Lake Wanaka Tourism
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Chasing monsters
The immortal goldfish is no laughing matter. LIKE HEDGEHOGS, GOLDFISH (CARASSIUS AURATUS) WERE FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO EVOLVE INTO SOMETHING HUMANS FIND CUTE. THEY ARE NOT CUTE. THEY ARE TERRIFYING. YOU JUST DON’T KNOW THIS BECAUSE YOU’VE NEVER SEEN ONE OUTSIDE OF A TANK. Don’t let the glowing skin, big eyes and graceful tails fool you;…
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BATTLETRUCK!
Laura Williamson revisits a post-apocalyptic action classic, filmed in her ‘hood. IT’S AFTER THE OIL WARS. AMERICA IS A RADIOACTIVE AFTERTHOUGHT WHERE MARAUDING BANDITS STALK THE COUNTRYSIDE ON THE HUNT FOR PETROL, AND WOMEN. THE RADIO CRACKLES IN THE BACKGROUND, A LITANY OF BAD NEWS: “GASOLINE ALL BUT UNATTAINABLE”, “FOOD RIOTS”, “OIL FIELDS IN ARABIA…
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Fixed wings
The team at Twenty24 are making history airworthy again. HAVE YOU HEARD HOW NASA ONCE SPENT MILLIONS OF DOLLARS DESIGNING A BALLPOINT PEN THAT WOULD WORK IN SPACE? THE SOVIETS JUST TOOK A PENCIL. The story’s probably apocryphal, but perhaps there’s some truth to it. Take a look at the fighter aircraft built by the…
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Clinkered and cramponed
Lilian Familton’s audacious ascent of Mount Aspiring. “Day was now drawing to a close, the setting sun lit up the peaks in riotous colours of flaming crimson and gold. Purple shadows … all was peace” – Lilian Familton, New Zealand Alpine Journal Lilian Familton was wet. When she walked her boots squelched and it seemed…
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To turn is to admit defeat
Fast times and straight lines with Aotearoa’s top speed skiers. SIX NEW ZEALAND ATHLETES COMPETED AT THE 1992 WINTER OLYMPICS IN ALBERTVILLE. ONE, ANNELISE COBERGER, WON SILVER IN SLALOM, THE COUNTRY’S FIRST MEDAL AT A WINTER OLYMPICS, AND ONE OF ONLY THREE WE’VE WON TO THIS DAY. BUT THERE WAS ANOTHER CONTINGENT OF ATHLETES FROM…
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YAMI time
So you want to be a rock’n’roll star? IT STARTED A DECADE AGO AS A SERIES OF WORKSHOPS FOR SMOKEFREEROCKQUEST HOPEFULS. TODAY IT’S ONE OF THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES FOR KIWIS WANTING TO MAKE THEIR LIVES IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY. AND IT TAKES PLACE, OF ALL PLACES, IN WĀNAKA. The YAMI SouNZ Summit got…
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Peak reading
The best things come in small packages, or in the case of the climbing section at The Next Chapter, small bookshops. Set smack against the Southern Alps, Wānaka is a small town with a big reputation in the climbing world. You can see Tititea / Mount Aspiring, also known as the ‘Matterhorn of the South’,…
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The Best of Bingo
On the footpath outside a Helwick Street café in Wānaka, there is a plaque, a leash hook and a water bowl. Bingo’s back arches, suddenly, like those silly cats when they get a fright. All the hair on his back stands on end as if magnetised. In that moment between surprise and concern, he has…
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She’ll strap on her wings and fly
“Any day now / That joke will turn sour / And she’ll say a sweet goodbye / She’ll pack up her things / Strap on her wings and fly” – Aviatrix, The Lucksmiths IT’S HARD TO PINPOINT, BUT THE HISTORY OF WOMEN IN AVIATION IN AOTEAROA MAY HAVE STARTED WITH A BALLOON, A WET SOUTHLAND…