Haere Mai - Maori Theme - Travel Poster - circa 1920s

Haere Mai! Maori theme travel poster from the 1920s

Now if we all got off the grid and used geothermal cooking we might  be able to keep the lake levels higher and abate global warming at the same time. Cooking times may vary.

The Tree Fern - Poster - circa 1930s

The Tree Fern - Poster - circa 1930s

 

Actually, I'm not sure this is a travel poster but nothing says "New Zealand" like a tree fern!

Fly Fishing in New Zealand - M A Poulton - 1936 - Travel Poster

Fly Fishing in New Zealand - M A Poulton - 1936 - Travel Poster, Government Tourist Department.

Click on picture for larger image

Fly Fishing in New Zealand - L C Mitchell, artist - 1935

Woman Fly Fishing in New Zealand - L C Mitchell, artist - 1935, book cover

The Southern Lakes - Lake Wanaka - New Zealand Railways Travel Poster - 1930s

The Southern Lakes, Lake Wanaka, New Zealand Railway,s Travel Poster - 1930s

Fiordland - New Zealand Railways Poster - circa 1930s

Fiordland - New Zealand Railways Poster - circa 1930s

click on image for larger view

Timaru For Me And You - travel poster - circa 1930s

Timaru For Me And You - travel poster - circa 1930s

Go get the skis, we're off to Caroline Bay one more time. Might need the wet suits as we head into March. Swim between the flags! Oh, don't bother, the lifeguards will have left by now.

Franz Josef Glacier - South Westland - Travel Poster - circa 1930s

 

 Franz Josef Glacier, South Westland, Travel Poster, circa 1930s

Visit the Franz Josef and Fox glaciers before global warming melts them both away. 

Some fond memories of this part of the country come to mind. One, participation in an environmental protection conference at Fox or Franz in the 70s to protect the native beech forest from logging. It is of some personal satisfaction to know that eventually some of it did get protected. Small individual efforts by many can cumulatively result in progress. Is there still time for the same with respect to countering global warming?

Another memory: staying at one of the hotels like the one pictured above in the dying days of the Government's Tourist Hotel Corporation. It was quaintly 1950s or 60s in decor in the late 1980s, not by conscious design but benign indifference. Somehow it was like walking into one of these travel posters. A way of living the past.

Technically, the scene pictured above is from a travel brochure rather than a travel poster.

Cattle Droving, South Westland - Travel poster - circa 1930s

 

 Travel poster, Cattle Droving, South Westland, artist Marcus King, circa 1930s

Cattle droving on a fine South Westland day as the Herefords cross a frigid, glacial-fed river.

No, Jayne: not South West Island which would be Tasmania, right? And we'll have none of yer Drover's Run, McLeod's Daughters stuff on this side of the Tazzie, thank you very much! ;)

New Zealand For Your Next Holiday - Maori Girl - Travel Poster - circa 1927-29

 

New Zealand travel poster circa 1927-1929

Why not weave a nice harakeke (flax) kete on your next holiday? Indeed, why not travel to New Zealand to do so? C'mon you spuds, off the couch, pack a bag, leave the game consoles & 'puters behind, forego the extreme sports, and get in some mahi raranga (art of basket weaving).

You can start with the disposable dinner plates. Yes, throwaways, but 100% recyclable! No need to drag from place to place for the busy traveler. And so much less expensive than a nice carved wooden bowl.

Sheep Droving in New Zealand - Travel Poster - circa 1930s

 

Sheep Droving in New Zealand - Travel Poster - Marcus King - circa 1930s

What gallery of New Zealand travel posters would be complete without a picture of white fluffies sans dags ambling along a country road or bounding across a pasture as a rambunctious hunteraway or a stealthy eye dog steers them towards some unseen gateway or set of yards?

In this Marcus King poster, electric power pylons string out down the valley showcasing the expanding role of hydro power dams in the southern lakes and rivers region of the South Island. So, the engineers - nationbuilders that they were - also get a look in.

Sportsman's Paradise - Travel Poster - circa 1925-30

Sportsman's Paradise - Travel Poster  - circa 1925-30

 

For heaven's sake, these days just take a picture, don't catch the big game fish! Successive generations and industrial fishing have plundered enough. Look but don't touch!

Travel Poster - Skiing at Tongariro National Park in the 1930s

 

Travel Poster, by Marcus King, 1930s

And over she goes, Trev...... (with apologies to Fred Dagg, aka John Clarke).

Skiing in the central North Island as it was romanticised in the 1930s travel poster.

I keep forgetting to remind everyone that clicking on the pic will give you a larger view of the image. So, consider yerself reminded!

Chateau Tongariro - Best Reached By Rail - Travel Poster, circa 1932

Chateau Tongariro, National Park, Central North Island, travel poster, circa 1932.

Up for some volcanic activity, some winter sport? 

Why not check into the Chateau Tongariro at National Park, in the central North Island for some seismic, vog and other volcanic fun? See the three mountains, active volcanoes: Mt Tongariro, Mt Ruapehu (ejects frequent lahars), and Mt Ngauruhoe, which last erupted in 1975. Three stalwarts of the Pacific Ring of Fire, get a front seat view.

"Best reached by rail" in 1932...

Rotorua - New Zealand's Thermal Wonderland - Travel Poster, 1930s

Rotorua and a view of the hot springs baths in New Zealand's Thermal Wonderland. Travel poster.

Rotorua, the destination for generations of tourists over 130 or more years. A view of the bath house and the hot spring pool at Rotorua. Don't worry about the rotten egg smell from the sulphur emitted into the air by the thermal springs in and around Rotorua. You won't notice it at all after a few days...

Queenstown - New Zealand Railways Travel Poster, 1930s

Queenstown, New Zealand Railways travel poster, 1930s

Queenstown in the southern lakes district of the South Island. Why not take a scenic trip by train & Railways motor (bus)?

Nowadays, the extreme sport, winter sport, night club crowd jet in or tour by air conditioned luxury coach. The hardy types cycle in across the dry landscape in summertime.

New Zealand Railways Travel Poster - Tourist Tickets - 1923

New Zealand Railways Travel Poster, 1923.

Perhaps you should buy a tourist ticket when you tour New Zealand. 

These days you may need to jump on a Kiwi Rail freight or coal train to make some connections (reduced rates apply). Or ride a bike trail where the rail bed used to be.

Picnic Time in Early New Zealand

With the picnic season well underway in New Zealand, here's a view of early picnicking at Whangaroa Heads during the Northern Steam Ship Company's Annual Summer Cruise that was popular among Aucklanders in the early 1900s.

Air New Zealand Cuts 200 Jobs

Reflecting weakening international demand, Air New Zealand has announced 200 layoffs from its 11,500 work force. Half the layoffs are from international cabin crew with the balance being in non-shop floor engineering and head off staff. Labour cost savings are estimated at NZ$20 million per year.

The airline has already cut long haul capacity to the United Kingdom, China, and Japan by 8 percent and expects the reduction to reach 13 percent by June 2009.

Last week Air New Zealand said it was not cutting domestic flights for now as demand on the main trunk and Queenstown routes remained good.

Qantas airlines, however, has announced it will cut in its flights within New Zealand by 25 percent by late January and it is not restoring its Wellington-Christchurch flight. Aviation industry commentators suggest that while Qantas is winding down flights, its budget fare subsidiary, Jetstar will step into the breech to fill some of the flights. Jetstar as applied for an operation certificate from New Zealand"s Civil Aviation Authority.

Should Jetstar step into the NZ domestic market, Air New Zealand will have to adapt its domestic business strategy to meet the new competition. Air New Zealand's budget fare subsidiary, Freedom Air, was shutdown earlier this year having seen off a previous round of competition since 1996.

New Zealand China Free Trade Begins Oct 1 2008

The New Zealand-China Free Trade Agreement (FTA) entered into force on 1 October 2008.

China is New Zealand's 4th largest export market, purchasing just over NZ$2 billion by value and taking some 5.3 percent of NZ's total exports. Imports from China amount to NZ$4.8 billion or some 13.1 percent of total NZ imports. On a merchanise trade basis, New Zealand's deficit with China is running at about $2.8 billion.

New Zealand exports of services to China are also important: China is the largest provider of international students studying in New Zealand at the high school, English language school, and university levels, while tourists from China are the 4th largest group of tourists visiting New Zealand.

The Free Trade Agreement signed in April this year, cuts the tariffs on 35 percent of NZ exports entering China to zero after 1 October. Within 5 years, two-thirds of NZ exports will enter China free of tariffs.

New Zealand's exports to China are expected to increase by $225-350 million per year above the pre-FTA baseline level.

On the day the FTA entered into effect, The NZ Trade Minister, Phil Goff, said that new investment and trade opportunities are opening up but that New Zealand businesses will need to be able to effectively manage their global supply chain by being "fully prepared to work within conditions that differ greatly from our own and to understand China’s business culture". He pointed to the current problems faced by New Zealand's Fonterra in ensuring its joint venture investment in Sanlu Group in China was run to high quality control standards to avoid contaminated milk products damaging Chinese consumers.

The FTA is the first signed by China that is linked to associated agreements for consultation and cooperation on labour and environmental standards in the bilateral trade.

Critics of the FTA have pointed to the danger of increased imported competition as well as the effect of increased Chinese foreign investment in New Zealand's domestic market. Moreover, the Green Party and others have been critical of unsustainable logging and other environmental practices in China. They have also argued that freer trade under the FTA will only add to human rights abuses in China.