New Zealand: True or False?

                                                     New Zealand: True or False?

 

This April Fool’s Day discover some fun facts about the country that you never knew! Or Did you?

 

It’s that time of the year again where you usually find yourself looking over your shoulder, being a tad suspicious of that story your friend is telling you, or just plain laughing at the pranks everyone is playing on each other, from co-workers right through to big brands.

 

And no one can deny kiwis are experts at not taking themselves seriously. April Fool’s Day classics have included an airline announcing the first "Kids' Class" cabin in the world featuring kickable seats and a radio station for cows – proving there’s no end to New Zealand’s sense of humor.

 

In these challenging times it can sometimes feel like we’ve been living April Fool’s Day every day for more than a year now so, rather than play pranks or spread more misinformation, we are taking a different approach and using this as an opportunity to clear up some of the common misconceptions and share some surprising truths about New Zealand!

 

The kiwifruit is from New Zealand.

FALSE. The kiwifruit originated in China and was known as ‘yang tao’. After being successfully grown in New Zealand, it was given a name change in 1959, for its resemblance to New Zealand’s national bird – small, brown and fuzzy!

 

New Zealand has the longest place name of any English-speaking country in the world.

TRUE. Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu is a hill near the town of Porangahau, south of Waipukurau in southern Hawke's Bay, New Zealand. At 85 characters, this place name is one of the longest in the world. The name translates into "the place where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, who slid, climbed and swallowed mountains, known as 'landeater’, played his flute to his loved one."  Locals simply call it Taumata Hill.

 

New Zealand has an official wizard.

TRUE. You might think New Zealand can only lay claim to fictional wizards, like Gandalf and Saruman. The city of Christchurch has actually employed its own official wizard for more than 20 years. Ian Brackenbury Channell has been dressing up as a wizard for decades and was offered an official wizarding contract by the city in 1998.

 

New Zealand is the only country in the world allowed to put Hobbit related imagery on its currency.

TRUE. In 2012, as anticipation for Peter Jackson's latest Tolkien epic "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" reached a fever pitch around the world, New Zealand minted commemorative coins stamped with the faces of Gandalf, Bilbo Baggins and Gollum, and were considered as legal tender in the country.

 

About 5% of NZ’s population is human. The rest are animals.

TRUE. This means New Zealand has the highest animal to humans ratio in the world. Despite the country being roughly the same size of the UK, its human population is over 90% smaller. That’s a lot of personal space!

 

New Zealand is full of dangerous animals.

FALSE. New Zealand is an isolated country whose wildlife developed over millions of years, and fortunately, it did not develop any plants or animals that pose a danger to humans. This means there are no lethally poisonous snakes, scorpions, or spiders – or any other dangerous animals or plants. Phew!

 

New Zealand’s Parliament building in Wellington is referred to as ‘the beehive’

TRUE. The building is so-called because its shape is reminiscent of that of a traditional woven form of beehive known as a "skep". The Beehive was built in stages between 1969 and 1979, when the first parliamentary offices moved in and stands 72 metres tall.

 

For more facts and information about New Zealand go to www.newzealand.com

The first step towards student re-entry in

The first step towards student re-entry in New Zealand

The Minister of Education announced the border exception for 250 postgraduate international students two weeks ago. Work is well underway to put in place a new system to allow this cohort of students to enter New Zealand.

For students, there is no rush to apply for these limited spaces. PhD and postgraduate students who hold or held a visa for 2020 will be selected by education providers and offered a place in this first cohort.

The initial student selection process is being finalized by education providers and government agencies, who are also planning the support students will require on their journey to resume their study in New Zealand. Students are expected to start arriving from November, with most arriving after Christmas.

Eligible students will hold or have held a visa to study in 2020 but have been unable to enter New Zealand due to COVID-19, with priority given first to those who must be in New Zealand to complete practical components of their research and study.Students will need to comply with New Zealand’s COVID-19 regulations, including a 14-day managed isolation period, and payment of the isolation charges. Their arrival remains subject to the availability of these facilities, to avoid preventing New Zealand citizens and residents from returning home, or essential skilled workers from entering the country.

 

Education New Zealand has been working with the Ministry of Education and other Government agencies and the education sector in building the student re-entry approach. In announcing this decision on 12 October, Minister Chris Hipkins emphasised the importance of international education to New Zealand’s recovery and rebuild from the pandemic.

“We have been glad to see this initial announcement has been well-received by both the New Zealand public and the education sector,” ENZ General Manager – Stakeholders & Communications, John Goulter, says. “This group of 250 represents only a fraction of our usual international student intake. By keeping this first cohort of international students small, we can all work to make sure students have a great experience – and that they are welcomed and supported by New Zealanders.”

New Zealand unlocks mindful travel for

 New Zealand unlocks mindful travel for Indian listeners

Unwind with unique sounds from New Zealand designed to calm your mind through featured meditative audio tracks

Tourism New Zealand launched a Spotify channel, a second ever from a tourism board on September 1, 2020. 

The album is called ‘Mindful Journeys’ and features four meditative audio tracks (two with narration and two without). While international visitors cannot visit New Zealand right now, the album has been carefully designed to transport listeners virtually to New Zealand, helping them arrive at a place of tranquillity, disconnect from their stresses, and calm their minds through these meditative sounds. 

Through the soundscapes, listeners will journey through the North and South Islands of the country, experiencing the tunes unique to New Zealand including native birds, bubbling geothermal mud pools and the gentle sound of the breeze moving through the forest. With plenty more unique, relaxing and natural sounds to tap into in New Zealand, additional tracks will be release by the tourism board in the future.

Stream now on Spotify:

North Island - Far North to Rotorua 

Begin your journey on the iconic beaches of the upper North Island, listening to the gentle sounds of surf and seabirds. With the breeze move into our forests, hearing the native birds and insects as well as the soft noises of the forest floor. Travelling through the earthy sounds of the bush, emerge in the geothermal area of Rotorua. Steaming water, bubbling mud pools and the distinctive rush of the natural geysers can be heard.

South Island - Marlborough Sounds to the Canterbury Plains 

Start off in the gentle lapping waters of the Marlborough sounds, then head down the rugged beaches of New Zealand’s West Coast. Stop off at the Punakaiki Rocks, with their distinctive sounding blow holes. Move inland, briefly travelling through the foothills, up into the Southern Alps where we are in mountainous air, wind whips and distant keas call. 

Then head down the other side via one of the many rivers that is fed by the mountain range. End up in the peace of a Central Otago valley, with regional birds and insects keeping things rich and textured.

Where to stay for a mindful experience in New Zealand:

• Split Apple Retreat: An ultra-luxury wellness retreat on the edge of Abel Tasman National Park with expansive views out to sea. Each suite is designed to give a feeling of restful calm, and the menu is designed to positively impact health and wellness from the inside.
•  Aro Hā Wellness Retreat: Aro Hā is a purpose-built wellness retreat, a first in New Zealand, designed to refresh, rejuvenate and reignite from its spectacular alpine location. Combining nutrition, exercise, adventure, alternative health and self-development and some of the most jaw dropping scenery New Zealand has to offer to transform and re-center.
• Hapuku Lodge & Tree Houses: Nestled 30 feet in the air in one of the most beautiful parts of New Zealand, these tree houses sit amongst native Kanuka Grove and underneath the majestic Kaikoura mountains. With wild deer, an olive grove and a vineyard, this 5-star eco-retreat offers fresh, organic local produce and mountain or ocean views from every window.
• Resurgence Luxury Eco Lodge: Set amongst 50 acres of tranquil wilderness alive with birdsong in the Nelson region, Resurgence eco-lodge offers kayaking, hiking, cycling as well as art and wine trails. Farm to table dining enjoyed immersed in your bush suite, or a range of therapeutic treatments available for ultimate absorption in relaxation.
• The Landing: A unique heritage and conservation property, The Landing is a thousand acres of beaches, vines, rolling hills and wildlife sanctuaries. A sacred coastal setting in the far north, the beauty of the land is celebrated through the variety of experiences on offer; from paddle boarding to wine tasting and garden to plate dining.

The sound of nature is proven to help us relax; physically changing our mind and bodily systems. Playing ‘natural sounds’ affects the systems that control our flight or fright nervous system with associated effects in the resting activity of the brain. It provides scientific research between naturalistic sounds and ‘green’ environments and promoting relaxation and wellbeing, confirming the idea that we feel relaxed and switched off after a walk in the countryside.

As little as 10 minutes a day of mindfulness practice can produce tangible benefits for professionals across a company, according to research; with an increase in their ability to focus, regulate emotions, empathize and adapt to changing circumstances. They become better able to collaborate with others, more resilient and able to handle complex and uncertain conditions at work.

What are you waiting for? Search 100% Pure New Zealand on Spotify and look for the official 100% Pure New Zealand logo or click here.

Eight places to go stargazing in

Eight places to go stargazing in New Zealand

Matariki is a star cluster which appears in the early morning sky in New Zealand during mid-winter–the star cluster is well-known throughout the world.

Closely connected with the maramataka (the Māori lunar calendar), the reappearance of Matariki in the early morning sky brings the old lunar year to a close and marks the beginning of the new year. Hence, Matariki is associated with the Māori New Year.

Here are eight astounding places in New Zealand for stargazing where the celestial beauty is out of this world.

1. Aotea (Great Barrier Island), Hauraki Gulf

Aotea (meaning white cloud in Māori), also known as Great Barrier, is New Zealand’s sixth-largest island and completely off the grid, with no reticulated electricity supply.

Made up of steep forested hills, wetlands and sandy bays, all residents (approximately 1,000 permanent) are responsible for supplying their own power through solar, wind or gas. There are no billboards or streetlights. And the complete lack of light pollution makes for a very sparkly stratosphere. As a result, Aotea was the first island in the world, and one of only a few destinations that have been granted Dark Sky Sanctuary status by the International Dark-Sky Association. To be awarded this status, a location must have an “exceptional or distinguished quality of starry nights”.

A place of rugged beauty and untouched wilderness, Aotea is one of the most tranquil and unspoilt places in the wider Auckland region. You can reach the island either by ferry or a short 30-minute flight from Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city.

2. Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve, Canterbury

In 2012, a 4367sq km block of land in the middle of the South Island was designated as the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve, formalising restrictions on light pollution that had been in place since the 1980s. This was the first reserve to be awarded gold status, meaning nearly non-existent light pollution. The sheer brightness of the stars, contrasted by the ring of mountains surrounding the Mackenzie Basin, is utterly breath-taking.

The outdoor lighting controls have not only helped make the area one of the clearest, darkest and most spectacular places in New Zealand to view the night but have also helped conserve energy and protect local wildlife.

There are a number of ways to take a stargazing tour in the Mackenzie Region and keen stargazers will be able to see amazing constellations that can only be seen in the southern hemisphere, including the Southern Cross, the Magellanic Clouds and the Milky Way.

3. Rakiura (Stewart Island), Southland

The clue is in the name: “Rakiura”, the original Māori name for Stewart Island, translating to “glowing skies” in English. Named the world's fifth Dark Sky Sanctuary in January 2019, it is, simply, one of the best places in the world to spot the Aurora Australis, the southern hemisphere equivalent of the famed Northern Lights.

Stewart Island’s population is in the vicinity of 400 people, so there’s a refreshing lack of light pollution. Plus, its far-south vantage point means you’ll see celestial features not visible from any other spot in the country.

Observation Rock is a viewing platform close to the town centre of Oban. Only a 30-minute walk from the town centre, it is a great place to view the night sky as well as the islands majestic sunrises and sunsets. The view is 270 degrees and the main view is to the south.

4. Tongariro Night Crossing, Central North Island

The Tongariro Alpine Crossing is often declared one of the best day hikes in the world, for its scenic confluence of volcanic features, dramatic mountains and brightly coloured lakes. But try it at night, assisted by a headlamp and guide to turn the scenery overhead into the main attraction. Turn off your lamp and let your eyes adjust to the glimmering wonder-world above, framed by the looming silhouettes of the grand old trio of mountains: Ngauruhoe, Ruapehu and Tongariro.

5. Ātea a Rangi, Waitangi Regional Park, Hawke’s Bay

Celebrate Matariki – the Māori New Year and watch the Matariki star cluster rise above Ātea a Rangi. Located in Waitangi Regional Park, the celestial star compass known as Ātea a Rangi is used to teach traditional Māori navigation methods and tell stories of those who navigated the oceans to arrive and settle here in Aotearoa, New Zealand.

6. Martinborough, Wairarapa

Martinborough is aiming to be the next Dark Sky Reserve in New Zealand and has one of the darkest and most pristine skies in the country. The town has already achieved an IDA "3K City" classification, which means it has shielded LED outdoor lighting with a colour temperature of 3000 Kelvins or less – reducing sky glow and light pollution. Nearby Castlepoint is a great spot for stargazing, where you can watch the Milky Way rise above the famed lighthouse.

7. Otago Peninsula, Dunedin

The Aurora Borealis, is a must see for many night sky watchers around the world but the lesser known Aurora Australis or Southern Lights is no less spectacular. From Dunedin, the Otago peninsula coastline provides a clear and breath-taking view of the night sky, along with a magical backdrop of coastal bird calls echoing across Hoopers inlet. In the right conditions, the Southern Lights appear just over the southern horizon creating remarkable reflections in the water much to the delight of budding photographers. What’s more, this nightscape is set to get more dramatic thanks to Dunedin Dark Skies Group, who’ve pledged to replace all the city street lights with 3000K LEDs this year.

8. Tawharanui, Auckland

You don’t need to travel far from New Zealand’s largest city Auckland to see a spectacular light show. Tawharanui Peninsula is just over an hour drive from downtown Auckland. By day it is home to one of New Zealand’s most beautiful beaches, by night it has one of the country’s most epic night skies.

The resurgence of māra kai

The resurgence of māra kai Across New 

Zealand, māra kai, or gardening for food, has deep spiritual and cultural connections buried in the soil. After being lost to indigenous Maori for years, these practises are once again becoming focal points of local communities

In the origin stories of New Zealand Māori, the sweet potato arrived in the land after it was stolen from the celestial gods to be brought back to earth and grown. There are songs sung about it, stories passed down from generation to generation. Now those stories are in the guardianship of the ancestors of early Māori who tilled the land with unique knowledge to ensure their food, their ‘kai’, grew and sustained their community.

But over generations that knowledge of how to grow food was lost, says historian Wiremu Puke from local iwi Ngāti Wairere. His goal was to help reconnect people with the land, Papatūānuku, to ensure that the connection to the past did not fade. To find that spiritual and cultural knowledge, it had to be unearthed from the soil.

Eight years after the vision was first discussed, Te Parapara opened in the Hamilton Gardens in 2017 as the only functioning traditional productive garden of its kind in the world. It was dedicated to upholding and championing the connection between food, gardening and ancestral Māori knowledge.

“You get a snapshot of the spirit world of the ancestors,” says Puke, Te Parapara: The kumara garden at Te Parapara in Hamilton

Credits- Supplied

who is kaitiaki, or guardian, of the gardens. Every part of the garden is embedded with spirituality, he says.

“When people connect with land it is real on all levels.”

The garden was rebuilt based on archaeological evidence of what had been in the area before, a reflection of the ancestral knowledge that was recovered.

“The garden has become an important learning tool for the community, a place of reflection and a place to inspire,” Puke says. “The hope is to plant the seed of knowledge in young people so that this knowledge carries on.”

“We learn every year from the garden. There are a lot of significant gaps that are missing in the history of gardening. You don’t know these things until you do them.

Te Rangikaheke Kiripatea knew his family history, of how his father was born on a small island in the middle of Lake Rotorua. Of how that island became a strategic kūmara plantation for his people.

But he never envisioned his retirement would involve following those footsteps. These days, rather than putting his feet up, he puts them into gardening boots, and gets his hands dirty planting and harvesting kūmara for hundreds of people in need.

“It’s my purpose for waking up in the morning. It’s what gets me out of bed,” Kiripatea says. 

The Kai Rotorua project he helped found is built on the idea that reconnecting people to Papatūānuku, to the land, can create a resilient, well-nourished, well-connected community.

“Māori had beautiful gardens. Then something came along and interrupted it. We don’t have that anymore. We are disconnected. The only way to reconnect is to teach people,” Kiripatea says. 

He decided that the kūmara was the place to start. It had history and was steeped in significance. It is still a staple of the local diet.

“Māori people love kūmara.”

The more kūmara he grew, the more demand he discovered. The project recently donated 900kg of kūmara grown in the project’s gardens to a local school. They used it to make soup and then donated it away to communities who were struggling.

“Especially with Covid-19, we hear so many stories of people in need. But also, stories of people learning to plant their own food.”

Everywhere he looks he sees people wanting to learn traditional methods of gardening. It has led the project to expand its vision with plans for a community hub with a seed bank, cafe, commercial kitchen, kūmara bank, food forest, education spaces, food storage and distribution.

The project has hosted visitors from around the world and letting them get their own hands dirty in the kūmara harvest and absorbing indigenous expertise.

“There is traditional knowledge that comes with planting and growing. We are just reviving those and putting it back in place.”

Jade Temepara’s role in that revival came in the form of five generations of seed potatoes that were passed down to her from her grandfather. After his garden was destroyed by the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, he tasked her with keeping the special indigenous variety alive. 

“They are so rich in history that I have been in love with seeds ever since,” she says.

Her passion for gardening and growing food for her own whānau (family) helped her realise the potential mara kai has for looking after the wider community. That evolved into helping young families learn to grow and produce their own vegetable gardens with a sponsored $100 to buy their garden essentials and a mentor to provide guidance. Once they have recouped their savings through growing and selling their produce, they would hand over that $100 to a new family. 

The idea was to take the skills and knowledge given to her by her grandfather and pass them onto families to enable them to become self-sustaining and save them much needed money.

“I saw their big gardens and knew this was the way to help them. It starts with one small change and this can make a huge difference.”

She says mara kai is about so much more than just feeding people.

“It is an essence of hard work, stories, oral traditions and a reason to keep the environment clean and protected.” 

Additional Information

Tourism New Zealand is the organisation responsible for marketing New Zealand as an international visitor destination. Its mission is to boost New Zealand’s economy by growing the value of international visitors.

How a country-wide lockdown in New Zealand helped

How a country-wide lockdown in New Zealand helped isolated
Kiwis come together

As the world journeys through this pandemic, Kiwis are unifying to shine light through kindness and compassion

New Zealand has fostered a strong sense of community where people come together in a time of need by creating a hopeful, positive environment for everyone. From friendly catch ups with animals in neighbourhoods, to assist and support communities in need, New Zealand has reacted with kindness and compassion to the daunting threat that looms over the world.

The trend was started by Microbiologist Dr Siouxsie Wiles who encouraged people to share stories of kindness on Twitter, under the hashtag #BeKind, a phrase coined by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern as she addressed the nation in one of her speeches amidst the lockdown. Within a few days, various stories such as the ones below emerged on how Kiwis were helping one another in one of the toughest times encountered till date.

The Rakiura photographer

Nature used to be photographer Laire Purik’s muse. She thought it was all she needed to be inspired – wide-open spaces, lush countryside, the wild ocean. Laire, originally from Estonia had made Stewart Island her home four years ago, having never really taken photos of people. But when the four-week lockdown in New Zealand was announced, her perspective quite literally changed.

It all came quite naturally when Laire was saying goodbye to a friend whom she knew she wouldn’t see for a while. There was something about the way that friend was lit by the afternoon sun and framed by striped glass. “Stay there,” she told the friend, before taking the first photo in what would soon become a recurring series. Laire says she didn’t have big plans, but that first photo soon evolved into a project documenting the lives of Stewart Island during lockdown. She called it “Copeisolation”.

To add to that, Stewart Islanders started sharing them all around their community. On an island where tourism and fishing are the main industries, where there is only one shop and a pub, Copeisolation became a historical project capturing a remote part of the world during unprecedented times. Though Laire was apprehensive at first, not used to walking up to strangers, even in a small community, and asking to take their picture. “It changed my attitude to people,” she says. “Everyone had a story with how they were coping. That tiny island opened up even more to me.”

The project also helped get her out the door and appreciate the island even more than what she had. It helped her look at nature in a different light. She has fallen in love with the remoteness and the fact they don’t need anything there. Most of all, she has found a new muse. “Every person I photographed was an individual, like their own storylines,” she says. “It made me feel even more connected.”

The Waiheke volunteer vet

Over his 40-year career as a vet, Bryan Gartrell has helped rehabilitate everything from Siberian tigers to snow leopards. He has worked in government departments, zoos and circuses. But over lockdown he found himself on his deck on Waiheke Island, as a volunteer, tending to a kāruhiruhi, a native bird with a hole in its beak.

The organisation’s centre itself was closed during lockdown, so Bryan, his neighbour Lorraine, and his son Sam, set about turning their deck into a makeshift clinic. “During lockdown work does not stop. We can’t just say ‘we aren’t working’.” So, they carried on through, helping everything from birds, like Holey, to kererū which had run into windows. The role is a culmination of a passion that still runs deep today. “We have a duty of care to look after our native species that are vital for our whole biosphere.”

During lockdown Bryan would sit on his deck with a cup of coffee and look out at the bush surrounding his home. One day, he saw 17 different types of native species. It was a vision of a future he has long hoped for.

“It was almost this Galapagos-type scene,” he says. “We have to look after these species because if we don’t, they will disappear.”  It’s that risk which drives Bryan’s passion for education. Bryan says he was buoyed by the number of people who started seeing native birds all around them during lockdown. He says those four weeks gave people time to slow down and observe. “It’s a starting point. I hope that appreciation remains.”

Selflessness of the Sikh community in New Zealand

In June, the New Zealand Parliament thanked the country’s Sikh community for their services during the COVID-19 lockdown. In this story, they congratulated the community who have distributed more than 25,000 food parcels across New Zealand to assist more than 100,000 people in their time of need throughout the COVID-19 lockdown period.

Additional Information

Tourism New Zealand is the organisation responsible for marketing New Zealand as an international visitor destination. Its mission is to boost New Zealand’s economy by growing the value of international visitors.

For more information, kindly check:

• Website: newzealand.com/in
• Hashtags: #NZmustdo