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Archive-name: new-zealand-faq
Posting-frequency: monthly, a pointer is posted to s.c.n-z on Mondays.
Last-modified: 12 November 1996
This is the soc.culture.new-zealand list of Frequently Asked Questions, and
some hopefully useful answers.
It should be possible to find the latest edition of this FAQ at:
ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/
*** PLEASE DON'T E-MAIL CONTRIBUTIONS TO ME ***
*** E-mailed contributions will NOT be included ***
*** E-mailed requests/questions will NOT be answered ***
*** Replies to this message go back into the newsgroup ***
I am NOT here to supply information on request or research obscure topics.
I merely compile the information from the newsgroup and add whatever I
think may be useful or relevant. If you really can't look something up for
yourself, *ask in the newsgroup*!
Like many people in New Zealand (and some other parts of the world) I pay
for my e-mail by volume, both incoming and outgoing. E-mailing a request
to someone you don't know without an invitation is often NOT appreciated.
I very seldom respond to such mail. It particularly annoys me to receive
requests for information which is in the faq...
Contributions and comments are welcomed, but PLEASE POST THEM to s.c.n-z so
that others can comment on their accuracy/relevance. If you quote bits of
the faq for context, please keep it to a minimum.
Thanks.
I correct and amend the FAQ as information and time come to hand and post
it on the tenth of each month. The subject line on the FAQ and the weekly
reminder will be constant for the convenience of those who wish to killfile
them.
Hopefully this FAQ will reduce the number of requests from people who want
to know all about NZ but can't be bothered finding a NZ embassy or travel
agent or want all replies by mail 'because they don't read this group very
often...'.
My thanks to the contributors (listed at the end of section 2) without whom
I couldn't (and wouldn't) have compiled this. Please remember that most of
this stuff is quoted so I may not be to blame for factual errors! :-)
===========================================================================
CONTENTS
==============================
INTRODUCTION: History of soc.culture.new-zealand
==============================
PART A: INFO SOURCES
A1 HOW TO FIND NZers AND INFORMATION ABOUT NZ
A1.1 On The Net
A1.2 Elsewhere
A1.2.1 Overseas Offices of the NZ Tourism Board
A1.2.2 Traditional sources (libraries, newspapers, etc.)
------------------------------
A2 INFORMATION FOR NZers OVERSEAS
A2.1 NZ Consulates/Embassies Overseas
A2.2 How Do I Get News From Home?
A2.3 Expatriate Organisations?
------------------------------
A3 INTERNET ACCESS WITHIN NZ
==============================
PART B: FACTS AND FIGURES
B1 THE COUNTRY
B1.1 Where Is NZ?
B1.1.1 General
B1.1.2 Statistics
B1.1.3 Dependencies
B1.1.4 Time Zones
B1.2 The Landscape
B1.2.1 General
B1.2.2 Miscellaneous Figures
B1.2.3 Flora and Fauna
B1.2.4 Climate
------------------------------
B2 THE PEOPLE
B2.1 A Short History
B2.2 Maoritanga
B2.2.1 The Moriori Question
B2.2.2 Guide to Maori pronunciation
B2.3 Demography
B2.3.1 General
B2.3.2 Major Cities
B2.3.3 Age Distribution
B2.3.4 Ethnicity
B2.3.5 Official Languages
B2.3.6 Religions
------------------------------
B3 LIFE IN NEW ZEALAND
B3.1 The Political Scene
B3.1.1 Why 'New Zealand'
B3.1.2 Constitution
B3.1.3 Form of Government
B3.1.4 The Justice System
B3.1.5 Organisation Membership
B3.2 Economy
B3.2.1 Defence Against Silly Questions
B3.2.2 Current Status
B3.2.3 Currency
B3.2.4 Stockmarket
B3.2.5 Interest Rates
B3.2.6 Taxes
B3.2.7 Miscellaneous Prices
B3.3 Life In General
B3.3.1 Business Hours
B3.3.2 Tipping
B3.3.3 Cost of Living
B3.3.3.1 Rent
B3.3.3.2 Wages
B3.3.3.3 Transport
B3.3.3.4 Food
B3.3.3.5 Consumer goods
B3.3.4 Crime
B3.3.5 Finding a job
B3.3.6 Schools and Education
B3.3.7 Universities
B3.3.7.1 Teaching focus
B3.3.7.2 Addresses
B3.3.7.3 The University Hierarchy
B3.3.7.4 Postgrad Study
B3.3.8 Health
B3.3.8.1 Water Supply
B3.3.9 Communications
B3.3.10 Misc
B3.4 Holidays
B3.4.1 National
B3.4.2 Regional
B3.5 Technical Stuff
B3.5.1 Electricity
B3.5.2 TV info
B3.5.3 Video Conversion
B3.5.4 Bringing Computers In
B3.5.5 Telephone
B3.5.6 Radio
------------------------------
B4 COMING TO NEW ZEALAND
B4.1 Travel To NZ
B4.1.1 Travel Details
B4.1.2 Agricultural Restrictions
B4.1.2.1 Animal Quarantine
B4.1.3 Overseas Embassies in NZ
B4.2 Immigration Stuff, Points System
B4.2.1 Assessment for the General Category
B4.2.2 Employability
B4.2.3 Work Experience
B4.2.4 Age
B4.2.5 Settlement Factors
B4.2.6 Business Investment Category
B4.2.7 Importing a Car
------------------------------
B5 TRAVEL WITHIN NZ
B5.1 Info Sources
B5.1.1 Tourism Board
B5.1.2 Maps
B5.2 Accommodation
B5.2.1 Youth Hostel Association
B5.2.2 Backpackers
B5.3 Transport
B5.3.1 Cycling/Sea kayaking
B5.3.2 Hitchhiking
B5.3.3 Renting a car/campervan
B5.3.4 Train Services
B5.3.5 Cook Strait Ferry
B5.3.6 Coach Travel
B5.3.7 Driving
B5.3.8 Commercial Tours
B5.3.9 Flying
B5.4 Misc Info
B5.4.1 Film Developing
------------------------------
B6 MAP OF NEW ZEALAND
------------------------------
B7 CONTRIBUTORS
==============================
PART C: THE SUBJECTIVE BITS
C1 DEFINITION OF 'KIWI'
------------------------------
C2 DESCRIPTIONS OF NZ CITIES
------------------------------
C3 HOLIDAYING IN NZ
C3.1 Places
C3.1.1 Parks and Tracks
C3.1.2 Beaches, etc.
C3.1.3 Distinctive Features
C3.1.4 Archaeology/Historical/Heritage Sites
C3.1.5 Places To Go To
C3.1.6 Places To Avoid
C3.1.7 Temporary Attractions
C3.2 Activities
C3.2.1 Tramping
C3.2.2 Skiing
C3.2.3 Climbing/mountaineering
C3.2.4 Watersports
C3.2.5 Whale/Dolphin Watching
C3.2.6 Pubs To Go To/Nightlife
C3.2.7 Anything Else????
------------------------------
C4 GENERAL CULTURE
C4.1 Sport
C4.1.1 Why do New Zealander Sportspeople Wear Black?
C4.2 Food
C4.2.1 What is Vegemite/Marmite?
C4.2.2 Pavlova recipe
C4.2.3 The Edmonds Cook Book
C4.2.4 Laying A Hangi
C4.3 National Anthems
C4.4 The Gumboot Song
C4.5 Some Works by NZ Authors
C4.6 Other Bits
------------------------------
C5 FAMOUS NEW ZEALANDERS
C5.1 Cinema
C5.1.1 Films
C5.1.2 People
C5.2 Music
C5.2.1 Pop/rock bands
C5.2.2 Blues
C5.2.3 Country
C5.2.4 Classical
C5.3 Literature
C5.4 Fine Art
C5.5 Humour
C5.6 Other...
===========================================================================
INTRODUCTION: History of soc.culture.new-zealand
The only record I have of the history of soc.culture.new-zealand is this
copy of the CFD, kindly passed on through various people. It appears the
archives of the original material may have been lost, and as this is a
repost (of sorts) I'm not sure how any of the details relate to the
original.
----------
Newsgroups: news.announce.newgroups,soc.culture.australian,
soc.culture.british,soc.culture.celtic,soc.culture.misc,nz.general
From: gcwillia@daisy.waterloo.edu (Graeme Williams)
Subject: CFD: soc.culture.new-zealand
Date: 25 Feb 91 04:41:44 GMT
[ I have the rest of the header if it'd be useful ]
Z*******Z******* CFD: A New Zealand culture group *******Z*******Z
This is a call for a discussion regarding the creation of a new
newsgroup devoted to "New Zealand culture". Here is what I propose:
NAME: This will need to be decided on, several suggestions are:
soc.culture.newzealand
soc.culture.aoteoroa
soc.culture.kiwi
soc.culture.nz
MODERATION STATUS: The group would be unmoderated.
CHARTER:
The group will provide a forum for discussion of topics
related to New Zealand. In particular such things as:
News, politics, Maori and Pacific Island culture, music, sport,
events, films, telly, jobs, farming, the enviroment, economics,
tourism, places to see, trade, education, bungy jumping, pavlovas,
the Goodnight Kiwi and Wal and the dog in Footrot Flats.
In short anything and everything Kiwi, or related to NZ.
Contributions and queries from people other than New Zealanders
will also be most welcome.
COMMENTS:
I have had rather a lot of positive feedback via email regarding
the creation of this group, some very enthusiastic. What I would
like to see now is some discussion on the net amongst the various
people interested. In particular we will need to decide on a name
for the group.
I have set the Followup-to: field to news.groups so all discussion
regarding this proposal should take place there.
So, if you're interested and don't subscribe to news.groups, SUBSCRIBE
to it NOW! I want to hear publicly from all you Kiwis (and others
interested) scattered few and far between all over the globe. Shake
off the traditional Kiwi apathy cos "she'll be right" won't work
here on the net. Get those fingers typing and tell us what you think.
Cheers,
Graeme Williams - a Kiwi in Canada
gcwillia@daisy.waterloo.edu
----------
That's it. Any comments or contributions to this introduction would be
appreciated. Please post as usual...
===========================================================================
PART A
Subject: A1 HOW TO FIND NZers AND INFORMATION ABOUT NZ
Subject: A1.1 On The Net
Anyone searching for people in NZ might like to try searching the online
telephone directory first. Try pointing your Web browser at:
http://tdl.tols.co.nz/cgi-bin/wmain.pl
-----
Follow this newsgroup! You might also want to investigate the nz.* groups
(if they are available to you) particularly nz.general. Corrections for
any of these addresses would be appreciated.
The faq is available from numerous sites, including:
ftp site: ftp.demon.co.uk
dir: /pub/ibmpc/misc
including the internet access faq and immigration eligibility software.
For those who want to know who is able to be contacted in New Zealand, Mark
Davies of Victoria University has put the list of New Zealand Internet
connected sites on the web at:
http://www.comp.vuw.ac.nz/~mark/netsites.html
Other info about NZ is available via WWW from:
Michael Witbrock's NZ pages at http://nz.com/
eg. http://nz.com/nz/NZNewsArchive/
and http://nz.com/nz/MainPage.html/
and Sam Sampson says:
"We now have Stewart Island Pages on the akika tour of nz. Site is:
http://nz.com/tour/Stewart Island/
and
Philip Greenspun's file (illustrated with 25 JPEG photos):
http://www-swiss.ai.mit.edu/philg/travel/
then click on "email from New Zealand" and all the old stuff is there.
and
Jennifer George's pages:
Obscurities/infrequently asked questions;
http://www-leland.stanford.edu/~jmgeorge/ifaq.html
and home page
http://www-leland.stanford.edu/~jmgeorge/nz.html
and
Pat Cain's ftp site/web page:
http://www.dosli.govt.nz/lists
ftp://ftp.dosli.govt.nz/pub/
including the Internet Access in NZ FAQ, Tony Sutorius' NZ Internet Typical
User Profiles FAQ and BBS Listings for Auckland, Waikato, Manawatu,
Wellington and Christchurch.
and
David Lobb's site:
http://www.tricky.com/davelobb.html
and
Jon Clarke's site:
http://air.com.hk/~jonc
Library sites throughout NZ.
National Library of New Zealand:
http://www.natlib.govt.nz/
Email: visitors@natlib.govt.nz
New Zealand Library Catalogues:
http://www.canterbury.ac.nz/libr/nzopac.htm
New Zealand Library and Information Association:
http://www.netlink.co.nz/~nzlia/
which gives details of the organisation, and links to related sites.
Canterbury Public Library:
http://www.ccc.govt.nz/Library/
University of Auckland:
http://www.auckland.ac.nz/lbr/libhomehtm
University of Waikato:
http://www2.waikato.ac.nz/library/
Victoria University of Wellington:
http://www.vuw.ac.nz/library/
University of Canterbury:
http://www.canterbury.ac.nz/libr/home.htm
Lincoln University:
http://www.lincoln.ac.nz/libr/libhome.htm
http://www.lincoln.ac.nz/libr/nz/
and their alphabetical list of NZ WWW Home Pages at:
http://www.lincoln.ac.nz/libr/nz/nzalpha.htm
University of Otago:
http://librius.otago.ac.nz:800/home-page.html
Library servers on the web:
http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Libweb/
http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/staff/morgan/alcuin/wwwed-catalogs.html
Other sites:
http://133.30.120.10:10080/=@=:www.ntt.jp/AP/oceania.html
http://archpropplan.auckland.ac.nz/misc/sources9.html
http://charm.wcc.govt.nz/extern/kennett/homepage.htm
http://icair.iac.org.nz/nz/tourism/index.html
http://liber.stanford.edu/~torrie/
http://pluto.taranaki.ac.nz/pukeiti/locus.html
http://pluto.taranaki.ac.nz/tourism/welcome.html
http://www.actrix.gen.nz/general/nz-faq.html
http://www.actrix.gen.nz/users/jbarton/index.html
http://www.gphs.vuw.ac.nz:80/meteorology/meteorology.html
http://www.govt.nz/ps/min/stats
http://www.indirect.com/www/richardk/NZgraphic.html
http://www.iol.ie/~saris/bpguide.html
http://www.nzso.co.nz/
http://www.pncc.govt.nz/
http://www.rsnz.govt.nz/
http://www.rsnz.govt.nz/cgi-bin/news?rsnz/news
http://www.tricky.com/davelobb.html
http://www3.waikato.ac.nz/waitomo/index.html
A list of newspaper sites is at the end of section 1.2.2.
The Wizard of New Zealand (also known as the Wizard of Christchurch) is
pleased to announce that he will shortly reveal his master plans on a WWW
homepage. Comments welcome to:
http://www.chch.planet.org.nz/wizard.html
For the ftp and WWW challenged; to get the FAQ (or any of the other WWW
files mentioned), in ASCII form, send email to:
listserv@info.cern.ch
with the body of the message reading
www http://the.URL.you.want
A message to the same address containing only the 'word' WWW will give you
some useful help and other options, such as retrieving batches of files
and/or pictures, etc.
Also, a recent copy may be obtained by mailing a request to Mark Moir
(moir@cs.unc.edu) and asking very nicely.
Also, try Gopher:
gopher://gopher.wcc.govt.nz/ (The Wellington City Council)
A quick check of gopherspace used to tell you all you never needed to know
about someone but it appears that Lincoln and Waikato both intend to phase
out their gopher servers. Some universities have a database of email
addresses available. Try:
www.<university>.ac.nz
or
http://www.comp.vuw.ac.nz/Technical/x500nzquery.html.
or
http://nz.com/NZ/EducationResearch/Universities.html
which will send you to home pages (and all sorts of info including snail
mail) of universities in NZ.
Subject: A1.2 Elsewhere
A1.2.1 Overseas Offices Of The New Zealand Tourism Board
AUSTRALIA
SYDNEY:
Prudential Finance House,
84 Pitt Street,
NSW 2000
Ph (02) 231 1322, 221 7333
GP Box 614,2100 Sydney
BRISBANE:
Ground Floor, 288 Edwards St
GPO 2634, Brisbane, Queensland 4001
Ph (00617) 221 3176
Fax (00617) 221 7289
MELBOURNE:
Level 19 Comco Office Tower
644 Chapel Street, South Yarra
Melbourne
Victoria
Ph (00613) 823 6283
BRITAIN
LONDON:
New Zealand House,
Haymarket,
SW1Y4TQ
Ph (071) 973 0363
EUROPE
FRANKFURT:
6000 Frankfurt am Main 1,
Kaiserhofstrasse,
Ph (069) 288 189
Fax (069) 281 482
JAPAN
TOKYO:
Toho Twin tower Building,
2nd Floor,
1-5-2 Yurakucho C
Hiyoda-ku 100
Ph (03) 508-9981
PAN-ASIA
SINGAPORE:
13 Nassam Rd,
Singapore 1025
Ph 2359966
HONG KONG:
3414 Jardine House,
1 Connaught Place,
Central
Ph (05) 255 044
UNITED STATES
LOS ANGELES:
501 Santa Monica Blvd 300,
Santa Monica CA 90401
Ph 1 800 3885494
Fax (310) 395 5453
NEW YORK:
Suite 1206,
432 Park Avenue South,
New York, NY 10016
Ph (001212) 447 0550
Fax (001212) 447 0558
CANADA
VANCOUVER:
1200 - 888 Dunsmuir Street,
Vancouver, B.C., V6C 3K4
ph (604) 684-2117
fax (604) 684-1265
Air New Zealand also has offices at 1250 - 888 Dunsmuir Street
ph (604) 640-4600
--------------------
A1.2.2 Traditional Sources (libraries, newspapers, etc.)
Check libraries, travel agents, embassies, consulates. Year books,
almanacs, census data(?) etc. are all usually available.
The Lonely Planet guide has been described as 'very helpful'.
The following book has been suggested as a useful source of information:
New Zealand - a travel survival kit
by Tony Wheeler
published by Lonely Planet Publications
The following CD is available:
New Zealand Encyclopedia (TVNZ): An encyclopedia of NZ that covers lots of
different areas. Over 1200 illustrations, 20 maps, over 20 minutes of
videos (1994 version).
Available from:
The Electric Book Co.
PO Box 34-422
Auckland 10
New Zealand
Ph/fax 64-9-4159343
If all else fails, try the:
Auckland Information Bureau/Auckland Information Centre
Aotea Sq
299 Queen St
PO Box 7048
Auckland 1
Phone 366 6888
Fax 366 6893? 358 4648? (Hey Lin! Which of these is right???)
Wellington Info Centre
Phone 801 4000
Fax 801 3030
Wellington is included because if you know how to send a fax via e-mail,
use Wellington's fax number. They probably can't email you back.
Christchurch Info Centre
Phone 379 9629
Fax 377 2424
Lincoln University library keeps (or kept?) a list of all the NZ
magazines/newspapers at:
http://manuka.lincoln.ac.nz/libr/nz/nzserial.htm
-----
Newspaper Contact Information
New Zealand Major Daily Newspapers: (>25,000 Circulation)
Newspaper Postal Box City Circulation
Phone Mngmnt Fax Editorial Fax
New Zealand Herald (M) PO Box 32 Auckland 238,000
09/379-5050 09/303-0265 09/366-1568
Otago Daily Times (M) PO Box 181 Dunedin 48,000
03/477-4760 03/477-5120 03/477-1313
The Daily News PO Box 444 New Plymouth 29,000
06/758-0559 06/758-4653 06/758-6849
The Dominion (M) PO Box 3740 Wellington 67,000
04/474-0222 09/474-0584 04/474-0350
The Evening Post (M) PO Box 3740 Wellington 69,000
04/474-0222 04/474-0584 04/474-0237
The Press (M) Private Bag Christchurch 100,000
03/379-0940 03/364-8496 04/364-8492
The Southland Times PO Box 805 Invercargill 33,000
03/218-1909 03/218-4349 03/214-9905
Waikato Times Private Bag 3086 Hamilton 41,000
07/849-6180 07/849-9554 07/849-9603
New Zealand Other Daily Newspapers: (<25,000 Circulation)
Newspaper Postal Box City Circulation
Phone Mngmnt Fax Editorial Fax
Ashburton Guardian PO Box 77 Ashburton 6,300
03/308-3089 03/308-9855
Bay of Plenty Times Private Bag Tauranga 21,000
07/578-3059 07/578-0047
Daily Post PO Box 1442 Rotorua 13,000
07/348-6199 07/349-0959 07/346-0153
Evening News PO Box 92 Dannevirke 2,700
06/374-7081 06/374-9353
Evening Standard PO Box 3 Palmerston North 24,000
06/356-9009 06/350-9525 06/357-6316
Evening Star PO Box 3 Greymouth 5,600
03/768-7121 03/768-6205
Hawkes Bay Herald Tribune PO Box 180 Hastings 20,000
06/878-5155 06/876-0655 06/878-5668
Northland Times PO Box 96 Dargaville 2,900
09/439-8209 09/439-6505
Te Awamutu Courier PO Box 1 Te Awamutu ?
07/871-5151 07/871-3675
The Daily Telegraph PO Box 343 Napier 16,000
06/835-4488 06/835-6786 06/835-1129
The Ensign PO Box 182 Gore ?
03/208-9280 03/208-9594
The Gisborne Herald PO Box 1143 Gisborne 9,700
06/868-6655 06/867-8048
The Levin Chronicle PO Box 547 Levin 6,400
06/368-5109 06/368-2366
The Nelson Mail PO Box 244 Nelson 19,000
03/548-7079 03/546-2849 03/546-2802
The Northern Advocate PO Box 210 Whangarei 15,000
09/438-2399 09/430-5669 09/430-5665
The Oamaru Mail PO Box 343 Oamaru ?
03/434-9970 03/434-9723
The Timaru Herald PO Box 46 Timaru 15,000
03/684-4129 03/688-1042
Wairarapa Times-Age PO Box 445 Masterton 9,100
06/378-9999 06/378-2839 06/378-2371
Wairoa Star PO Box 41 Wairoa ?
06/838-7194 06/838-6973
Wanganui Chronicle PO Box 433 Wanganui 15,000
06/345-3919 06/345-3232
Westport News PO Box 249 Westport 2,200
03/789-7319 03/789-7203
New Zealand Non-daily Newspapers:
Newspaper Postal Box City Circulation
Phone Mngmnt Fax Editorial Fax
Clutha Leader (N) PO Box 45 Balclutha 2,500
03/418-1115 03/418-1173
Marlborough Express (N) PO Box 242 Blenheim 10,000
03/578-6059 03/577-6006 03/578-0497
National Business Review* (W) PO Box 1734 Auckland 13,000
09/307-1629 09/373-3997
Northern News (W) PO Box 1 Kaikohe ?
09/401-0123 09/401-2129
Sunday News* (W) PO Box 1409 Auckland 119,000
09/302-1300 09/366-4670 09/358-3003
Sunday Star-Times* (W) PO Box 1409 Auckland 195,000
09/302-1300 09/366-4670 09/309-0258
The Independent* (W) 17 Victoria St West Auckland 10,000
09/303-3534 09/303-2999
The New Truth* (W) PO Box 1409 Auckland 35,000
09/302-1300 09/366-4670 09/309-2279
Whakatane Beacon (N) PO Box 243 Whakatane 8,600
07/308-8129 07/307-0719
Type Note: Provincial Daily unless: (M) Metropolitian Daily
(N) Non-Daily (ie. 2-5 times/week)
(W) Weekly
Distrubution Note: * = Nationwide Circulation
The above information was kindly supplied by the NZPA & INL via Tony Randle
For further information, please contact the NZPA.
Phone: 04/472-7910
Facsimile: 04/478-1625
Postal Address PO Box 1599, Wellington
-----
Email addresses (some may be EMail to fax gateways).
The owner of most of the above newspapers, INL has the site
http://www.inl.co.nz
http://www.inl.co.nz/websites.html
Waikato Times http://www.wave.co.nz/times/
The Dominion http://www.infotech.co.nz (the weekly computer section)
The Evening Post http://www.evpost.co.nz/ (empty page still?)
The Press http://www.press.co.nz
Otago Daily Times (a domain name registered but inoperative as yet)
also
http://nz.com/nz/NZNewsArchive/
http://nz.com/NetEdit/
http://nz.com/NZ/Commerce/NetEdit/VOICE.HTM
http://nz.com/webnz/
Above and beyond all this, apparently you can read newspapers all over the
world at:
http://www.worldaccess.nl/~brien
Subject: A2 INFORMATION FOR NZers OVERSEAS
Subject: A2.1 NZ Consulates/Embassies Overseas
Chase up a phone book. There are embassies and consulates all over the
place. In countries where there are no New Zealand representatives, the UK
representatives usually look after the interests of NZ nationals by
agreement.
For callers in the U.S. the New Zealand Tourism Board has a 24 hour number;
1-800-388-5494. Leave your name, address and particular interests and lots
of free information on New Zealand will be mailed to you. During regular
California business hours it might even be possible to get a real person on
the line.
New Zealand Embassy in Haymarket (UK):
phone:
0171-930 8422
0891-200 288
0171-973 0366
0171-973 0368
New Zealand Embassy in Washington D. C.:
37 Observatory Circle, N. W.
Washington, D. C. 20008
Phone: (202) 328-4800
(Is this place open?)
NZ Embassy
Suite 1206,
432 Park Avenue South,
New York, NY 10016
Phone: (212) 447 0550
Fax: (212) 447 0558
TRADENZ
NZ Consulate General
NZ Tourist Board
780 Third Avenue, Suite 1904
New York, NY 10017-2024
Phone: (212) 832-8482
Fax: (212) 832-7602
They opened a couple of months ago. The NZ Tourism Board office at the
same address has been open for business (to travel agents only) for several
years. The office hopes to have full consular capacity "shortly".
Currently it gives advice, dispenses forms and "aids distressed travelling
Kiwis". The East Coast Manager is Anna Synolt and Peter MacDonald
(pmac@pipeline.com.us) heads the office.
There's a new e-mail address for the New York NZ Consulate/TRADENZ et al.:
tradenz@pipeline.com
It should be noted that the NY NZ Consulate only answers questions and
distributes forms. All processing - issuing visas, renewing passports etc.
- is performed at the Washington DC High Commission. The NY NZ Tourist
Board deals only with travel agents etc. and will not answer questions from
individuals.
The West Coast Consulate:
New Zealand Consulate-General
Suite 1150
12400 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles
CA 90025
Phone: (310) 207-1605
Fax: (310) 207-3605
Mr. Terence Charles Baker is listed as Consul General.
There is also a New Zealand Tourism Board located in Santa Monica, phone
1-310-395-748. Try also (is this valid???):
NZ Embassy
501 Santa Monica Blvd 300,
Santa Monica CA 90401
Phone: 1 800 388 5494
Fax: (310) 395 5453
And in Canada, there is the:
New Zealand High Commission
Ottawa
Phone: (613) 238-5991
Fax: (613) 238-5707
There are consul offices listed for the District of Columbia, Tennessee,
Guam, and Washington State.
Subject: A2.2 How Do I Get News From Home?
Check the notes on ftp sites; some current news may be archived there.
Read soc.culture.new-zealand, and nz.general if you can get it. A weekly
summary of NZ News is compiled and posted to soc.culture.new-zealand by the
generous Brian Harmer (usually on Sundays). These postings are all
archived on the WWW at http://nz.com/nz/NZNewsArchive/. To get a personal
e-mail copy of the postings, send mail to:
majordomo@nz.com
with the line:
subscribe nznews <email-addr>
in the *BODY* of the message.
"The New Zealander " is a new full colour weekly tabloid available in
Australia for A$2.95. Like other publications we know of, the Dominion,
and the Evening Post are among the sources of its articles, although it can
presumably print articles verbatim.
(I'll be interested to hear what Australian WYSIWYG readers think - BH)
TVNZ has established a web page for those who want to see recent news
items. Comment has been mixed, and like most graphic-laden pages is slow
to load. Try
http://www.tvnz.co.nz/
particularly
http://www.tvnz.co.nz/news/stories
There is a thing called a NewZgram. It's like an aerogram but is printed
with excerpts of news about NZ, including sections about sport, health,
business, etc. It's 4 sides of a page long, sent fortnightly).
Subscription Prices: 24 issues (12 months)
NZ address surface NZ$36
Australia/Sth Pacific - air NZ$55
Rest of world - air NZ$67
The address is:
Peak Communications Ltd
PO Box 54046
Mana
Wellington
New Zealand
Phone/Fax 64/4/2399123
and/or???
Newzgram
PO Box 3882
Christchurch, NZ
Phone - 3-3559222
Fax 3-3559337
Then there is:
New Zealand News UK is an Independent Weekly newspaper, covering NZ
news/current events, United Kingdom jobs, NZ jobs, travel, migrating to NZ,
shipping and accommodation/entertainment in London. There is apparently
also a version called 'Overseas' with lots of info about visa requirements,
etc. for Brits wishing to travel. Try calling NZ News on 0171 930 6451.
NZ news is available free in London and by subscription elsewhere. It does
contain a fair bit of London specific news, but has some quite good
features on Emigrating and NZ lifestyles for people thinking of making a
move to NZ. Prices in Pounds Sterling.
3 Months 6 Months 1 Year
UK 8.90 16.40 28.00
Europe 12.00 23.00 38.50
World 20.80 40.50 57.75
Make your cheque payable to New Zealand News UK and send it to:
Circulation Manager,
New Zealand News UK,
PO Box 10, Berwick upon Tweed,
Northumberland TD15 1BW
Phone/Fax: (44) 0289 306677
Or, have a look at the new net version:
http://www.nznewsuk.co.uk/
which apparently has no pictures, but a good selection of sports news.
Subject: A2.3 Expatriate Organisations?
There's an organisation in HK called the New Zealand Society. Point of
contact is either the NZ Consulate in Central HK (Jardine House) or Grant
Baird at a restaurant called Landaus. They meet regularly and it's fairly
social.
There's a Kiwi Club of New York for those interested in such things.
Kiwi Club of New York
c/o TRADENZ
780 Third Avenue, Suite 1904
New York, NY 10017-2024
Phone (212) 832-4038 x222 (Brenda Henderson)
The club's secretary is Beatrice Cheer at bcheer@panix.com who can
occasionally be found in s.c.n-z.
Subject: A3 INTERNET ACCESS WITHIN NZ
Public internet access is available from a growing number of sources
throughout New Zealand, particularly around the main centres. Access for
university staff and students (sometimes only post-grads) is usually
available. For more detailed information, read Simon Lyall's monthly faq
on the subject;
newsgroups: (news.answers, nz.net.announce, nz.general, s.c.n-z)
archive-name: internet-access/new-zealand
ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/nz.general/
and also;
http://actrix.gen.nz/general/internet.faq
although:
ftp://ftp.dosli.govt.nz/pub/lists/
is slightly better and has a few other FAQs.
===========================================================================
PART B
Subject: B1 THE COUNTRY
Subject: B1.1 Where Is New Zealand?
B1.1.1 General
New Zealand is in the south-west \_
Pacific and has two large islands, \}
one smaller island, and numerous \9
much smaller islands. It is usual North )`-'7
to refer to the main islands as 'the Island ( c`
North Island' and 'the South Island'. ) /
F,% n_/
For a larger map of the main islands South J /
see section B6. For a map showing Island / 6
the dependencies, see an atlas... / /
{_, /`
Ascii maps are copyright, Stewart Island @ ~
please do not repost.
New Zealand = Aotearoa, Niu Tireni (uncommon, adulteration of 'New
Zealand'), Land of the Long White Cloud, 'Godzone'
North Island = Aotearoa (original name(?) referring to the NI only?),
Te Ika-a-Maui[-Tikitiki-A-Taranga] (The Fish of Maui),
Nga Ahi o Maui (verification and definition anyone?)
South Island = Te Waka-a-Maui (The Canoe of Maui), Te Wa[h]ipounamu
(Greenstone waters or Place of Greenstone)
Stewart Island = Rakiura (The Land of Glowing Skies) or
Te punga o te waka a Maui (The anchor of Maui's canoe)
"Kiwiland" is slang for "New Zealand" and not very common. "Down Under"
tends to mean Australia but may also include NZ.
--------------------
B1.1.2 Statistics
For the main three: Latitude: 34 S to 47 S
Longitude: 167 E to 178 E
AREAS sq kms sq mi
North Island 114,453 44,191
South Island 150,718 58,193
Stewart Island 1,746 674
The Rest ?
TOTAL 268,700 103,745
COASTLINE: 15,134 km
LAND BOUNDARIES: 0 km
MARITIME CLAIMS:
Continental shelf; edge of continental margin or 200 nm
Exclusive economic zone; 200 nm
Territorial sea; 12 nm
Take a look at:
http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/95fact/nz.html
and
http://www.govt.nz/ps/min/stats
And Steve Israel (israel@spheroid.otago.ac.nz) invites people to look at
his remote sensing page:
http://spheroid.otago.ac.nz:808/courses/remote.sense/RemoteSense.html
--------------------
B1.1.3 Dependencies
Antarctica (Ross Dependency): between 160 degrees east and 150 degrees
west longitude together with the islands lying between those degrees and
south of latitude 60 segrees south. The land is estimated to be between
400,000 and 450,000 sq km, with a further 330,000 sq km of permanent ice
shelf. The main NZ station is Scott Base at approx 78 degrees south.
The next two are part of NZ territory, and apart from the Chatham Islands,
they are uninhabited except by research personnel.
Antipodes Islands: a small group of outlying islands off the east coast of
the South Island, latitude 49 degrees 41' South and longitude 178 degrees
43' east. Total area about 62 sq km.
Auckland Islands, Bounty Islands, Campbell Island, Kermadec Islands, Snares
Islands. The sub-Antarctic islands are integral parts of NZ. Actually,
with the exception of the Kermadecs (to the NE of NZ) all those island
groups are in the sub-antarctic, as are the Antipodes Islands. The Anres
and Bounty Islands are marginal for being classed as sub-Antarctic.
The Chatham Islands are well east of New Zealand (850kms) and have their
own 'Time Zone' in as much as their clocks are always 45 mins ahead of the
rest of NZ and I guess they keep in step with changes to and from NZDT.
Lyndon Watson wrote:
"The Cook Islands were originally under sole British administration and
later under sole New Zealand administration. There was no condominium.
The Cook Islands have been independent since the 1970s.
"The Cook Islands are an independent state. At *their* request (not
surprising in view of their small population and resources) they are
represented in most overseas countries by New Zealand diplomats and New
Zealand undertakes their military defence. They can change that at any
time simply by notifying New Zealand, one government to another.
"Not only could Cook Islanders vote in New Zealand elections before they
became independent, but the can still do so even now under special dual
nationality arrangements which *they* requested on independence. New
Zealanders, of course, cannot vote in Cook Islands elections.
"New Zealand has never colonised Niue or Tokelau. Rather the Niueans and
Tokelauans have colonised New Zealand. In the case of Tokelau, especially,
the population of Tokelauan descendants in New Zealand is now far larger
than the atolls could possibly support.
"Niue is internally self-governing but not fully independent. Their
problem, like that of other tiny Pacific nations, is a lack of population
and resources. They are so totally dependent on New Zealand subsidies that
no one has been able to devise a viable scheme for full independence.
Tokelau has the same problem in even greater form. Like Kiribati, they
even stand to lose their home islands (atolls) altogether if the sea level
keeps on rising they way that it has been lately. Most of the people who
identify as Tokelauans are resident in New Zealand. Tokelau is talking
about some form of autonomy or independence right now.
"New Zealand has no strategic interest in these islands and has never
settled them; they are a financial burden to us which we undertake because
they are our friends and neighbours and have important links with our own
population. In our own narrow self-interest, we should either give them
full independence and cast them adrift, or simply incorporate them
seamlessly into New Zealand, but the decision is theirs, not ours."
--------------------
B1.1.4 Time Zones
New Zealand is 12 hours ahead of Greenwich mean time making it one of the
first places in the world to see the new day. Summer time (or Daylight
Saving Time we call it here) is an advance of one hour at 2am in the
morning on the first Sunday in October and back to NZST at 3am in the
morning on the third Sunday morning of March.
NZST (GMT+12) or NZDT (GMT+13) October - March
Subject: B1.2 The Landscape
B1.2.1 General
NZ is a long narrow country lying roughly North/South with mountain ranges
running much of its length. It is predominately mountainous with some
large coastal plains and is a little larger than Britain, slightly smaller
than Italy, and almost exactly the size of Colorado.
The only 'geographical feature' New Zealand doesn't have is live coral
reef. We have all the rest: rainforest, desert, fiords, flooded valleys,
gorges, plains, mountains, glaciers, volcanoes, geothermics, swamps, lakes,
braided rivers, peneplains, badlands, and our very own continental plate
junction... As a result of the latter, earthquakes are common, though
usually not severe (patience... :-)
For more information, go to sci.geo.geology, and download the earthquake
maps for this week. The little black line snaking through New Zealand is
the plate boundary. A good URL for this is:
http://quake.wr.usgs.gov/QUAKES/WEEKREPS/LATEST/world.gif
Also try
http://www.gphs.vuw.ac.nz/geophysics/geophysics.html
http://www.civeng.carleton.ca/cgi-bin/quakes
and
http://www.geo.ed.ac.uk/quakexe/quakes
which lists the strong earthquakes worldwide during the last few days.
You can get almost instant info about larger quakes from the US Geological
Survey at:
http://www.usgs.gov/research/environment/hazards/earthquake/
Or try
gopher://gldfs.cr.usgs.gov:79/0quake
for a simple record of any quake. [not at all sure how this works. help?]
--------------------
B1.2.2 Miscellaneous Figures
Mt Cook: highest point in NZ. A landslide in December 1991 lowered the
3764m summit by about 10 metres. NZ has 28 peaks over 3000 metres. The
lowest (Mount Aspiring) is the only one outside Mount Cook National Park.
Also within the park is the Tasman Glacier, which is about 20 kms long.
The North Island's main mountains are all volcanoes: Ruapehu (2797m/9175'),
Ngauruhoe (2291m), and Tongariro (1968m) in the centre, and Taranaki
(2518m) to the west.
Lake Taupo; 40.2 km long, 27.4 km wide, 606 sq km, depth 159m
Lake Waikaremoana; 19.3 long, 9.7 km wide, 54 sq km, depth 256m
The artificial lakes in the North Island deeper than both are Lake Ohakuri
(287m) and Lake Whakamarino (274m).
Lake Wakitipu 77.2 by 4.8 km, 293 sq km is 310m deep. It's noo but a puddle
compared to Lake Hauroko (443m deep). Both are glacial in origin.
--------------------
B1.2.3 Flora And Fauna
It is still hotly debated whether or not New Zealand was *completely*
submerged between 60 - 30 mya. There are now two competing views as to
NZ's biogeographic history:
(1) the traditional view, that our biology - especially the vegetation -
is a living example of a 'Gondwanan' fragment that has a lineage directly
traceable back to when NZ split off from Gondwana (maybe as early as 90 mya
or as late as 75 mya, depending on who you believe).
(2) a more recent view, that actually almost none of our current plants
and animals can be traced in a continuous lineage back to Gondwana, and
instead have all arrived via long-distance dispersal from Australia and SE
Asia, maybe even as recently as 20 - 10 mya. There is some compelling
fossil evidence for this view. For those interested in this, an excellent
though clearly biased account of this second view is given by Mike Pole in
a recent review (The Journal of Biogeography, Vol. 21 pp 625, 1994).
In any case during its time of isolation, birds have continued to arrive
and develop in NZ without large predators, making them vulnerable to recent
arrivals. The predators that have really been widely destructive were the
mustelids, cats and European rat species. The most important impact of
pre-Europeans was the widespread burning used in moa-hunting especially in
the drier areas of the South Island.
We have the worlds largest flightless parrot (kakapo), the only truly
alpine parrot (kea), the oldest reptile (tuatara), the biggest earthworms,
the heaviest insect (also the largest weta), the smallest bats, some of the
oldest trees, and many of the rarest birds, insects, and plants in the
world....
NZ is home to the world famous Tuatara, a lizard-like reptile which dates
back to the dinosaurs and perhaps before (260 mill years?). The only
member of its order (Rhynchocephalia) it is now restricted to protected
offshore islands which you have to have special permission to visit.
Specimens are kept at some zoos.
The only native land mammals are two rare species of bat.
NZ's many endemic birds include the flightless kiwi, takahe, kakapo and
weka. Far too many species of bird have become extinct since humans
arrived on NZ included the various species of Dinornis (moa) the largest
of which stood up to 2.5 metres high. While the rare takahe (Notornis
australis) can be seen in semi-wild conditions at Te Anau, the Kakapo is
too endangered to be on display anywhere (see quote below).
For those who are interested, the following NZ CD is available:
New Zealand birds: Information on more than 300 bird species, plus over 500
photos, video clips of NZ attractions and birds, and 20 windows bmps.
Available from:
Protech International
PO Box 324
Nelson
New Zealand
Ph/fax 64-3-5451799
There is also some unique insect life such as the Giant Weta and glow
worms. Other than two spiders, there is a lack of any deadly poisonous
things (snakes, spiders, etc.) which is why NZ Agricultural Regulations are
so strict.
The great kauri trees in the few remaining kauri forests in Northland are
very old with some believed to be up to 2000 years old.
Much of the South Island is still forested, particularly the West Coast.
-----
cakes@io.org (cakes) has provided the following article (advice on legality
requested!):
Reprinted without permission.
RACE AGAINST TIME TO SAVE ANCIENT PARROTS
Reuters, 19.01.96
WELLINGTON, New Zealand.
After a peaceful existence spanning millions of years, the survival odds
seem stacked against New Zealand's native parrot, a fat, flightless bird
called the kakapo.
With only 50 kakapo left in New Zealand, Britain's World Conservation
Monitoring Center (WCMC) recently placed the bird on its list of the
world's 20 most-endangered species predicted to become extinct during 1996.
"That bird has so much stacked against it," said Kevin Smith, president
of the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand.
Only one kakapo chick has survived into adulthood since 1990, although
three more are almost there.
"At the moment the clock is just ticking. Unless there are some chicks
fledged in the next five years the kakapo's prospects are very bleak,"
Smith said.
Fully grown kakapo weigh up to eight pounds, heavier than most other
parrots, and are bright green in color. Scientists say the bird existed
without significant threat for millions of years.
Their decline began 1,000 years ago when humans arrived in New Zealand,
bringing predatory mammals such as cats, dogs, rats and stoats. Flightless
native birds, including the kiwi, moa and kakapo, had not developed
defenses against predation.
"Some were literally eaten alive. The kakapo's only defense was to sit
very still, and predators basically had meals on wheels," said Janet Owen,
Department of Conservation (DOC) Director of Protected Species.
She said kakapo populations were plundered as a food source by Maori and
European settlers alike, and their natural habitat was largely destroyed by
the clearance of rich forests.
Hope seemed lost in the late 1960s when it was found all kakapo known to
exist were male. Then the discovery of a single feather on Stewart Island,
at the foot of the South Island, led to a hitherto unknown population of
about 200 birds, including females.
But cats discovered this kakapo haven at the same time. "By the time we
could do anything about the cats, the population had plummeted to around 50
or 60 birds," said Paul Jansen, head of DOC's Kakapo Recovery Program.
The kakapo were moved in the 1980s to the relative safety of Codfish,
Little Barrier and Maud islands, dotted around New Zealand's coastline.
The nests need video monitoring as they come under constant attack from
rats, and Maud Island is occasionally invaded by stoats swimming over from
the mainland.
The male kakapo abandons the female after mating, forcing her to leave
the nest dangerously unattended while she feeds.
What is more, kakapo are reluctant breeders mating only once every four
or five years. They also have a history of laying infertile eggs.
Despite the hurdles facing the kakapo, the WCMC's prediction of imminent
extinction is overly dire, DOC says. While the kakapo is critically
endangered, it is a national treasure which can be dragged back from the
brink of oblivion.
"Results will take a while because they're long-lived birds. We think
they live around 60-80 years, so they won't be wiped out this year," DOC
Director-General Murray Hosking said.
Over the next 10 years the recovery program aims to establish a younger
breeding population, although numbers will probably remain similar as older
birds die.
"Conceivably we will be giving help to the kakapo for at least the next
five decades, if not longer," Jansen said.
Smith is sharply critical of the amount of funding the government
provides for endangered species research. DOC has a $660,000 budget for
kakapo research in 1996.
"We've become too insulated in New Zealand we don't realize just how
special our native plants and animals are. There's a niggardly,
pathetically small amount of money going into conservation, and we reap
what we sow," he said.
Smith said predation was causing the decline of New Zealand's bird
populations in general, and forest habitats were gradually being destroyed
by possums, deer and goats.
"New Zealand's wealth has been generated out of the 75 percent of the
country we've cleared. Unfortunately we're not using any of that wealth to
save those species that are trying to survive in the little remnants we
left them," Smith said.
"The dawn chorus in our forests, which used to be a real feature of New
Zealand, is in many places becoming more of a solo." Reuters
I found this article on a bird-related web site - I can't recall which
one as I've scanned many over the last few weeks. Recently I saw a
television program on the Discovery channel, which highlighted the plight
of the kakapo in much the same manner as this story.
--------------------
B1.2.4 Climate
The NZ climate is temperate with no real extremes; the north tends to be
warm temperate. Being an island nation, the yearly range of temperatures
is quite small, around 10 degrees Celsius variation between winter and
summer. NZ enjoys long hours of sunshine throughout the year making it an
ideal year round destination. In winter the South Island mountain and
central North Island do have heavy snowfalls providing great skiing.
Summer: December - February
Winter: June - August
sunshine Temperature (C) rainfall rain
hours mean max min daily av. (mm) days
sum win
Kaitaia 2113 15.6 29 0 1429 138
Auckland 1904 15.7 28 3 23 14 1289 140
Tauranga 2217 14.3 29 -2 1363 118
Hamilton 1981 13.5 29 -5 1236 131
Rotorua 1872 12.7 30 -4 23 12 1509 123
Gisborne 2173 14.1 33 -2 1079 113
New Plymouth 2157 13.4 26 -1 1514 142
Napier 2187 14.3 32 -2 830 92
Palmerston North 1764 13.2 28 -3 991 127
Wellington 2008 12.7 27 1 20 11 1305 124
Nelson 2372 12.2 28 -4 22 12 1005 96
Blenheim 2449 12.9 32 -4 671 84
Hokitika 1889 11.6 25 -2 2809 168
Christchurch 1992 11.9 34 -5 22 10 668 85
Timaru 1828 11.4 32 -4 586 81
Milford Sound 1828 10.5 25 -3 6213 183
Queenstown 1865 10.4 30 -5 21 8 832 93
Dunedin 1645 11.1 29 -2 19 10 802 119
Gore 1665 9.7 31 -5 894 137
Invercargill 1595 9.7 28 -5 1040 157
(some of the table above was pirated and I seriously doubt it's accuracy...
Anyone care to confirm it?)
Ross Levis kindly offered:
All the weather links you should ever need are located on my ISP page at:
http://www.enternet.co.nz/weather.html
which links to VUW and shows some other Antarctic pictures.
Frank van der Hulst and Tony Wilkes provided (combined and mildly amended):
NZ Metservice forecasts, including TV-style maps showing forecasts:
http://web.co.nz/weather/
Satellite weather pictures from VUW:
http://www.rses.vuw.ac.nz/meteorology/pictures/
[ see also ...meteorology/maps.html and ...pictures/ir1/latest.jpg ]
These are in mono. For similar maps in colour:
http://rs560.cl.msu.edu/weather/
Weather of the whole region, including NZ. Up to 3-day forecasts,
including satellite pictures and maps showing isobars & sea surface winds
over the Tasman & NZ:
gopher://gilgamesh.ho.BoM.GOV.AU/1/1/Australian%20Weather%20Information
gopher://gilgamesh.ho.BoM.GOV:70/11/Australian%20Weather%Information/Weatrts
[ not sure if the second one is correct ]
Latest (3-hourly) weather satellite images:
http://geog.canterbury.ac.nz/weather/index.html
The NZ sites seem to be somewhat intermittent, and often their latest
images are 3 or 4 days old. The Aussie site is probably the most useful.
Airways Corp also has a Web site http://www.airways.co.nz/index.html which
contains articles from their latest magazine.
Also at
http:/www.sel/bldroc.gov/today.html
are sunspot details and solar activity, which is of interest to radio hams
(among others).
Hugh Grierson adds:
Point your browser at
gopher://gilgamesh.ho.bom.gov.au:70/
and follow the links "Australian weather information ..." -> "Weather
Charts".
There is also:
http://www.xtra.co.nz/metservice/index.shtml
but that requires a Java capable reader.
Subject: B2 THE PEOPLE
Subject: B2.1 A Short History
900 AD (+/-) Maori arrived from Pacific.
1740's Europeans started to bumble around the area.
1800's Exploiters arrived (whalers, sealers, traders).
1830's Settlers started arriving.
1840's The 'Maori' Land Wars
There were actually four separate wars (though some tribes fought in more
than one):
NgaPuhi, Northland (1840s)
Taranaki,(1860s)
Kingites, Waikato (1860s)
Te Kooti etc (1860s)
John Hopkins offers the following 'gratuitous comments ;-)' (sic):
"The term "Maori Wars" has not been used for some considerable time, as it
suggests that Maori were responsible for the wars - another example of "the
winner" rewriting history to suit their own purposes. Recognised
descriptions now are "the New Zealand Wars", or the "Land Wars" - the
latter is preferable in some ways because it reveals what the wars were
about. In particular, the invasion of the Waikato by English led troops as
a pretext to force Maori to defend themselves and then confiscate their
land for being "in rebellion" against the English Crown. A good reference
is the Waitangi Tribunal report on the Tainui claim."
1893? Universal Suffrage.
The 1945-50 Baby Boom
There was a baby boom in 1945-50 after the survivors returned from the
Second World War. The reasons should be obvious. (I think that it has
been mentioned here that New Zealand lost a larger fraction of its
population in the Second World War than any other Allied country except
the USSR, nearly all of them young men). There was a lesser peak 20 to
30 years later as the products of the first boom had their own children.
1985 Internet gets going... :-)
May 1994 The soc.culture.new-zealand faq gets posted!
Subject: B2.2 Maoritanga
Maoritanga is Maori culture; a way of life and view of the world. It is a
growing and changing part of life in NZ. The ancestors and all living
things are descended from the gods, who are often embodied in specific
mountains, rivers and lakes, which is why kinship and links with the land
are so important. Maui was one of the earliest descendants and was
responsible for slowing the sun to make the days longer, taming fire, and
fishing the North Island (Te Ika a Maui) from the sea from his brothers'
canoe (the South Island - Te Waka a Maui). Most Maori can trace descent
from the chiefs of Hawaiki who sailed to Aotearoa in voyaging canoes from
about 1200 years ago. The marae (particular area of land and buildings,
containing the Whare or meeting house) is the focus of traditional Maori
community life.
The Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840, after Maori had petitioned Queen
Victoria about the damage being done to their land and culture by
uncontrolled land speculators and resource exploiters. Another influence
was the wish of the British to prevent the French or Americans from gaining
a hold on the new colony (Hone Heke flew the Stars and Stripes on his war
canoe). The first article ceded to the Queen of England the right to make
laws in exchange for the retention of full control of their lands, forests,
fishing and prized posessions. The second article promised the Maori full
rights to their lands, forests and treasured possessions (and fisheries in
the English version). The third article gave the Maori all the rights and
privileges of British subjects.
Despite the egalitarian language, in practice the principles of the Treaty
were often ignored. Dissatisfaction over the control of land in the North
Island led to war in the 1860's with the result that much Maori land was
confiscated. It was 100 years before the Maori protest movement had enough
strength to come into the public eye, although certain key personalities
have been supporting a Maori renaissance since the early years of this
century. All environmental and planning legislation passed since 1986
contains provisions for the support of the principles of the Treaty of
Waitangi. Recent claims to the Waitangi Tribunal have resulted in some
land being returned to Maori control. In other cases the resource
implications are so complex and potentially vast that decisions on
reparation have been delayed for some years. This is the case, for
example, with the claim of Ngai Tahu, the largest and most powerful South
Island tribe. The claim has been accepted in principle, but settlement
appears to be some way away.
Maori is now an official language of NZ, although outside the Maori
community it is rare to hear it spoken except on ceremonial occasions.
Maori have established various programmes for the revival of their
language, particularly in pre-school and primary schools.
Most Maori are now town and city dwellers, and many have lost touch with
their original marae base. However there is a groundswell of regeneration
of interest in the marae, and some people are returning to their tribal
homes. In the cities, urban marae, sometimes catering for people of many
tribes, have been established.
Maori culture was transmitted orally, through the telling of stories, song
(waiata) and the reciting of whakapapa (genealogies). It was also
represented in stylised form in carvings and woven panels that adorned
whare (meeting houses). There is a revitalisation of these traditional
arts, especially as the marae movement gains more strength, and also
because new marae, for example on school and university campuses, are being
built. Maori traditional music was very effectively suppressed by the
nineteenth century missionaries. Traditional instruments are now rarely
seen but the Maori love of music survives in waiata, which today are a
blend of remembered traditional waiata plus adaptations from western music.
One of the most difficult things for any dominant culture to handle is the
acceptance of real partnership with another group, especially one that for
many years was regarded as inferior. The pretty or quaint sides of Maori
culture, long exploited by the tourist industry, are not the whole thing.
The real thing involves power and resource sharing, and this process of
reallocation will cause debate and some strife within New Zealand for years
to come.
-----
Brian Harmer:
"To give an indication of how complex the Maori situation is, here are the
names of some of the tribes. This section is evolving...
Maori Tribes (this is not exhaustive), listed in approximate North to South
geographic distribution (paraphrased from The Revised Dictionary of Modern
Maori by P.M. Ryan, 1989 Heinemann Education)
Te Aupouri
Ngati Kahu
Te Rarawa
Ngapuhi
Ngati Whatua
Ngati Tai
Ngati Paoa
Ngati Tamatera
Ngati Whanaunga
Ngati Maru
Ngai te Rangi
Ngati Haua
Ngati Mahuta
Waikato
Te Arawa
Ngati Ranginui
Whanau-a-Apanui
Whakatohea
Ngati Awa
Ngati Maniapoto
Ngati Porou
Ngati Tuwharetoa
Tuhoe
Rongo Whakataa
Ngati Tama
Taranaki
Te Aitanga-a-Makahi
Ngati Raukawa
Ngati Ruanui
Ngarauru
Ngati Apa
Ngati Hau
Rangitane
Ngati Kahungunu
Ngati Toa
then to the South Island
Rangitane
Ngai Tahu
Poutini
Ngati Mamoe
I believe most tribes had sub-tribes, and there was much ebbing and flowing
as various groups conquered, or were in turn conquered and enslaved."
-----
Lyndon Watson wrote:
"There are more in the Marlborough Sounds-Nelson region, e.g. Ngati Koata
who broke off from Ngati Toa in the last century and sided with local
tribes and who have just been in the news for getting Stephens Island back
and promptly giving it to the Crown as a nature reserve.
The question of tribal affiliation in the lower three-quarters of the South
Island is a vexed one because some descendants of the tribes who lived
there before the Ngati Mamoe and Ngai Tahu invasions from the North Island
(e.g. Te Waitaha of South Canterbury-North Otago who claim to be the
original 'Moa Hunters') claim to be members still of those tribes while
Ngai Tahu consider that they (and, indeed, the Ngati Mamoe) are now at the
most subtribes of Ngai Tahu. Tempers can get very heated round here over
this matter.
And it should also be mentioned that some do not like 'iwi' being
translated as 'tribe', and 'hapu' as 'subtribe'."
-----
For more info on Maori culture and history, try:
http://www.lonelyplanet.com.au/dest/aust/maori.htm
which gives a brief overview of Maori history, and:
http://tattoos.com/moko.htm
which deals with the art of Moko.
and
For info on Maori history and lists several Maori writers:
http://www.lonelyplanet.com.au/dest/aust/maori.htm
Also:
<http://iconz.co.nz/commercial/educator>
<http://iconz.co.nz/~educator>
And the Auckland City Art Gallery collection of Maori portraits by Charles
Fredrick Goldie:
http://www.well.com/user/wldtrvlr/auckgal.html
Adam Gifford (for whom I have no net address) invites people to visit:
http://nz.com/webnz/tekorero/
Once Were Warriors homepage:
http://www.flf.com/warriors/
--------------------
B2.2.1 The Moriori Question
Simon O'Rorke provides the following quotes and opinions:
In her book "The Prehistory of New Zealand" (Longman Paul, Auckland,
1987) Janet Davidson wrote:
"...[during the 1890s]... many spurious traditions about [Maori] origins
began to gain wide acceptance. Some of these still hinder the study of New
Zealand prehistory today. One theory was the so-called 'Maruiwi myth',
which suggested that the first inhabitants of new Zealand had been a
different and probably inferior race to the later Maori. The resumption of
intensive archeological work in the South Island during the 1920s and 1930s
was partly in response to this theory.
"[this] archeological work....demonstrated the Polynesian nature of
moa-hunter assemblages and disproved the idea that the moa-hunters were an
earlier and different race from the Maori. Yet the idea of the inferior
and defeated Maruiwi or Moriori still lives on in the minds of modern New
Zealanders, confused with the Moriori of the Chatham Islands who were in
fact an isolated group of Polynesians, although very closely related to the
New Zealand Maori."
The Maruiwi was a Maori tribe (iwi) whose name is known from oral tradition
but which did not survive to the time of the settlement of New Zealand by
Europeans. Contrary to the assertions of the 19th century European
mythologizers of Maori origins, they were not a pre-Maori people. They
were probably wiped out in inter-tribal warfare during the 14th century or
later, i.e. hundreds of years after Polynesians settled what is now New
Zealand in the 9th century.
The European mythologizers of Maori origins, in particular S. Percy Smith,
who in 1892 founded the Polynesian society, noticed the similarity between
the word "Maruiwi" and the word "Moriori", the name of the indigenous
people of the Chatham Islands, which are located in the Pacific Ocean about
400 km East of New Zealand. They jumped to the conclusion that the Moriori
were the descendants of (supposedly pre-Maori) Maruiwi survivors who had
fled to the Chathams to New Zealand when Polynesians (Maori) first settled
New Zealand. Until recently, New Zealand school children were taught this
story as historical fact.
Davidson has this to say about the Moriori:
"Despite widespread popular belief that the Moriori were a vanquished group
who fled to the Chathams from New Zealand, Moriori and Maori were unaware
of each others' existence before the rediscovery of the Chathams by
Europeans in the late 18th century. Sutton has recently strongly argued
that the Chathams were settled from New Zealand between A.D. 1000 and 1200
and became completely isolated after about A.D. 1400. No archeological
sites of this early period have yet been excavated in the Chathams,
however, and the possibility of settlement from elsewhere in East Polynesia
cannot be entirely excluded."
Why did the European myth of a people in New Zealand before the Maori
arise? And why has it persisted despite clear contrary evidence? In his
book on the struggles of the Maori since the European settlement of New
Zealand, "Ka Whatwhai Tonu Matou: Struggle Without End", (Penguin,
Auckland, 1990) Ranginui Walker put it very well:
"The myth of the Moriori is essentially ideological in the sense of being a
false consciousness as a solution in the mind to conflict generated by the
colonisers' expropriation of Maori land. According to the myth, the Maori,
as a superior and more warlike people, expropriated the land from the
Moriori. Therefore Pakeha [Maori term for European settlers and their
descendants] expropriation of the same land on the basis of their superior
civilisation was in accordance with the principle of the survival of the
fittest. For this reason the false myth of the Moriori has been one of New
Zealand's most enduring myths. Pakeha need the myth for the endorsement of
colonisation and Pakeha dominance."
I can back up Walker's argument from personal experience. I have
frequently heard (usually right-wing) European New Zealanders using the
Maoris' alleged extermination of the Moriori in New Zealand as
justification of European mistreatment of Maori. I would note however,
that these days the justification tends to be in terms of a rather guilty
"The Maori were just as bad as the Europeans" rather than the more
self-confident social-Darwinist survival-of-the-fittest justification that
was prevalent at the beginning of this century.
--------------------
B2.2.2 Guide to Maori pronunciation
The five vowels; a, e, i, o and u, are pronounced in two ways:
short long
a as u in but a as a in father
e as e in pen e as ai in pair
i as i in bit i as ee in feet
o as o in fort o as o in store
u as u in put u as oo in boot
Where two vowels are together: both are sounded but they are run together
smoothly.
The ten consonants in Maori: h, k, m, n, p, r, t, w, ng, wh.
The first eight are pronounced as in English. The last two are digraphs,
'ng' being pronounced as the ng in 'singer', and 'wh' as wh in 'whale', or
as a 'f'.
From The Revised Dictionary of Modern Maori:
The consonants:
'r' is not rolled.
'p' is soft.
'wh' is usually pronounced 'f', sometimes as 'h', 'w', of 'wh'.
'ng' has a softish 'g' and is pronounced/spelled 'ng' or 'k' depending on
the area; usually 'k' in the South Island.
In the book "He Whakamarama - A new course in Maori" the following
describes 'ng' and 'wh':
"When we say 'na', the tip of the tongue touches the roof of the mouth
somewhere behind the top of the upper teeth. When we say 'nga', the tongue
stays down with the tip touching the back of the lower teeth.
"'Wh' differs from 'f' in this way. When we say 'f', the upper teeth
firmly touch the bottom lip, but with 'wh' there is little or no pressure
of the upper teeth on the bottom lip.
The following:
http://www.dia.govt.nz/dia/general.dictionary/maori
may help with the preceding.
-----
Lachy Paterson wrote:
"Te Reo Maaori will exist only if it is taught (and learnt) as a spoken
language. This means that students should have a tutor of some sort who
can actually talk to them (analog not digital!). While this would be
difficult in another country, it should not be difficult in NZ.
However, if people wanted to teach themselves the rudiments of Maaori/Maori
grammar, then I would recommend
He Whakamarama A new Course in Maori
by John Foster (Heinemann)
or
Te Kakano (Stage 1 University text)
Te Pihinga (Stage 2)
by John C. Moorfield (Longman Paul).
Kia manawanui."
Lyndon Watson adds:
"Yes, and to complicate matters there are some dialectical variations.
Some East Coast speakers tend to replace 'ng' with the simple 'n'. And
some South Island speakers replace it with 'k', but then it is spelled
accordingly so there is no problem for the outsider.
The 'wh' sound also seems to vary from place to place. I have heard
elderly speakers in Northland say something very like the (proper) English
'wh' sound - 'h' followed by 'w' - and again some Eastern speakers use a
plain 'w'. Pakehas tend to give up and fall back on a plain 'f'.
Judy Shorten adds:
"Say it in Maori" by Alan Armstrong is a really good little book with a
limited English-Maori and Maori-English dictionary as well as a wide
variety of phrases that cover many situations. There is also a page on
pronounciation. I would recommend this little book for anyone wanting to
have a very basic knowledge of the Maori language, but on the other hand
most tourists travelling around NZ on tours don't have the time or the
inclination to read even a little book about correct pronounciation and
therefore make some rather hilarious attempts at trying to pronounce even
the simplest names.
References:
The Concise Maori Dictionary, A.H. & A.W. Reed
The Revised Dictionary of Modern Maori, P. M. Ryan's, reprint 1989,
Heinemann, ISBN 0 86863 564 2
Say it in Maori, Alan Armstrong
Subject: B2.3 Demography
B2.3.1 General
Total population is about 3.5 million. Over 70% of the population are in
the North Island, largest centre is Auckland (over 1 million), capital is
Wellington.
1975 3,071,000
1988 3,343,000
1990 3,402,000
1992 (July) 3,347,369
1994 3,541,000
2000 3,714,000
Population Growth 0.88 %
Population Density 32/sq mi
Population Doubling Time 79 years
Net migration rate: -2 migrants/1,000 population (1992)
--------------------
B2.3.2 Major Cities
Latitude, Long Dist
Population Longitude Code
Wellington 360,000 41.17S,174.47E 4
Auckland 890,000 36.52S,174.46E 9
Christchurch 335,000 43.33S,172.40E 3
Hamilton 100,000 37.46S,175.18E 7
Dunedin 110,000 45.52S,170.30E 3
--------------------
B2.3.3 Age Distribution
Age range Male % Female %
0-9 8.0 7.6
10-19 9.4 9.0
20-29 8.6 8.4
30-39 7.4 7.5
40-49 5.4 5.3
50-59 4.5 4.4
60-69 3.6 4.1
70+ 2.7 4.1
Total 49.6 50.4
Literacy Rate 99 %
Urbanization 83.5 %
--------------------
B2.3.4 Ethnicity
Data from the "1991 Census of Population and Dwellings" publications.
Ethnic Group,
for Population Resident in New Zealand
Single Ethnic Group
Total Percent
European (1) 2,658,738 79.5
NZ Maori 323,493 9.7
Samoan 68,565 2.0
Cook Island Maori 26,925 0.8
Tongan 18,264 0.5
Niuean 9,429 0.3
Tokelauan 2,802 0.1
Fijian 2,760 0.1
Other Pacific 1,413 --
Total, Single Pacific Group 130,158 3.9
Chinese 37,689 1.1
Indian 26,979 0.8
Other Single Ethnic Groups (2) 25,926 0.8
Total, Single Ethnic Groups 3,202,980 95.7
(1) May include combinations of European groups e.g. NZ European and/or
British and/or Dutch etc.
(2) All Groups not included above. May include combinations of Other
Groups, eg. Japanese and/or Korean and/or Middle Eastern Groups.
There is a very good (not *too* technical) book on Maori Demography for
further reference of those interested:
Pool, Ian. 1991. _Te Iwi Maori: A New Zealand Population Past, Present
and Projected_ Auckland University Press (dist. by Oxford Univ. Press
outside of New Zealand)
--------------------
B2.3.5 Official Languages
English, Maori. Pacific Island and Asian languages may be heard in cities.
--------------------
B2.3.6 Religions
A Massey research project reveals that 28 percent of Kiwis pray, at
frequencies varying between several times a day, to weekly. About 21
percent of the population are regular churchgoers. The radio report on the
topic said that over 60 percent of NZers believe in a God.
And/or...
1991 census: (%)
Anglican 22.1
Presbyterian 16.3
Catholic 15.0
Methodist 4.2
Agnostic 0.1
Atheist <0.05
No religion 20.1
Object to state 7.6
In 1981 (and I presume earlier censuses) there was simply a blank where you
wrote your religion. In 1986 and 1991, there were half a dozen or so boxes
you could tick, including "No Religion" and "Other" (with a blank space to
fill in if you ticked "Other"). In 1981, Agnostic and Atheist accounted
for 0.8 and 0.7%, so clearly many people who would write "Atheist" when
confronted with a blank space would tick "No Religion" when such a box was
an option. (I did this myself in 1986.)
In 1986, "No Religion" got 16.7%, so this is growing fast, and is the
second largest group. (It was less than 1% in the 1950s.)
Subject: B3 LIFE IN NEW ZEALAND
Subject: B3.1 The Political Scene
Would anyone care to write a brief summary of the main political parties
and post them to the net for comment?
B3.1.1 Why 'New Zealand'
It is simply "New Zealand" - not the "People's Republic of" or
"Commonwealth of" or "Kingdom of" or anything like that. It used to be
"The Dominion of New Zealand" pursuant to a long-forgotten dream of a kind
of federal British empire that one of our early prime ministers (Bill
Massey) was keen on, but the "Dominion of" bit was dropped several years
ago.
I have a long debate about the origins of the names for NZ which I'm still
editing into shape. It may go in here.
--------------------
B3.1.2 Constitution
New Zealand shares with Britain and Israel the distinction of being one of
the three developed countries that does not have a codified Constitution on
the U.S. model. When the country was annexed by Britain in 1840, the
British parliament enacted that all applicable law of England as at 1840
became the law of New Zealand. In 1856, the New Zealand parliament was
given the power to enact its own law and nothing changed when full
independence was achieved (26-9-1907) except that the British parliament
lost its overriding authority. We have, thus, never had the problem that
Australia and Canada have had of "repatriating" a constitution that was
really an Act of the British parliament.
Our constitution, like the British, consists of parliament's own
conventions and rules of conduct, some legislation such as the New Zealand
Constitution Act (1986, not enacted), and fundamental rules applied by the
Courts which go back into English history. It evolves rather than is
amended.
The flag of NZ is blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side
quadrant with four red five-pointed stars edged in white centered in the
outer half of the flag; the stars represent the Southern Cross
constellation.
--------------------
B3.1.3 Form Of Government
Paul Gillingwater wrote:
"Constitutional monarchy, with a single-chamber parliament.
The monarch is said to "reign but not rule": except for a residual power
to actually govern in the event of some complete breakdown of the
parliamentary system, the monarch has merely ceremonial duties and advisory
powers. When the monarch is absent from the country, which is most of the
time, those duties and powers are delegated to the Governor-General who is
appointed by the monarch for a limited term after approval by the
government.
Parliament is the consitutional "sovereign" - there is no theoretical limit
on what it can validly do, and the validity of the laws which it enacts
cannot be challenged in the courts (although the courts do have and use
wide-ranging powers to control administrative acts of the government). A
new parliament is elected every three years (universal suffrage at age 18).
The leader of the party which commands majority support in parliament is
appointed prime minister and he or she nominates the other Ministers of the
Crown. The ministers (and sometimes the whole majority party in
parliament) are collectively called "the government". Our system almost
entirely lacks formal checks and balances - the majority party can
virtually legislate as it likes subject only to its desire to be re-elected
every three years.
Until now, members of parliament have been elected on a single-member
constituency, winner takes all, system similar to those of Britain and the
U.S.A. As a result of referenda conducted in 1993, future parliaments will
be elected on a mixed-member proportional system modelled on that of
Germany.
The administration is highly centralised. The country is divided into
"districts" (the urban ones called "cities") each with a District (or City)
Council and Mayor, but their powers are limited to providing public
facilities (not housing) and enforcement of by-laws (local regulations)
such as parking regulations. The Police are a single force controlled by
the central government.
The draft of the new electorate Boundaries under MMP is available from
http://actrix.gen.nz/general/politics.html. There are 3 files:
nth_isle.gif --> north island electorates
sth_isle.gif --> South island electorates
auckland.gif --> Auckland electorates"
Ross Stewart (WWG IT recruiters, Akld, NZ) writes:
For interest, we've put up (as best we can) details as to how seats will be
allocated under MMP. Have a look at:
http://www.clearfield.co.nz/wilson_white/mmp.htm
Colin Jackson adds:
Announcing the NZ Elections Home Page on the government web server:
http://www.govt.nz/
Material on the server includes:
- A Guide to the MMP voting system
- How to Enrol, with an Internet form
- Maps of all the new electorates
- A text search tool to establish which electorate(s) a given place is in
- Results of the last election
It will carry the results of the 1996 election as these become available.
The address of the elections home page is:
http://www.govt.nz/elections
--------------------
B3.1.4 The Justice System
There is a four-level hearings and appeals system:
Top level Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (London)
|
Court of Appeal (Wellington)
|
High Court (in all cities)
|
Bottom level District Courts (most towns)
There is also the Small Claims Court which handles smaller personal
disputes.
Civil and criminal cases start in the District or High Court, depending on
their seriousness and appeals go up the chain. Certain rare cases can
start in the Court of Appeal. District and High Court judges sit alone or
with juries. The Court of Appeal (and on certain rare occasions the High
Court) consists of three or five judges sitting "en banc". The Judicial
Committee of the Privy Council consists mainly of British Law Lords with
New Zealand judges also sitting in New Zealand cases; in theory its
decisions merely "opinions" for the benefit of the monarch as the fount of
all justice, but in practice its rulings have the force of ultimate appeal.
All judges are appointed by the government - High Court judges are
nominated by the Law Society, but District Court judges apply for the job
like any other. Various special-purpose courts (Industrial Court, Maori
Land Court, Family Court, etc.) exist and have the same status as either a
District Court or the High Court.
For the NZ Statutes:
http://io.kete.co.nz/gpprint/gptop.htm
and there's a pointer to it from http://www.govt.nz/
--------------------
B3.1.5 Organisation Membership
New Zealand is a member of the following organsations:
ANZUS (US suspended security obligations to NZ on 11 August 1986), APEC,
AsDB, Australia Group, C, CCC, CP, COCOM, (cooperating country), EBRD,
ESCAP, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF,
IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LORCS,
MTCR, OECD, PCA, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIIMOG, UNTSO, UPU,
WHO, WIPO, WMO
Subject: B3.2 Economy
Since 1984 the government has been reorienting an agrarian economy
dependent on a guaranteed British market to an open free market economy
that can compete on the global scene. The government had hoped that
dynamic growth would boost real incomes, reduce inflationary pressures, and
permit the expansion of welfare benefits. The results have been mixed:
inflation is down from double-digit levels, but growth has been sluggish
and unemployment, always a highly sensitive issue, has exceeded 10% since
May 1991. In 1988, GDP fell by 1%, in 1989 grew by a moderate 2.4%, and
was flat in 1990-91. Current (1994) growth is around 2-4% and rising.
The economy is based on agriculture (particularly dairy products, meat, and
wool (68 m sheep, 2 m dairy cows)), food processing, wood and paper
products, textiles, machinery, transportation equipment, banking and
insurance, tourism, mining. Fish catch reached a record 0.5 m tonnes in
1988. Highly dependent on external trade, NZ is currently trying to move
from being a primary to a secondary producer.
--------------------
B3.2.1 Defence Against Silly Questions
Lyndon Watson wrote:
"Look in on sci.economics and sci.econ.research.
In response to yet another request from abroad about NZ's supposedly
interesting economic past and present structure, Lyndon Watson composed the
following.
What is it with these idiots from Canada? This garbage seems to come round
three or four times a year - is some fool teaching it to students there?
Some notes for these twits (and their teachers) -
1. New Zealand was not subsidized from England, or anywhere else.
2. The nation did not at any time go bankrupt (or default on its
debts, or become subject to IMF or World Bank or any other outside
economic direction).
3. Our terms of trade worsened catastrophically in the early 1970s (not
the 1980s) as a result of (a) the oil shock that also affected
our trading partners and (b) the erection of tariff and quota
barriers against our trade by the U.K.
4. The Labour government of 1972-75 and the National government that
followed it tried to deal with adverse terms of trade by borrowing
in foreign markets, with the result that by the early 1980s we had
(and we still have) a debt ratio that looked bad even by Third World
standards.
5. The Labour government of 1984-90 and the current National government
have restructured the economy by abruptly stopping all state
subsidies, removing nearly all tariff and quota barriers against
imports, greatly reducing income tax and substituting the Goods and
Services Tax on the sale of goods and services, greatly reducing the
the state's involvement in trading activities and social services,
and the reform of labour laws to promote individual workplace
agreements.
6. The removal of subsidies and import barriers saw many incompetent
and uneconomic businesses, many of which were reliant on subsidies,
fail and the official unemployment rate exceed 10% of the workforce.
7. After a decade of restructuring, our net terms of trade are in our
favour and the official unemployment rate is the fourth lowest in
the OECD (currently just over 7% for the country as a whole, 5.9%
in most of the South Island). A major current problem is the
shortage of skilled workers in many industries."
-----
Kindly submitted by Paul Walker. These were published in the Christchruch
Press on September 13th and 14th, 1995. Anyone prepared to archive these
and the following references for ftp and such?
BRINGING HOME THE CUP
Michael Carter
Senior Lecturer in Economics
University of Canterbury
When Australia wrested the America's Cup from the New York yacht club in
1983, Tom Schnackenberg was a member of the shore team (a sail designer).
When New Zealand won the cup in San Diego, Tom was head of the design team
and navigator on NZL 32. His progression from shore to ship was far less
imposing than that in his native country. In 1983, a New Zealand
challenge for the America's Cup would have been inconceivable. The
domestic boat building industry was struggling. It had been decimated by
the imposition of an ill-conceived sales tax in 1979, which cut turnover
from $57 million to $8 million in two years.
Like Schnackenberg, many of New Zealand's best talents lived and worked
overseas, driven away by high tax rates and the lack of opportunity.
Innovation was discouraged by regulations, import controls and selective
taxes. The idea of a New Zealand team taking on the might of corporate
America was laughable.
At the end of 1984, I left Australia to return to New Zealand. Some of my
Australian colleagues laughed. They saw New Zealand as a basket case, a
joke, small isolated islands drowning in a sea of debt. My Australian
friends wondered when, not if, Australia would have to come reluctantly to
the rescue.
Ten years later, how things have changed. Our triumph in San Diego is due
in no small measure to the changes which have be wrought in the New
Zealand economy over the last 10 years. Moreover, bringing home the Cup
was only the most visible sign of the new vigour, confidence and strength
in New Zealand and its people.
New Zealanders are justifiably proud of the performance of Team NZ in San
Diego. They could be even more proud of the performance of home team, of
the radical transformation of their economy over the last ten years.
Domestic critics talk of the "New Zealand experiment" as though New
Zealand has pursued a lone path in recent years. Nothing could be further
from the truth. Massive economic change has occurred throughout the world
over the last fifteen years. Deregulation and privatization are universal
trends. No country remains untouched, from Britain and the US to the
former constituents of the Soviet block to Latin America, Africa and Asia.
Around the world, there is a feeling that New Zealand has done it better
than most. The Australians are now looking cautiously over their shoulder,
as their economy is consistently eclipsed by their Tasman rival. The
Economist regularly cites New Zealand as exemplifying the benefits of
economic reform. Monetary economists pay significant attention to the
Reserve Bank Act. Experts on telecommunications watch with interest New
Zealand's system of light regulation. New Zealanders are employed as
consultants advising on economic reform all round the world.
>From the laggard of the OECD, New Zealand has emerged to one of the
strongest economies in the world. It is an achievement to be proud of, an
accomplishment which surpasses even the yacht races in San Diego. That is
not to say that we have got everything perfect. Mistakes have been made,
implementation of some policies was less than perfect, and there is still
much to be done. But, from an international perspective, New Zealand's
transformation in a single decade has been remarkable. At a time when
some politicians are promoting a return to the past, it is sobering to
recall the changes which have been made and to reflect on the way we were
ten years ago. It is also interesting to remark how the opponents of
change have often become its most vocal advocates, as exemplified by
Federated Farmers and recently the Manufacturers Federation.
Much of the current political debate on economic policy is futile and
distracting, driven by poor memories and wishful thinking. If only New
Zealanders could achieve some consensus that we have been moving in the
right direction, debate could turn to the more constructive issues of how
to secure continued growth and equitable distribution. Prospective
voters could do their part by signalling more clearly to aspiring
politicians that they want to build on the present rather than return to
the past.
Tomorrow, we look back to the way we were in 1984 and review some of the
changes which have been made in our economic lives.
LOOKING BACK TO 1984
Michael Carter
Senior Lecturer in Economics
University of Canterbury
Eleven years ago, the Fourth Labour Government came to power in a snap
election. They inherited control of country whose economy had been
devastated by years of mismanagement. Aided by a willing and able
bureaucracy, they set about implementing an ambitious programme of
economic reform. As New Zealand approaches its first MMP election, it is
instructive to look back over these reforms, and to recall the way we
were in 1984.
One of the first changes was the freeing of the financial system from
obstructive regulation and the floating of the New Zealand dollar. This
has promoted a healthy, competitive and innovative financial system.
People may rue market interest rates, but at least it possible to borrow
when required. Remember the old days when obtaining a mortgage required
appropriate obsequiousness before the bank manager, who exercised a
patronizing and crucial power over investment decisions. Since it was
floated, the Kiwi dollar has shown a remarkable stability in a world of
stormy change. So stable has it been, that international bankers use it
has a short term safe haven, and temporary resting place for funds. Why
should we be alarmed at that vote of confidence? A strong currency is a
manifestation of a strong economy. No country has every got rich by
debasing its currency.
One consequence of a floating currency is that New Zealander's are
enabled to convert their currency at will. Remember the days when foreign
exchange had to be squirreled away, carefully collected to finance meagre
purchases. Funds for overseas travel were limited. Obtaining funds for
small purchases such as magazine subscriptions required hoarding post
office money orders.
Similarly, ten years ago, there were an enormous range of import controls
and prohibitive tariffs. Overseas trips where often shopping trips.
Travelers would return laden with booty which was too expensive to
purchase in New Zealand. The main beneficiaries were foreign distributors
and retailers. It was a very inefficient way of restricting consumption
of luxury goods to the rich.
Exchange and import controls spawned a variety of ingenious rackets.
Under one scheme, those with access to foreign currency could go to the
top of the queue for a new car, while ordinary people had to spend three
or four years on a waiting list. Consequently, the favoured few were
enabled to buy a new car every year, and then sell it to the less
fortunate for more than they paid for it. Such rorts are almost inevitable
under a system of controls.
The most spectacular result of the abolition of import controls was the
flood of second-hand Japanese cars. The quality of the New Zealand vehicle
fleet improved dramatically, and the cost of transportation declined. Of
course, there has been a down side. Traffic congestion has also increased
dramatically. But at least congestion is egalitarian. Vehicle ownership
is widespread and not restricted to the rich and powerful.
The relaxation of import controls and tariffs has also had a dramatic
impact on clothing, footwear and consumer goods. The range of clothing
readily available in New Zealand has increased dramatically, and prices
have fallen. Since families spend a higher proportion of their budgets on
clothing and transport, freer trade has been especially valuable to the
less well off. This makes the Alliance's wish to reverse this change all
the more imponderable.
In 1984, New Zealand's production was guided by a system of subsidies,
through which New Zealand taxpayers funded the lifestyles of those with
political clout. Most pernicious were the agricultural subsidies such as
SMPs. Naturally, farmers produced were the subsidies were highest, which
tended to be were demand was lowest. The subsidies became capitalized in
land values, another windfall gain for those of means. When the
government abolished subsidies in 1984, land prices halved. For many
individual farmers, this was devastating. But farmers as a whole soon
recognised that the subsidy system was untenable. They soon became the
most vocal advocates of deregulation, and New Zealand could mount a
credible campaign against protection in world agricultural markets.
Much political flak was attracted by the privatization of public owned
businesses. Yet, this was part of world-wide trend. A recent book on
privatization which I reviewed for the Press cited 120 countries.
Privatization in New Zealand seems to have been handled more sensibly
than in some other countries. This is because serious thought was given to
post-sale market structure, which it is more important than ownership.
For example, Ansett was permitted to fly in New Zealand before Air New
Zealand was floated. Similarly, competition was permitted in
telecommunications before Telecom was sold. The benefits in these cases
are clear. New Zealand enjoys one of the best and cheapest telephone
systems in the world. Competition in transport has certainly improved the
quality of service.
It is plausible to argue that current impasse between Telecom and Clear
stems primarily from the Kiwi share obligation imposed on Telecom, which
was explicitly designed to impede the consequences of competition in the
residential market. The Kiwi share may have been one of the less fortunate
ideas.
A keystone of economic reform has been the Reserve Bank Act, which has
succeeded in controlling inflation in New Zealand. Inflation adds to the
uncertainty of investment decisions, and leads to arbitrary
redistributions of wealth. Admittedly, the rapid reduction in inflation
was achieved at considerable cost. However, nothing would be gained now
by loosening the controls on inflation embodied in the Reserve Bank Act.
Reform of the tax system was also important.
In 1984, the top marginal tax rate was 66%, which left little incentive
for additional effort. It provided ample incentive for avoidance and
evasion which were widespread. The imposition of GST had two major
advantages: avoidance was almost impossible and the tax fell on
consumption and not saving. By cutting the rates but broadening the base,
tax receipts have actually increased, which is why New Zealand is now
repaying debt rather than accumulating it. The reformed system is also
much fairer, since the opportunities for avoidance under the former system
were very unevenly distributed.
Reform reached beyond market institutions. "Tomorrow's Schools"
revolutionized the ways our schools are run. There have been some hiccups,
but by and large this seems to have been a successful and welcome reform.
A recent review in the Press could find no one who wanted to return to the
former system of centralized Ministry control. Similar decentralization
in the health system has provoked more debate. However, it is notable that
a recent careful survey by Consumer magazine detected widespread
satisfaction with the health system. Much of the criticism comes from
those working in the system, with a vested interest in protecting their
working conditions.
As in similar countries, the process of immigration was changed, from a
system of regional quotas to a points system. Points are awarded to
prospective immigrants for various criteria, and those with the highest
points are admitted. The advantage of this system is its openness and
transparency. On the whole, it is much fairer to immigrants. Other
changes which come to mind include deregulation of shopping hours, the
huge change in planning process embodied in the Environmental Protection
Act, the auctioning of property rights in spectrum and fisheries and of
course the Employment Contracts Acts.
The changes which have been wrought have been massive. They have been
guided by the desire to introduce openness, accountability and rationality
into public decision making. It would be silly to pretend that all the
changes and their implementation have been beyond criticism. We live in an
uncertain world characterized by imperfect information and human frailty.
Mistakes have been made and improvements are available. Inevitably, there
have been winners and losers from change.
Nevertheless, we need to look at the larger picture. Those with nostalgia
for a lost past need to colour their memories with a degree of realism. Do
we really want to return to the days of import and exchange controls,
inefficient state monopolies, old broken-down cars, a gray, dull
uniformity of relative poverty and quaint backwardness. That is the
direction in which some politicians wish to lead.
-----
Following are a collection of references on the changes from Paul Walker
who added: "The one problem they all have is that they were out of date by
the time they were published. For a quick overview of the last 10 years or
so check out":
http://www.canterbury.ac.nz/econ/mike.htm
Australian Economic Review; 0(104), Oct.-Dec. 1993
Len Bayliss
Prosperity Mislaid: Economic Failure in New Zealand and What Should be Done
About it.
GP Publications, Wellington NZ, 1994
A. Bollard
New Zealand Economic Reforms: 1984-91, Country Study No. 10.
International Center for Economic Growth, 1992
Alan Bollard
The Political Economy of Liberalisation in New Zealand.
New Zealand Institute of Economic Research Working Paper WP93/2
Alan Bollard and Robert Buckle (eds)
Economic Liberalisation in New Zealand.
Allen and Unwin, 1987
Alan Bollard and David Mayes
Corporatization and Privatization in New Zealand in The Political Economy
of Privatization.
Thomas Clarke and Christos Pitelis (eds)
Routledge, London, 1993
Jonathan Boston
Reshaping Social Policy in New Zealand.
Fiscal Studies; 14(3), August 1993, pages 44-85.
Jonathan Boston and Paul Dalziel (eds)
The Decent Society?: Essays in Response to National's Economic and Social
Policies.
Oxford University Press, Auckland, N.Z., 1992
Jonathan Boston and Martin Holland (eds)
The Fourth Labour Government: Radical Politics in New Zealand.
Oxford University Press, Auckland, N.Z., 1987
Jonathan Boston and Martin Holland (eds)
The Fourth Labour Government: Politics and Policy in New Zealand 2nd Ed.
Oxford University Press, Auckland, N.Z., 1990
Pat Colgate and Joselyn Stroombergen
A Promise to Pay: New Zealand's Overseas Debt and Country Risk.
New Zealand Institute of Economic Research Research Monograph 58
Ajit Dasgupta
Is New Zealand Slipping up? Some Borda Condorcet Measures of Relative
Performance.
Economics discussion Papers No.9311 Uinversity of Otago.
Ian Duncan and Alan Bollard
Corporatization and Privatization.
Oxford University Press, 1992
Stephen Gale
The New Zealand Experience of Liberalisation and Deregulation.
New Zealand Institute of Economic Research Working Paper WP 90/13
G. Hawke (ed)
A Modest Safety Net? The Future of the Welfare State.
Institute of Policy Studies, 1991
Warren E. Johnston and Gerald A. G. Frengley
The Deregulation of New Zealand Agriculture: Market Intervention (1964-84)
and Free Market Readjustment (1984-90).
Western Journal of Agricultural Economics; 16(1), July 1991, pages 132-43.
Susan K. Jones
The Road to Privatization; The issues involved and some lessons from New
. Zealand's Experience.
Finance and Development, March 1991.
Tim Maloney
Has New Zealand's Employment Contracts Act Increased Employment and Reduced
Wages?
Working Papers in Economics No.135 July 1994, Department of Economics,
University of Auckland.
Peter Nicholl
New Zealand's Monetary Policy Experiment.
University of Western Ontario Papers in Political Economy: 31 October 1993
Susan St John
Tax and Welfare Reforms in New Zealand.
The Australian Economic Review, 4th Quarter 1993
Robert Stephens
Radical Tax Reform in New Zealand.
Fiscal Studies; 14(3), August 1993, pages 45-63.
The Old New Zealand and the New
New Zealand Business Roundtable, Wellington N.Z., 1994
Simon Walker (ed)
Rodgernomics: Reshaping New Zealand's Economy.
GP Books, Wellington, N.Z., 1989
Graeme Wells
Economic Reform and Macroeconomic Policy in New Zealand.
Australian Economic Review; 0(92), Oct.-Dec. 1990, pages 45-60
P. C. Dalziel
A decade of radical economic reforms in New Zealand
British Review of New Zealand Studies 7, forthcoming (it may be out by now).
Patrick Massey
New Zealand: Market Liberalization in a Developed Economy
Macmillan Press, 1995
You could also check out the last 10 years or so of "New Zealand Economic
Papers" and the "Reserve Bank of New Zealand Bulletin".
Paul
--------------------
B3.2.2 Current Status
Govt: going into surplus
Business confidence: on the up and up
Building: both business and residental are doing very well.
Unemployed, welfare, students, solo parents feeling hard done by.
Business (particular exporters), overseas investors very pleased.
GNP 1988 (millions) $25,856
GNP per Capita $7,734
GDP: purchasing power equivalent - $46.2 billion, per capita $14,000; real
growth rate - 0.4% (1991 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.1-1.4% (1993)
Unemployment rate: 11% (mid 1994)
Budget: revenues $17.6 billion; expenditures $18.3 billion, including
capital expenditures of $NA (FY91 est.)
Economic aid: donor - ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $526 million
Exports: $9.4 billion (f.o.b., FY91)
commodities: wool, lamb, mutton, beef, fruit, fish, cheese, manufactured
goods, chemicals, forestry products, beer, wine
Imports: $8.4 billion (f.o.b., FY91)
commodities: petroleum, consumer goods, motor vehicles, industrial
equipment
Natural resources: natural gas, oil, iron sand, coal, timber, hydropower,
gold, grass
Land use: arable land 2%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and pastures 53%;
forest and woodland 38%; other 7%; includes irrigated 1%
---------
For an up-to-date outline on the current state of NZ's economy, look out
for one of Brian Harmer's excellent weekly WYSIWYG news reports in s.c.n-z.
--------------------
B3.2.3 Currency
Decimal system based on New Zealand dollar, with cent denominations.
Coins are 5, 10, 20, and 50 cents, 1 and 2 dollars
Notes are 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 dollars
Major credit cards are accepted widely.
--------------------
B3.2.4 Stockmarket
Same structure as overseas. Ours tends to fluctuate depending on the state
of the world markets.
--------------------
B3.2.5 Exchange/Interest Rates
Information on exchange rates is available from many daily papers, or you
can get the information through www on:
http://www.ora.com/cgi-bin/ora/currency?New_Zealand
It's updated weekly, so it's usually a little out of date, but it's a good
guide mostly.
Current figures for main currencies (10/6/95):
NZ$
Aust$ 93.63c
Pounds 42.56p
US$ 67.65c
Yen 57.78
Interest rates are fluctuating between 6 and 10% depending on overseas
markets. Fixed interest (1/4/95):
% call rates 9.00
% 90-day bank bills 9.04
% July 1998 Govt Stock 8.21
--------------------
B3.2.6 Taxes
New Zealand operates a Goods and Services Tax of 12.5% on ALL goods and
services sold and this is usually included in the display price. The
exceptions are purchases at duty free shops. Visitors cannot claim refunds
on this tax however when a supplier agrees to export a major item to a
visitors home address then GST will not be charged on the goods or the
freight.
Income tax (as at May 96):
$1 - $9,500 - 15% (allowing for the low income rebate)
$9,501 - $30,875 - 28%
$30,876 + - 33%
changing to:
$1 - $9,500 - 15% (allowing for the low income rebate)
$9,501 - $34,200 - 24% (up to $38,000 and down to 21% on July 1st 1997)
$30,876 + - 33%
on the July 1st 1996.
Apparently family support will also increase with a guaranteed minimum
family income, and a new independent family tax credit.
For wage and salary earners virtually nothing is tax-deductible except the
first $1500 of donations to churches, schools, and other charities, and
then only at a 33% rate (ie max $500).
There are various rebates for things like low incomes, children, donations,
Housekeeper, Home/Farm/Vessel Ownership, and others.
Government Revenue Source(1990) How it was expected to be spent(1990)
Income Tax $16,950 Education $3,912.5
Goods and Service Tax $5,500 Health $3,791.1
Other Direct Taxes $360 Transport $711.6
Excise Duties $1,670 Administration $2,769.0
Highway tax $670 Development of Industry $1,231.3
Other Indirect Tax $790 Government Borrowing $575.1
Foreign Relations $1,733.7
Social Services $10,292.1
Total $25,940 Total $25,016.4
On a regional scale, all local authorities fund their activities (with some
limited back-up from central government) from 'rates'. These are taxes on
land owners, assessed annually as a fraction of the 'unimproved' (i.e. land
only) value of the land. Each local authority sets its own rates and they
can be challenged as unreasonable in court - some Wellington City rates for
the current year have just been thrown out by the High Court.
Note that we do not have overlapping local authorities as in the U.S. Any
given place is controlled by one, and one only, local authority - either a
"city" or a "district" - and so the only taxes that people pay are local
authority rates and central government taxes.
There are still some anomalous levies and taxes on certain goods - a high
excise duty on wine, for example - that should not really exist in the GST
environment.
--------------------
B3.2.7 Miscellaneous Prices
litre of petrol; $0.90 - 0.96
loaf of bread (700gm/1.5 pound loaf); $1.60 - 1.90
butter (500gms); $1.60 (on special)
milk (2 litre bottle); $2.70
eggs (dozen) $3.20
apples (1kg/2lb); $0.60 - 1.20 depending on season
fresh fruit/veges - much cheaper than US city and much nicer/fresher
frozen chicken (2 kg/4 pounds); $6 (good special price)
sausages (3 kg/6 pounds); $10
steak; $10/kg often much more.
coffee (kg, beans) $22
ice cream (2 litres); $3
cheapest hamburger at McDonalds; $0.95 (a LOT more for a big mac)
12 cans of beer; $13.
restaurant prices; much less than the US
clothes/shoes; much more expensive than the US
60 watt light bulbs; $1 each
university textbooks; $80+/-
queen size mattress (without base, reasonable quality); $500
Sony G14 34cmv TV 14 inch; $439
top-loading automatic washing machine (5 kg loads); $919
cars: used Holden Commodore VL automatic 1987 (i.e. 8 years old); $12,700
new Honda Civic (fairly typical for NZ size cars); $33,170
auto insurance for that car; $250/annum (depending on policy, age of owner)
electrician charges; $30 per hour
doctor - standard consultation; adult $35, child $10-20
treatment in public hospital (eg maternity unit, 3 days); free. The trick
is to have something so urgent that they let you in. That's not so easy
unless you're pregnant. Waiting lists can be months long.
For housing rental - see under 'cost of living'.
-----
House prices.
The following table is taken from the New Zealand Herald, Wed 20 Dec, 1995.
Median price ($) by district of real estate for November 1995.
Dwelling total
District House Unit Section 1995 1994 1993
Northland 110,000 89,000 35,000 108,000 97,500 96,250
Auckland 212,000 182,500 75,000 200,000 178,000 150,000
Waikato/ 128,000 120,000 45,000 127,000 120,000 110,000
Bay of Plenty/
Gisborne
Hawkes Bay 118,000 115,000 35,000 118,000 118,000 118,000
Manawatu/ 102,500 86,250 45,000 101,000 102,750 96,750
Wanganui
Taranaki 94,000 93,500 52,555 93,750 95,000 90,000
Wellington 145,000 115,000 54,250 140,000 140,000 132,500
Nelson/ 130,000 117,750 60,000 130,000 135,000 120,000
Marlborough
Canterbury/ 129,000 120,900 52,750 128,000 125,000 115,000
Westland/
SouthCant'y
Otago 91,500 113,000 38,750 91,500 101,000 90,750
Southland 79,500 140,000 76,000 84,000 84,000 74,250
Average for 143,000 157,000 55,000 146,000 118,000 107,600
New Zealand
-----
For more info, try:
http://www.govt.nz/ps/min/stats
Follow the "New Zealand" link on the home page.
Ewan McKissock wrote:
It's interesting what items they list (and what they don't). This is
either very revealing about life in NZ, or about life in Statistics New
Zealand, I'm not sure which. Odd that they quote annual Tennis club
subscription, but no mention of other sports.
Russell Turner wrote:
You could try looking at New Zealand newspapers. The dominion or evening
post would be a could source of adverts for household gizmos and houses,
rent, cars etc. Try phoning (04) 474 0100 to speak to the newspaper
publisher.
to which Charles Eggen added:
The Weekly Wellington - City Voice is on-line at
http://nz.com/NZ/Commerce/NetEdit/VOICE.HTM
(watch those Caps in the above address). It will give you some current
info and you can subscribe to the fully paper at a reasonable cost.
Subject: B3.3 Life In General
B3.3.1 Business Hours
Banks 9:00am to 4:30pm - can vary slightly. Otherwise, Monday to Friday
9:00am to 5:30pm. Late night for shopping is either Thursday or Friday.
Changes to the Shop Trading Hours Act means that most shops are open for
longer hours than this. Almost all are open Saturday morning, many are
open on Sunday with some shops and markets remaining open later during the
week.
Automatic teller machines are widely available including a system in many
supermarkets and petrol stations called EFTPOS where you can buy goods with
your card and a PIN number and/or obtain cash. Many Atm's will accept
Cirrus cards.
All international credit cards are accepted in NZ. Travellers cheques can
be changed in banks, hotels, stores, etc. Mike Gill said; "I used MC and
carried some Travellers cheques for emergencies. This worked out great".
There is no restriction on the amount of foreign currency which may be
brought into or taken from New Zealand. Funds may be in the form of bank
notes, coins, travellers cheques or any other instrument of payment.
Visitors may convert surplus NZ currency at any outlet authorised to deal
in foreign exchange.
--------------------
B3.3.2 Tipping
Tipping is not expected in New Zealand, but is not unheard of. Employed
people don't depend on tips for their income and service charges are not
[usually] added to hotel and restaurant bills. Tip for service if you
think it's really deserved, but don't be surprised by the response. Some
consider tipping to be an undesirable practise.
--------------------
B3.3.3 Cost Of Living
B3.3.3.1 Rent
A moderately decent house/week (VERY approx!):
Dunedin $130 - $180
Christchurch $140 - $200
Wellington $160 - $300
Auckland $200 - $350
The average house price is hovering around $140K, mortgage rates are
fluctuating around 11% currently. Mortgage rates include inflation
adjustment.
----------
B3.3.3.2 Wages
The govt would have us believe an 'average' income is around $26K, people
with an income over $30K are considered well off.
----------
B3.3.3.3 Transport
Petrol is $0.93 per litre (+/- $0.05), insurance on a small car (eg. 85
toyota starlet 1.3l) is a mere $240 per year, registration is another $200
per year. There are lots of cheap Japanese used imports over here, so you
can get a good car for as little as $5K, and a cheap car for less than $2k.
Repairs are the worst cost - especially parts for late model cars, so
getting something reliable is a good idea.
----------
B3.3.3.4 Food
Pretty cheap depending on how much you eat of what. It'd be easy to eat
your way through a lot of money, but it is possible to live on less than
$40/wk and probably quite a lot less depending on how keen you were...
----------
B3.3.3.5 Consumer Goods
Most import duties have been abolished, and instead we have a flat 12.5%
goods and services tax (GST). Beware of advertised prices which exclude
this. This means that imported goods (electrical appliances, clothing
etc.) are pretty reasonably priced.
--------------------
B3.3.4 Crime
Yes, we have crime. While it may be 'safe' compared to most other
countries, serious crime does exist here and visitors should take sensible
precautions. Always lock your vehicle, and don't leave it in isolated
locations for extended periods. Avoid leaving valuables visible in the
car. Avoid areas/situations which appear unwholesome. The emergency phone
number (police, ambulance, fire) is 111, and ask the operator for the
service required (this can be used from payphones without paying).
-----
John Davis wrote:
"The crime rate isn't overly high, there was some information in the paper
today (1/95) showing the average number of reported crimes per 10,000
people for Chch is 1877. The NZ average is 1457, Chch came second
(Auckland had 2130). The safest place is rural Canterbury at 568. This
may sound rather high, but this _all_ reported crimes, from shoplifting up.
If you break it down into crime types, the NZ average for violent crimes
per 10,000 is 124, sexual crimes is 14, drugs and 'anti-social' crimes
(presumably things like being drunk and disorderly) is 150, property damage
is 98 and property abuse is 74. As you can see from this, the serious
crime rate here is therefore very low, things like murder and rape are
fairly rare (rare enough to make the national TV news), armed offences are
virtually un-heard of (again, and armed hold-up will make the national
news). You're most at risk from petty crime (opportunist car theft,
break-ins etc. - as opposed to 'professional' thieves who are fairly
rare). Your chances of being assaulted, held up, or murdered are virtually
nil. Probably the most dangerous part of day to day life here is the way
people drive :-)
On the other hand, do silly things like leave a nice expensive camera
sitting in your car whilst it's parked in a dark street in the middle of
town at night, and you'll probably find someone's nicked it (lots of
tourists find this out the hard way - wish people would stop telling them
NZ is totally safe)."
-----
Murder Statistics for 1991
Brian Dooley wrote:
"Notes
(1) All data taken from NZ Year Books and adjusted to include only males
aged 15+ years.
(2) Numbers marked "*" are taken from Year Books where murders and
manslaughter (not incl. deaths by careless driving) were aggregated.
(3) Numbers 1967-82 are taken directly from tables which give
deaths/million.
(4) Numbers 1974-94 refer specifically to murder only.
(5) These numbers are approximations but good enough to allow reasonable
conclusions. You will observe that my value of 3.3/100,000 for 1991
accords pretty well with the value of 3.4/100,000 quoted before from the
Economist.
MURDERS/100,000 of Total Population:
1967 1.4* 1970 1.2* 1980 1.3 1990 1.6
1968 0.7* 1971 0.9* 1981 1.3 1991 1.5
1969 1.1* 1972 1.0* 1982 1.3 1992 2.1
1973 0.8* 1983 --- 1993 1.1
1974 1.4 1984 1.2
1975 1.0 1985 ---
1976 1.1 1986 1.8
1977 1.8 1987 1.7
1978 1.9 1988 ---
1979 1.6 1989 2.0
MURDERS/100,000 MEN for NZ (men=age 15+):
1967 3.2* 1970 2.7* 1980 3.0 1990 3.8
1968 1.6* 1971 2.0* 1981 3.0 1991 3.3
1969 2.5* 1972 2.3* 1982 3.0 1992 4.9
1973 1.8* 1983 --- 1993 2.6
1974 3.2 1984 2.7
1975 2.3 1985 ---
1976 2.5 1986 4.2
1977 4.1 1987 4.1
1978 4.3 1988 ---
1979 3.6 1989 4.8
The thing which strikes me about the table is that it does have a
consistency, which implies that if the Economist's conclusions are true
then not only is NZ comparatively violent now - it has been for a long
time. However I am not persuaded that a simple ratio is applicable to all
situations, particularly where small numbers are involved. The table has a
volatility which I don't think it would have if a population of 50 million
were involved."
-----
I had a debate with myself about where to put this stuff. After the murder
stats seemed as good as any...
Frank van der Hulst offers:
"Whilst doing a spot of research in Massey's library, I took the time to
look for road traffic accident stats. Like all stats, take them with a
grain of salt. Your mileage may vary :-)
"What I found is somewhat dated, but FWIW here are comparisons of injury
accidents/100mill km for various countries. Illuminating perhaps for those
who claim NZer's are the worst drivers in the world (possibly excepting
Romans).
Finland 62
Norway 70
USA 72
Niger 79
Denmark 79
NZ 88 *
Canada 88
Turkey 88
Italy 91
Australia 92
Spain 120
France 127
Germany 129
Great Britain 130
Peru 131
Netherlands 157
Hungary 193
Israel 229
India 242
Syria 264
Morocco 279
Belgium 285
Japan 320
Ivory Coast 539
"These data are for 1970/71. As usual, I ask anyone with more recent stats
to email them to me or post them.
"Don't go driving in Ivory Coast!"
Steffan Berridge has added the following.
Here's some authoritative info which I found in "Motor Accidents in New
Zealand" published by the LTSA, originally entered in the OECD
International Road and Traffic Accident Database held by Bundesanstalt fur
Strassenwesen, Germany. The data are all 1993 except the ones with *s
which are 1992 and the countries are ordered in decreasing vehicles per
capita.
Country Deaths per Deaths per
100,000 pop 10,000 vehicles
USA 15.6 2.1*
NZ 17.0 2.7
Italy 12.6 2.0
Luxembourg 19.2 3.1
Canada 12.5 2.0
Australia 11.1 1.9
Switzerland 10.5 1.8
Germany 12.3 2.2
Japan 10.6 1.9
UK 6.8 1.3
Austria 16.2 3.1
Norway 7.6 1.3*
Iceland 6.4 1.3
Sweden 7.3 1.5
Belgium 16.5 3.4
France 16.6 3.4
Spain 16.3 3.6
Finland 9.6 2.1
Netherlands 8.2 1.9
Denmark 10.8 2.7
Ireland 12.1 3.7
Greece 20.3 6.6
Turkey 14.3 -
Portugal 32.9* -
Kind of makes you wonder what they get up to in Portugal... NZ roads are
safe after all! It looks like the figures for 1994 should have been
published by now, and the 1995 due shortly.
-----
Hantie Braybrook wrote:
"all reported crimes per 100 000 of the entire 1994 population:
South Africa 5651
Norway 5563
USA 5820
<lots of countries deleted>
UK 8986
Canada 11443
NZ 13247
Sweden 14188
Why are the figures for NZ almost 3 times those of SA ?"
The following suggestions are in response.
John Mee:
"According to Statistics New Zealand, Distinct Cases Resulting in
Conviction:
1991 1992 1993
Against the person 7,603 8,454 10,681
Property 20,669 21,166 21,459
Drug 6,930 6,652 7,949
Other 16,115 16,661 20,759
Total convictions, exclusive of traffic: 60,848
And the population:
Census at 31 March 1993 1994 1995
Total Population 3,435.0 3,541.6 3592.4
Since the only overlap is 1993, only consider that year, therefore there
are 34.35 (100,000) divided into 60,848 gives a rate of 1771.412/100,000
CONVICTIONS (not crimes). Since I can't lay my hands on a conviction rate,
or total of crimes committed, this will have to do.
I suspect somebody fouled up, or there are vast differences in reporting
methodologies from country to country, making any statistic meaningless."
Bruce Hoult:
"I'd take a wild stab in the dark and guess that these numbers include
everything down to and including speeding tickets, and that the majority
are in fact exactly that."
Paul Dansted:
"Because of changing attitudes towards domestic violence in NZ assaults in
the home are now more likely to be reported as crimes. I think domestic
violence accounts for something like 80% of violence in NZ!
Policy changes have encouraged police to treat these incidents as crimes
rather than 'just domestics'."
Hantie Braybrook
"There was a follow-up article the next day which is summarised below.
Anyone interested can search the articles at the Independent Newspapers WWW
site viz. http://www.inc.co.za
"Essentially, the crime and murder rates could be double estimates due to
the 50% rate of under-reporting. According to Nedcor researcher Simon Lee,
the project used current SAPS (SA Police Service) crime statistics and
statistics obtained through its own study to calculate an overall crime
rate of 5,651 per 100,000 people.
"Lee said that the crime rate could be doubled to at least 11,500 if the
under-reporting rate were taken into consideration. This would also apply
to the murder rate of 45 per 100,000 people which could in fact be 90.
"Commenting on the high overall crime rate in countries such as Sweden, New
Zealand and Canada, Lee said it could be attributed to the fact that these
countries had a reporting rate of at least 95%.
"The international rates had been obtained through Britannica World Data,
which publish reliable forms of comparative crime statistics."
--------------------
B3.3.5 Finding A Job
Try:
http://www.jobnetz.co.nz
and/or:
http://www.infotech.co.nz/
and/or:
http://nz.com/webnz/malcolm/hotjobs.html
The Ministry of Health has started a new web site for health related work:
http://www.moh.govt.nz/
There is a weekly computer section there as well as jobnet. The latter
consists of situations vacant in the computer industry in NZ.
There is an outfit called Willing Workers On Organic Farms (WWOOF) which
costs $15 to join. For that you get a booklet containing a list of
addresses and phone contacts for hundreds of organic farms. It is up to
you to make the contact and arrangements with the specific farm where you
would exchange work for food and lodging. Contact:
Janet & Andrew Strange
PO Box 1172
Nelson, NZ.
phone 025-345-711 (mobile)
The NZ Employment Service appears to be a final resort. It is far better
to have a job lined up before you arrive (from overseas) or before you're
out of school...
Labour force: 1,603,500 (June 1991)
services 67.4%
manufacturing 19.8%
primary production 9.3% (1987)
--------------------
B3.3.6 Schools And Education
Compulsory from age 7 to 15, but almost all children start kindergarten at
age 4 and then school at 5.
Primary schools: J or Primer (pron. 'primmer') 1 and 2: approx age 5-6
Standards 1-4: approx age 7-11
Intermediate schools: Form 1-2: approx age 11-13
(these are sometimes included in primary schools
or in secondary schools)
Secondary schools: Form 3-7: approx age 13-18
NZ schools have a high international reputation, especially for their
reading and remedial reading programmes. A growing number of schools have
special programmes for children whose first language is not English.
National exams/qualifications:
Form 5: School Certificate
Form 6: Sixth Form Certificate
Form 7: Bursary (entrance to university is mostly based on this)
--------------------
B3.3.7 Universities
Otago is the oldest, Waikato is the newest, Auckland is the largest, and
Lincoln is the smallest. Apart from Lincoln which is essentially a
technical university offering a very limited range of courses (but is
expanding fast), all are full-scale universities. Try:
http://nz.com/NZ/EducationResearch/Universities.html
This will send you to home pages (and all sorts of info including snail
mail) of universities in NZ.
As an indication, deadline for enrolment in 1996 closed on 12 dec for
returning students, 7 Dec for new students and for overseas students it
closed much earlier. The first semester starts at the end of February.
----------
B3.3.7.1 Teaching Focus
Most Universities have a core of basic subjects common to all; Chemistry,
Physics, Biology, Maths, Stats, Economics, English, Psychology, etc. etc.
Univerity of Auckland (Auckland)
fine art, architecture, engineering, law?
Univerity of Auckland (Tamaki)
?
University of Waikato (Hamilton)
provide internet into NZ, Maori, Computing, Psychology
Massey University (Albany - Auckland's North Shore)
Business Studies, Information and Mathematical Sciences, Social Sciences,
Food Science.
Massey University (Palmerston North)
Agriculture & Horticulture, Business Studies, Information and
Mathematical Sciences, Science, Social Sciences, Technology, Veterinary
Science, Aviation, Education. There is also an arts faculty...
* Many of the Massey programmes are available by distance education (Centre
for University Extramural Studies)
Victoria University of Wellington (Wellington)
arts, law, computing, commerce/economics, geology, meteorology
Canterbury University (Christchurch)
fine art, all sciences, computing, engineering, commerce, law, forestry,
music
Lincoln University (Christchurch)
agriculture, economics, landscape architecture, cultural studies
Otago University (Dunedin)
medicine, law, phys. ed., computing, consumer sciences, surveying,
dentistry, commerce
Marty Burr wrote:
"Aviation has been around since 1990, when the Massey University School of
Aviation was established. It offers degrees in Aviation (BAv) with majors
in flight crew development (probably one of the most expensive degrees in
NZ!), Aviation Systems, and Air Traffic Systems Management (ATSM This major
trains Air Traffic Controllers in association with the Singapore Aviation
Academy, and the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore) It also offers
Masters in Aviation (MAv), and Doctorates in aviation.
"Education is offered as a degree in conjunction with the Palmerston North
College of Education. Next year (1996) the Palmerston North College of
Education is to become part of Massey, and come under the Faculty of
Education at Massey. I'm not sure what the name will be. It also offers
several postgrad degrees in Education."
Michelle Elleray wrote:
"I think you'll find Massey, Auckland, Victoria, Canterbury, Otago and
Waikato Universities all offer Maori Studies.
"As for PI studies - Auckland has a PI Studies Centre and teaches Samoan,
Victoria used to teach Samoan and Cook Island Maori. There's sure to be
more at both these universities, and possibly at other universities around
the country - check the web pages."
----------
B3.3.7.2 Addresses
University of Auckland (Auckland)
Private Bag 92 019 aukuni.ac.nz or auckland.ac.nz
Auckland http://www.auckland.ac.nz/
ph (09) 373-7999
University of Waikato
Private bag 3105 waikato.ac.nz
Hamilton http://www.waikato.ac.nz/
Massey University
Private Bag massey.ac.nz
Palmerston North http://www.massey.ac.nz/
Victoria University of Wellington
PO Box 600 vuw.ac.nz
Wellington http://www.victoria.ac.nz/
University of Canterbury
canterbury.ac.nz
Christchurch http://www.canterbury.ac.nz
ph (03) 366-7001
Lincoln University
lincoln.ac.nz
Christchurch http://www.lincoln.ac.nz/
ph (03) 325-2811
University of Otago
PO Box 56 otago.ac.nz
Dunedin http://www.otago.ac.nz
Email to postmaster@university.of.choice for someone who can help. You can
try sending email to academic@otago.ac.nz for details.
There is a NZ Universities page at:
http://www.yahoo.com/Regional/Countries/New_Zealand
http://nz.com/NZ/EducationResearch/Universities.html
will send you to home pages (and all sorts of info including snail mail) of
universities in NZ.
A fair chunk of VUW information is on line. The starting point is
http://www.vuw.ac.nz/
For Victoria's English Department, have a look at:
http://www.vuw.ac.nz/academic/prospectuses/english.html
Computer Science departments at various universities:
http://www.cs.auckland.ac.nz/
http://www.cs.waikato.ac.nz/
http://fims-www.massey.ac.nz/cs/cs.html
http://www.comp.vuw.ac.nz/cgi-bin/homepage
http://www.cosc.canterbury.ac.nz/welcome.html
http://atlas.otago.ac.nz:800/compsci.html
You can view the University of Canterbury Dept of Civil Engineering home
page at:
http://civl.canterbury.ac.nz/
----------
B3.3.7.3 The University Hierarchy
Basically, it goes something like this:
Professor(s)
Associate Professors/Readers (depends on department)
Senior Lecturers
Lecturers
There are also Head of Departments, Deans, etc., which may or may not be
professors, although they are usually pretty senior.
In NZ universities, a Professorship is a *very* prestigious title. There
may be a rough equivalence between a US associate professor and a NZ
lecturer, and a US professor and NZ senior lecturer. There is likely to be
some overlap.
Per department there is about 1 professor per approx 10 'lower' positions.
For example, in Electrical Engineering at Canterbury there are currently 2
professors, 3 associate professors, 9 senior lecturers, and 5 lecturers
(from the 1994 calendar).
----------
B3.3.7.4 Postgrad Study
???
I'd appreciate some information on ease of obtaining positions in
post-grad study, what positions are increasing/decreasing, etc. Please.
--------------------
B3.3.8 Health
NZ operates a no-fault accident compensation scheme which covers residents
and visitors. Personal injury through accident entitles the injured party
to compensation for reasonable expenses related to the accident. Due to
abuse, this has been reworked recently and compensation is far harder to
obtain.
The official line (on the health care reform) can be obtained from The
Ministry of Health at:
http://www.health.govt.nz.
For general comment and opinion then consult NZ Doctor magazine online at:
http://nzdoctor.co.nz
Life Expectancy (M) 71.0 years
Life Expectancy (F) 77.0 years
Crude Birth Rate 16.3 /1000
Crude Death Rate 8.3 /1000
Infant Mortality 10.8 /1000
Total fertility rate 2.1 children born/woman (1992)
No. of Hospitals 318
No. of Hospital Beds 23,052
No. of Physicians 5,210
No. of Dentists 1,160
No. of Pharmacists 2,300
Nursing Personnel 22,000
----------
B3.3.8.1 Water Supply
NZ cities and towns have good public water. Water is safe to drink out of
the tap. The water in Christchurch *is* totally untreated and is supposed
to be the purist domestic water supply in the world...
In bush walking areas giardia has been found so its advisable to check
before drinking from rivers or streams. Boiling water for five minutes or
more is advised where advice is not available.
--------------------
B3.3.9 Communications
Telephone Country Code 64
National Directory 018
International Directory 0172
National Tolls 010
International Tolls 0170
Telex Access Code 791
Ham Radio Prefix ZL
For information about NZ broadcasting, particularly locally produced
material, have a look the New Zealand On Air site:
http://www.nzonair.govt.nz
which has info on broadcasting fees, programme funding news, weekly updates
of funded programmes, contact information, etc.
--------------------
B3.3.10 Misc
Air Craft Registration PreFix ZK
Yatch Registration PreFix KZ
X.25 Country Code 05301
Subject: B3.4 Holidays
B3.4.1 National
Jan 01 New Years Day (first Monday/Tuesday if 1st is Sat/Sun)
Jan 02 Day After New Years day
Feb 06 Waitangi day (not moved if on a weekend)
Apr Easter Friday (Friday before Easter Sunday)
Apr Easter Monday (second weekend after the equinox or something?)
Apr 25 ANZAC Day (not moved if on a weekend, shops closed morning only)
Jun (first Monday) Queens Birthday (3/6/1996)
Oct (fourth Monday) Labour Day (28/10/1996)
Dec 25 Christmas Day (first Monday/Tuesday if 25th is Sat/Sun)
Dec 26 Boxing Day
--------------------
B3.4.2 Regional
Note these are subject to variations typically to accommodate local show
days. As a general rule (apart from holidays which are observed on show
days) if the Anniversary Day falls on Friday to Sunday (inclusive) it is
observed the following Monday, if it falls on Tuesday to Thursday it is
observed the preceding Monday.
Observed Date Region
1994 Jan 17 Southland Anniversary
1994 Jan 24 Wellington Anniversary
1994 Jan 31 Auckland and Northland Anniversary
1994 Jan 31 Nelson Anniversary
1994 Mar 14 Taranaki Anniversary
1994 Mar 21 Otago Anniversary
1994 Sep 26 South Canterbury Anniversary
1994 Oct 31 Hawkes Bay Anniversary
1994 Oct 31 Marlborough Anniversary
1994 Nov 11 North and Central Canterbury Anniversary (3rd Friday after
Labour Day) called 'Show Day' and on the third day of the
annual Chch A&P Show.
1994 Nov 28 Chatham Islands Anniversary
1994 Nov 28 Westland Anniversary
Subject: B3.5 Technical Stuff
If it isn't here, ask in s.c.n-z. If no-one can tell you, your problem is
either dazzlingly obscure, or embarrassingly mundane! Whatever it is, if
you still can't find out, wait till you get to wherever you're going; they
are likely to have all the fixes for foreigners with their strange voltage
gear, and they will even have the right plug to put on it.
B3.5.1 Electricity
The normal electricity supply is 230 volts 50 hertz alternating current
(AC).
3 pin appliance socket from a viewpoint looking at the wall or a plug seen
from the inside as one would while wiring it up.
phase -----> / \ <---- neutral
(or live)
| <--------- earth
If the wires you have are brown, blue, and green [yellow or white striped],
then; brown = phase, blue = neutral, green = earth. The old code is red,
black, green respectively.
If you have ANY doubts, please consult a qualified electrician.
Most hotels will have shaver plugs suitable for all international appliance
of low power rating, and which will supply 110 and 230 volts. These plugs
may be for shavers only. If in doubt, ask.
--------------------
B3.5.2 TV Info
NZ runs on PAL G on UHF. This gives the same picture and sound spacing
(5.5MHz), but the channel spacing is slightly wider - the same as that used
for 6MHz intercarrier spacing. Standard 50 hertz field rate, 25 hertz
frame rate.
We also use NICAM for stereo tv, rather than one of the various analogue
systems.
In the Southern Hemisphere, the locally-vertical component of the field is
in the opposite direction to where it would be an equivalent distance north
of the equator.
This affects the colour convergence of video monitors. It's not a *huge*
difference, and it took computer companies until the late 1980's to wake up
to the difference and ship different monitor versions to New Zealand, South
America, and Australia. Northern hemisphere monitors *work* but the
colours won't be as crisp as you'd expect.
Mike Tuppen wrote:
" lines ch bw Vision bw Sound spacing Vision Mod Sound Mod
U.K. 625 8MHz 5.5MHz +6MHz -ve f.m.
N.Z. 625 7MHz 5MHz 5.5MHz -ve f.m.
UK NICAM Standard I Second sound carrier is at 6.552MHz Main carrier
modulated with mono sound or A The 2nd carrier digitally modulated with L &
R or A and B or Mono plus data or full data.
NZ NICAM Standard B/G Second sound carrier is at 5.85MHz Main carrier
modulated with mono sound or A. The 2nd carrier digitally modulated as in
UK
So without tweaking you coils your audio output is likey to be somewhat
poor! Also if channel spacing is different (as the channel band width
hints) and if you set is digitally tuned you may possibly not be able to
tune into the NZ stations.
If your set is modern it might be worth contacting the manufacturer to see
if it can be modified.
Alan Brown wrote:
"Our video/audio intercarrier separation is 5.5MHz compared to the UK 6MHz
and the cost of getting the traps adjusted and IF retuned makes it
uneconomic - especially on modern TVs where to achieve the change an entire
module usually has to be swapped out.
"Additionally few UK PAL sets have VHF modules and our free-to-air channels
work almost exclusively in VHF 1 and 3 bands."
--------------------
B3.5.3 Video Conversion
NTSC/PAL tv's are available but expensive. Commercial conversion
facilities are available.
--------------------
B3.5.4 Bringing Computers In
Only problems are power supply suitability. Large monitors may experience
problems changing hemisphere (or Sun would have us believe!). See notes on
tv info and video conversion above as applicable.
--------------------
B3.5.5 Telephone
Similar to British Telecom style. Uses BT 600 plug (not RJ-11) Phone line
is pins 2 and 5 of the BT 600 plug (RJ-11 is pins 3 & 4). Hotels will have
difficulty in converting plugs styles but conversion cables are available
from retailers.
Most NZ telephone systems can handle DTMF tone dialling.
BEWARE: NZ pulse dialing is the reverse of most countries. The digit are
reversed and so produce different numbers of pulses. The conversion is:
digit | # of Pulses
--------+------------
0 | 10
1 | 9
2 | 8
[.....]
8 | 2
9 | 1
The best solution is to use tone dialing.
Lin Nah contributes:
"Here's something that may be handy for travellers with a digital Mobile
phones.
"There are SIM cards available on short term rental. This allows them to
use their digital mobiles. They will be allocated a NZ mobile number.
"The price (4 Aug 1995) for the rental is around $NZ3 a day. Payments are
by credit cards. There seems to be no deposit on it. What they do is take
an imprint of your credit card and allocate charges to it at the end of
your trip.
"Usage charges (as at 4 August 1995)
Outgoing: National NZ$0.90 per min
International NZ$0.90 plus int'l tolls
Incoming: Free. ;)
"They can drop the card off at the Budget rental car desk at the airport on
their way out of the country.
"There is no need to reserve a card. Arrangements can be made when they
arrive in NZ. All they need to do is call 0800 800 021. Ask the help desk
person where is your nearest Bellsouth office. (I think this presumes you
are going to arrive in one of our cities with international airports like
Auckland, Wgtn or Chch. I have this feeling that trying to get it when you
are in Colville won't be too successful ;) )
The Telecom white and yellow pages are apparently available online at:
http://www.telecom.co.nz
but searching on some parameters may be a little slow.
--------------------
B3.5.6 Radio
Apparently NZ radio stations broadcast on different frequencies to the US
which may cause problems with some [imported] radio gear. Conversion kits
are often required for radios in imported Japanese cars.
Subject: B4 COMING TO NEW ZEALAND
Subject: B4.1 Travel To NZ
Fly, sail, paddle or swim. See a travel agent near you. Soon!
--------------------
B4.1.1 Travel Details
One of the cheapest ways to fly is as a courier. You must be reasonably
groomed, have a clean record and be over 21 to do this sort of thing, also
you have to be prepared to wait around until a job comes up.
The following is becoming something of a jumble. As I know nothing about
the machinations of the Immigration Department, I'd be more than happy if
someone would be kind enough to rewrite this section into a more coherent
form. In the meantime, people might like to know that Christopher Werry
has created a 'Moving to New Zealand' web page, which has info and links to
nfo on Immigration, Jobs, Housing, Appliances and Kiwi Expressions. The
url is:
http://nz.com/NZ/Immigration/Immigration.html
Also try:
http://www.immigration.govt.nz/
or
http://www.ipenz.org.nz/ipenz/
or
http://www.ipenz.org.nz/enternz/immigr.html
and follow the links through there; the latter has a lot of immigration
info, including a comprehensive explanation of the points system.
Other sites for immigration info include:
http://www.rmmb.co.nz/immigjuly95.html
http://nz.com//webnz/malcolm/
http://www.clearfield.co.nz/wilson_white/immig.htm
Also, try Reading the rec.travel.air FAQ for hints on saving money and
rec.travel.australia+nz for stuff specific to us.
Visitors to NZ must have a valid passport. The only exceptions are
children under 16 who are included on the passport of an accompanying
adult. Passports must be valid 3 months beyond date of departure. Visas
may be required depending on nationality, purpose of visit, and intended
length of stay. Visas are not required of US citizens in possession of a
return or onward ticket staying up to 90 days.
Australians and NZers need passports to get into each others countries.
NZers now need visas too, although these tend to be no real difficulty.
A departure tax of $NZ20 per person (over 5 years old) is charged of people
leaving New Zealand who have been in the country more than 24 hours.
A person in New Zealand cannot renew their visitor's permit if they have
applied for residence whilst in the country. If the Immigration Office
cannot process the application within the validity of the V.P., the
applicant has to leave New Zealand. The application is forwarded to the
overseas post which deals with the country to which they have returned. It
is better to apply before going to New Zealand, especially when you take
into account the customs concessions available to first time migrants.
Residency gives you the right to live and work here, but it can lapse if
you're out of NZ for too long (a couple of years I think). A first permit
is valid for a period of four years from date of issue. To prevent
individuals from receiving residency and never actually living in the
country, future renewals to a returning residents permit may be issued for
shorter terms, depending on how long the person has actually been resident
in NZ, work status, etc.
If you are given a visa for residency you have some time to move to nz, but
it pays to come in once within the first 6 months. This proves you are
taking up permanent residency. If you provide a good reason, it's possible
to take as much as two years before you move here.
There are 2 types of residence permits; single entry and multiple entry.
If you have single entry it means you have to apply every time you want to
leave to ensure you can come back in.
What you may get is a 1 year or 5 year permanent residency permit. At the
end of that period, the amount of time you spend in NZ will probably
determine if it is going to be renewed or not. So if you have not spent
even a year living in NZ by the end of 5 years you better have a good
explanation. There is probably a minimum. Check with the department.
What you need to do is be able to explain why you are not permanently
living in NZ (if you are not). Talk to your nearest NZ counsulate.
Also you will be given an allowance of value of goods to be brought into
NZ. So within the next 5 years ( I think) you can bring in quite a lot and
not be taxed (customs duty) provided they are personal belongings for your
use here.
Citizenship is separate from residency and can only be applied for once a
person has NZ residency and has lived in the country for a certain number
of years (3?).
NZ allows dual citizenship, but the US may not. If they don't, you'd have
to give up your American citizenship to get Kiwi citizenship. US will
insist that you renounce all other citizenships when you swear allegiance
(whether the other countries recognise this will depend on their own
regulations). For someone who already holds US citizenship, there should
be no problem.
Judy Shorten wrote:
My own daughter, born 1977, who has spent a total of 6 weeks in NZ over 2
visits, has NZ citizenship *By Grant* meaning that she can pass on the NZ
citizenship to her children even if she and her future children never set
foot in NZ. After our last trip to NZ in 1991 I applied for my daughter,
and she was subsequently given citizenship By Grant. Until that point she
had (unbeknown to me) NZ citizenship *By Descent* only - not able to pass
her citizenship on to her children, but still able to hold a NZ Passport.
Brian Harmer wrote:
Children born after 1978 must be registered with the NZ embassy, or
consulate. The fee is NZ$100 per child and must be accompanied by the
(long form) birth certificate, marriage certificate (where applicable) of
the parent through which citizenship descends. This must be done before
age 22, otherwise they would not qualify as citizens.
Mike Dowling responded at great length. Permission to repeat it here has
been given. I'm no longer working on it. I think it's beaten me...
-----
Health:
Facilities are good. No special precautions necessary. No vaccination
certificates are required to enter New Zealand, but if illness occurs
within three weeks of entering the country, consult a doctor.
Customs are generally more formal than in neighbouring Australia.
Duty Free quantities:
Alcohol;
3 x 1.125l bottles of spirits
- total value can't exceed NZ$700
- must declare 2 bottles
4.5l of beer and/or wine
- equivalent to 6 x 750ml bottles of wine or 1 doz cans of beer
Cigarettes;
1 carton
For more information see the section on Overseas Offices of the NZ Tourism
Board.
-----
Richard Turner offers:
"Well, I've just had the experience of moving back to New Zealand after
spending ten years in the USA. Since there are oftentimes a number of
enquiries about moving companies on this newsgroup, I thought I'd pass on
my experience - in hopes that it may help someone else.
"The cost of getting a moving company:
"Quoted Rates from Iowa (Midwest USA) to Wellington, New Zealand ranged
from US $160 to $225 per 100 pounds of goods. depending on the company.
Also, an insurance cost of $25 per $1000 of goods values was also added.
(This was door to door - other rates are cheaper if you go door to port or
port to port)
"In my experience, I got a number of quotes, I decided to go with a company
(I won't name them - but think of Pilgrims and Plymouth Rock and the ship
they came on) - Anyway, we were all set for them to come and get the stuff
2 weeks before we were due to fly out - a couple of days before the movers
were to arrive, they called up and said that they could come and pick the
goods up, but that they would have to sit in the Des Moines Warehouse for 3
months. I then requested that they not even bother to show up the next
day.
"The next company I went with was Allied Van Lines - the agent I dealt
with, and the company were quite good to deal with. Between the time they
picked the stuff up till the time I will get my stuff will be less than 6
weeks.
"Also, the NZ agents for Allied, seem to be quite competent, but you should
be aware that when your goods arrive certain forms have to be delivered to
the company. These are quarantine forms and customs declarations, along
with these you need to send your passport, and if you have been away more
than 21 months - some proof of your extended absence from NZ - such as Tax
forms and financial records (all of mine - were packed aboard the boat) -
or a letter from your foreign employer.
"As for moving a car - it would cost about $4000 US to ship a mid size car
such as a Camry (weighs about 3000 pounds)
"Also, if, at some point, you wanted to sell it in NZ, you would then have
to convert it to right hand drive - this can get VERY expensive."
-----
Frits Schouten adds:
"It's not really a followup on Richard Turners experience, but it's
certainly related. Five years ago or so, I had to move my household from
The Netherlands to New Zealand and using movers is not the cheapest way to
go.
"Here is my experience. Note: all prices are in US dollars unless
otherwise stated!
"Various big international movers quoted me between $7000 and $9000 for
door to door moving. Basically what they do is, pack your goods in a
container (20ft for a normal household) and ship it for you. This is an
easy way of doing it but not cheap. Also, if anything is broken on arrival
the insurance will pay for replacement. The insurance is in most cases
based on an itemised list of the contents of the container and is not
cheap. Normally 6% of the contents value.
"If you like a bit of challence in life you could do it my way.
"I went to a shipping company (NEDLLOYD) and asked them what it would cost
me to hire a 20ft container (you know the same one the movers were using)
to ship my household to New Zealand. Answer: $2500 from Rotterdam to
Auckland. I had to pay an aditional $150 for the truck to bring the
container to Rotterdam and agreed to have the transport in New Zealand
organised by their agent in Auckland. Here was a cost risk I was prepared
to take.
"The insurance is quite different. You can only insure the container for
total loss. You agree on a contents value and the premium is normally 1.3%
to 1.6% of that value. If the container goes overboard or is dropped from
a crane etc. the insurance pays out the value you have agreed. This means
that if, on arrival, you find lets say your beautiful mirror broken that is
then to bad. But that is not a problem because this will not happen you
know. You've packed it yourself :-)
"The people from NEDLLOYD gave me heaps of help and excellent information
on how to go about packing a container to get it flawless through customs
and MAF inspections.
"Bottom line is:
- Have a very detailed list of the contents of the container, like box
numbers and content lists per box.
- Very inportant is to state how everything is cleaned!!!
"The container arrived at the worst possible time of the year. The week
before Christmas. Anyway the local agent for NEDLLOYD worked out to be of
great value too (for the really keen ones, check out www.nedlloyd.com).
That was btw International Forwarding Co Ltd.
"We got a phone call from them telling me that the container had arrived
and if I could come to Auckland to organise the paperwork. I dropped in
just before lunch and the guy said: give me your passport and consignment
papers and I'll take care of the rest. Bit scary but. Come back after
lunch, please. So I did and guess what, everything was organised after
lunch. The only thing left was to pay an additional few hundred NZ dollars
to get the container to Papakura. The cost risk wasn't really there.
"Two day later the container arrived and within a few hours I had several
people asking if I had a garage sale. My whole household was on the front
lawn :-)
"Moral of the story is: take that challenge, it's exciting and it might
save you a lot money."
--------------------
B4.1.2 Agricultural Restrictions
NZ's isolation has kept its free of many animal and plant diseases. To
maintain this, restrictions are imposed on the importation of certain
animal and plant material. Before arrival you will be asked to complete a
declaration stating whether you have food, plant or animal material with
you or in your baggage. Aircraft cabins are often sprayed before
disembarkation to ensure there are no foreign insects imported
accidentally. You may ask to be removed if you have respiratory problems.
----------
B4.1.2.1 Animal Quarantine
Gloria Williams wrote:
"I've seen this query from time to time in this news groups so thought
there might be some interest in the latest policy on animal importation
into NZ as documented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries.
"The main changes are: quarantine for dogs and cats can now take place
within NZ instead of outside the country (Hawaii for instance) and the
quarantine period is 30 days instead of 6 months. Your animal needs to be
microchipped and there is a very stringent set of tests and treatments for
diseases such as rabies, heartworm, parvo, distemper etc. which must be
administered and verified by an accredited veterinarian. Travel to NZ from
the country of origin must be in an IATA approved container which is sealed
with a government approved seal. Animals must be from countries which have
declared themselves rabies-free, or countries which NZ recognises as not
having urban rabies or it is well contained. (Canada and US fall into this
latter category)
These are the basic changes. To see if your animal will qualify for the
new procedure, obtain the complete information package and the import
health permit application from the Chief Veterinary Officer, Ministry of
Agriculture and Fisheries, P.O. Box 2526, Wellington.
Ex-pats overseas can obtain the information package from their NZ
consulate.
--------------------
B4.1.3 Overseas Embassies In NZ
AUSTRALIA:
Union House
32/38 Quay St.
Auckland
ph 0 9 303 2429
72 Hobson St
Thorndon
Wellington
ph 0 4 473 6411
GERMANY
52 Symond St
Auckland
ph 0 9 377 3460
90 Hobson St
Thorndon
Wellington
ph 0 4 473 6063
GREAT BRITAIN
151 Queen St
Auckland
ph 0 9 303 2971
2 The Terrace
Wellington
ph 0 4 472 6049
JAPAN
37 Shortland St
Auckland
ph 0 9 303 4106
Cnr Victoria and Hunter Sts
Wellington
ph 0 4 473 1540
USA
Cnr Shortland and O'Connell Sts
Auckland
ph 0 9 303 2724
29 Fitzherbert Tce
Thorndon
Wellington
ph 0 4 472 2068
Subject: B4.2 Immigration Stuff, Points System
See also the section on Coming To New Zealand (B4)
-----
Paul Nixon has provided the following (reformatted) outline of the new
points system. The old sections (B4.2 to B4.2.6) are quite possibly
obsolete.
"I have listed below what I understand will be the points structure of the
new General Skills Category [formerly the General Category] which will come
into effect in October 1995.
PREREQUISITES
English Language:
Principle applicants to meet a minimum standard of English ie pass the
IELTS General Modual Level 5. Non-principal applicants aged 16+ must also
meet this standard or pay a fee of $NZ20,000 [refundable if qualification
attained later].
Character & Health:
No change. Applicants are required to be of good character and health.
Evidence of this by references and medical.
HUMAN CAPITAL FACTORS
Flatter points structure created. Ten pts minimum requirement.
Base degree [or equivalent], trade or 3 year diploma/cetificate = 10 pts.
Advanced trade or professional qualification = 11 pts.
Masters degree [or equivalent] = 12 pts.
Statutory resistration for professionals eg. doctors, dentists, vets.
EMPLOYMENT FACTORS
Maximum age = 55
Job Offer; offer of skilled employment = 5 pts.
SETTLEMENT FACTORS
Settlement Funds:
$100,000 - $200,000 transferred to NZ and readily available = 1 - 2 pts.
Spousal Human Capital:
If spouse/partner has base degree, trade or 3 year diploma/certificate = 1
pt. Advanced qualifications = 2 points.
New Zealand Work Experience:
Up to 2 pts available for work experience already gained in NZ on a lawful
permit.
Sponsorship:
Family sponsorship = 3 pts, Community sponsorship scrapped.
Under the new system there will not be an automatic points pass mark which
applicants will have to equal or exceed. But a floating mark which may
change from month to month, no doubt depending upon the "quality" of
applicants at that time.
Clearly the new system makes it much more difficult to get points in the
first place and then much more difficult for applicants to assess if their
points total will be enough to obtain a visa."
-----
To assist you in calculating the points you have, Mark Cresswell offers:
Version 2 of the New Zealand Immigration Calculator for 16-bit Windows, is
now available to download:
http://www.liv.ac.uk/~mark/soft.htm/nzcalc20.exe
This program is still FREEWARE, and is targeted at those amongst you who
wish to gain residency in New Zealand. It covers the following categories
of entry:
General Skills
Business Investement
Family
Humanitarian
There is an extensive amount of online immigration information, and the
program will calculate your points score based on the revised immigration
policies.
You are advised to contact your nearest NZ Embassy or NZIS office, to find
out the current Pass Mark (25 according to the immigration office in Chch
10/5/96), and for more detailed info.
-----
This section (B4) is out of date. It will be replaced as soon as I find
appropriate material...
The following is from a New Zealand Immigration Service pamphlet entitled
"Applying for Residence in NZ; Self-assessment Guide". It should be noted
that people in NZ unlawfully are ineligible to apply for for residence
(except under certain circumstances).
If one has less than the current requirements of 25 (May 96) points it's
very difficult to get a job/grant money.
Migrants can apply for residence under FOUR categories, and need only meet
the requirements of ONE category to 'qualify' for residence. The four
categories are:
1. General Category (the points system; awards points against a number of
quality criteria).
2. Business Investment (applicants are assessed on basis of skills, work
or business experience, and their ability to transfer >NZD 100,000 to NZ.
3. Family (prospective migrants must have a 'genuine' relationship to NZ
citizen/ resident).
4. Humanitarian (people with "exceptionally" difficult circumstances,
resolvable only by moving to NZ, providing there's a close family
connection).
The New Zealand Qualification Authority is online - their address is
<username>@nzqa.govt.nz
--------------------
B4.2.1 Assessment For The General Category
To succeed here, score more than 20 points. This category is based on
employability, age and "settlement factors". Applicants must be proficient
in English. (20 pts is actually the 'fail' mark; the govt sets a higher
pass mark, but applications which fall between the pass and fail marks are
placed into a pool. The highest scoring applications in this pool are
periodically drawn out...bingo, they're in!).
--------------------
B4.2.2 Employability
Postgraduate degree in any area of study, OR a bachelor's
degree in any science, technical or engineering area. 15 pts
Bachelors degree in any area of study not mentioned above,
or trade certificate or advanced trade qualification.
(min completion time = 3 years). 12 pts
Diploma or certificate (2 to 3 yrs full time study). 8 pts
Diploma or certificate (1 to 2 yrs full time study). 4 pts
12 years schooling successfully completed. 2 pts
(points obtainable for only ONE qualification; qualifications must be of
comparable standards to NZ ones).
--------------------
B4.2.3 Work Experience
1 pt for every TWO years of work experience, up to a max of 10 pts. Work
must be relevant to either your qualification or in an approved occupation.
Work that is not directly related to a qualification can't be counted.
Work experience must have been obtained after completing a qualification in
order to be counted.
--------------------
B4.2.4 Age
People over 55 yrs of age cannot be considered under the general category.
18-24 yrs 8 pts
25-29 yrs 10 pts
30-34 yrs 8 pts
35-39 yrs 6 pts
40-44 yrs 4 pts
45-49 yrs 2 pts
--------------------
B4.2.5 Settlement Factors
Gain a MAX of 5 pts from any combination of the following;
-Settlement funds of NZD 100,000 (or equivalent) 2 pts
-investment funds; 1 pt for every NZD 100,000 max 3 pts
(investment funds must be additional to any claimed settlement funds).
-sponsorship by an immediate family member 2 pts
OR sponsorship by an approved community organisation 3 pts
-offer of skilled employment in an approved occupation 3 pts
Maximum obtainable points under general category = 40.
--------------------
B4.2.6 Business Investment Category
Must score min of 7 pts in 'employability' section (Qualifications + work
experience) in general category. Business experience? (ie. owned and
operated a business?) 1 pt for every 2 yrs (add this score to
qualifications section to get 'employability' score).
Business investment funds must be the direct result of your
business/professional skills over a period of at least three years.
There are 3 types of investment which count:
1. invest > NZD 750,000 into a passive investment; ie bank a/c, trust funds,
or stocks.
2. invest > NZD 650,000 in a commercial venture in either Auckland or
Wellington urban areas.
3. invest > NZD 500,000 elsewhere in NZ.
At least ONE member of the family (over 17 yrs old) must be proficient in
English, in order to enter under this category. Funds must be invested in
NZ for a period of not less than 2 yrs, and they must provide a commercial
return.
The last two categories are apparently pretty self explanatory. The above
info is just a rough guide. The pamphlets seem to be freely available, the
copy used above was from the Wellington Community Law Centre.
--------------------
B4.2.7 Importing a Car
Martin Lange wrote:
"I imported my left-hand drive Fiat Uno from Germany after I was granted
residency. That was three years ago.
The rules in 1993 where:
a) You can get a "Left-Hand Drive Exception Permit" if
- You are a Permanent Resident, Holding a Work Permit or have a long-term
Visitors Permit
- Owned the car for at least two years overseas.
b) You are not allow to sell the car unless it is older than 20 years
OR converted to a right-hand drive.
c) Your car must pass a technical check through the Land Transport
authority.
For up-to-date information, contact the
Land Transport Safety Authority,
Head Office,
7-27 Waterloo Quay,
P.O. Box 27-459
Wellington
Ph: +64-4-494-8600
Fax: +64-4-494-8601
Anyhow, unless your car is something VERY special, it is not worth the
hassle.
Especially Japanese assembled car are not expensive. If you arrive in
Auckland, rent a car for a few days and shop around at the "Japanese
Assembled Car Dealers".
Be aware of the fact that most "Japanese Assembled Cars" have tinkered
clocks. Do not believe the mileage the dealer tells you - it has been
manipulated in every second import.
The dealers have huge ranges for negotiations. A friend of mine in
Auckland negotiated the price down by 45% THREE times. After purchasing
such a car he brings it to a PIT Stop, gets the brakes fixed and drives
around.
Another hint: The New Zealand Automobile Associations runs at least one
independent workshop in Auckland. You can bring your potential "next car"
there and get an non-partisan assessment."
Subject: B5 TRAVEL WITHIN NZ
Be warned that transport services are likely to be VERY well patronised
around the beginning and end of any school or university holiday period.
These change yearly (the overall pattern is changing now; details, anyone?)
so anything more specific would be pointless. Watch out for the:
Last week of January/first week of February
Last week of February/first week of March
First and third/fourth weeks of May
First two weeks of July
Last week of August/second week of September
First two weeks of November
Third week of December
Subject: B5.1 Info Sources
B5.1.1 Tourism Board
There is one. There is also the Visitor Information Network which has
conspicuous black, green, and white signs including a large italic 'i' at
the left hand end, throughout NZ cities/towns.
--------------------
B5.1.2 Maps
See the nearest branch of the Department of Survey and Land Information, or
Department of Conservation. Bookshops are likely to have maps too.
It pays to carry a light tent and be prepared to camp if travelling in the
more popular places during the summer. Watch out for Giardia. Boil
drinking water in areas known to be infected (ask at a DoC office) and
FOLLOW the rules for waste disposal; we don't want it to spread...
Subject: B5.2 Accommodation
Two of the main sources of ideas relating to accommodation are the AA
guides and the Jason's Handbooks.
The AA guides provide an extensive outline of all types of accommodation
for all areas as well as local attractions.
Jason's Budget Accommodation gives information about cabins, tourist flats,
cheap motels, camping and caravan sites. There is also Jason's Motels and
Motor lodges. Some consider them more comprehensive than the AA book.
There are 2 or three backpackers guides available in NZ as well as YHA
guides. Normally you only need to book up to a week ahead for backpackers.
However if you ar looking for double rooms or family type rooms in
backpackers, you best book earlier as those are quite scarce.
The Lonely Planet guide to NZ is quite good. It gives you an idea of what
is available.
As a rule it pays to book accommodation (and transport) well in advance if
you plan on being here during the tourist season (November to March).
Booking is less important with Backpacker style accommodation.
Besides the specific facilities outlined below, there are numerous motels
and hotels of varying quality and price. Motels provide facilities but no
food: you are expected to provide for yourselves. They consequently tend
to be cheaper than hotels. Cabins in motorcamps are usually the next step
'down' from motels.
A couple of hotel prices (these are likely to be out of date!):
Quality Hotel $100+/room/night
Flag Hotels $100+/room/night
'non-chain' motels/hotels $45-80/room/night
For general info on accommodation try:
http://www.NetTravel.co.nz
or
http://nz.com/nzint
and take a link off the 'Web Sites of Interest - Links' page to 'Superior
B&B Accommodation in NZ'.
A rather complete list of Bed & Breakfast facilities for all of NZ can be
found at:
http://www.kiwihome.com/stay/B-B/ [ is that B-B or B+B??? ]
Department of Conservation huts in National Parks have variable facilities,
with charges reflecting this; a few simple shelters are free, the more
comfortable huts (gas stoves, mattresses) are $15/night.
You can always bring a tent...
--------------------
B5.2.1 Youth Hostel Association
There are about 50 YHA hostels spread throughout NZ. YHA are a few dollars
more per night than Backpackers. The YHA is now on at:
http://yarrow.wt.com.au/~tourist/nz/yhanz/yhanz.htm
As an indication, This info from Judy Shorten:
"The Auckland Youth Hostel, called City Hostel is excellent. Twin bed
rooms, small shop and dining facilities on the premises, tourism
information available, etc. It is approx. $18 per night, and you can also
buy a 20/230 card which allows you to stay 20 days in any YHA around New
Zealand for $230. You also can request the bus from the Airport to drop
you off right at the door. There is another YHA in Parnell, a couple of
miles out of the central city area."
--------------------
B5.2.2 Backpackers
There are six different booklets on backpackers accommodation to NZ. It is
advised to get the backpackers you are at to 'forward book' you to the next
place. Most of them are happy to do it without payment for the service.
The number of groups catering for backpackers is expanding rapidly with
nice new accommodation being built (at least in Christchurch!). In
Auckland there are also a couple of backpackers advisory centres.
Prices are normally $8-20/night for a room.
Backpacker accommodation in Chch:
Dreamland 03-3663519 21/23 Packe St
Foley Towers 03-3669720 208 Kilmore St
Stonehurst Hotel 03-3794620 241 Gloucester St
Pavlova Backpackers 03-3665158 50 Cathedral Square
Charlie Browns 03-3798429 268 Madras St
Backpacker accommodation in Auckland:
Parkside Backpackers Inn 09-3098999 189 Park Road, Grafton
Aotea Backpackers Hostel 09-3033350 295 Queen Street, Central
Kiwi Hilton Backpackers 09-3583999 430 Queen Street, Central
Auckland Central Backpackers 09-3584877, fax 09-3584872
cnr Fort Street & Jean Batten Place, Central
Central City Backpackers 09-3585685, fax 09-3584716
26 Lorne Street, Central
Here are the details of who published guides:
NZ's VIP Hostel Network
admin: Backpackers Resorts of NZ Ltd
Box 991, Taupo, NZ
Phone/fax: (07) 377 1157
Budget Backpackers Hostels NZ Ltd
Mark Dumble: 99 Titiraupenga St, Taupo, NZ
Phone/fax: (07) 377 1568
Eric Foley: 208 Kilmore St, Christchurch, NZ
Phone/fax: (03) 379 3014
YHA (Youth Hostel Association) NZ
PO Box 436, Christchurch, NZ
Phone: (03) 379 9970
Fax: (03) 365-4476
* you can get the info from your nearest youth hostel.
NZ Backpacker Hostels Association Ltd
PO BOX 5475, Auckland, NZ
Backpackers Accommodation Down-Under
PO Box 4446, Auckland, NZ
Phone: (09) 303 4482
Fax: (09) 443 8004
ATA (Accommodation Travel Activities)
PO Box 8, Kaikoura, NZ
Phone or fax:(03) 319 5916
(03) 319 5359 (business hours only)
The main NZ site, 'the "blue" book', appears to be:
http://www.backpack.co.nz/
It covers quite a lot of the backpackers in NZ but not all.
There is an internet resource called The Internet Guide to Hostelling
which, among other things, contains a list of hostels in New Zealand. It
is available via WWW, Gopher, FTP, and Email. The WWW URL is:
http://hostels.com/rec-travel/hostels/
Try also:
http://www.hostels.com/hostels/au.nz.html
For information on how to access the guide in other ways send email to:
info@hostels.com.
Subject: B5.3 Transport
Trains are good but have limited distribution. Buses tend to be more
flexible and there are a variety of regional bus passes available.
Information should be available from the relevant booking offices. Bus
tickets for around the South Island are around $250 per person. The
'Travelpass' offers unlimited travel on Tranz Rail (formerly New Zealand
Rail) trains and InterCity buses for, for example, five days travel over
fifteen days, or fifteen days travel over five weeks. A further option (to
be taken at time of purchase) is to add one trip by air with Ansett New
Zealand at extra cost.
There's are also 'through fares' (you have to ask for them) but there are
limited seats. Typically:
Auckland to Picton for $99
Auckland to Christchurch $138
and these include a seat on the train then the Interislander. Unofficial
details at:
http://www.waikato.ac.nz/nz/rail/travelpass.html
Buses and trains have seats discounted at around 20-50% but there are
limited seats each day allocated on a first come first serve basis. So the
earlier you book the more chance you have of getting them, eg. try to make
bookings for Christmas/New Year break in mid-October and you may find many
of the cheap fares are gone.
'The Kiwi Experience' and similar budget travel systems are worth
investigating if you want less structured transport arrangements. Due to
an increase in theft and vandalism, leaving vehicles on the main roads has
become unwise. Always remove valuables and lock it when leaving the
vehicle.
Backpackers card holders (includes YHA cards) also gives you a 30% discount
on any bus or train fare on the main bus lines or TranzRail.
--------------------
B5.3.1 Cycling/Sea Kayaking
Excellent cycling in NZ but it pays to like hills... Bringing a bike in
from overseas is often a good idea and resale here is possible although it
may take several weeks at some times of the year. ALWAYS lock your bike
solidly to something immobile when you aren't actually on it. For cycle
tourists, there are two books available - Cycle Touring in the South Island
and Cycle Touring in the North Island. There is also one that covers both
islands, but apparently there are many mistakes in it.
Lin Nah kindly generated this contribution.
"For the Auckland area, go to the Auckland visitor's centre and ask for
advice. For further afield, look into one of the packages like Wild Cycles
offered by Kiwi experience [phone (64 9) 366 1665; fax (64 9) 357 0524]
there are probably other companies that offer similar packages.
Here's a list of places to rent bicycles from (typed late 1993).
Auckland
Name Phone Fax Address
Bicycle Tour Services 276 5218 276 5218 PO Box 11296
Cycle Xpress 379 0779 11 Beach Road
Kiwi Experience 366 1665 357 0524 PO Box 1553
Mountain Bike Hire 358 9893 575 5105 5/28, Armadale Rd, Remuera
NZ Pedaltours 302 0968 302 0967 PO Box 37575, Parnell
Pedal Packers 302 0880 25 St Georges Bay Rd, Parnell
Pedal Pushers 360 0512 Ring when arrive in Auckland
Penny Farthings 379 2524 309 1559 PO Box 8829, Symond St
Ross Adventures 357 0550 357 0502 PO Box 33686, Takapuna
If you are interested in the Kiwi Experience, they have something called
Wild Cycles. This combines their bus trips and cycling. KE runs a cheap
bus network in both the North and South Island. So the deal in Wild Cycles
(as I understand it) is that you can send you luggage ahead by the bus. So
you carry the minimal necessities with you while you are cycling. If you
are tired of cycling (tired, fed up, too hot, too cold and whatever excuses
you want to discontinue) just stop on the road side along one of their
routes and flag the next KE bus that comes along. It is also good for
those who only have time to cycle one way and have to take the bus back.
Unfortunately no one seems to have email 8-(
The ones below I have not called. They are either not within the Auckland
calling area or are within the Auckland area but no one replied whan I
called.
Name Phone Address
Adventure South 03 332 1222 Box 33153 Christchurch
Classic Cycle Tours 06 358 9893 Box 4499, Palmerston North
Desert Coast Bikes 09 411 8612 47 Waitea Rd, Muriwai
Rock Hard Mountain Bike 07 892 2938 National Park
Sounds Cycling 03 578 0442 2 Selwyn St, Blenheim"
David Morris offers:
"Another option: Active Leisure Cycle Express, cnr Beach Rd/Anzac Ave,
Auckland. Ph 379-7790. The guy who runs it is a real cycle nut... his
knowledge of touring is encyclopaedic.
"If I want any work done on my machine I go to him. Can't give a better
recommendation that that!"
For ideas on where to go, try:
http://www.wcc.govt.nz/extern/kennett/homepage.htm
It's the NZ Mountain Bike Web Page. If it's run by [one of] the legendary
Kennett Brothers, it's likely to be well worth a look!
-----
Sea kayaking is a great way (the best way?) to see parts of NZ, and guided
tours are becoming more popular and available. For information on cycle
touring or sea kayaking, email A.Ferguson@chem.canterbury.ac.nz
The coastlines around Abel Tasman National Park and the Marlborough Sounds
are renowned as sea kayaking areas with trips possible all year round.
Lin wrote:
"For the Abel Tasman National Park (cruise, coach - from Nelson to the
park, and everything related to activities in the Abel Tasman National
Park) talk to:
Abel Tasman National Park Enterprises
ph (+64 3) 528 7801
fax (+64 3) 528 6087
"They are open all year except for Christmas Day. The 1994/95 prices:
"Full Day Cruise. I took this on NY day '95, it was excellent. Bring your
own lunch. 9am - 3:30/4pm, adult $42, child $14
"Coach, Cruise, Kayak and Hydrofoil. Start 9am at Kaiteriteri. Take the
launch to Torrent Bay - arriving at around 10.25am. Your guide and kayak
are there. You start on a 5 hour guided kayak from Torrent Bay to Bark
Bay. then you catch the hydrofoil back to Kaiteriteri, ETA 6pm. Start &
finish Kaiteriteri; adult $90
"There are quite a few more variations. Once you see their brochure you
will know what I mean. I was very impressed at how flexible it is. For
example with the kayak example above, you could have paid $80 to start and
finish in Torrent Bay. You could have left Kaiteriteri a few days before
by the boat, been dropped off at Totaranui (or any beach the cruise passes)
and walked your way back to Torrent Bay.
"The park has one of the most beautiful set of beaches and scenery I have
seen. I hope no one spoils it.
"Kaiteriteri to Torrent Bay; if you don't want the guided kayak trip you
can hire kayaks from them. Single kayaks $18; double kayaks $25 (this is
from the 93-94 brochure).
"No, I have no connection to the family who owns the Abel Tasman enterprise
(this is a family business). I was very impresssed with the choice and
service.
"In the Nelson/Marlborough region; don't forget the swim in the river at
the Pelorus Bridge. Also visit the vineyards in that area."
-----
If anyone can suggest a better place to put this, I'd like to hear it!
NZ Tides
Tidal predictions are now available for Auckland, Wellington, Lyttelton and
Dunedin, a week at a time from:
http://www.e-media.co.nz/wp1/
Other major boating areas will be added. Thanks to the Hydrographer RNZN.
--------------------
B5.3.2 Hitchhiking
Hitching is *relatively* safe in NZ, but generally speaking, busing is
advised in the more obscure corners on NZ; it's likely to be quicker and
safer.
--------------------
B5.3.3 Renting A Car/Campervan
Several main companies; Hertz, Avis, Budget, Maui, etc. Some agencies have
mini-buses as well as cars. There are usually cheaper local alternatives
to the big chains. Taking a vehicle from one island to the other is
expensive and it is normal(?) to drop a rental vehicle off on one side of
Cook Strait and pick up another on the other side, but may not be possible.
If you leave a car at the end of a road asnd fly out (eg. Milford Sound)
you may be charged the cost of retrieving it.
The general impression is that renting a car in NZ is are not cheap
compared with US and European rates.
From an advert in a New Zealand Tourist Board info packet, Ed Guy
(guy@degallo.unx.dec.com) contacted Pegasus Rentals in Christchurch. The
result was a car at about $35/day.
In Auckland, it is possible to hire a car for around $40 a day if it is for
a 'long' period, but the problem with using these cheaper companies as
opposed to the well known ones is the quality of the car. The bigger (more
expensive) rental agencies have newer cars (1-2 years old). The cheaper
companies have older cars. Most of them provide you with a special AA
(Automobile Association) membership for the duration of the car rental
which covers towing anywhere in NZ.
Most companies have branches or associates around the country and although
there are (were?) only 3 international airports in NZ (Auckland, Wellington
and Christchurch) there is usually no problem in being be able to drop off
cars elsewhere.
Christmas/New Year is a peak period so it is difficult getting a car at the
last minute. Most cars in NZ are not automatic so if you want one you had
better specify.
Check the Yellow Pages of the phone directory for an extensive list of
rental companies.
-----
Campervans
Regarding campervans, Greg Lauer offers:
Last May (1995) we hired a '2 berth luxury' campervan from Adventure
Rentals in Christchurch. Because it was off season it cost us NZ$60 a day.
From what I can remember we just phoned them and picked it up the same
afternoon. We had four people in it.
If you want some more info email me at <glauer@expert.cc.purdue.edu>
-----
A while back, Dale Gold wrote:
"Here's what I posted on the subject in Oct '94. No doubt the prices are
all different now, but I hope it is helpful. Perhaps you can repay the
favour by posting any changes to this newsgroup :-) [hear hear! ps-j]
"This is *only* a list of the companies that had brochures at Christchurch
Airport on 10-Oct-94, and I can make no recommendations. I included some
points which looked interesting, but made no attempt at any detailed
comparisons. Hopefully, this will provide a rough guide and a means of
getting more detailed information.
GENERAL INFORMATION:
Most places require that vehicles be returned to their starting point, but
you'll have to ask about this. $200-500 deposits are typical, and some
companies have age restrictions, minimum hire periods, etc. Most vans will
come with cooking gear, heater, etc. Bedding, ski racks, bikes, etc. are
often available at extra cost.
All prices are in NZ dollars. GST = a 12.5% tax. The two prices are for
High and Low seasons.
High Season = 1 November - 30 April
Low Season = the colder months
Area codes: Auck=09, Chch=03, Picton=03, Wgtn=04
---
Avon Campervans
2 berth $124 $74
Includes: GST
Excludes: $15 insurance
7 day minimum, age 21, appears to allow auck-chch rental!
Auck 275-3040, fax: 275-3496
Chch 379-3822, fax: 365-5651
NZ Freephone: 0508-258-258
UK enquiries: (0993) 823-363, fax: (0993) 823-648
---
Gypsy Hire Ltd.
2-3 hi-top $129 $83
2-4 $135 $90
4-6 $189 $95 shower, loo
big 6 $210 $130 shower, loo
Includes: Unlimited km, GST, insurance. 5 day minimum
Auck 480-5098, fax: 443-0485, cell: 025-328-126
Chch 327-6230 (ph/fax), cell: 025-328-126
---
Maui
2 berth $144 $89
4 berth $203 $123
6 berth $228 $137
Includes: GST
Excludes: $13.50 daily insurance
Auck 275-3529
Chch 358-4159
---
Newmans
One of the 2 biggest companies, but no brochure. Auck & Chch branches
---
New Zealand Adventure
All sizes, no prices listed.
Auck 256-0255, fax: 275-3027
Chch 359-7917, fax: 221-7305
---
NZ Travel Bureau Ltd
2 berth $139 $59
4 berth $199 $89 shower, loo, diesel
6 berth $229 $109 shower, loo, diesel
Includes: insurance, GST, unlimited km
Chch 358-9888
PO Box 14189, Chch Airport
---
Pegasus/Thomlinson
Thrifty 2 $69 $49 Townace
Economy 2 $79 $59 Hiace S.W.B.
Tourist 2 $99 $79 Hiace L.W.B., 2 adults, 2 kids
Executive $119 $99 Hiace Pop-top, Diahatsu Delta
All include: GST, insurance, unlimited kms 4days+
Auck 358-5757, fax: 373-5727
Chch 365-1100, fax: 365-1104
Picton 573-7733, fax: 573-7759
Wgtn 384-4883, fax: 384-3225
---
Pleasure Motor Homes
2 berth $90 $60
All inclusive. Minimum age 25. minimum 7days (sum), 5 days (win).
Also offer 4 & 6 berth vans.
Chch 359-9657, fax: 359-9628
516 Wairakei Road, Chch
---
Breakaway in Hastings offers 4 berth campers, no prices in
brochure, minimum age 30 ph: 06-874-8833, fax: 06-874-8850
--------------------
B5.3.4 Train Services
Good, if they go where you are going.
In the North Island, there are the main line from Auckland to Wellington
which runs west of the central volcanoes, a main line to the east coast at
Tauranga and a number of branch lines.
In the South Island, there is the main trunk line north-south down the east
coast between Picton and Invercargill, and the midland line east-west
between Christchurch and Greymouth via Arthurs Pass.
The middle and long-distance trains operated by Tranz Rail under the name
"Tranz Scenic" are listed below. All fares quoted are full adult fare in
NZ$ as at November 1995. Various discounts are available, even during the
peak travel season.
Overlander; (Daylight) Auckland to Wellington, 685km/10 hours 40 mins, both
ways, Daily $55-129 (route includes cities, rural towns, lakes, volcanic
plateau, gorges, bush, rolling farmland).
Northerner; (Overnight) Auckland - Wellington, 685km/11 hours, both ways,
departs Sun-Fri $109
Kaimai Express; Auckland - Tauranga, evening, 3 hours 25 mins daily $49
Tauranga - Auckland, morning, 3 hours 30 mins daily $49
Geyserland Express; Auckland - Rotorua - Auckland, approx 4 hours 10 mins
each way, daily with extra service on Friday and Sunday $59 (route includes
rolling farmland, towns, city, bush, volcanic plateau, thermal areas)
Bay Express; (Daylight) Wellington - Napier 334km/5 hours 20 mins, both
ways daily - $63 (route includes city, farmland, bush, river gorge, hill
ranges, wine making country)
Southerner Express; (Daylight) Christchurch - Invercargill, 594km/8 hours
40 mins, both ways, Daily with extra service on Friday $97 (route is east
coast of South Island to the southern-most town, farmland, hill ranges,
coastal) This train has in the past run only Monday to Friday during
winter. There is only one train per day north and one south between
Invercargill and Christchurch.
Coastal Pacific; (connects with Interisland ferry) Christchurch - Picton,
350km/5 hours 20 mins, both ways, daily $59 (route is northern half of east
coast of the South island, hills, seaward mountain ranges, fishing towns,
whale watching area, Marlborough Sounds)
Tranz-Alpine Express; (Daylight) Christchurch - Greymouth, 5 hours 20
minutes each way, daily, $99 return or $74 one way (route is spectacular
crossing of Southern Alps from east to west coasts; Pacific Ocean to the
Tasman sea)
The Taieri Gorge Railway run excursion trains through the spectacular
Taieri Gorge to the west of Dunedin. It's possible to take the Taieri
Gorge Limited from Dunedin and connecting bus service to Queenstown or vice
versa. The timetable for the Taieri Gorge Limited varies through the year,
running only on some days of the week outside the peak season.
All Tranz Rail services (except suburban) and Taieri Gorge Railway
services, together with a reasonable sample of current fares and the
details of the various discounts on offer, can be found at:
http://www.waikato.ac.nz/nz/rail/timetable.html
Everything that's there is accurate as at November 1995. Be warned that
Tranz Rail's fares are not as systematic as those in some countries.
Also try:
http://www.waikato.ac.nz/nz/rail/stoppress.html
-----
Three suggestions regarding scenic train runs. The Railway Enthusiasts'
Society do excursions from time to time as well as operate the Glenbrook
Vintage Railway, SW of Auckland.
Write to: PO Box 13-684, Onehunga, Auckland
Phone: 64-9-636-9361
Fax: 64-9-636-9558
The Mainline Steam Trust,PO Box 2722, Wellington
Phone: 64-4-476-2733
Fax: 64-4-476-3164
Otago Excursion Train Trust, PO Box 140, Dunedin
Phone: 64-3-477-4449
Fax: 64-3-477-4953
--------------------
B5.3.5 Cook Strait Ferry
(See also under B5.3.4 Train Services)
The Interislander - ferry service connecting North and South Islands
between Wellington and Picton. As at 1st October 1995, the full adult fare
was $44 one way. The fare for a car up to 6m was $160, with an extra $35
per half memter. A range of discounts are available for advance bookings.
For timetables, see
http://www.waikato.ac.nz/nz/rail/interislander.html
It is possible (and cheaper?) to drop a rental car at one terminal, travel
as foot passenger and pick up another rental car on the other side. The
trip takes 3 hours 15 min, with spectacular scenery of mountains and the
sounds. The ferry usually departs Wellington and Picton five times a day
depending on weather. Another 'high-speed' ferry service is in operation
seasonally. The Lynx (the catamaran) is back for the summer; timetable at:
http://www.waikato.ac.nz/nz/rail/lynx.html
Bruce Hoult offered:
"Booking is not required, but it can be a very good idea if you don't want
to end up on the 2am sailing at peak times. You should be OK in November
or the first week or two of December though. Foot passengers and
motorcyclists (that's me :-) will virtually always get on any sailing they
want, without booking in advance.
"If you will have a rental car, the best option is usually to use a company
that lets you drop your car in Picton and get a new one in Wellington and
take the ferry as a passenger."
To which Lin Nah adds:
"They have changed the booking rules recently. Those who book early may
get a discount. I believe they are using the similar rules of allocating
"seats" as airlines, buses and trains are.
"I agree with bruce's advice regarding rental car. IMHO the cost of taking
the car across far outweighs the inconvenience of having to unload and
reload the car at each end."
-----
There is a new venture for the yatch 'Lion New Zealand', renamed 'Phantom
of the Straits' which runs between Wellington and Picton.
Any information about making reservations, etc., would be appreciated.
-----
The ferry to Stewart Island, the Foveaux Express, sails twice daily from
Bluff, phone; +64 03 212 7660
The only alternative is to fly. Southern Air have several flights daily
from Invercargill and one from Dunedin. YHA/Student standby rates are
available. Phone; +64 03 218 9129.
--------------------
B5.3.6 Coach Travel
Buses go pretty much everywhere there are main roads. There are many
different options with several companies including the Backpacker buses for
which you buy a ticket to travel the whole country and get on and off when
you wish (prices for Backpacker buses fluctuate wildly due to a price war).
Here is some miscellaneous information (prices quoted are in $NZ).
Auckland to Wellington overnight; around $45 - $50 per person
Intercity bus currently (March 96) has only one bus per day north and south
along the West coast.
There is a daily bus between Queenstown and Dunedin, via Cromwell, each
way, but you will not be able to make connection in Cromwell without an
overnight stay.
There is a small van bus that travels between Invercargill and Dunedin via
the Catlin region that is a beautiful trip. For details, contact Charles
Eggen.
Most(?) coach lines run strictly point to point. If you want to stop in
the intermediate sections, you will need to pay more.
eg.
Intercity coachlines:
Greymouth - Queenstown $125
or
Greymouth - Franz Josef $42
Franz Josef - Fox Glacier $10
Fox Glacier - Queenstown $87
totalling $139
Mount Cook Land Line:
Nelson to Queenstown $144
Wanaka to Queenstown $25
Then there are the backpackers bus routes. These stop at interesting
places as you go. You can hop off at any stop and rejoin them at the same
time the next day or any day they pass through.
Kiwi Experience (KE) have a package called the 'Back Paddock' which runs
from Christchurch through Arthur's Pass to Greymouth then down the West
Coast and back to Chch via Wanaka, Queenstown, and Mount Cook. For $204,
you need a minimum of 6 days and can take up to 3 months to finish this
route. They take you to a few places on the way. You pay for your own
accommodation and any entrance fee to any sights. KE run daily so there is
no problem with stopping as long as you like.
Magic Travellers' 'Tranzalpine' is very similar to the 'Back Paddock' but
swaps Mount Cook for Dunedin. For $229, your route needs a minimum of 7
days and should be valid for 3-6 months. The network only runs every other
day so if you want to stay longer than one night, you may end up staying 3
nights.
Intercity coach lines has a route from Auckland to Rotorua via Waitomo
Caves for $100.50 including admission to the caves.
KE has a trip called Geyserland. Minimum of 3 days of travel and valid up
to 3 months. The route is: Auckland -> Thames -> Waitomo -> Rotorua ->
Auckland. Your night stops are at Waitomo and Rotorua. Cost is $75 but
this doesn't include accommodation or the $12 entry to the glow-worm caves.
They can arrange blackwater rafting, hangi, stay at a marae in Rotorua,
abseiling, etc.
Magic Travellers network had a route called 'Top of the Town' for $120:
Auckland -> Hamilton -> Waitomo -> Rotorua -> Taupo -> Turangi -> Rotorua
-> Thames -> Auckland.
Discounts are available on some lines if you have a backpackers card and/or
book [well] in advance. Numerous other tour operators and routes exist.
Shop around!
Contact numbers:
Tourist Information Centres may handle all the bookings for you (see
A1.2.2) or, for Auckland:
Intercity:
Phone 357 8400
Mt Cook:
Phone 309 5395
Kiwi Experience:
Phone 366 1665
Fax 357 0524
Magic Network:
Phone 358 5600
Fax 358 3471
--------------------
B5.3.7 Driving
Visitors should get, and READ, a copy of the Road Code. The most important
thing to remember is that driving is on the left hand side.
Bruce Hoult:
"I've hired cars the three times I've been in the US, and I don't think it
took any longer than 30 seconds or a minute to get comfortable driving on
the "wrong" side of the road each time. Your US license [presumably this
also applies to licenses from other countries] and passport are all you'll
need. The international license is an unnecessary ripoff."
Lyndon Watson:
"Most people seem to have little trouble adapting. Remember, right-hand
turns cut across the traffic, and that you give way to the right. Watch
the speed limits and remember that they are in km/hr, not mph."
If you want to go between (or even to) main centres, and can drive, check
the car hire companies. Some of them may want to relocate cars and will
let you drive their car, for free hire as long as you pay petrol AND pay
the insurance excess if you meet an accident. There are likely to be other
conditions, such as delivering the car within 24 hours of picking it up.
--------------------
B5.3.8 Commercial Tours
Are available in most main and holiday centres. Prices will vary and it
may be worth shopping around. See B5.3.6.
--------------------
B5.3.9 Flying
Three main options (Air New Zealand, Ansettand Mount Cook) and numerous
smaller airlines including companies offering helicopter transport/tours.
If you have a backpackers card, you can also opt for standby seats at 50%
discount.
Here are some air fares for Christchurch to Auckland one way:
Mt Cook Air/Air NZ cheapest fare is $124
Unlikely to be any left for this summer due to a recent special where you
could book a seat for $149 to anywhere in another island, or $99 to
anywhere within the same island. These turn up from time to time so keep
an eye open.
Air National: $119
Relatively unknown (check the Auckland phone book). Not so much an airline
as a cargo plane with seats. The service cost $99 back in January 1995
(Lin posted something then).
Night flights
Air NZ: $164
Ansett: $168
Subject: B5.4 Misc Info
B5.4.1 Film Developing
I recommend Monochrome in Durham Street Christchurch for b/w developing.
Lyndon Watson:
I recommend Kiwi Photolab on Gloucester Street for 35mm, and New Zealand
Photocorp on Welles Street for roll and sheet film.
Subject: B6. Map Of New Zealand
Maps are copyright, North Cape _,
please do not repost. \\
\\__
\ \_
\ \ Bay of Islands
\ 1(
\ > o
\O \ _
1 Whangarei \2(_ \\
2 Auckland \O2\| | Bay of Plenty
3 Hamilton \ \_ __
4 Tauranga | \_ _/ >
5 Rotorua | 3 4 \____,' |
6 Taupo | 5 7/
7 Gisborne __/ _6 |
8 New Plymouth ,'8 >_) ,--,
9 Napier/Hastings ( Lake ( Hawkes
10 Wanganui `- _ Taupo 9 | Bay
11 Palmerston North \_10 /
12 Masterton \ _/
13 Wellington ___ | 11 /
/ (_ , | 12 _/
| | ///, / _/
/ (_////// (13___/
_/ 14 ( Cook
| 15 16\ Strait
TASMAN SEA / /
/ / PACIFIC OCEAN
/17 _/
_/ _/ 14 Nelson
__/18 / 15 Westport
__/ , 19(_ 16 Blenheim
__/ 20| _<>_n) 17 Greymouth
__/ \ | __/ Banks 18 Hokitika
_/ // __/ Peninsula 19 Christchurch
_/21 |22 23/ 20 Mount Cook
_/ |_24 | 21 Milford Sound
_/ _-| | 25/ 22 Wanaka
/ -|26 / 23 Timaru
/ - | 24 Queenstown
| _- 27> Otago 25 Oamaru
\_,-__ _/ Peninsula 26 Te Anau
Foveaux \28_ _/ 27 Dunedin
Strait ,_ `-.___/ 28 Invercargill
\ c_
/_ / Stewart
/- Island
Subject: B7 Contributors
? brien@worldaccess.nl
? chen203@csc.canterbury.ac.nz
Aidan Heerdegen aidan@rschp2.anu.edu.au
Alan Brown alan@papaioea.manawatu.gen.nz
Andy Bond bond@azure.dstc.edu.au
Andrew White a.white@lincoln.ac.nz
Anne Riddick riddick_a@kosmos.wcc.govt.nz
Barry Allan B.C.Allan@massey.ac.nz
Barry McDonald B.McDonald@massey.ac.nz
BLImpact blimpact@aol.com
Brian Dooley brian_d@sideways.welly.gen.nz
Brian Harmer brian.harmer@vuw.ac.nz
Brian McInturff turf@netcom.com
Brian Sorrell biobbs@aau.dk or b.sorrell@niwa.cri.nz
Bruce Barton via jbarton@actrix.gen.nz (Julia Barton)
Bruce Cowin aq141@FreeNet.Carleton.CA
Bruce Hoult Bruce@hoult.actrix.gen.nz
C. N. Robertson cnr@hydra.cfm.brown.edu
cakes cakes@io.org
Carlo Fusco fusco@io.org
Charles Eggen cne@efn.org
Chris Fitzgerald sofsol@ihug.co.nz
Chris Rennie prtwo@chch.planet.co.nz
Christopher Hutton dmitri@acs4.bu.edu
Christopher Werry cw7r+@andrew.cmu.edu
Dale Gold dgold@basso.actrix.gen.nz
Darren Overby overby@crl.com
Dave Matoe Dave_Matoe@UK.IBM.COM
Dave Walker walker_d@ix.wcc.govt.nz
Dave Frame phys223@csc.canterbury.ac.nz
David Lobb davelobb@iprolink.co.nz
David Morris mortrav@ihug.co.nz
David White d.white@irl.cri.nz
Delia Cioffi cioffi@dartmouth.edu
Dennis Gray Jr. dgray@menudo.uh.edu
Dirk Rossouw drossouw@gmu.edu
Don Stokes don@zl2tnm.gen.nz
Donald Neal dmneal@waikato.ac.nz
Ed Ablon(?) eablon@connect.net
Errol Hunt hunte@post.crc.cra.com.au
Ewan McKissock ewanm@landyatch.csd.sgi.com
Frank Pitt frankie@mundens.southern.co.nz
Frank van der Hulst frankv@pec.co.nz
Frits Schouten schouten.jf.frits@bhp.com.au
Garry Collins garryc@rhema.pec.co.nz
Gavin Bell mgmt012@csc.canterbury.ac.nz
Geoff McCaughan geoff@southern.co.nz
Gina Willingale gina@rusty.siml.co.nz
Gloria Williams gowilliams@galaxy.gov.bc.ca
Graham C. grahamc@inca.co.nz
Grant D. Pease grant@intersys.co.nz
Greg Lauer glauer@expert.cc.purdue.edu or g.lauer@student.canterbury.ac.nz
Guillermo Gamero rgu280@waccvm.corp.mot.com
Hantie Braybrook hb102095@iafrica.com
Hineihaea Murphy Hineiha@ibm.net
Howard Edwards H.Edwards@massey.ac.nz
Hugh Grierson hugh_grierson@trimble.co.nz
James Yetman yetmanj@qed.uucp
Jaqui Lynch lynch@cleo.bc.edu
Jennifer Mary George jmgeorge@leland.Stanford.EDU
Jeremy Clyma jeremy@central.co.nz
Jim Lovell-Smith jlovells@ucs.indiana.edu
Jon Clarke jonc@air.com.hk
John Davis j.davis@chem.canterbury.ac.nz
John Hopkins jhopkins@chch.planet.co.nz
John Mee jmee@ns.net
John Ryder ryder@central.co.nz
John Spavin spavinjo@msnt.poli.govt.nz
John Taber taber@gphs.vuw.ac.nz
Judy Shorten jshorten@opus.freenet.vancouver.bc.ca
Justine Lee leej1@lincoln.ac.nz
Karen Fursdon Karen@beehive.demon.co.uk
Karen Lysaght klysaght@ucla.edu
Kelvin McMichael kelvinm@ihug.co.nz
Ken Moselen Moselenk@ccc.govt.nz
Ken Wilson kwilson@matai.vuw.ac.nz
Klaus Failenschmid co95ksf@brunel.ac.uk
Lachy Paterson tokoono@dunedin.es.co.nz
Larry Robbins larry@nznet.gen.nz
Laurie Kennedy kennedyl@agresearch.cri.nz
Liam Greenwood liam@durie.amigans.gen.nz
Lin Nah linnah@comu2.auckland.ac.nz
Lyndon Watson L.Watson@csc.canterbury.ac.nz
MJ Pickering arachne@uci.edu
M W Woodhams mdw@ccu1.auckland.ac.nz
Mark Borrie mborrie@maths.otago.ac.nz
Mark Cresswell mark@markcres.demon.co.uk or mark@liverpool.ac.uk
Mark Doherty M_Doherty@NIH.gov
Mark Wightman mark@albasys.demon.co.uk
Martin D. Hunt mdh@gaya.wcc.govt.nz
Martin Lange mlange@actrix.gen.nz
Marty Burr mburr@manawatu.gen.nz
Michael Hood mhood@nzint.tourism.co.nz
Michael Lyford mlyford@iconz.co.nz
Miche michelle.campbell@stonebow.otago.ac.nz
Michelle Elleray mde3@cornell.edu
Mike Gill Mike.Gill@csx.cciw.ca
Mike Leon leonmike@moc.govt.nz
Mike Tuppen mike@tuppambr.demon.co.uk
Mike Wright M_WRIGHT@icrf.icnet.uk
Murray Shadbolt mjs@waikato.ac.nz
Nathan Schmidt schmidt@civl.canterbury.ac.nz
Neville C. Dempsey ncd@3tt.kiwi.gen.nz
Nick Mein nmein@bifrost.otago.ac.nz
Nina O'Flynn nof@nzer.DIALix.oz.au
Noeline McCaughan noeline@styx.southern.co.nz
Oliver Bohnenberger fm21@rummelplatz.uni-mannheim.de
Pat Cain patrick@sideways.welly.gen.nz or @gopher.dosli.govt.nz
Paul Caples(?) pjcaples@bnr.ca
Paul Campbell paul@taniwha.com
Paul Dansted pdansted@ccu1.auckland.ac.nz
Paul Gillingwater paul@eunet.co.at
Paul Nixon paul@nixnet.demon.co.uk
Paul Walker p.walker@econ.canterbury.ac.nz
Pete Moore pete@bignode.southern.co.nz
Peter Hunt peter@chch.planet.org.nz
Peter Kerr p.kerr@auckland.ac.nz
Peter Lowish peter@cyberlink.co.nz
Peter Morris morrisp@lincoln.ac.nz
Phil Abercrombie abercrom@UG.EDS.COM
*Philip* 100317.3527@CompuServe.COM
Philip Greenspun philg@zurich.ai.mit.edu
R. Bowen bowenrw@elec.canterbury.ac.nz
Raewyn Whyte whyter@iprolink.co.nz
Ray Steel rsteel@titan.com
Richard Keightley richardk@world.std.com
Richard Miller Richard_Miller@f170.n771.z3.fidonet.org
Richard Naylor rich@tosh.wcc.govt.nz
Richard Stevenson nightowl@deepsouth.co.nz
Richard Symonds edison@nelson.planet.org.nz
Richard Turner rwturner@iastate.edu
Rob Hay HayR@Lincoln.cri.nz
Rob Simpson roks@actrix.gen.nz
Robert Burling-Claridge claridge@wronz.org.nz
Roberta Gorman rwgorman@delphi.com
Rod Bicknell rbicknell@beta.delphi.com or rbicknell@aol.com
Rod Snowdon Rod.Snowdon@agrar.uni-giessen.de
Roger Dennis roger@southern.co.nz
Ross Finlayson finlayson@Eng.Sun.COM
Ross Levis ross@enternet.co.nz
Ross Stewart ross@quidnunc.co.nz or ross@wilsonwhite.co.nz(?)
Roy T. Fielding fielding@simplon.ics.uci.edu
Russell Turner turnerr@actrix.gen.nz
Sam Sampson sam@ins.co.nz
Sean Coley sean@welly.gen.nz
Sharon wn_tafunai@wmich.edu
Simon Lyall simon@darkmere.gen.nz
Simon O'Rorke simon@central.co.nz
Steffan Berridge steffan.berridge@vuw.ac.nz
Stephen D. Neely sdneely@azstarnet.com
Steve Harris saris@iol.ie
Stuart Yeates yeatsa3@cosc.canterbury.ac.nz
Thomas Wilson al419@FreeNet.Carleton.CA
Tony Randle tony.randle@inl.co.nz or tonyr@atlantis.actrix.gen.nz
Tony Wilkes tony@wilkes.ak.planet.co.nz
Trevor Walker yrstyle@voyager.co.nz
Tuan Nguyen nvtuan@deepthnk.kiwi.gen.nz
Van (?) vandrklw@is.nyu.edu
Vaughan Clarkson vaughan@barton.anu.edu.au
Wee Fi fionac@waikato.ac.nz
Thanks, people!
===========================================================================
PART C
Subject: C1 Definition Of 'Kiwi'
For a 'definitive' definition of what a 'kiwi' is (and isn't), here is
pete@bignode's contribution. Americans take particular note... :-)
"The kiwi is a rare flightless (& very much protected) bird native to New
Zealand, and is a symbol of NZ in much the same way that the bald eagle is
a symbol of the US. "Kiwi" is also a (generally affectionate) informal
term for a New Zealander. The pulpy green fruit with the brown skin that
Americans call "kiwi" is known everywhere else in the world as "kiwifruit",
and not all NZers realise that Americans don't know the correct name for
it.
"If you tell a New Zealander that you ate a *kiwi*, you are unlikely to be
accused of cannibalism, but if the NZer doesn't realise that you mean a
*kiwifruit*, you will probably shock & offend them (what would your
reaction be if I told you that I ate a bald eagle?). If they *do* realise
that you mean a *kiwifruit*, they will probably just be annoyed. If you
can't understand why they should be annoyed, think of something that
America introduced to the world & imagine your reaction if we insisted on
ignoring the name that you gave it, & called it "bald eagle" or "stars and
stripes" instead."
Subject: C2 Cities Of New Zealand
WHANGAREI. It's the gateway to the Bay of Islands, Whangarei Falls is
beautiful, it has excellent diving (Poor Knights), excellent fishing, a
fairly interesting Kauri museum near by (can't remember the name of it),
that clock museum (yawn).... Golfing all year round.
AUCKLAND. It's the biggest, it's hilly, it's got a motorway or two, no
water except what gets caught in rain barrels, Rob Hay's brother and his
family and a couple of his friends live there, it has more winebars and
cafe's than Chch - but not within walking distance of each other....
HAMILTON is smaller, messier, and wet. Fast growing, vibrant, strong
University influence. "It's a hole".
ROTORUA stinks! It's quite nice but it still stinks. :-)
GISBORNE fits in here somewhere...
NEW PLYMOUTH is sitting on the side of an 'extinct' volcano.
NAPIER/HASTINGS is where kiwifruit grow and the earth moved...
WANGANUI has a nice river, but no-one knows who owns it.
PALMERSTON NORTH
Mark Doherty offers:
Population about 80,000. The city has (to me anyway) a distinctly
rural/parochial atmosphere which I kind of like. It's VERY laid-back.
It's built (mostly anyway) on a regular grid plan - wide streets, low
traffic density and definately lowrise building. Since the city is almost
entirely on a very flat plain, it's fairly compact for its population.
Plusses?
The town hosts a reasonable sized university, so nightlife is somewhat
more diverse than you might expect (it ain't Seattle or SF, tho'!).
People are friendly.
House prices are low, so is cost of living generally.
It's a great town for getting around by bike - flat as a griddle, plenty of
bike lanes and traffic density is SO LOW that last time I went there I
wondered where all the people were.
Easy access to outdoor lifestyle - hiking and hunting in the Ruahines and
Tarauas (little bitty mountains on the order of the Shenandoahs or
Smokies), canoeing on the Manawatu and Wanganui, hiking and skiing in the
central plateau (real mountains), horse riding etc - all within about an
hour or two's easy driving.
There is nothing even remotely resembling a US-style commute - you can live
(literally) in the country and drive to work in 10 minutes, or cycle to
work in half an hour (easy!).
Great Pubs!
Easy and relatively cheap internet access.
Minuses?
The weather is grotty. Not really cold in winter, but grey and rainy.
Summers are often nice - long, dry and warm, but not really hot.
It is, when all is said and done, a provincial town. I really enjoyed the
6 years I spent in Palmerston, but I would find it hard to go back now for
more tan a visit (those I always enjoy the hell out of!). But then, I
wouldn't move to Kalamazoo either!
So there you go. Not the place to move if you like bright lights, but a
good place if raising a family looms large in your agenda.
WELLINGTON is a tectonic nightmare. Go there if you like politicians, wind
(oops, redundancy :-) and dangerous airports. It's the capital of NZ.
NELSON is sunny and warm and a nice place to retire to (if you can afford
the house prices).
BLENHEIM is sunnier, warmer, and a great place to grow grapes (ask Montana).
WESTPORT is on the We[s]t Coast and is therefore wet.
GREYMOUTH is also on the We[s]t Coast and, being backed by higher hills is
wetter still.
HOKITIKA is a little drier because it's away from the hills. No other
redeeming feature.
CHRISTCHURCH was founded in about 1845. The older part of the city is laid
out on a grid system bounded by four avenues. Other roads take you out to
the suburbs which started as separate villages and have now grown together.
Chch is the largest city in the South Island with a population of about
350,000 people. It has a nearby port and an international airport.
Industry is a mixture of high tech (software, electronics design and
assembly) and agricultural oriented service and processing. Tourism is
expanding and is important.
There are two universities, Canterbury (near town), and Lincoln (30 km out
of town) and lots of opportunity for recreation. There are many parks in
the city and the CBD is experiencing an increase in nightlife. Access to
the rest of the SI, and indeed the NI is excellent.
If you like golf, there are 42 courses available in Canterbury...
TIMARU is 160kms down the coast from Chch. It's the other main port in
Canterbury. My sysadmin is from there so I thought I'd better include it!
WANAKA is by Lake Wanaka in the Southern Alps and is a predominately
tourist and holiday centre. Treble Cone and Cardrona skifields are near
by. The Warbirds Over Wanaka Airshow in April (usually in Easter weekend)
is an awesome show but unless you've booked accommodation you won't find
anywhere to stay within 100 kilometres - it'll probably attract about
50,000 visitors. There's the MAZE in Wanaka if you like solving puzzles.
It is an excellent place to while the day away.
QUEENSTOWN is by Lake Wakatipu and is the main tourist trap of the NZ 'Lake
District'. Coronet Peak and The Remarkables skifields are the main winter
attractions, bungying takes place all year round.
Richard Symonds gives us:
"I too recommend the Doubtful Sound trip (known as the Triple trip if you
take in the underground power station too - ever gone underground by bus
before?!) A few long trips (still under a day) I enjoyed as a kiwi tourist
in his own country:
- Dart River
- Nomad Safari's Skippers Canyon (you get to view bungee jumping)
- Nomad Safarils Macetown trip (over forty river crossings by landrover)
- Kawarau Jet, which was cheaper, longer, more fun and moe exciting than the
Shotover Jet (which is a rip-off). O.K. the river is wider but they got
closer to the edge. It departs from the main town pier.
- The gondola and the film that shows in the building at the top.
"Its a couple of years since I last went to Queenstown so some of these
attractions might have changed."
Lin Nah offers (edited pretty hard):
There's Skippers Canyon. Famous for the pipeline bungy (102m jump) but you
can take a safari trip there. It is well worth it. I did not do it but
paid $40 for an empty seat on the bungy bus. They don't sell this till
just before the bus leaves. You end up watching people jump off the bridge
but the scenery on the way was well worth it.
There's some concern about the safety record of the people who run the
white water rafting trips. There has been quite a few fatalities there in
the last few years as well as a few major accidents. The North and South
magazine in December 1995 did a feature on this.
You can actually use Queenstown as the base for your trips to Milford,
Wanaka, Arrowtown etc. It is a very touristy town and is often alive when
other parts of NZ are asleep. Many trekkers use it as the stockup and
information point before they head off for the various Milford tracks.
There's a trip to Milford Sound (details in section C3.1.5). If you take
the one that goes overnight, on a good weather day it is definitely the
best value for money. The rushed day trip that leaves at 7am from
Queenstown and returns at 7pm is not even half the price of the overnight
trip. Not sure how they have time to make the number of stops we did.
There are some vineyards around Queenstown.
OAMARU is a really nice little rural centre of about 15K people. Source of
the famous white limestone used in buildings. It's in here mainly because
I was born there...
DUNEDIN is the second largest city in the SI but despite this, is a fairly
small city and the University is an important part of the place. There is
a very strong Scots tradition. During holidays, the place is pretty dead,
but during term time it is (in Richard Bowen's humble opinion :-) the most
sociable campus in the country.
The university is right next to the centre of town, and to the student
suburbs (or slums :-) so there is always a pub within staggering distance.
The vast majority of students are from out of town (most from the North
Island (?)), so they are there just as much to have an enjoyable time as to
learn. Atmosphere is more casual than anywhere else, doesn't have the
snobbishness of Auckland, or the executive orientation of Victoria
(Wellington).
As for the university itself, most universities in nz are pretty similar,
unlike overseas. The Otago Med school is better than the Auckland one
though. I don't know of any weaknesses.
Note that good flats are hard to come by in Dunedin, you might have to
start paying from the end of the previous year.
Lousy weather much of the time.
INVERCARGILL is at the bottom end of the SI and is cold even in the middle
of summer, except on hot days... It rains lots and the Comalco aluminium
smelter is just down the road at Bluff (where the oysters used to come in).
Any other cities which *should* be included? If so, post them *with* a
description. Help filling out the cities above would be appreciated too!
Subject: C3 Holidaying In NZ
Subject: C3.1 Places
C3.1.1 Parks And Tracks
Over 20% of New Zealand is Forest or National parks. New Zealand's
national parks and protected areas are treasures of irreplaceable value.
There are 13 National Parks which preserve NZ's most spectacular scenery,
rare and endangered flora and fauna and archaeological sites. Besides the
National Parks system, there are two World Heritage sites within NZ;
Tongariro (the boundary coincides with the National Park of the same name)
and the South West New Zealand World Heritage area (incorporating Westland,
Mount Cook, Mount Aspiring, and Fiordland National Parks, and well as
extensive state land making a total of 2.6mill hectares). Tongariro
National Park was the second(?) place in the world designated as such,
beaten by Yellowstone by only a year or so.
Additionally there are three maritime parks and a host of forest parks,
reserves and conservation areas throughout the country.
Public access is possible in all New Zealand Parks and many have
magnificent walking tracks within their boundaries. The Department of
Conservation administers the parks on behalf of the New Zealand people.
DoC provide and maintain facilities such as huts, lodges, camping grounds
and tracks.
Most parks have a visitor centre and many run visitor programmes including
guided walks. There is usually no charge for entry into the parks although
charges are often made for overnight stays and hut use.
The Department of Conservation has several pamphlets available. Try
writing to their head office at PO Box 10420, Wellington, phone 04-4710726.
Steve Harris offers:
"... guide for New Zealand on the net to give an idea about some of the
activities and destinations in the country at:
http://www.iol.ie/~saris/bpguide.html
While not a park, Kapiti Island (west of southern NI) is worth a visit if
it can be arranged.
Brian Harmer wrote:
"I went to Kapiti Island, the nature reserve off the West coast of the
Southern part of the North Island. Never have I seen so much bird life so
close up. The Kaka (native forest parrot)were so tame they would fly up to
the visitors and perch on their shoulders, and deftly swipe the filling out
of sandwiches. I have the nature trail running down my back to prove it!
There were wekas galore, kereru, saddleback, stitchback and takahe, robins
and kakariki. The bush is glorious, but my calf muscles will ache for a
week after trudging for two hours to the summit for views to the South
Island, and Eastward towards New Zealand :-)
"Landing on the island is allowed by permit only. The focus is on
preservation of nature rather than provision of tourist attraction."
--------------------
C3.1.2 Beaches, etc.
There are lots of these. As a result of the 'Queens Chain' law, all
coastline and river cbanks (within 20m+/-) are available for public use.
All coastline is also public land. However, access to such areas may be
restricted by having to cross private land.
--------------------
C3.1.3 Distinctive Features
There are hundreds of distinguishing landmarks around NZ and any attempt to
catalogue them would far exceed the limits of my resources! Everything
from coastal caves and arches, to some of the oldest trees in the world,
bird sanctuaries, castles, geothermal areas and underground power stations.
--------------------
C3.1.4 Archaeology/Historical/Heritage Sites
Definitely worth investigating if one is (or might be) interested.
--------------------
C3.1.5 Places To Go To
Marty Burr is twisting my arm to combine certain areas with common
attractions into logical groupings, eg. Marlborough/Nelson. It's a
sensible idea and I'll work on it over the next month.
As many as there are holiday enthusiasts. I'm sure a list will evolve
slowly. Start by including all the national parks and main beaches...
Any of the National or Maritime Parks
Any of the South Island high-country lakes
Anywhere in the mountains
Most of the coastline
The NI Central Plateau/Desert Road
Cape Reinga
Ninety Mile Beach
Bay of Islands
Rotorua/Whakarewarewa
Lake Taupo
Mount Egmont
Hawkes Bay (vineyards)
Farewell Spit
Golden Bay
Heaphy/Wangapeka Tracks
Karamea
Marlborough Sounds
Blenheim (vineyards)
Kaikoura coast (whale watching)
Mount Cook
MacKenzie Basin
Central Otago/Clutha Valley
Fiordland
The Catlins
Stewart Island
Bruce Hoult wrote:
"Queenstown is the only real tourist trap, but is so stunning that you'll
love it anyway and you'd be silly to not go there."
Hugh Grierson wrote:
"Queenstown [is a tourist trap]. Wanaka is nicer."
Paul Caples(?) wrote:
"Tourist spots in and around Auckland
- Waitakere Ranges: heaps of bush walks (try Fairy Falls), Arataki Visitor
Centre.
- West Coast Beaches: Piha, Muriwai (if you like surf)
- Wine: theres plenty of vineyards heading toward Muriwai and several
organised wine trails from Central Auckland.
- Harbour Island's: Rangitoto or Waiheke (ferry's from bottom of Queen St)."
Charles Eggen Wrote:
"I had a nice stay at Te Anau Backpackers, 48 Lake Front Drive, phone
64-3-249-7713 and they are within a few blocks of "downtown".
-----
Lyndon Watson provides the following suggestions in response to someone
saying they were spending all of their three month stay in the North
Island:
"I must disagree here with those who say, "Oh, no, forget the North Island
and see the South instead."
"If you're only ever going to make one trip, then you should see the things
that are *most* peculiar to the country. Those must include, first and
foremost, the Maori aspect of the country which is best seen in the North -
at Rotorua, the Urewera and East Coast if you're really interested, and
Northland, especially. The early colonial history of New Zealand is also
best seen in the North, particularly in the Bay of Islands in Northland and
the Land War sites in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty. As far as natural
features are concerned, some that are most exotic to tourists (depends, I
suppose, on where they come from) are also in the North - the
Rotorua/Taupo/Bay of Plenty geothermal features, the Kauri forests of
Northland, Mt Egmont. By contrast, the South Island is mainly visited for
its (admittedly grander) scenery and the historical remains in Central
Otago. I think that the one-time visitor should try to cover the country,
with the emphasis on the North Island, and only devote all of his time to
the South if grand scenery is all that he is interested in.
"If this is (hopefully) the first of many visits, then I think that a case
can be made for a reasonably brisk trip over all of the country, arguably
still putting the main emphasis on the North Island - a sort of preliminary
survey as it were. Let the first visit touch on the high tourist points
and act as a sort of general survey of what the country has to offer; later
visits can concentrate on what appeals most - once again the South Island
if grand scenery is what you want to see.
"Three months seems to me to be ample for a general look at the country,
even allowing for one or two extended stays at places that you particularly
like. Spend, say, a week each at Rotorua and the Bay of Islands, a few
days in Auckland and perhaps Wellington, another week in Central Otago
using Queestown as a base, and the rest of the time just meandering around
the country and lingering where you like.
"I would do a round trip around Northland, taking in the Bay of Islands, the
bus trip to Cape Reinga and the drive down the west through th kauri
forests, then head south from Auckland. Take it slowly! Spend a day
driving the 70 miles to Hamilton, looking round Rangiriri, Ngaruawahia and
so on. Spend another day meandering east to the Bay of Plenty and stop at
Tauranga or Whakatane. Explore the eastern Bay. Spend a few days driving
round East Cape and back through the Urewera and the pine forests to
Rotorua. Then south to Taupo, do some fishing if you like, and take a side
trip to the west to Taranaki. Spend a day driving right round Mt Egmont.
Go back to the centre and drive back north through the volcanic bush of
National Park and across to Turangi. Then south along the Desert Road and
through the North Island sheep country to Wanganui or Palmerston North
before crossing through the Manawatu Goge to the Wairarapa. Sample the
local wines and drive (with care) across the ranges to Wellington.
"Then, at last, take the slow ferry to Picton and start on the South..."
-----
Tourism Nelson, via Peter Lowish, contributes this tome on the Nelson
region.
The Nelson Region
The Nelson region is located at the north western tip of the South Island.
Nelson is renowned for a warm and sunny climate, golden sand beaches,
lakes, mountains and native forests. Combine this with the fine foods,
superb wines, innovative arts and crafts and warm hospitality to see why
visitors enjoy the greater Nelson region all year round. Nelson is the
oldest city in New Zealand (Queen Victoria signed a Royal Charter
proclaiming Nelson to be a city on 27 September 1858) and historic
buildings throughout the region reflect a bygone era. Accommodation caters
for everyone offering luxury lodges and hotels to camping/cabin facilities
and backpackers hostels.
National Parks
The three National Parks in the region are a haven for wildlife enthusiasts
and trampers alike, offering a vast scope from coastal tracks to
mountainous terrain. The Abel Tasman National Park can be explored by
foot, launch or sea-kayak. Nelson Lakes National Park is a complete
contrast with alpine likes, flora and fauna. Kahurangi is the country's
newest National Park, an unequaled wilderness experience.
Arts and Crafts
The Nelson region is home to a diverse range of visual and performing
artists and craftspeople. Painters, potters, wood workers, textile
artists, sculptors and jewellers have studios right across the region
reflecting the area's colourful, vibrant environment. These artists have
been co-ordinated into trails, ideal for the free independent traveller.
The Nelson School of Music is steeped in tradition and hold regular
performances. Nelson is also home to the New Zealand Wearable Art Awards,
which attracts entrants and spectators from all over the world.
Lifestyle: Food and Wine
The relaxed atmosphere and great climate makes Nelson a sought after
holiday destination and place to live. The extensive selection of local
beverages and fine foods, of which seafoods are a speciality, tantalise
taste buds in the many cafes and restaurants around the region.
Action
Two ski fields in the Nelson Lakes National Park offer a season extending
from July to October. Rafting, bungy jumping, horse trekking, skydiving
and fishing operate all year round.
In the geographical centre of New Zealand, Nelson is an all season, all
age, all year visitor destination.
We are pleased to announce a new web site:
http://nz.com/webnz/nelson/
The pages consist of travel help to the region, including information on
the gateways of Marlborough and the West Coast, details of the three
national parks - Nelson Lakes, Kahurangi, and Abel Tasman, articles about
the 5 sub-regions of Nelson, Motueka/South Abel Tasman, Takaka/North Abel
Tasman, Nelson Lakes and Murchison.
Each sub district contains information on accommodation, activities,
services, eating out etc.
(end Peter Lowish's contribution)
To which Lin Nah adds:
"Perhaps a mention about the popularity of Takaka Hill for New Years eve
should be included. I did not know about this till I got there. It felt
like everyone wanted to be there.
"The Nelson area makes a significant contribution to the beer (hop
growing), and wine (several wineyards) industries, and of recent past,
tobacco industry (tobacco know frequently being replaced by green tea!).
Is the Riwaka Beer Fest on 2 January an annual thing or only happened this
year?
"More action:
tramping in the National Parks
kayaking in Marlborough Sounds
kayaking along the Abel Tasman National Park
hike or mountain bike (carefully!) on the Heaphy Track
tandem sky diving (Around $170 per person)
white water rafting on the Karamea River.
"The last can be arranged through Buller Adventure Tours at Inangahua
Junction (near Westport). This trip consists of a helicopter ride into the
area, raft down a grade 5 river (more thrills than the grade 4 river in
Queenstown). There are other bits you can add to it. The basic package
that starts at Wesport and ends there is around $200 per person. For those
in our bus, he offered a free glacier rafting trip on the Franz Josef
glacier."
-----
The hyperactive Lin then adds (hacked together from two posts):
"Spots you MUST hit in the South Island:
Abel Tasman National Park
West Coast: amazing scenery
The Glaciers
Milford / Fiordland
Otago Peninsula: albatross colony, yellow eyed penguins, fur seals
various native birds, spectacular scenery
"There is a 2 day trip that may interest some. Leave Queenstown at 9am,
taking a steam boat (The Earnslaw) across Lake Wakatipu (we were served a
Continental breakfast) to Walter Peak sheep station, then a bus on the
other side takes you along the back farm roads towards Te Anau. You see
sheep, deer etc. along the way. Lunch at Te Anau (provide for yourself)
then down to Milford with stops on the way including a couple of short
walks. One was the cascade creek loop track. The second was the chasm.
In between the two we stopped at a stream (Monkey Creek) to collect some
fresh water from the stream and went through the Homer Tunnel. On the way
the driver makes quite a few stops.
"We were in Milford by 4:45pm and were on board a boat named the Wanderer
by 5pm. After a trip around the firod and out towards the Tasman Sea we
were fed a very delicious meal and spent a night on the boat, anchored in
the fiord. Sleeping bags and linen are provided in this trip. The next
morning we were woken up very very early. Most on the boat work up at 6am
when the boat's generator's started. the others were politely woken up by
7am. If you feel restless you can go kayaking at 6:15 - 7am. Someone
tried to go for a swim. But with water temp around 5-7 deg C, he did not
stay in very long. (When we stopped to fish the evening before, some did
go for a swim. Water was slightly warmer).
We were served continental and cooked breakfast. At 9am we were back in
Milford to rejoin the bus. Then we stopped at the start of the Routeburn
Track. Most on the bus went on the short 3 hour return walk to Key Summit
(make sure you take good shoes). We then headed back to Te Anau for lunch,
then it is back to Queenstown. Best value for money IMHO - provided the
weather is good. This is the 'Milford Overland' by Fiordland Travel. I
think it is better than the one organised by the Intercity Bus. If you are
short of time, then take the one by the Intercity Bus. You leave at 7am
and come back at 7pm. Not many stops along the way."
There is also a smaller boat called Tutuko(?) It is good for private
parties like groups of 10 - 15 people. The Wanderer takes around 40 - 50
people and is a more stable boat.
You do not really need to book very far ahead. I was there first/second
week of January. I needed to book 1 week ahead. The only problem would be
if a big tour group(s) wants to go on the same day as you.
Most of the accommodation is single bunks, 4 bunks per berth. They tried
to segregate by gender but did not work for our lot as we were used to
mixed dorms and some of them were couples (14 of the people in the
backpackers bus was in the same trip). There are a couple of double bunks.
I think if you want those, you should book earlier.
It is a trip I WHOLEHEARTEDLY recommend to everyone provided the weather is
good. The group before us had a partial refund because the rain was too
heavy for the wanderer to leave the dock at Milford. Milford has 7m (SEVEN
METRES) of rainfall a year. Be prepared. The trip is run by Fiordland
Travel. I think the cost is around NZ$200 per head. I paid $176 because I
was travelling with Kiwi Experience.
(thanks Lin, sorry about the editing...)
--------------------
C3.1.6 Places To Avoid
As above, only in the negative! Start with Bulls, Dannevirke, Dargaville,
Wellington...
--------------------
C3.1.7 Temporary Attractions
January 1995 (so you've missed it!)
The Gliding World Championships held at the small town of Omarama (between
Christchurch and Wanaka/Queenstown).
Subject: C3.2 Activities
C3.2.1 Tramping
There is extensive tramping in NZ with a range of experience to suit any
enthusiast. See the tramping faq by klox@otago.ac.nz available via ftp
from: ftp.otago.ac.nz
or: gopher.otago.ac.nz
as: pub/misc/tramping.faq
Also available is: tramping.zip
a collection of misc other pictures and text that doesnt quite fit the FAQ
(it wants to be an html documnet when it grows up). Thanks, KLox.
The Department of Conservation has several pamphlets available. Try
writing to their head office at PO Box 10420, Wellington, phone 04-4710726.
--------------------
C3.2.2 Skiing
There are something like 28 ski fields in NZ, only 5 of which are in the
North Island. Snow-making equipment is keeping the main fields open for
longer now. Ski season is May/July? to August/October? depending on the
weather that year.
Try:
http://www2.chch.planet.org.nz/~nzski/nzskimap.html
--------------------
C3.2.3 Climbing/Mountaineering
There is extensive mountaineering and rock climbing available. The highest
mountains are in the South Island, but the volcanoes of the north possess
their own challenge. Snow and ice climbing is available on faces up to
2300 metres high. Multi-pitch alpine rock routes are also available,
sometimes on excellent rock. Crags abound on both islands, but are
probably more extensive in the south. There is a wide variety of rock
types available.
The New Zealand Alpine Club now has a web site at:
http://www.wcc.govt.nz/~nzac/default.htm
with information about the club, about climbing and outdoor activities in
NZ, and links to related sites.
There is a web site at:
http://john.chem.canterbury.ac.nz/climb/
but access is restricted to within NZ only (costs and all that).
--------------------
C3.2.4 Watersports
New Zealanders are renowned for their love of activites in, on, or near the
water. We have produced some of the worlds top sailors and boat designers.
Sea kayaking is getting popular. There is a guide book for Tasman Bay and
the Marlborough Sounds. For more information on seakayaking, email
A.Ferguson@chem.canterbury.ac.nz
--------------------
C3.2.5 Whale/Dolphin Watching
This is becoming very popular around the Kaikoura area (north-eastern South
Island) particularly now that the area's part of the new world whale
sanctuary. Highly recommended.
Justine Lee wrote:
"However, the service itself is heavily dependent on the weather. If the
seas are too big, the boats won't go out. Often you can't know until say,
half an hour before you're 'sposed to go out if they will or not, when the
weather is a bit dodgy. If you do decided to come down and do the whale
thing it would pay to book in, to avoid disappointment. Sometimes thay can
be booked up say 2 weeks in advance. Whale Watch Kaikoura Ltd are the main
outfit. There is also another firm who take you out in a helicopter or a
plane - not suprisingly this is more expensive. There is also an outfit
who take you swimming with the dolphins.
"If your travel agent can't help you find out more information - generally
or re bookings - drop a line to the chch.chat newsgroup and I'm sure one of
us will help you out."
--------------------
C3.2.6 Pubs To Go To/Nightlife
Can't give you much on this, I spend too much time editing this damned faq!
For a comprehensive FAQ on NZ beer, contact: jmgeorge@leland.stanford.edu
--------------------
C3.2.7 Anything Else????
Baldwin Street, Dunedin, is apparently the steepest (suburban?) street in
the world. It's the scene of an annual running race to the top and back,
and apparently one has to be very careful when parking and entering and
exiting drives as there's a distinct chance of rolling over!
Simon Lyall has suggested the Hamilton Balloon Festival, but I regret news
of that has not reached this far south (yet?).
I've mentioned the trip to Kapiti Island elsewhere.
Anything else you people want to include???
Subject: C4 General Culture
Subject: C4.1 Sport
We are basically mad about sports in NZ. Many weekend activities are based
around some form of organised sport. NZ has generated some of the finest
sports people in the world. A very few are listed in the section on Famous
New Zealanders (C5.6).
--------------------
C4.1.1 Why do New Zealander Sportspeople Wear Black?
Dave Frame wrote:
"Around that time (don't know if it was before or after the change) they
played against some British [rugby] team and a correspondent wired his
paper in his report to say that the NZers played like they were "all
backs", meaning they were heaps more mobile than their British counterpart
(that should sound familiar to anyone who's seen the RWC this year).
Anyway, somehow it got messed up in the wiring process and it got printed
as "all blacks" and the name stuck."
And Brian Dooley confirmed;
"The first story here is close enough to the truth if "An Encyclopaedia of
New Zealand" is to be believed. The story was reputedly confirmed by one
of the last living members of the team."
and Lin Nah adds:
"It used to refer to athletes representing NZ as well. I think the change
(with respect to NZ athletes) occured in the 1994 Commonwealth Games and
the Olympics."
Brian Sorrell 'complicates' things with:
"Soccer (and sometimes cricket) are about the only team sports that don't.
Can't remember what the hockey team (hockeyers? hockeyists?) wear.
"But it did all begin with rugby. The story (as I recall it) was that it
arose from when the first NZ rugby team toured Britain (the 1905 team?)
with far more success than either they or the British expected. A British
sports journalist, impressed by the NZers unconventional style of play,
wrote that they played as if they were "all backs" (referring to the speed
and mobility of the forwards, a tradition continued to this day). A
printer's error converted this to "all blacks", the name stuck, and an
all-black uniform was adopted.
"I think I read this some years ago in, if memory serves right, N.A.C.
McMillan's bible of All Black history, "Men in Black." So I don't think
it's apocryphal (although if it is, it's a good yarn anyway :-))."
Subject: C4.2 Food
Pavlova, pikelets, Sally Lunn, cream buns, Lammingtons, Afghans, Golden
Syrup, Gingernuts, Milky bars, Moro Bars, weetbix, marmite/vegemite, lemon
and paeroa, crayfish, whitebait, oysters, venison, lamb burgers, roast
lamb, fish and chips, Hokey Pokey icecream, kiwifruit, food cooked in a
hangi...
Pavlova info should be available from:
/www.cs.cmu.edu:/Web/People/mjw/NZ/Food/OriginOfPav.html">http://www.cs.cmu.edu:/Web/People/mjw/NZ/Food/OriginOfPav.html
Whitebait can be purchased fresh from the water in and around the river
mouths of Westland from Aug. 15th to Oct. 31st. Be prepared to pay plenty
for it. However it will still be cheaper than the $50.00 per kg often
charged in cities...
Raewyn Whyte gives us:
The NZ Wine Trail (a Tauranga-based page):
http://www.wineonline.co.nz/
The Wine Institute of NZ website called NZ Wines Online (Vancouver-based):
http://haven.uniserve.com/~mrobins/nzwine.html/
A very useful NZ wines web site can be found at:
http://haven.uniserve.com/~mrobins/nzwine.html/
This site provides US and Canadian availability information in addition to
comprehensive information about a host of NZ wines. The site includes
promotional competitions and a mailing list, and is sponsored by TRADENZ.
A web search on the terms <wines +zealand> in Alta Vista will turn up close
to 100 references, many of them including availability of information for
NZ wines in the USA.
-----
What follows is an embryonic list (at 10th Sep) of foods sorely missed by
NZers abroad. It is hoped this will grow over time and incorporate a list
of alternative overseas sources...
barley sugars
burgers with beetroot in
Buzz Bars
CCs (they're Aussie but we still miss them)
chocolate fish
feijoas
gingernuts cookies
girl guide biscuits
golden syrup
hokey pokey
jaffas
L&P
lammingtons (also Aussie)
Mallowpuffs
marmite/vegemite
Minties
Moro bars
NZ pie/fish and chips/lamb chops
NZ sausages
NZ-style hot dogs
pineapple lumps
Pinky bars
potato fritters
proper-sized fresh trout...
proper-sized mussels
Rashuns
tamarillos
Twisties
Vogel bread
Watties tomato sauce
Whittakers Peanut slab
Jennifer George wrote:
"I found some very acceptable "Light Golden Syrup" imported from the UK in
Costco (do they have them in North Carolina)? Basically I would just check
around in those kind of warehouse/importer places until you find something.
Or of course a shop specialising in British foods or the like."
All of these and more are sold in two shops in London; The Australia Shop,
off the Strand, and Kiwi Fruits, on the Royal Opra (sic) Arcade.
--------------------
C4.2.1 What Is Vegemite/Marmite?
For an extensive outline of these, try Jenny George's URL below which has
the FAQ and IFAQ for soc.culture.new-zealand:
<a href="http://www-leland.stanford.edu/~jmgeorge/">My home page</a>
Vegemite, Marmite and Promite are all yeast extracts and basically all the
same, but:
Marmite is sweeter than vegemite
Promite is sweeter then marmite
They're all extremely salty tasting.
Or, Vegemite is very salty, marmite slightly less so. Promite is
considerably less salty.
They all use caramel for the dark colouring, and it's probably this part
which contributes to the war. Marmite is considerably sweeter (and darker)
than Vegemite, while Promite is sweeter still.
Vegemite eaters will generally tolerate Marmite and Marmite eaters will
tolerate Promite. Vegemite eaters find Promite sickly sweet.
Marmite eaters will not (usually) eat vegemite. It's too strongly
flavoured for them as a general rule.
Promite is Australian (Masterfoods), but is gaining in popularity here.
There are very few exclusive Promite eaters, so conclusions can't be drawn,
but I'd expect that Promite eaters would react to Marmite the same way that
Marmite eaters react to Vegemite. I have yet to see an advert for Promite
in any medium.
Marmite is made by Sanitarium Health Food company, which is wholly owned by
the Seventh Day Adventist church. Our 7DA's don't run around with guns,
unlike a certain Texas sect. There was (still is?) a TV ad campaign for
Marmite last year which had many viewers reaching for the off switch ("The
Marmities").
Vegemite is made by multi-national food company Kraft General Foods NZ Ltd,
who have acquired several "NZ" labels over the last 25 years. It isn't
advertised much, though Kraft have been pushing it and their jam + cheese
labels recently in a series of adverts starring Billy Connolly and Pamela
Stevenson (Why Billy - a Scot - is pushing vegemite is beyond me, as most
non-antipodeans can't stand any of the yeast extracts...)
There is a product called "Marmite" made by the Marmite company in Britain.
This is not the same as the Marmite found in New Zealand - the UK version
has all sorts of things added such as vegetable bits and according to those
who've tried it tastes considerably different.
Lyndon Watson wrote:
"I don't know about the vegetable bits, but I found British Marmite to have
(a) a lighter brown colour, (b) a runnier texture and (c) a stronger but
otherwise similar flavour."
None of these spreads should be spread thickly. That's the second mistake
most foreigners make. The first is trying the stuff at the insistence of
NZ hosts, most of whom are gleefully anticipating the response. Best
results are obtained by spreading _very_ thinly. Discolouration of the
underlying bread/toast is all that's necessary.
Do not get any of these spreads on your fingers if there are domestic
animals around, especially cats. They all love the stuff and will try to
lick you clean. Enthusiastic felines will sometimes try to remove your
digits too...
There are no meat products in any of the three spreads.
Ingredients:
Vegemite (Kraft General Foods NZ Ltd):
Yeast extract, salt, malt extract, colour (caramel), vegetable flavours,
vitamins (niacin, thiamine, riboflavin)
Marmite (Sanatarium Health Food Company, NZ):
Yeast, sugar, salt, wheatgerm extract, mineral salt (508), colour
(caramel), herbs, spices, vitamins (niacin, thiamin, riboflavin)
It's also got a small note under the ingredients: "100% vegetarian" (but
then, what do you expect from a company owned by the 7th Day Adventist
church?)
Promite: (Masterfoods of Australia)
-----------------------------------
Vegetable protein extract, sugar, yeast, natural colour (caramel), salt,
thickener (Wheat starch), emulsifier (Glycerol monostearate), spices, added
vitamins, water
Other countries' versions may vary....
--------------------
C4.2.2 Pavlova Recipe
Ask Jenny George (jmgeorge@leland.stanford.edu).
For a few notes on the history of meringues and the pavlova, try;
/www.cs.cmu.edu:/Web/People/mjw/NZ/Culture/Food/OriginOfPav.html">http://www.cs.cmu.edu:/Web/People/mjw/NZ/Culture/Food/OriginOfPav.html
Also take a look at
http://nz.com/NZ/Culture/Food/
which is where Noeline McCaughan's recipes are now residing.
--------------------
C4.2.3 The Edmonds Cook Book
This book is the biggest selling book in NZ of all time. I guess you could
expect NZer's to be fat... :-)
Jenny George (jmgeorge@leland.Stanford.EDU) has a file of recipes available
including pavlova, hokey pokey, afghans, Noeline's latest bread stuff,
ginger beer, etc.
--------------------
C4.2.4 Laying A Hangi
The following are Hangi instructions were kindly supplied by Ken Moselen
with additions by Robert Burling-Claridge[] and Lyndon Watson<>. This was
a nightmare to splice together, so if it doesn't read well, I'll replace it
with the original posts. Let me know.
-----
Well, the one's I've been involved in (2-3 baskets) have been generally the
slightly mangled versions involving everything in one hole (slightly non
traditional), so here goes...
The food preparation is fun. It helps to do this before starting the hole,
so you know how big to dig it.
[ Even better to get a big bunch of folk together and share the load.
Remember the quality of the final hangi is directly related to the number
of people involved and (most importantly) the quantity and quality of the
beer provided!!! ]
Find your wire baskets, and line them with tinfoil,
[ Actually, I'm not sure I like these new hangis using the foil, it tends
to stop the juices getting through to the stones and I reckon the hangi kai
is drier to the palate. ]
put down a thin layer of cabbage leaves,
[ Any old cabbage-like vegetable leaf will do: cauli, brocoli, etc. ]
and throw all the food on top (side of pork, lamb, chicken, etc), and
surround them all with potatoes, cabbage, kumara, etc.,
[ Note, depending on what you want, remember gravity works inside the hangi
as well. If you want tastier potatoes, kumera, pumpkin, etc., stick them
under the meat, else over the meat. For the first couple why not some in
both places, then you can decide. Generally, put 'drier' meats under those
producing more juices. As rule of thumb I usually put beef and venison low
and pork and mutton high. Pays to wrap venison and beef unless very large
(about the size of a mutton hind leg) as cooking time still related to
size, and you can't open the hangi to get out the beef that's cooked before
the rest... ]
and a liberal dose of salt.
[ Remember, there are a lot of potatoes in there! Too much salt is
difficult to manage! The more you add, the juicier the food will be as
well (personal experience, no explanation). As a rule of thumb, for a
50-person hangi (1-2 baskets) you might use 1-2 cups of salt. ]
Cover with some teatowels, and liberally pour some water on it. Hopefully
it won't leak too much.
[ Now, I _REALLY_ advise DO NOT USE TEATOWELS unless they're brand new! I
have had one really bad experience with a teatowel that mis-flavoured the
whole basket. Try for clean, non-coloured cloth of nearly anything at all.
Preferably natural, rather than synthetic (taste of burnt plastic will
usually put people off... ]
- Dig Hole (a slope on one side helps a bit later on) :-)
[ Best ground to make a hangi is one that's easy to dig!! Other than that,
almost anything is possible to use. Clay, sand... Stoney ground (eg. old
riverbed) will need at least some sand/soil to line the hole, otherwise the
heat is lost quite quickly. This is offset to some extent by burning
longer, in the cooking hole, and digging a bit deeper (making a more
enclosed HOT hole (remember the soil dumped on top is relatively cold).
Hole needs to be big enough that when the baskets are stacked, however you
want to stack them, not much more than half the height is above the normal
ground level. Don't forget to allow for the room taken by the
stones/steel, but its not particularly critical.
IMPORTANT: **NEVER** use treated timber!! You might be lucky, and all the
nasty copper gunk, etc. will burn away before the irons (stones, etc.) cool
off sufficiently for it to stick to them. However if you luck out you
could have a lot of _very_ sick people on your hands (anyone remember the
Wanganui Xmas hangi of around 1976, Kowhai gardens?) ]
- Place paper, kindling, and lots of wood on top (enough to burn really hot
for about 2 hours (at least))
- Place enough Railway Irons, Ploughshears, and any other large, heavy,
solid pieces of iron or steel on top of the firewood (these don't tend
to explode like stones do if there's any dampness in them) to hold the heat
from the fire for a long time (the more the better - within reason).
- Light fire and watch for a couple of hours, have a few drinks, etc. etc.
< If you use stones (a sort that doesn't explode when heated and cooled -
say granite), you would want to fire them for longer than iron, say three
to four hours. I still use stones for their good heat retention. >
(Traditionally, the fire and the hole are separate, you just drag the
really hot stones from the fire to the pit, and forget all the mucking
about with the ashes etc., but this takes lots more room, and you can't do
it properly in the backyard, so I've described all the mucking around we
normally do; it doesn't take too long though, only about 15min from
starting the lifting of the irons, to burying the food, with three of you)
[ Well, tradition varies. If the ground is damp/wet, you will get a
considerably better hangi if you burn in the cooking hole. A lot of heat
will be lost to warm the surrounding ground otherwise. ]
Do the next bit as quickly as you safely can.
- Whilst being hosed (wear strong shoes, jeans, and tee-shirt) carefully
(and quickly) lift the (probably just slightly glowing) irons from the
ashes (using a wooden handled rake, etc) and put them next to the pit.
[ I find an old chunk of corrugate iron works really well. Scrape, shovel
the stones/steel onto it, clean out the hole, then tip/scrape the stones
back in. ]
- Scrape the ashes out of the firepit (this is really hot work) with a
woodhandled (the longer the handle the better) rake/shovel
[ This is where you make/break the hangi. The more ash you leave in, the
smokier the hangi will taste. Your choice. Some leave bits on purpose.
Some cover the remaining ash with a light layer of sand. ]
- Put the irons back into the pit
- Cover the Irons with a couple of layers of very wet sacks
- Put the food baskets on the sacks
- Cover the food with a sheet
[ NB: wet sheet. I also suggest, use several sheets, then hose them for a
few seconds before covering the whole lot. The more top covering you can
manage the better. As the food cooks, steam within the cooking hole will
wet the top dirt. This naturally dissolves a bit, and can sometimes leak
into the food, not particularly enhancing the flavour!
Lay the sheets so they overlap toward the center of the pile, rather than
all of then being tucked under the dirt all the way around (see later for
why). Like this:
______
______ \ sheets/sacks
/+------+\
/ | food | \
__/ +------+ \____
]
- Bury the lot, and wherever you see steam escaping, put some more dirt on.
< Steam is what it's all about - you've got to have lots of heat and lots
of water. When we do it at home, as soon as the food is in the hole, we
poke a hose in and start the water running. It keeps running while we
cover the hole as fast as we can, and then we turn it off and pull the hose
out. A hangi must not run dry! >
Now for the Good Bit.
- Wait about 6 hours (longer if in doubt)
[ Hey, you missed the good bit! Remember, someone has to watch that hangi
like a hawk, any steam escaping could completely ruin the hangi. And
besides its hot, thirsty work. Only solution is for a bunch of you to
stand around leaning on fences, shovels (just in case), or anything else
that's handy, and keep a close eye on the hangi hole. Of course, to avoid
the attention dropping (6 hours remember!) a few good yarns wouldn't go
amiss, and naturally, you're going to get very dry (6 hours!) so a few good
beers also wouldn't go amiss. This usually works best if every so often
someone throws a shovelful of dirt toward the hole. Try to pick a time
when whoever it is that's complaining about "lazy bloody hangi diggers" is
watching.
NB: Try to have at least one person stay sober enough to notice when 6
hours is up! ]
- Carefully dig up
[ This is when you will bless having thought of laying the sheets to
overlap in the middle. As the dirt comes off, scrape it outwards. Then
when the sheets appear, peel them back like a banana peel, leaving the
baskets of food clean and yummy inside. Also useful because minimal
disturbance to hangi, and can successfully be covered back up, just in case
it needs a bit more cooking!! ]
- Lift baskets, and serve.
[ It's a good idea to have thought ahead, and got some bits of bent fencing
wire, so you don't have to lift the baskets by hand. Mind you, they're
usually damn heavy, so use No 8 wire, not that pansy hi-tensile stuff! ]
The bottom of the pit should still be hot enough to turn a bucket of water
into steam, so keep any stray kids/pets away from it.
< Those are the best bits! >
That's about it.
[ Oh no! not quite, remember to get the hangi stones/etc. out of the pit
before you cover it up!!! Its easier to get them out (and less nasty, icky
food residues, etc.) if you do it before the hole is completely cold. I
usually do this while the food is being chopped/sectioned, etc.
Also don't forget to enjoy! (Mind you, if you have been 'watching for
steam' with sufficient enthusiasm, the food quality will be _superb_,
regardless of how well cooked it is!).
Don't be put off by the complexity. Its EASY. Just a bit of common sense,
and you're away laughing. The best thing about it is the co-operative way
it gets done, and there's probably no easier way to feed a few hundred
people.
Works just as well for 10-20 people, or even just the immediate family
(mind you in my case that _is_ 100 people!!!)
Great for family get-togethers. Spend early morning preparing (whole
family gets involved littles to biggest, 1-2 hours setting up the hangi,
then 6 hours to enjoy each other's company. Then, without anyone having to
disappear into the kitchen for ages, right when the talk is flowing, etc.,
bang - all the food is ready to eat.
One thing I like is everyone is involved. Even the most chauvinistic males
or the most get-out-of-MY-kitchen females (no flames please, stereotyping
acknowledged) will pitch in together to do something to help. And the food
always tastes better when you have cooked it yourself!
Hell, I'm looking forward to the weekend already! ]
Good effort, gentlemen! Must go and dig a hole...
Subject: C4.3 National Anthem(s)
God Save The Queen and God Defend NZ are on equal status... Words
available via email request from jmgeorge@leland.stanford.edu.
Subject: C4.4 The Gumboot Song
See Fred Dagg. Words available via ftp from jmgeorge@leland.stanford.edu.
Subject: C4.5 Some Works by NZ Authors
The following is a short-list of New Zealand books, selected by the New
Zealand Book Council for their brochure "Bookenz: A Traveller's Guide to
New Zealand Books". It is by no means an exhaustive collection, but rather
a selection of the works from indigenous Kiwi writers.
Barry Crump, A Good Keen Man, and numerous others.
Alan Duff, Once Were Warriors (Tandem)
Maurice Gee, Going West (Penguin)
Patricia Grace, Potiki (Penguin)
Keri Hulme, The Bone People (Picador)
Witi Ihimaera, Bulibasha (Penguin)
Fiona Kidman, the Book of Secrets (Vintage)
Owen Marshall, Tomorrow We Save The Orphans (McIndoe)
Maurice Shadbolt, Season of the Jew (Hodder Headline)
Philip Temple, Beak of the Moon (Penguin)
Lauris Edmond, An Autobiography (Bridget Williams Books)
Janet Frame, An Angel At My Table (Random House)
James Belich, The New Zealand Wars (Penguin)
Michael King, Maori: A Photographic and Social History (Reed)
Claudia Orange, The Story of a Treaty (Bridget Williams Books)
Christopher Pugsley, Anzac (Hodder Headline)
Bill Manhire (ed.), 100 New Zealand Poems (Godwit Publishing)
Ian Wedde and Harvey McQueen (eds), The Penguin Book of New Zealand Verse
(Penguin).
For further information please contact:
New Zealand Book Council/
Te Kaunihera Pukapuka o Aotearoa
PO Box 11-377
Wellington
New Zealand
Tel +64 4 499 1569
Fax +64 4 499 1424
Subject: C4.6 Other Bits...
A comprehensive listing of NZ arts web sites exists at
http://url.co.nz/arts/nzarts.html
Updates are made at least monthly.
-----
Things which need to be contributed:
WHERE TO EAT: list of recommended restaurants
RECIPES: try http://nz.com/NZ/Culture/Food/
US/NZ TRANSLATIONS: they really are that different....
FISHING: favourite fishing holes? All about whitebait (thanks NMcC :-)
ALTERNATIVE FAQ'S: available via ftp from jmgeorge@leland.stanford.edu.
Subject: C5 Famous New Zealanders
Subject: C5.1 Cinema
There's a movie database somewhere with loads of NZ stuff. If someone
trips over the URL, could they please post it.
C5.1.1 Films
An Angel at My Table
Bad Blood? (British/NZ co-production)
Bad Taste
Battletruck
Brain Dead (US title; Dead Alive (god knows why they change it!))
Came a Hot Friday
Carry Me Back
End of the Golden Weather
Footrot Flats (aka A Dog's Tail/Tale?)
Goodbye Pork Pie
Heavenly Creatures
Hinemoa
Illustrious Energy
Map of the Human Heart (NZ director, Vincent Ward)
Maui
Meet the Feebles
Ngati
Race for the Yankee Zephyr
Sleeping Dogs
Smash Palace
The Navigator
The Piano
The Quiet Earth
Utu
Vigil
--------------------
C5.1.2 People
If anyone can be bothered posting a brief summary of any of these, I'll
include it (after people have commented).
Jane Campion
Peter Jackson
Bruno Lawrence
Geoff Murphy
Sam Neill
Ian Mune
Anna Pacquin
Graeme Revell - has done several major movie sound tracks (Until The End Of
The World, Body Of Evidence, Hand That Rocks The Cradle).
Vincent Ward
Subject: C5.2 Music
C5.2.1 Pop/Rock Bands
Abel Tasmans
Ardijah
Blam Blam Blam
Crowded House
Dance Exponents
DD Smash
Dragon
Father Time
Hello Sailor
Herbs
Jean Paul Satre Experience
Mi Sex
Netherworld Dancing Toys
Ragnarok
Screaming Mee Mees
Sheerlux
Shona Laing
Space Waltz
Split Enz
Suburban Reptiles
Tall Dwarfs
The Bats
The Body Electric
The Chills
The Dudes
The Enemy
The Exponents
The Front Lawn
The Johnnies
The Mockers
The Muttonbirds
The Narcs
The Residents
The Swingers
The Verlaines
Thin Red Line
Toy Love
etc. etc. etc. etc. etc.
For NZ bands & so on, here are some good starting points.
Jonathan Milne's pages:
http://www.vuw.ac.nz/~jonathan/usemus_t.html
Simon Dear's pages:
http://www.sanger.ac.uk/~sd/kiwimusic/WEBSITES
Akiko:
http://nz.com/NZ/Culture/Music/MainPage.html
And:
http://url.co.nz/arts/nzarts.html
which includes as many NZ music web sites as we (incl. Raewyn Whyte) knew
about this morning...
--------------------
C5.2.2 Blues
Midge Marsden
--------------------
C5.2.3 Country
The Warratahs
--------------------
C5.2.4 Classical
Michael Houston
Dame Kiri te Kanawa
Lili Kraus
Douglas Lilburn
Noel Mangin
Dame Malvina Major
Donald McIntyre
Oscar Natzke (sp?)
A WWW page of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra is now available:
http://www.nzso.co.nz/
Dale Gold adds:
"We will soon have a new URL on our own virtual server, as well as a mirror
on Akiko to speed things up for overseas users. More audio is in the
works, and much of it will have a NZ slant, although it won't all be
human... :-)"
Subject: C5.3 Literature
Murray Ball
James K. Baxter
Ian Cross
Barry Crump
Alan Duff
Stevan Eldred-Grigg
A.R.D. (Rex) Fairbairn
Janet Frame
Maurice Gee
Denis Glover
Patricia Grace
Keri Hulme (1)
Sam Hunt
Robin Hyde
Witi Ihimaera
John A. Lee
Margaret Mahy
Katherine Mansfield
Gordon McLaughlan
Dame Ngaio Marsh
Frank Sargeson
Maurice Shadbolt
C. K. Stead
Hone Tuwhare
-----
1
Keri Hulme was born in Christchurch, NZ in 1947 of Scottish & Maori
heritage. She lives in the settlement of Okarito on NZ's wild West Coast.
Okarito used to have 4,500 gold miners and 25 pubs but is now only tiny.
It is famous for an old store, which is the oldest building on the West
Coast, the White Heron colony and Keri Hulme. Keri lists her interests as
beach walking, whitebaiting (a traditional form of fishing in NZ), reading,
eating and drinking whisky. If you really are interested in her writing
you could drop her a line at Okarito, Private Bag, Hokitika, NZ. She may
reply.
Subject: C5.4 Fine Art
Rita Angus
Neil Dawson
Francis Hodgson
Robyn Kahukiwa
Colin McCahon
Lew Summers
Bill Sutton
Subject: C5.5 Humour
John Clarke (Fred Dagg)
Barry Crump
Sam Hunt
Billy T James
Gordon McLauchlan
Pamela Stevenson
Rima te Wiata
Subject: C5.6 Other...
Rewi Alley (helped rebuild China after the revolution, we live in his house)
Chris Amon (motor racing)
Robert Davidson (apiarist)
Sir Roger Douglas (accounting?)
Sir Harold Gillies (pioneering plastic surgeon, 1)
Ernest Godward (inventor of the carburettor)
Sir Edmund Hillary (mountaineering, aid work, ambassador)
Fred Hollows (eye surgeon, honorary Australian?)
Dennis Hulme (motor racing)
Vaughan Jones (mathematics, Fields Medal winner (theory of knots))
Sir Archibald McIndoe (pioneering plastic surgeon, 1)
Bruce McLaren (motor racing)
Colin Murdoch (inventor of the disposable syringe)
Richard Pearse (first powered flight (probably))
Lord [Ernest] Rutherford, 1st Baron of Nelson and Cambridge (Nobel Prize,
Chemistry, 2), (1871-1937)
Mark Todd (equestrian)
Captain Charles Upham (farmer, veteran soldier, VC and bar, 3)
-----
1
MJ Pickering wrote: (more details may be available from her)
"New Zealand surgeons practically invented the process of reconstructive
surgery. Well, that's not quite true - there were many instances of
reattaching noses and ears and such in Italy and India and a few other
places. But the first world war resulted in plenty of cases to work on and
by the time the second world war rolled around, a phenomenon called
Airman's Burn where pilots who disobeyed orders and removed their goggles
and gloves due to the heat in their cockpits suffered extensive burns to
their faces and hands when shot down meant that skin grafting really took
off.
"In the time between the two World Wars there were 4 full time
reconstructive surgeons - three were New Zealanders (working in Britain of
course). Sir Harold Gillies was the first one and pioneered many of the
techniques. Rainsford Mowlem was another but the most famous was Sir
Archibald McIndoe who started the Guinea Pig club of his patients which
some of you may have heard aboout. By the time of the WWII more pilots
were surviving crashes due to better constructed planes and penicillan
ensured a greater survival rate so there were more men for him to work on.
Gillies tended to work of the canon fodder of the front in WWI. The Guinea
Pig club still meets every year. MacIndoe was not only at the forefront of
"holistic" medicine in that he treated his patients' minds and their trauma
as well as their bodies - he wouldn't let them go back into service until
he was sure their minds had recovered also, but he was the one to make the
connection between the recovery rate of burns victims who had fallen into
the sea and the concept of saline baths for burns victims. Prior to that
an oil solution was used on their burns."
-----
2
After receiving a master's from Canterbury College, Chistchurch, Rutherford
went to Cambridge in 1885 to work under Sir JJ Thomson at Cavendish
Laboratory.
He took up a physics professorship at McGill, Montreal, in 1898, worked
with Soddy and in 1902-3 identified radioactive half-life, moved to
Victoria University of Manchester in 1907 and was awarded the Nobel Prize
in Chemistry in 1908 for his work on radioactivity. He worked with Geiger
in 1908 and in 1909 used alpha particle bombardment of thin foils to lead
to his 1911 description of atomic structure.
He was knighted in 1914, then succeeded Thomson at the Cavendish Laboratory
in 1919. He was elevated to the peerage in 1931. His other awards
included an Order of Merit in 1921, the Copley Medal of the Royal Society
in 1922, and he was President of the Royal Society from 1925 until 1930.
In 1931 he was created Baron Rutherford of Nelson.
-----
3
Howard Edwards wrote:
"Captain Charles Upham (retired), New Zealand's most decorated soldier and
veteran of World War Two, died last Tuesday and was buried with full
military honours after a service in Christchurch cathedral on Friday.
Upham was awarded two Victoria crosses for exceptional bravery during WWII.
"A modest hero. Upham never saw himself as anything other than a New
Zealander doing his duty. He refused to accept any land offered to
returning servicemen after the war, and also turned down a knighthood. He
spent the remainder of his years on his North Canterbury farm and avoided
the spotlight of fame which the media oocasionally tried to shine upon
him."
-----
Lyndon Watson wrote:
"I took my father, who served with Charlie Upham in the 20th, to the
funeral on Friday, and I found the subject too close to many emotions to
write about for all the world to read.
"Upham's battalion, the 20th, was, in my biased opinion, the most
distinguished of all New Zealand regiments in the Second World War.
Together with the other battalions that comprised the 4th Brigade (the 18th
Auckland, 19th Wellington and 20th South Island battalions), it was made up
of the first and keenest men who volunteered in 1939, and it bore the brunt
of the actions in Crete (where Upham won his first V.C. for attacking and
destroying machine-gun posts in face of their fire), at Belhamed, and at
Ruweisat Ridge which was, like Stalingrad in the same year, one of the
crucial battles of the war (and where Upham won his second V.C. for running
in the open at advancing tanks and attacking them with hand-grenades). At
each of those battles the 20th was nearly destroyed, and it was rebuilt
each time around the survivors who somehow kept its extraordinary spirit
alive. Its third Victoria Cross was won by Sergeant Jack Hinton, who is
still going strong at 84.
"When Upham returned from the war, the people of Canterbury raised
10,000 pounds by public donation to buy him a farm. That was enough to
buy a very good farm, but Upham declined and had the money put into an
educational trust. He eventually bought a houseless block with a rehab.
loan and turned it into a farm with his own hard work."
-----
Charles Upham died in November 1994.
===========================================================================
That's all, folks.
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