Category Archives: New Zealand

Young Nick's Head isn't the most visually arresting landmark in the verdant region of Gisborne, but it has gone down in history for getting noticed. Edged by white cliff faces, the slim, shrub-covered headland was the first thing Captain Cook's crew saw when the Endeavour arrived at the east coast of New Zealand's North Island in 1769. From my vantage point atop Titirangi Hill, it grabs my attention too, pointing like a bony finger into the same South Pacific seas that carried not only Captain Cook but also thousands of seafaring Polynesians aboard wakas, or traditional canoes, before Cook's arrival. Noticing my gaze, Digby Fraser, owner of nearby villa The Blackhouse and a longtime resident of Gisborne, says, That's where New Zealand enters Aotearoa's story.

The view of Wainui Beach in Gisborne, from The Blackhouse.

Digby is using the Mori name for the country to emphasize the idea that European contact is the most important inflection point in the history of these islands. This side of New Zealand hasn't traditionally been a big part of its draw for the legions of tourists who come for wine and adventure, but in recent years the country has invested in fresh ways to honor its past. Titirangi is part of the Tupapa Heritage Trail, a self-guided hike introduced in 2019 that leads participants past locations of great significance in Mori culture. When the country began talking about reopening its borders early last year, I got in touch with Sarah Farag, director and co-owner of Southern Crossings and a Cond Nast Traveler Top Travel Specialist for New Zealand. I grew up in Wellington, the capital, and on trips back I've often felt frustrated by the predictable travel narratives marketed to international visitors, which have created a certain lopsidedness in New Zealand's tourism economy, with certain areas buckling under the weight of all the arrivals and others never benefiting. My hope for this trip was to suss out lesser-known regions and experience some of the new ways Kiwis have begun presenting their homeland.

Besides being the place where Captain Cook came ashore, Gisborne's eponymous main town is the first city in the world to see each new day, which is why Sarah started my trip here. In partnership with The Blackhouse, Sarah can arrange a helicopter to whisk guests to the peak of Gisborne's Mount Hikurangi to take in the dawn with a guide from the local iwi, or Mori tribe, but I decide to view the sunrise from the stylish and very comfortable Blackhouse, overlooking Wainui Beach. A mug of coffee in hand, I tiptoe across the dewy grass in the gray predawn darkness to a picnic table. It does feel special watching the sun slowly illuminate the land, knowing that the rest of the world is still awaiting the new day.

Forty-five minutes up the coast, along roads that bend around sloping farmland patterned with tiny rippled pathways made by sheep, I meet my guide, Victor Walker, at Tolaga Bay. An enormously friendly man, Victor is a member of Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti, the largest iwi on the East Cape. He is a principal adviser at Te Puni Kkiri, the Ministry for Mori Development, as well as an educator of Mori affairs and a coleader of the Indigenous-focused Tipuna Tours. In short, he has made a career of advocating for Mori interests. Alone by the bay, we walk under a carving of Hinematioro, a great chieftainess who became an ally to Captain Cook, up a pier that cuts deep into the water. Victor explains that the bay's lapping waves signify the anguish of Mori women. He points out the cave where Cook was ushered to safety from a storm by the locals.

Jack Mansfield, the farm manager at Lake Hawea Station, with some of the help.

The lobby of the Hotel Britomart in Auckland.

Few precolonial structures remain in New Zealand today. Mori histories, myths, and beliefs are inscribed in the land, and a person like Victor, who is as much a cultural translator as he is a guide, is vital in bringing Mori thought and tradition to life for a visitor. On either side of us, cliffs plunge dramatically into the sea; above, a checkerboard of clouds creates patterns on the water's surface, shifting its tones from a dull gray back to the most brilliant green. I like to think that when the Mori chose the name Aotearoa, which means land of the long white cloud, they were honoring the way the clouds can draw out the magic of this place, like curtains rolling back again and again to reveal the beauty of the land.

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A Journey Through New Zealands Less-Visited Corners Showcases Mori ...

New Zealand's Kermadec Islands region has been hit by an earthquake of 7.1 magnitude on Thursday, prompting tsunami warnings.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) said that quake was estimated at a depth of 10 km (6.21 miles). A corresponding tsunami warning has been issued after the earthquake, it added.

But hours after the US Geological Survey issued tsunami warning for Kermadec islands, the New Zealand National Emergency Management Agency clarified, "there is no tsunami threat to New Zealand following theearthquake in the Southern Kermadec Islands."

Reports in the New Zealand media suggest issuance of relevant rescue measures in the region. However, there is no tsunami threat to Australia, the countrys Bureau of Meteorology said in a tweet.

On March 4, anearthquake of magnitude 6.9 had struck the same Kermadec Islands region, with the quake depth reportedat a depth of 152 km (94 miles), USGS said. There were conflicting reports as for the magnitude of the earthquake, with theEuropean Mediterranean Seismological Centre, estimating the magnitude at 6.6at a depth of 183 km. On March 4 as well, no tsunami warning was issued after the quake.

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New Zealand actress Melanie Lynskey reveals romantic behind the scenes secret from The Last of Us series  New Zealand Herald

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New Zealand actress Melanie Lynskey reveals romantic behind the scenes secret from The Last of Us series - New Zealand Herald

Gin Wigmore on what she doesnt miss about New Zealand and gnarly birth experience  New Zealand Herald

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Gin Wigmore on what she doesnt miss about New Zealand and gnarly birth experience - New Zealand Herald

China wants to help New Zealand recover from Cyclone Gabrielle, including financing, constructing key infrastructure  Newshub

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China wants to help New Zealand recover from Cyclone Gabrielle, including financing, constructing key infrastructure - Newshub

A New Zealand supervolcano is being closely watched after it unleashed a magnitude 4.4 earthquake and several aftershocks.

Taup volcano, a supervolcano situated underneath Lake Taup, has shown increased earthquake activity for nearly a year now.

Aftershocks rippled out following the most recent earthquake, which shook the region on March 5. The earthquake may also have caused a small tsunami, according to GeoNet. Scientists have kept the Volcano Alert Level at 1, which signals minor volcanic unrest.

Lake Taup lies within the giant supervolcano caldera on the North Island of New Zealand. The supervolcano has caused some hugely violent and explosive eruptions in the past.

GeoNet duty volcanologist and senior data science specialist Yannik Behr told Newsweek: "A magnitude 4.4 in itself is not that unusual for Taup. In the past 10 years we had eight earthquakes with a magnitude equal or larger than four. A more important sign of the ongoing unrest is that the number of earthquakes per week we observe beneath the lake is larger than when the volcano is not in unrest."

Taup has erupted 25 times in the last 12,000 years, most recently in the year 232. This was the biggest and most violent eruption on Earth for the past 5,000 years.

Supervolcanoes are volcanoes that erupt with a magnitude 8 or larger on the Volcano Explosivity Index. These eruptions are incredibly explosive and destructive. Other supervolcanoes include Yellowstone, Long Valley in eastern California and Toba in Indonesia.

Around one year ago, scientists noticed an increase in activity around the New Zealand volcano. Six months after noting the increase in activity, scientists moved the Volcanic Alert level from 0 to 1. This is the first time the alert level has changed for the supervolcano in two decades.

Since then, the alert level has remained at one.

The 4.4 quake was the third largest to occur since May 2022, Hauraki Gulf Weather said in a tweet. Overall, there have been 1,700 earthquakes during this period.

"It is very difficult to say for one earthquake what caused it," Behr said. "There are many active faults beneath Lake Taup and earthquakes can be caused by the movement of tectonic plates, volcanic fluids, and often a combination of the two.

"That is why we are more focused on the changes in the number and location of earthquakes over time. We also look at other measurements like the movement of land determined from high-resolution GPS to come up with a diagnosis of what may happen within the volcano."

Although there has been heightened activity around the volcano, it is not the first time it has happened. Over the past 150 years, there have been 17 previous episodes where Taup has shown signs of unrest.

Scientists are not concerned about the increased unrest as Taup is not showing any signs of eruption. While some of its past eruptions have been violent and destructive, these are rare. Taup is likely to erupt at some stage over the next few thousand years.

Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about the Taup super volcano? Let us know via science@newsweek.com.

Update 3/8/23 3:08 a.m. ET: This article has been updated to include comment from Yannik Behr.

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New Zealand on Alert over Supervolcano with Explosive History

WELLINGTON, Feb 20 (Reuters) - New Zealand warned on Monday the final cost of the devastating Cyclone Gabrielle, which has left at least 11 people dead, could rise above $8 billion as authorities announced emergency funding to help in the recovery efforts.

The cyclone hit the North Island's northernmost region on Feb. 12 and tracked down the east coast, inflicting widespread destruction. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has called Gabrielle New Zealand's biggest natural disaster this century.

"The required investment to reconnect our communities and future-proof our nation's infrastructure is going to be significant and it will require hard decisions," said Hipkins at a news conference announcing an emergency NZ$300 million ($187.08 million) cyclone relief package.

Earlier on Monday Finance Minister Grant Robertson said the total cost to government could be similar to the NZ$13.5 billion (8.42 billion) it spent rebuilding Christchurch after the devastating 2011 earthquake.

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Robertson has been appointed Cyclone Recovery Minister, in addition to his existing portfolio.

The interim package provides NZ$250 million to fix critical roads across disaster hit regions, and a further NZ$50 million in emergency support was set aside for businesses and primary producers. More relief and re-building funding from the government is expected.

Hipkins also extended the national state of emergency, which was declared last week for only the third time in its history, a further seven days to help the recovery and relief efforts.

Police have confirmed 11 deaths in circumstances related to the cyclone, most of those have been in Hawkes Bay in the North Island. Roughly 2,200 people are still unaccounted for.

New Zealand police commissioner Andrew Coster told the AM Show on Monday the number of deaths would likely rise, adding that difficulty with communications is hampering efforts to make contact with affected people.

New Zealand has deployed 60 Starlink satellites, built by Elon Musk-owned SpaceX, with another 30 on the way, to plug gaps in the telecommunications network as roughly 15,000 people across the North Island remain without power.

Recovery efforts are continuing with search and rescue teams still working in cyclone damaged areas, while power and telecommunications remain down for some homes. Roads are closed and people are reporting issues getting cash.

($1 = 1.6036 New Zealand dollars)

Reporting by Lucy Craymer and Lewis Jackson; editing by Diane Craft & Shri Navaratnam

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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New Zealand police reach more people previously not contactable after ...

At least five people have died and evacuations are continuing as fresh storm warnings are announced in regions of New Zealand already devastated by Cyclone Gabrielle and the prime minister warns of the likelihood of further fatalities.

As of 2.30pm on Thursday, 3,455 people had been registered by police as uncontactable, with some likely to be multiple reports for the same person.

We believe the majority of those considered uncontactable simply cannot make contact with loved ones, so police are prioritising those who are in isolated areas, said the prime minister, Chris Hipkins, warning that there were some people for whom the police held grave concerns.

After a visit to storm-hit Gisborne on Thursday, Hipkins described the damage as extensive, with basics like food and clean water still needed. He described the cyclone as an event on the scale of the Christchurch earthquake in 2011.

With the extent of damage still unfolding, New Zealand requested Australias help for disaster response on Thursday morning.

I can confirm that NEMA [National Emergency Management Agency] has accepted an agency-to-agency offer for emergency response support and expertise, Hipkins said.

Speaking earlier in the day, the prime minister said New Zealand would be forced to re-evaluate and remake its infrastructure in response to extreme weather events. Theres no question that as a country we need to look at the resilience of our infrastructure, and we need to do that with a much greater sense of urgency than weve ever seen before.

As the emergency response continued, fresh storms were arriving, with severe thunderstorm alerts issued on Thursday morning for the worst-hit areas.

National forecaster MetService issued a severe thunderstorm warning for Thursday afternoon for areas including the Bay of Plenty, Gisborne and the Hawkes Bay region three of the areas that have experienced some of the highest levels of flooding, damage and loss of life.

MetService said there were very unstable conditions including heavy rain and hail.

Rainfall of this intensity can cause surface and/or flash flooding, especially about low-lying areas, they said.

Fresh evacuation orders were issued on Thursday morning for residents of central Hawkes Bay, with those around Drumpeel Road told to leave immediately.

Communication to the worst-affected areas remained difficult, with authorities relying on the Starlink satellite communications service from Elon Musks Space X to provide internet in some areas.

As of Thursday afternoon, about 102,000 households were still without power across the North Island, down from about 225,000 on Tuesday morning.

As flood waters recede, they are revealing huge destruction: homes partly immersed in silt and mud, or shifted off their foundations. Its just unbelievable the devastation, Eastern police district commander Supt Jeanette Park said on Thursday morning. When you see it, its hard to comprehend.

On Thursday morning, Urban Search and Rescue said they were still rescuing people from their homes in Hawkes Bay. In a radio interview, Napier-based Urban Search and Rescue specialist Ken Cooper said people had been climbing down from roofs to shelter in the upper parts of their properties.

Were finding people have moved to the roof voids of their properties, so we are still, at this moment, we are still rescuing people from their properties and there are a large number of people unaccounted for, he said.

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UPDATE: New Zealand government estimates more than $8 billion worth of damage caused by cyclone Gabrielle  Euro Weekly News

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UPDATE: New Zealand government estimates more than $8 billion worth of damage caused by cyclone Gabrielle - Euro Weekly News

Warning as major new scam cons New Zealand investors out of millions in just a few weeks  Newshub

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Warning as major new scam cons New Zealand investors out of millions in just a few weeks - Newshub