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COINTEST: Share What you know about New Zealand & WIN!


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Three Sisters

 

Near Tongaporutu, you can see two (formerly three) 25 metre rock formations known as the Three Sisters. Next to the sisters is another formation called Elephant Rock which, as you would expect, looks a lot like an elephant.

 

Very nice pictures ParentsofSAM :)

 

And everyone else too, some awesome facts too! You guys are fantastic, I wish I had enough coins for all of you :ph34r:

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The Foxton Windmill is located in Foxton (on the North Island) New Zealand.

Foxton windmill is an authentic working Dutch style smock mill opened on 13th April 2003, and in its first year of operation attracted 64,000 visitors.

The windmill was largely built locally by a team of volunteers, led by Cor Slobbe. The main gearing and sails came from Vaags Molenwerken in Aalten, Holland. The mill has two pairs of stones and sells high grade wholemeal flour.

 

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Currently there are seven wind farms, with a total installed capacity of 170.8 MW, throughout New Zealand.

 

Through the year this 170MW will produce enough clean, green, sustainable electricity to meet the needs of about 75,000 average New Zealand households.

 

The latest NZ wind farm to open is TeRere Hau in the Manawatu (Sept 2006). At the completion of this project by NZ Windfarms Ltd . it is expected to generate 48.5MW. There are 5 turbines (500 kW each) currently operational, with another 92 turbines expected by the end of the project.

 

The location of each wind farm is shown on the map below.

 

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Brooklyn is a suburb of Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand. It is located three km south of the city centre, on the eastern slopes of the hills above Happy Valley, which extend south towards the Owhiro Bay on Cook Strait. Excellent views across the southern end of the city can be gained from the suburb.

 

It is named after the borough of New York City, and many of the streets are named after former US Presidents:

 

Grover Cleveland — Cleveland Street

Calvin Coolidge — Coolidge Street

James Garfield — Garfield Street

William Henry Harrison — Harrison Street

Herbert Hoover — Hoover Street

Thomas Jefferson — Jefferson Street

Abraham Lincoln — Lincoln Street

William McKinley — McKinley Crescent

William Taft — Taft Street

George Washington — Washington Avenue

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A Greenpeace protester dressed like Ronald McDonald was removed and arrested by police officers after attaching himself to the gates of the distribution center of fast food giant McDonald's in Wiri, Auckland, New Zealand, Tuesday, May 11, 2004. Greenpeace is protesting over the environmental group's claim that McDonald's uses chickens that have been fed food including genetically engineered products.

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The Homer Tunnel is a road tunnel in Fiordland, South Island, New Zealand linking Milford Sound to Te Anau and Queenstown.

 

The tunnel is straight, and was originally single-lane and gravel-surfaced. The tunnel walls remain unlined granite. The east portal end is at 945 m elevation; the tunnel runs 1270 m at approximately a 1:10 gradient down to the western portal. Until it was sealed and enlarged it was the longest gravel-surfaced tunnel in the world. It runs between the valley of the Eglinton and Hollyford Rivers to the east and that of the Cleddau to the west.

 

The Eastern entrance to the tunnel

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William H. Homer and George Barber discovered the Homer Saddle on January 27, 1889. Homer suggested that a tunnel through the saddle would provide access to the Milford area.

 

Government workers began the tunnel in 1935. Progress was slow, with difficult conditions including fractures in the rock bringing snow flows into the tunnel. Compressors and a powerhouse in the nearby river were built to pump out 40,000 litres of water per hour. Work was also interrupted by World War II. These problems delayed the tunnel's completion until 1953. The Homer Tunnel was opened to private traffic in 1954.

 

In 2002 a tour bus carrying tourists from Singapore caught fire inside the tunnel, halting 150m from the eastern portal. The passengers, including the bus driver, had to tread through the pitched dark and smoke-filled tunnel to safety with the help of head beams from vehicular traffic at the entrance of the eastern portal. However, two passengers got separated and made their way to the Milford end. Three people were treated for smoke inhalation.

 

Traffic through the tunnel reaches about 800 vehicles a day in summer, with about 100 tour buses.

 

Roof lighting was fitted and traffic lights reintroduced in 2004. Although the tunnel is large enough for a bus and a smaller vehicle to pass, cautious campervan drivers often cause problems. Fortunately the heavy traffic is mostly toward Milford in the morning and toward Te Anau in the afternoon. The traffic lights will only operate during the peak summer season, since the avalanche risk makes it unsafe to stop and queue at the portals in winter and spring.

 

Edited for picture

Edited by stellarscapes
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Fairy Bread!!!

 

Fairy bread is white sliced bread spread with margarine or butter, and then sprinkled with Hundreds and Thousands (also known as sprinkles or nonpareils, a Masterfoods product consisting of small balls of coloured sugar intended to decorate cakes).

 

Fairy bread is served almost exclusively at children's parties in Australia and New Zealand. Slices of the bread are often cut into triangles and stacked tastefully on the host's paper plate.

 

It was originally made using finely chopped rose petals for colour and scent instead of the sugary lollies that are used today.

 

A variation is to spread Nutella on the bread and then add sprinkles.

 

Sometimes the Fairy Bread will be spread with icing or chocolate for varying occasions.

 

Fairy Bread is extremly yummy and easy to make. Although it's mainly used at parties, it makes a great snack at any time as well.

 

mmm! yummy!!

 

CF30

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Chocolate Fish 180px-Twochocolatefish.JPG magnify-clip.png

 

A chocolate fish consists of a fish-shaped confection, 6 to 8 inches long, and made of pink or white marshmallow covered in a thin layer of milk chocolate. It is indigenous to New Zealand.

 

Retailers normally sell chocolate fish individually in a standard size, but in recent years large "Giant Fish" and packets of small "Spratz" have also come into circulation. The fish has circulated in electronic form as an email attachment symbol.

 

The chocolate fish has become recognised tender as a thank you, an apology, or a reward for a good idea — widely used in thcorporate world and the public service, possibly because it easily fits within a standard envelope and can usually survive posting. A chocolate fish also makes a popular forfeit — among friends someone who makes a small mistake or loses a bet might expect to have to distribute such fish.

 

Chocolate fish have entered the New Zealand culture to the extent any Kiwi will understand the expression, "Give that man a chocolate fish". The role of chocolate fish as cultural icon seems largely confined to New Zealand, although the confection has become available for purchase in some other countries.

 

The McGillicuddy Serious Party made an election promise to replace money with chocolate fish (satirising Social Credit).

 

Former Black Caps cricket player and coach, John Bracewell, once announced his employment as "chocolate fish boner", which some English media reported seriously.

 

In Wellington, Seatoun's Chocolate Fish Café has become a well-known restaurant.

 

Just as kiwis have no wings, so a chocolate fish has no eyes.

 

CF30

Edited by Crowesfeat30
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Lolly cake

Ingredients

  • 120 g (1.5 sticks) of butter
  • 250 g of malt biscuits (one packet)
  • 180 g of Fruit Puffs (one packet)
  • 200 g (1/2 can or 7 ounces) condensed milk
  • shredded coconut
  • a pinch of cinnamon (optional)

 

Directions

  • crush the biscuits. They don't need to be a fine dust, some pieces can be left partially smushed to give the cake a nicer texture.
  • mix in cinnamon, if you want it.
  • warm the butter and condensed milk in the microwave for 30 seconds until the butter is very soft. It's ok if the butter melts a bit.
  • cut the fruit puffs in half if you don't want or leave them whole.
  • mix the fruit puffs with the crushed biscuits, add the butter and condensed milk. Mix well.
  • scoop up the mixture and roll it into a log shape, or take small amounts and roll into little balls.
  • roll in the shredded coconut until the log or each ball is completely covered.
  • place on a tray in the refrigerator and wait for it to harden. This takes a few hours. Put plastic wrap over the tray to keep the lolly cake moist.

Yummy! (except for the coconut...)

CF30

Edited by Crowesfeat30
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The first powered take-off in New Zealand is achieved on 31 March 31, 1903 at Waitohi, near Temuka, when Richard Pearse flies his homebuilt craft 150 yards. His aircraft is powered by a two cylinder engine of his own design and construction. This is the sixth powered take-off in the world.

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Another World Record for New Zealand

Wednesday, 14 December 2005, 10:09 am

Press Release:

 

 

Another World Record for New Zealand

 

-Cricket world record one day - the world's largest tape ball the next-

 

Two young Kiwis have put New Zealand on the world map by gaining a Guinness World Record for the world's largest tape ball.

 

The record tape ball weighs a staggering 53kgs and has a circumference of more than 2.5 metres.

 

Alexis Fletcher and Ben Naylor, both Massey University students, have spent the last two months trying to beat the record previously held by an American whose tape ball weighed only 45.65kg - about seven kilograms lighter than the New Zealand tape ball.

 

The students decided to undertake the bizarre challenge after checking the Guinness World Records website to see if a record existed.

 

"It was a joke to begin with as we used to make tape balls at school," says Ms Fletcher. "However, we started taking it seriously as we got closer and closer to breaking the record. It was extremely tiring because as the ball got bigger, we had to use an enormous amount of upper body strength - it provided a great workout."

 

 

The pair, both aged 19, approached 3M New Zealand for tape, and the company was delighted to donate Scotch Packing Tape for the record attempt.

 

Elsa Waldin, 3M Product Manager says 3M was glad to be part of this project.

 

"3M was pleased to help Alexis and Ben out by donating Scotch tape for them to use. It isn't everyday that people try to break a world record and 3M are proud to have sponsored this Kiwi world record breaking success."

 

The tape ball was made by winding Scotch tape continually round itself to make a ball which increased in diameter and circumference as more tape was used.

 

Ms Fletcher admits that they did face challenges along the way.

 

"We dropped the ball numerous times on our feet which was incredibly painful and we both accidentally taped ourselves to the ball and it was a bit tricky trying to get unstuck."

 

The two students are now looking forward to a well earned rest before taking on any more unusual challenges.

 

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Edited by Ble68
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Hāngi

 

Hāngi (pronounced /hɑːŋi/) is a New Zealand Māori word for a method of cooking in an outdoor pit oven. It is done in New Zealand as an alternative to the barbecue, but often saved for special occasions due to the large amount of time and preparatory work involved.

 

To "lay a hāngi" or "put down a hāngi" involves digging a pit in the ground, heating stones in the pit with a large fire, placing wire baskets of food on top of the stones, and covering everything with earth for several hours before uncovering (or lifting) the hāngi. There are many variations and details that can be altered, but a hāngi produces rich, succulent food with a flavour quite unlike anything else.

 

Digging the Pit

A hāngi pit doesn't need to be particularly big, but must have room for all the food that will be cooked, plus the stones that will be used to hold the heat. Wire baskets hold the food, and are used as a sizing guide for the pit. This will usually be dug with spades etc by a Maori ira tane (men) as the Maori Wahine (woman) aren't allowed to take part in this part of the preparation. They are required to prepare the food for the Hangi.

 

The Stones

Choosing the Stones

Hāngi stones must be able to withstand high heat without chipping or crumbling. For this reason, igneous (volcanic) rocks are better than metamorphic or sedimentary rocks (e.g. sandstone). If striking the stone with a hammer produces a ringing noise rather than a thud, then the stone is probably good to use in the hāngi.

 

Large stones of brick size or bigger are better as they hold the heat needed. Bricks are sometimes used if no appropriate natural stone can be found.

 

Large, solid pieces of steel or iron are also used if there are not enough rocks, but this is discouraged as the metal tends to burn the contents of the hāngi and gives up its heat too rapidly.

 

Heating the Stones

The stones are normally heated in a large wood fire. Building a lattice of strong wood beams that can support the stones until they fall in is important, as stones buried in ash (as compared to hot coals) are losing heat, not gaining it.

 

The total burn time depends on the size of the hāngi being laid, but is usually between one and a half hours and two and a half hours.

 

The Food

Traditional hāngi food is pork, mutton or lamb, and chicken, with generous portions of root vegetables such as kumara (sweet potato), pumpkin, carrot, potato, onions and cabbage.

 

With a hāngi no special preparation of the food is needed besides peeling the root vegetables, but adding herbs such as rosemary, garlic, or stuffing the chicken can add exciting flavors. A Polynesian addition of taro leaves wrapped around some of the food gives it a peppery spice.

 

The food is placed in muslin lined wire baskets. If muslin is not available, clean white cotton bedsheets are fine. This cloth is soaked in water to prevent burning and provide water for steaming the food.

 

The wire baskets are there to not only hold the food but also protect the food from the weight of earth piled on top and beside them, creating space for steam to circulate.

 

Laying the Hāngi

This whole step is done as quickly as possible to prevent heat loss from the stones.

 

When the fire has burned down the ash and coals must be removed or they dominate the flavour, but leaving a few coals gives a smoky flavour which some people prefer. Spraying the rocks very briefly with water produces a rush of steam that removes any loose ash.

 

Hessian cloth sacks, soaked in water overnight, are laid atop the stones to give extra protection to the food, and provide more water for steam. The food-filled baskets are then placed atop the hessian sacking, and covered with more wet hessian sacks to keep the dirt away. The whole arrangement is then rapidly covered with loose soil from the original pit to seal in heat and steam.

 

Once the hāngi is buried, any escaping steam is sealed by applying more soil.

 

This process goes on for three to four hours, depending on the quantity of food being cooked.

 

Boy, I'd love to go to one of these parties! Sounds fabulous! :blink:

 

CF30

Edited by Crowesfeat30
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Lemon-based Ginger beer

Recipe is for 1.5 L plastic bottle

2 tblspns warm water

1/2 tspn sugar

1/4 tspn dried yeast granules

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1 cup sugar

juice of 2 lemons

rind of 2 lemons

1 tspn to 1 tblspn dried ginger

Put first measure of sugar in warm water to dissolve, add yeast and stir. Place in warm place to start working.

 

Finely grate or slice rind from 2 lemons and place in a heatproof container with the 1 cup of sugar and the dried ginger. Pour over 1 cup of boiling water and leave to steep for 10 minutes. Strain into 1.5 L plastic bottle in which the ginger beer will be made. Top up bottle with cool water to near top so that final temp is approx. body temp. Add yeast to bottle as soon as it shows signs of working, ie. it foams. Cap bottle tightly. Mix thoroughly and put in a warm place. Leave until bottle becomes undentable. Depending on the yeast this can take anything from 12 hours to 3 days, but best to check regularly, as I guess there is a risk of explosion with this! Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled and OPEN WITH GREAT CARE!

 

This recipe came from the ChCh Press a couple of years back and makes excellent ginger beer. You can also add more sugar afterwards if you like it sweeter. Yum.

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Described as “breathtaking” and “world-class”, the venues for Beijing 2008 are shaping up rapidly and have impressed New Zealand Olympic Games Team organizers. Chef de Mission, Dave Currie, has returned from a two-week tour of Beijing and the six Olympic co-host cities impressed with the progress, excellence and high level of organization displayed by the event organizers. [more>>]

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New Zealand has a population of around 3.65 million.

 

People from a wide range of European countries have arrived since Captain James Cook to make up 75% of the population while Maori make up about 10%. The Maori first arrived on these shores just over a 1000 years ago at the close of the last millennium. Today, the Maori have adopted western lifestyles but have actively been encouraged to keep alive their culture, language and art. Other ethnic groups have arrived from Polynesia (Tonga, Samoa, Cook Islands) with Auckland now being the Polynesia capital of the South Pacific. People from China, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam, etc have also settled in New Zealand making for a diverse population mix.

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New Zealand has a diverse population--but with some uniting features that make it unique in the world. Our relatively isolated South Pacific location and rugged landscapes still makes many New Zealanders quiet and independent, yet resourceful and self-reliant, with a famous 'Kiwi ingenuity'.

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Early Voyagers

Over four hundred years before Christopher Columbus and the rest of Europe worried about falling off the edge of the world, the first New Zealanders, the Maori, voyaged thousands of miles across the vast unknown Pacific Ocean in small ocean-going canoes. In order to reach New Zealand, these brave adventurers developed their own navigation system using the stars and the currents.

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Ulva Island is a small island lying within Paterson Inlet, which is part of Stewart Island/Rakiura in New Zealand. It was named after Ulva Island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. It was formerly called Coopers Island.

 

Ulva Island is an important natural resource area. In 1996, the island was declared rat-free, following an eradication program, and extirpated birds have been reintroduced to the island. The birds include the South Island saddleback (tieke), yellowhead (mohua) and Stewart Island robin (toutouwai).

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Codfish island or Whenua Hou is a small island (14 km²) located to the west of Stewart Island/Rakiura in southern New Zealand. It reaches a height of 249 m close to the south coast. It is a predator-free bird sanctuary and the focus of kakapo recovery efforts. The majority of the breeding population of critically endangered kakapo are currently located on this island. The island is also home to southern short-tailed bats, kākā, fernbirds, red- and yellow-crowned parakeets, and a recently introduced population of yellowheads (mohua). Yellow-eyed and Fiordland penguins breed along the coastline.

 

The island is inhabited by Department of Conservation field workers along with public volunteers. The sole hut is located at Sealer's Bay in the northeast, with access by light aircraft or helicopter. The island is closed to visitors and unauthorised landing is prohibited.

 

Codfish Island is the small island to the left (west) of the bigger Stewart Island.

 

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ANZAC Biscuits

 

This is a traditional biscuit (cookie) recipe. They are absolutely yummy and a perfect treat.

 

* Approx. 3/4 cup (125g) Flour

* 3/4 cup (150g) Sugar

* 1 cup Coconut

* 1 cup Rolled Oats

* 1/2 cup (100g) Butter

* 1 TBS Golden Syrup

* 1/2 tsp Baking Soda

* 2 TBS boiling water

 

Mix together flour, sugar, coconut and rolled oats. Melt butter and golden syrup. Dissolve baking soda in the boiling water and add to butter and golden syrup. Make a well in the centre of flour and stir in the liquid. Place in spoonfuls on a greased tray.

 

Bake 15-20 mins. at 180° degrees Celsius or 350° Fahrenheit.

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