with mountains rising from the calm waters where large bottlenose dolphins and calves played in the wake 2 feet from us."

Mt. Cook National Park

We stayed at Mt. Cook Village, something like the settlement in Yosemite Valley but much, much smaller. We hiked up the Hooker Valley with perfect views of Mt. Cook over glaciers. We drooled over the mountaineering potential, but no time on this trip for such ambitious peak-bagging pursuits."

Punakaiki

"Driving north from the New Zealand Alps and Franz Josef Glacier, the road begins with snow- capped mountains on one side and estuarial lakes leading to the sea on the other. By Greymouth the feeling changes into that of beach towns. It is startling how much the landscape and climate alters in a mere four hours. North of Greymouth, spectacular sea stacks arise, aptly called pancake rocks as they look like 3 story high stacks of flapjacks I chose to stay at Te Nikau Retreat, a former artist colony, consisting of four unique wood houses."

Nelson

"Nelson is my favorite city in New Zealand, perhaps because it is the most like small Northern California cities, such as Sonoma. The good wine, food, and climate help to reinforce the idea. If I ever settled in New Zealand, I'd choose Nelson."

Coromandel Peninsula

"The coastline here is very different than the South Island. Even the light seems different, much more Mediterranean. as it reflects off the ocean. Mud- flats glow pink at sunset. I stayed at another great hostel, the Coromandel Backpackers Lodge. My room had unobstructed views of the bay at Whitianga, for just US$8/night."

Xena!

"An item in the paper caught my eye. They were auctioning all the props from the filming of Xena and Hercules in Auckland! These two hysterically funny TV series were filmed in New Zealand. I made the trek by bus and foot to the studios where I posed in front of three-story tall monsters, sat on an art deco throne, and dressed in the seven veils."

(Book Passage News & Reviews, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera, CA 94925.415-927-0960 - 800-999-7909- Fax 4 15-924- 3838 - E-mail: messages@bookpassage.com)

HELP YOUR FELLOW KIWIPHILES !

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

PICKERING'S SATELLITE - From No. 8 Wire, The Best of Kiwi Ingenuity

You do have to be a rocket scientist to work here

In the mid to late 1950s, the space race was well and truly on. The USA and the USSR were staring at each other across the Bering Straits and daring each other to outdo their achievements in getting closer and closer to the ultimate goal of a person in space.

Imagine the Americans' surprise and envy, then, when on 4 October 1957 the USSR launched Sputnik 1, the first constructed object to orbit the Earth. It did so every 98 minutes, passing over the continental United States seven times a day. Amateur radio fans could tune in to its signals and hear the strange beeping emanating from the unseen object many miles above their heads. It was up there, taunting them.

There was no way the US of A could let that one go, and so in November 1957 they gave the job of creating their own satellite to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) of the California Institute of Technology. The JPL was headed by a Kiwi, Dr. William Pickering. Pickering was born in Wellington, NZ, in 1910, but he moved to America to study for his PhD in physics. After a stint as the professor of electrical engineering he helped set up and then run the JPL, which developed, among other things, rockets.

The task before the team at the JPL in 1957 was immense. They were to create a satellite that was technologically the equal of Sputnik, and get it into space as soon as possible. It was a task that they accomplished in three short months. The satellite that they put together was dubbed Explorer I, and it weighed a mere 10 kg. It carried with it a cosmic-ray detection package, an internal temperature sensor, three external temperature sensors, a nose-cone temperature sensor, a micrometeorite impact micro- phone, and a ring of micrometeorite erosion gauges. Which, I'm sure you'll agree, sounds adequate for the purposes. Crudely speaking, the team at the JPL strapped all this equipment to the top of a rocket, pointed it at the sky and, on 31 January 1958, the USA had caught up.

One of the experiments carried by the Explorer was searching for the existence of charged particles high in our atmosphere. The satellite found these particles in a belt, trapped by the Earth's magnetic field, dubbed the 'Van Allen' belt, after Pickering's colleague who had designed the experiment. The discovery of the Van Allen belt by the Explorer satellites was considered to be one of the outstanding discoveries of the International Geophysical Year.

The Explorer I orbited the Earth every 106 minutes, powered by batteries which helped it transmit its data back to Earth, until they gave out after a mere 31 days, leaving the Explorer floating in space as a hunk of useless, but memorable, space junk.

Being a Kiwi, Pickering could be, and was, knighted for his achievement, and he also won many accolades and awards. The JPL, under his leadership until 1976, carried on creating satellites and rockets which helped the United States to explore space—the Pioneer IV, the Mariner flights to Venus and Mars and the unmanned lunar landings of 1966 and '67 were projects undertaken and led by our top rocket scientist.

MOUNT EGMONT - from Discovering the Wonders of Our World (Reader's Digest)

Rising like an island from a sea of pastureland, Mount Egmont often seems like a mirage—sometimes there, sometimes not. Here on the southwest coast of New Zealand's North Island, mist and clouds often hide the mountain completely.

But when the weather is clear, the mountain's dignified peak pierces the skyline, and its great bulk is visible from afar. From the snowscapes of its 8183ft (2494m) summit to the rain forest of its lower slopes, the mountain stuns the eye with its dazzling scenery and breathtaking views.

The Maoris say that a lover's tiff brought Mount Egmont—they call it Taranaki—to this spot on Cape Egmont. Once Taranaki lived in the centre of North Island, but fought with another male mountain, Tongariro, over a female mountain, Pihanga. Taranaki was vanquished. He stamped off to the southwest, gouging out the gorge of the Wanganui River on his way.

Jagged scars on the mountain's upper flanks tell another story—they were made by lava, for Mount Egmont is a volcano. It exploded into existence about 70,000 years ago, after the Pouakai and Kaitake volcanoes to the northwest had died down. Ever since, Mount Egmont has periodically boiled over, sending stony mud-flows, known as lahars, streaming down its sides. The most ferocious eruption of recent times occurred in 1500, when enough rocks hurtled down to flatten a forest on the slopes. The last big flare-up was in 1665, and there was a lesser eruption in 1775.

But a volcano's violence can nurture life as well as destroy it. Farmers working in its shadow can thank the volcanic ash for the fertile soil that, along

with high rainfall, gives Mount Egmont's slopes a profuse and varied plant and insect life. Some species are unknown elsewhere, for in its island-like isolation the mountain has developed some distinct varieties; they include two kinds of mountain daisy, a unique fern and two rare moths.

When you enter the maze of vegetation cover- ing the lower slopes up to about 3000ft (900m) you are lost in a rain forest whose rimu trees nearly 30 times a man's height reach for the sunlight. Rata trees, which also vie for the light, start life on rimu branches, clinging like vines. They do not feed on rimu sap, but send their roots down to the ground for sustenance. In time the rata may rob the rimu of light. But rimu and rata are both gradually disappearing, and kamahi trees are spreading downwards from the mountain's higher slopes.

Shorter, tougher trees take over higher up the mountain—some of the kaikawaka (mountain cedars) are 400-year-old survivors of the 1665 eruption. Above about 3500ft (1070m) there is dense, head-high leatherwood scrub. Beyond, alpine flowers light up the crags and screes. Finally at the summit, nothing but mosses and lichens cling to the rocks of the crater.

Luxuriant ferns and creepers flourish in the forests of Mount Egmont, and often the trees are hung with long garlands of pale green moss.

Sometimes among the branches of trees such as kamahi and rimu, the delicate pink-tinged petals of the tiny, sweet-smelling bamboo orchid may be seen peeping out. This orchid is found on the underside of tree branches, and is an epiphyte—it uses tree branches for support, but does not feed on their sap. Instead, its roots take their food from decaying matter and moisture on the surface of a branch.

For centuries only Maoris set foot on the mountain. Its river valleys gave them red ochre to mix with shark oil for body paint. Its forests hid them from their enemies. Its caves were tombs for dead chiefs. When the Dutch navigator Abel Tasman sailed by in 1642, it must have been a cloudy day, for he made no mention of the mountain. Not until the evening of January 10, 1770, was Mount Egmont revealed to European eyes—those of the British explorer Captain James Cook, who named it after a former First Lord of the Admiralty.

In 1839 Maori guides led two men—Dr. Ernst Dieffenbach. a German naturalist, and James Heberley, an English whaler—on the first European expedition to the summit. They were following in the footsteps of Tahurangi, a Maori chief said to have climbed to the top centuries earlier. The wispy cloud

often seen swirling round the summit is said to be smoke from his fire. Because of the belief that spirits and mythical reptiles stalked these lofty heights, the Maori guides would not venture beyond the snow line. The two Europeans scrambled alone to the summit.

Today, about 150 years later, Mount Egmont is the country's most-climbed peak. At least 240,000 people visit it every year, many taking the well- trodden path to the top. All land within a radius of just under 6 miles (10km) from the summit has been protected since 1881. The boundary is easy to see— trees inside and fields outside.

Mount Egmont is the last stronghold of the forests that once covered this region. Like its greenery the mountain remains untamed. Its sudden changes of mood can catch visitors unawares—when the wind whips up from nowhere or mist drops without warning. And the volcano is dormant, not extinct. At any moment Taranaki could wake up.

THE REMARKABLES — (around Queenstown)

There are many larger and higher ranges, but few more unusual or strikingly beautiful. The morning sun of summer sends searching rays into the blue mists that veil the plunging bluffs, spotlighting a jagged peak here or a rugged bluff crowned with golden tussock there, until the full warm sun of afternoon reveals every spur.

In winter, the bluffs, too steep to hold the snow, range like black guardsmen up the snowfilled chutes. The peaks stand sharp against a brittle sky and the slightest wind sends snow banners flying somewhere along the face.

Spring spawns the avalanches that thunder down the chutes until only scattered drifts remain, to bejewel the black of bluff and gold of tussock beneath the summer sun.

Moon-backed at night they stand, a wild black silhouette of primeval mystery, untold ages apart from the hurrying lights and traffic on the roads below. (from Shadows on the Hill)'

KIWiphile FILE

Published quarterly by Eva Trapani

La Crescenta CA

E-mail: KiwiET1@aol.com

Copyright 2001 by Eva Trapani

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