Author: southernlight

Records set at Queenstown Airport | Otago Daily Times Online News

Plane at Queenstown Airport ~ photo by Southern Light
top: Plane at Queenstown Airport ~ photo by Southern Light

It’s not my imagination that every time I go to Queenstown Airport to drop off or pickup someone, it seems busier each time!

From all accounts numbers are expected to further increase in the 2016 -17 summer season coming up.

For a long time now I’ve been “over” Queenstown and what it has to offer. I’ve noted of late the streets for example, are dirty, which seems to point to the fact that downtown it’s all about night-life and money – it no longer offers an “authentic” New Zealand experience!

It’s time to change from the attitude that “tourism is a money elevator” and think about and discuss/implement how to make it work for visitors and locals alike.

Tuesday, 23 August 2016

Records were set at Queenstown Airport last month, traditionally one of its busiest months. Passenger statistics for July showed there had been 173,731 domestic and international travellers, a 16.2% increase in total passenger numbers for the month. In the week ending July 10, there was a record set for the number of international passengers in a week (15,742), while 3326 international passengers moved

Read more at the source: Records set at airport | Otago Daily Times Online News

Statue of William Gilbert Rees, queenstown
William Gilbert Rees 1827 – 1898 Explorer, runholder, and first European settler in the area ~ photo by Southern Light
Published
Categorized as Tourism

Black Stilt chicks released onto the Tasman River bed in the MacKenzie Country

Juvenile kaki black-stilt
top: Juvenile kaki black-stilt

On 08/08/2016 the Dept. of Conservation released several black stilt kakī chicks that had been raised in their Twizel avery. It is the world’s rarest wading bird!

Photos below courtesy of Rachel Hufton’s FaceBook feed who was at the release

 

 

Twizel captive breeding centre, hand netting and processing juveniles before being taken to release site
Juvenile kaki black-stilt
Excitement evident!
Release
Happy birds

And from a good friend CragRat, more similar photos here >

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Water incident a wake-up call: Prof Sir Alan Mark | Otago Daily Times Online News

Sir Alan Mark worked and earned tremendous respect in the Otago region long before being the recipient of a knighthood. His words below are well worth reading…

University of Otago botanist Prof Sir Alan Mark says the Havelock North water contamination crisis is a ”major wake-up call” about the need for more sustainable agriculture and better protection of drinking water.The Government has ordered

Source: Water incident a wake-up call: prof | Otago Daily Times Online News

Poisoning the wells: a history of infected drinking water in Canterbury | Stuff.co.nz

Recent events in Havelock North have triggered a growing interest in water quality!

NZ Cows enjoying the shade
Photo by Southern Light Are the cows and the rapidly expanding New Zealand dairy industry to blame? Read on below…

After a gloomy week of rain, the sun finally returned to Darfield. But the rain had brought poison, and the town soon fell sick.The crisis began with a smattering of upset stomachs, but ended with more than 100 seriously ill people. For a week in 2012, locals were vomiting and nauseous, struck down with diarrhoea and crippling abdominal pain. Residents piled into the local pharmacy. An employee told The Press about a toddler who had been vomiting every half hour for 40 hours straight. Days after the sickness began

Source: Poisoning the wells: a history of infected drinking water in Canterbury | Stuff.co.nz

Letter: Aquifer concern | Stuff.co.nz

Trevor and Barbara Chinn, friends of mine who live by Lake Hawea, may have become very mindful of water quality by the proximity of many thousands of dairy cattle at nearby Hawea Flat.

New Zealand Dairy Cows
Photo by Southern Light

Trevor’s letter below should be read in the context of his lifetime’s work as an internationally acknowledged glaciologist…

The South Island has been blessed by massive supplies of gravel spread from the Southern Alps down to the coasts to form fertile valleys and plains holding pristine aquifers.

I have been concerned about the effects of the recent explosive spread of dairy irrigation in the catchments feeding these aquifers.Over the gravel plains of Canterbury, Mackenzie Country, Upper Clutha and Southland, with annual rainfalls of around 800mm

Read more at the source: Letter: Aquifer concern | Stuff.co.nz

Cheers

Donald