Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
However, the North Island doesn't have a monopoly on earthquakes. In September
2010 Christchurch was rocked by a magnitude 7.1 earthquake. Less than six months
later, in February 2011, a magnitude 6.3 quake destroyed much of the city's historic heart
and claimed 185 lives, making it the country's second-deadliest natural disaster. NZ's
second city continues to be jostled by aftershocks as it builds anew.
The South Island can also see some evidence of volcanism - if the remains of the old
volcanoes of Banks Peninsula weren't there to repel the sea, the vast Canterbury Plains,
built from alpine sediment washed down the rivers from the Alps, would have eroded
long ago.
But in the south it is the Southern Alps themselves that dominate, dictating settlement
patterns, throwing down engineering challenges and offering outstanding recreational op-
portunities. The island's mountainous backbone also helps shape the weather, as it stands
in the path of the prevailing westerly winds which roll in, moisture-laden, from the Tas-
man Sea. As a result, bush-clad lower slopes of the western Southern Alps are among the
wettest places on earth, with an annual precipitation of some 15,000mm. Having lost its
moisture, the wind then blows dry across the eastern plains towards the Pacific coast.
The North Island has a more even rainfall and is spared the temperature extremes of
the South, which can plunge when a wind blows in from Antarctica. The important thing
to remember, especially if you are tramping at high altitude, is that NZ has a maritime
climate. This means weather can change with lightning speed, catching out the unpre-
pared.
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES IN NEW ZEALAND
Employing images of untouched landscapes, Tourism New Zealand's 100% Pure
marketing campaign has been critically acclaimed, and is the envy of tourism or-
ganisations worldwide. Such portrayals of a pristine environment have, however,
been repeatedly rumbled in recent years as environmentalists - and the media -
place NZ's 'clean green' credentials under the microscope. Mining, offshore oil and
gas exploration, pollution, biodiversity loss, conservation funding cuts, and ques-
tionable urban planning - there have been endless hooks for bad-news stories, and
numerous reasons to protest.
A 2013 university study found that New Zealanders rate water quality as the
country's most serious environmental issue. Their concern is well founded, with
one-third of NZ's 425 lakes, rivers and beaches deemed unsafe for swimming; re-
search from diverse quarters confirms that the health of NZ's waterways is in seri-
ous decline. The primary culprit is 'dirty dairying' - cow effluent leaching into
