Land-of-the-Long-White-Cloud
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New Zealand
GodZone ... Aotearoa
Land-of-the-Long-White-Cloud
I've had requests for information on N.Z., so I've included links at the bottom of this page. I hope they're helpful, but if you require additional information, please contact me: Anne Keller
NZ is a safe place to live, in comparison with many other populated areas of the world. A gentle, peaceful country.
Australia is famous for hair-raising stories of the poisonous and common Funnel-Web spider, amongst other nasties, and in the USA, grizzly bear, big cat and snake stories abound. Africa has rampaging elephants and man-eating tigers etc., but here in NZ we don't have dangerous animals, unless you want to include the odd crazed dog or cornered wild bore! Of course, you could consider bulls to be a worry, and I personally will never get between a cow and her calf again!
Poisonous small creatures are hardly worth mentioning either. Our native Katipo spider is definitely poisonous, but shy, sparse and inclined to populate coastal areas.
On 'Wetas'
Probably your biggest threat comes from the native 'NZ Common Weta', an insect similar in looks to a grasshopper or cricket. Larger though, at around 4 - 6 cm's. Another variety, 'The Giant NZ Weta' is larger still, but scarce, so you're unlikely to run into one.
I have eyeballed several 'Common' Wetas from a distance of a few inches, and all they did was eyeball me back respectfully. So unless you physically touch one, (like poor little Charlie next-door, who got bitten on the toe after leaving his shoes outside), you have nothing to fear. The Weta is shy. Besides, it's no worse than a little crab bite, though like a crab, the Weta doesn't like letting go. As poor Charlie found out!
So one can sleep in the country, without coming to grief from creepy crawlies or wild animals. The Weta is, in the main, a native bush inhabitant, so unless you visit areas in the vicinity of native bush, you are unlikely to encounter him, though I did see one on the footpath while walking past a fruit shop in an inner city suburb. (Yes, still alive).
Earthquakes & volcanoes
Looking at the big picture, our main concern lies with NZ's geological fault lines, and our seismic activity. Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are with us regularly. We live with the threat every day, but the currently active volcanoes are not in populated areas and earthquakes haven't caused bodily harm for a few decades now.
Because of this, many NZ'ers have become complacent about their gentle land. They don't see her temper flare often enough to have a healthy respect. The angry little tantrums we usually only hear about in the media only have novelty value. Something interesting to natter about over lunch.
Well, I've felt the Earth move. Several times in my five decades. I was terrified. I've seen first-hand evidence of the damage these natural phenomenon can do and I have a very healthy respect for Mother Nature. In spite of this, I choose to live in Auckland, and although we rarely feel earthquakes here (so far), we're surrounded by dormant volcanoes!
Climate
New Zealand weather is gentle too. Sub-tropical in the 'Far North', warm temperate in Northland/Auckland area, then temperate further south. No monsoons or hurricanes, no twisters, or at least nothing to speak of, when you consider the problems other countries have with drought, flooding, freezing temperatures, violent tropical storms etc. Sure we have a few nasty weather patterns. Parts of the North Island have been subjected to cyclones and flooding. But nothing like the scale of disaster we hear about elsewhere.
New Zealand gets plenty of rain and sunshine. So combined with the warm northern climate, I can grow almost any crop I care to try here in Auckland. Any variety with sub-tropical to temperate preferences.
The coldest months in NZ are June/July/August, with cold southerly winds coming up from the Antarctic. Here in the North, we are a little spoiled, with hardly any winter to speak of, but while it's actually happening, we get fairly wimpy about it, and think our throat's cut if the temperate drops to 8 - 10 degrees C during the day. Summer is a breeze. These last few summers seemed to start in early October and didn't bow out until late May. Spring and Autumn hardly got a nod. 8 months of lovely warm weather. I personally have only just stopped wearing singlet tops and shorts (it's late May), though I am a bit of a die-hard. I sometimes wonder how the clothing retailers survive the summers we've been having in recent years. Of course sun screen manufacturers are doing a roaring trade. With the decreasing ozone layer, sunburn and skin cancer are on the increase, but not something to panic about. I can still spend all day at the beach in the surf on a boogie board. I use a waterproof sunblock all over and make sure I reapply regularly. Simple common-sense is all you need.
The truth about NZ
New Zealand is a picnic at the beach on Christmas Day, if you're smart. Casual and comfortable describes the average NZ'er's attitude towards life in general. New Zealanders tend to be a little complacent about the treasure we have, here in the southern hemisphere. True there are many other wondrous and beautiful places in the world, but most have extremes of one kind or another. Cold, heat, dangerous things.
New Zealand has extreme amounts of coastline, and extremely small distances to travel between one great spot to the next. NZ is a gem. True, it is not without blemishes, but God's-Zone is an apt description. Nature's Ark... Annie's Ark. A lot of world in a compact space. Clean, green and fertile.
Links to some great New Zealand Sites
Discover New Zealand Magazine's Travelplanner (Maps too)
Map of New Zealand with distance calculator
New Zealand - A journey to paradise
All the N.Z. links you'll ever need
All graphics and writings on this homepage are copyright of Anne Keller, 1998.
Exceptions to this are works and/or images which have been included with an acknowledgement and the owner's permission.Enquiries and feedback on this homepage to: Anne Keller