According to the 2006 census, the [...]]]> Orewa lies on the east coast of the North Auckland Peninsula, a coastal area called Hibiscus Coast at the base of the Whangaparaoa Peninsula. The city is located thirty kilometers north of Auckland, and is administratively of the Rodney District. The bay the city is on is called Whangaparaoa Bay.

According to the 2006 census, the city had 7,326 inhabitants, a significant increase compared to 1996 (4,824) and 2001 (5,634). This does not include the many holiday visitors. Orewa is considered one of the fastest growing places in New Zealand and is one of the areas with the highest property prices. Orewa Beach is one of the longest and safest beaches in Auckland.

Orewa lies on the State Highways 1 and 17; the latter is referred to as Hibiscus Coast Highway. The northern motorway, 1A, ends inland from Orewa. From here, the day traffic of Highway 1A heads in an easterly direction to Orewa and from there back to the motorway.

The first upgraded highway, the Motorway, is a 7.5-kilometer-long extension of the Northern Highway that is under construction and will be open in 2009. Thus the highway leading north nears the market and redirects around Orewa to Puhoi.

The city made political headlines on January 27, 2004, as the leader of the New Zealand National Party, Don Brash, also the leader of the parliamentary opposition, addressed the local Rotary Club with the so-called “Orewa speech.” This speech led to a controversy about race relations in New Zealand. Some consider this speech a turning point in New Zealand policy.

Pururi Park

In 2005, the place known as Pururi Park, at the foot of Eaves Bush, sold for more than two million New Zealand dollars. This led some citizens to view this as a sign of the further commercial development of Orewa, and they lamented the loss of recreational opportunities for citizens.

Currently the area is in the Kensington Park District, and the land is accessible to meet the rapidly increasing demand for housing in Orewa and the surrounding area.

Of the 1,200 inhabitants of the sparsely populated Catlins area, the census of 2001 showed 366 inhabitants in [...]]]> Owaka, meaning “location of the canoe” in Maori, is a small place in the region of Otago, New Zealand. Owaka is the largest city of the region known as The Catlins on the south coast of the island.

Of the 1,200 inhabitants of the sparsely populated Catlins area, the census of 2001 showed 366 inhabitants in Owaka, which is a strong decrease of the population of 8.3% since 1996.

Owaka’s main street connects with Balcutha, about 27 kilometers northeast. The nearest settlements are Owaka Valley and Katea to the south, Poumawea and New Haven to the southeast, and Ratanui and Hinahina to the southwest.

The Owaka River flows from north of Owaka and joins the Catlins River three kilometers southeast of the town, shortly before it empties into the sea. To the south, the Catlins Owaka River is close to the mouth of Catlins Lake, which is crossed by a bridge at the eastern end of the Catlins River.

Owaka’s main industry is agriculture. The administration of Catlins Forest Park, located 20 kilometers to the east, is located in Owaka.

The Catlins Historical Museum, a museum about the history of the Catlins settlement, is located in Owaka. A nine-hole golf course lies approximately two kilometers southeast of Owaka. The Purakaunui Falls are 17 kilometers southwest of Owaka.

On June 22, 1896, Owaka was the end point of the Catlins River Branch railway; on August 1, 1904, an extension of the line was opened to Ratanui. Eventually the line was extended to Tahakopa. In recent years railway traffic has declined, thus the Tuesday circulating freight train, one of just four trains a week, has ended in Owaka since 1958. On February 27, 1971, the branch was closed.

A few remnants of the railway line had remained in Owaka until the last major remnant, the Owaka train station storage shed, was demolished in 1986.

A review of the industry has found that just fewer [...]]]> Tourism operators in Waikato are certain that the new rules that the Government has proposed will not affect their work in any significant way. Labour Minister Kate Wilkinson detailed plans on Monday that would make safety checks and registry mandatory for companies involved with adventure tourism.

A review of the industry has found that just fewer than 40 people died in accidents involving adventure tourism between the years of 2004 and 2009. Waikato operators have said, however, that they had implemented a variety of effective safety measures and that the changes to the rules would not be likely to affect them.

Some in the industry are pleased with the rule changes and hope that they will help to get rid of less reputable companies. However, others, such as Nick Andreef of Waitomo Adventures, are not so enthused, stating that while it might provide “low end” protection, it will not stop the “fly-by-nighters”.

The Labour Department will report on details on the checks and registration in November.

These magnificent mammals weigh an astounding 3,300 pounds or the equivalent of 1,500 kilograms, which is what makes this task [...]]]> Early this Friday, rescue volunteers’ efforts to refloat fifteen pilot whales ended in vain. This comes just as fifty-eight of these same whales died previously. The whales washed onshore to an isolated beach in New Zealand.

These magnificent mammals weigh an astounding 3,300 pounds or the equivalent of 1,500 kilograms, which is what makes this task difficult. According to Mike Davies of the Department of Conservation, another attempt will be made this Saturday, which will be aided by cranes and transporters.

Carolyn Smith of the same department guessed that these seventy-three whales could have probably washed ashore at night time, which could account for why they were discovered too late.

Whale strandings are not new in New Zealand and is said to occur every summer as they pass by the island on their way to Antarctic waters. There is no scientific reason to account for this strange behaviour of whales. This Friday, when the tide was high, close to 50 people tried to return the fifteen barely surviving whales to the water.

Saturday’s attempt will be easier as the whales would not need to be sedated and the heavy equipment is a big help. To date, New Zealand has recorded an approximate 5000 whale strandings since 1840.

The fingerprint checks will be conducted in association with Australia as part of a new programme that will reduce the amount of people affected by identity fraud and [...]]]> As part of a crackdown on new immigrants that arrive in New Zealand as possible ‘persons of interest,’ biometric checks will now be a part of customs control.

The fingerprint checks will be conducted in association with Australia as part of a new programme that will reduce the amount of people affected by identity fraud and strengthen the overall effectiveness of border security.

The Immigration New Zealand believes that the system will aid them in identifying those using a false alias or those with a criminal history before they enter the country.

The INZ Programme Manager for Identity and Biometrics, Arron Baker, stated that illegal migrants and organized crime groups are now using passport fraud and identity fraud in order to get through the borders without detection.

Baker continued to say biometrics is able to improve the general process of checking names in an effective manner so that genuine clients will be protected while those who are risky are quickly identified.

Biometric ID checks utilize eye scans, fingerprints, and photographs to compare physical features from a previous image.

New Zealand and Australia currently share the database, but soon they will start to offer their information worldwide in order to create an international database.

The major airline announced that as part of the first phase of its review, 737 [...]]]> Virgin Blue is planning to halt all flights within New Zealand and instead send their airplanes to international routes that are deemed ‘short-haul’ after facing tens of millions of dollars in losses from the Tasmanian region over the last three years.

The major airline announced that as part of the first phase of its review, 737 aircraft in New Zealand will be sent to Asia and trans-Tasman routes.  Its offshoot aircraft line, V Australia will no longer fly to Fiji and instead the leisure route will be taken care of by Pacific Blue’s 737 airplanes.

The decision to stop flying Pacific Blue within New Zealand has been on the table as a possibility for the last year and a half especially after Jetstar took the place of its parent company within New Zealand at the beginning of last year.

Jetstar took advantage of the announcement by Virgin Blue and released a statement that they plan to extend their New Zealand line and place to more A320 aircrafts in the region by the completion of 2011.

John Borghetti, the chief executive of Virgin Blue, stated that there was no plausible end to the amount of money the company has been losing over flights because the population of the country is only four million.