We have hunted out our five favourite dive sites in New Zealand. New Zealand reportedly has more scuba divers per capita than any other country in the world. Whether it's cruising around reefs in subtropical Northland water, or exploring a subterranean fresh-water cave system, Kiwis are at home under the water.
POOR KNIGHTS ISLANDS
If you're looking for superb diving opportunities in New Zealand, you cannot go past the Poor Knights Islands, off the coast of Tutukaka, near Whangarei. Jacques Cousteau named it as one of the top 10 dive sites in the world and more recently Diver magazine called it the world's best subtropical dive.
Warm currents swept in from tropical waters further north support 125 different species of fish, as well as corals, sponges, kelp forests and stingrays. This is the place to go for stunning displays of underwater colour: Reef fish mingle with sponges, anemones and vibrant seaweeds.
The islands are the remains of a group of 11-million-year-old volcanoes and underwater cliffs drop to 100m below sea level in places. Caves and archways shelter species that usually would be found much deeper than they are here - in the Rikoriko Cave, 10m below the surface, is a sponge usually found 200m down.
The Poor Knights include the world's largest sea cave - so big that it's reputed to have hidden a Japanese submarine during World War II.
Visibility is best in winter, when divers can see up to 30m. But as the water warms up, plankton moves in and decreases visibility, although it boosts fish life. Watch out for passing humpbacks and turtles.
RAINBOW WARRIOR
Still in the north, Greenpeace's flagship boat was sunk at the Cavalli Islands in 1987, two years after its infamous bombing in the Auckland harbour. It is now an artificial reef teeming with marine life and a very popular dive site. But reports from divers say that the wreck appears to be disintegrating at an increasing rate, so this is one to visit sooner rather than later. The wreck is 27m below the surface, and about 40m in length.
It is covered with gorgeous jewel anemones - but some experts say it takes a night dive to see them at their very best. On a normal day you could expect to come face-to-face with golden snapper, kingfish, john dory, mackerel, scorpion fish, moray eels and crayfish.
There are usually mild currents and visibility is good from February until the end of June.
RIWAKA CAVERNS
A unique opportunity for divers of any skill level, the Riwaka Caverns near Nelson are a massive underground network of caves and tunnels, filled with fresh water. A bush walk leads you to the start of the dive, where you slip underwater and swim through a series of enormous caverns.
It's cold and very dark at the beginning but once you surface inside, you can take your scuba equipment off and marvel at the stalactite and stalagmite formations as well as a waterfall of pink limestone inside the cave at the end of the second sump.
Divers comment on the unexpected size of everything to do with this dive - from the boulders they clamber over to the caves themselves. Explorers have so far ventured about 800 metres into the network, called the Riwaka Resurgence.
WHITE ISLAND
There are not many places in the world where you can dive around a live volcano but New Zealand is one of them.
White Island, about 50km off the coast of Whakatane, is a 200,000-year-old volcano surrounded by water that is full of marine life, including kingfish, stingrays, moray eels and blue maomao.
Fissures in the rocks create a ''spa-pool'' effect of bubbles in places. The water temperature hovers about 18 degrees but can get to 22 degrees in summer and divers report up to 50m visibility, with reefs, pinnacles, drop-offs, boulders, archways and plateaus to explore. Stop for lunch or to snorkel at Champagne Bay, which gets its name from the thermal activity in the water. Rare diadema urchins have made their home at White Island - check them out at Diadema Rock.
HMNZS WELLINGTON (F69)
After 18 years in the New Zealand navy, the Wellington is now the most accessible dive wreck on the planet, just off the coast of Wellington, about 10 minutes from the airport. Scuttled in 2005, the wreck has been broken up into three sections by currents and is a living reef, home to many different species of fish.
The wreck is roughly 24m down, with visibility of about eight metres. Being Wellington, divers are warned to watch for currents. Dive around the gun turret or take in the exterior of the ship - diving in the midship and stern sections is not advised. This is as safe as it gets for wreck diving, though, you will not even need a torch.
Article courtesy of Hamilton News - 3/12/12
Has your child ever asked you this question? And what was your answer? Here are a few facts and arguments you can use in the future.
When learning many can't understand the benefits of maths beyond the basic calculation of daily things. However maths is important in all aspects of our lives.
Maths equips us with many tools including -
· Logical reasoning
· Ability to think in abstract ways
· Problem solving skills
Maths develops the imagination and trains us to be able to think clearly. Maths is also important in the development of language. You would be amazed at how often the language of maths crops up in your daily conversations; talking about time, money, temperature, technology, planning trips, shopping, cooking, designing plans ...
Mathematics is important in many everyday employment situations, science and technology, medicine, the economy, the environment and development, and in public decision-making. Think of the jobs that require maths these include doctors, teachers, scientists, engineers, technology services, lawyers, marketing, building, designers just to name a few.
Maths is invariably used, and often without realisation, to find the right concepts and methods to make difficult things easy, to explaining why a situation is how it is. By using maths skills you develop language and insights into our understanding and appreciation of the world.
Maths isn't just numbers and is all about patterns too. Imagine a fashion designer trying to develop a concept without maths abilities!
Increasingly, employers are looking for graduates with strong skills in reasoning and problem solving.
Finally of course everyone nowadays has a computer. The computer itself is a machine built upon the principles of mathematics.
So whilst you may think you don't use maths or hate the subject, just imagine how you would get on calculating your change at the shop, working out if you can afford that much anticipated trip, reading your bank statement or baking that cake if you had no, or very limited, concept and knowledge of that often dreaded subject - mathematics!
Travel - Prehistoric Dordogne
The Dordogne region in central France is famous not only for its beautiful scenery and river but also for it’s prehistory.
Les Ezyies
Les Ezyies and the Verzere Valley are a UNESCO World Heritage site (designated in 1979) for the prehistoric caves. Font de Gaume is famous as it is one of the few caves left where you can see the original prehistoric polychrome paintings. The caves include some of the most significant archaeological finds of the Upper Paleolithic (from about 40,000 to10,000 years ago) and Middle Paleolithic (200,000 to 40,000 years ago) periods, they are especially noted for their extensive wall drawings. Discovered in 1901, more than 200 images have been identified in Font-de-Gaume.
The Grotte du Grand Roc
As well as the pre-historic caves the dordogne has a large number of beautiful natural caves and the Grotte du Grand Roc is one of the best of these. This is a natural cave containing an incredible display of stalactites and stalagmites as well as rare 'exentriques' which are tiny stalactites that grow in all directions.
Another very unusal formation are the triangles. These are on the floor which and form an area covered in perfectly formed triangles.
Evening visits to sights in the Dordogne are becoming ever more popular and the Grotte de Grand Roc is now open for a night time visit on Monday evenings. On these visits the caves are explored by torchlight in the way they would originally been discovered by Jean Maury in 1924. At the end of the visit the caves are illuminated so that you can see them in all their glory.
La Roque Saint-Christophe
Nearby is La Roque-Saint-Christophe, an incredible troglodyte village which shows evidence of use as a shelter for Neanderthal man (50000 BC), Cro-Magnon man (25000 BC) and since then up until the Renaissance in 1588 when the trogolodyte town and fortress that had grown up was destroyed in the Wars of Religion.
The town occupied 5 terraces in the cliff face using naturally hollowed out caves in the limestone cliff. Three hundred feet above the ground and more than half a mile long the Roque Saint Christophe really is a remarkable troglodyte development.
This cave 'village' half way up a cliff has a church, a cow-shed and lots more. There are also some reconstructions of large-scale machines of construction used in medieval times.
Saint-Leon-Sur_Vezere
Now head on to Saint Leon sur Vezere which is yet another of France's "most beautiful villages", set in a curve in the Vézere River. It is a small village, of houses in the attractive local stone joined by narrow meandering pathways and alleys. Remarkably for a village of this kind in this location, St Leon sue Vezere has not been overly renovated - rather 'sympathetically restored'.
Many of the houses still have parts of their roofs made of stone which was the traditional roofing at one time. The church in the village is small but perfectly formed and is on the pilgrim route that led from the Abbey of Vezelay in Burgundy and on towards the abbeys at Cadouin and Saint Avit Senieur.
The chateau de Clerans has a beautiful slate roof with spires and ornamental stone work. It is private but very attractive and can be seen from various points around the village as well as from the riverside path.
There is an interesting legend in the village that a servant who shot an arrow at the cross fell down dead with his head turned the wrong way round. His grave was opened in 1890 by members of the Archealogical society and indeed there was a body with a head which was back to front.
Answer the Queries - To be able to produce good web content the first thing you need to understand is what your user is searching for and be able to provide them with the answers.
For example, if you sell cane furniture your end user may be looking for an outdoor lounging set for around the swimming pool. Your content must demonstrate your knowledge about what furniture pieces can be left out in the weather, if you provide waterproof or weather proof cushions, sizes, dimensions, colour schemes. Good content will also provide details on how and where your furniture is manufactured, different finishes and if your company works alongside a country with it's fair trade principles make sure your care and support is clearly shown in your content. Provide the answers to their questions.
Allow for Interaction - If you are able allow for an area for comments. Encourage questions, especially those sometimes unexpected questions, eg Is cane appropriate to use for the base of a bed? for you to provide more information without initial overload.
Use Visuals - Use images and videos. We all know visual learners are one of the highest percentages of our population. Plus, of course, in a world increasing full of traffic and short on time, images can be the first attraction to people moving on to your more graphic content. There are lots of options now including slideshare, diagrams, short animations, videos and, of course, just a good appealing image.
Bullets - In web writing lists or highlighted bullet points are often a good way to catch a user's eye.
Headlines - Strong Headlines should be inviting. Stats quote 80% of people read your headlines but only 20% read the content! Create interest through that headline but it does of course need to be relevant to your content! Consider your audience then craft your headline, eg a florist catering to the wedding market could write an article on the most popular flowers in wedding bouquets, she's an expert, knows her local market both floral and wedding styles and seasons so which article headline would be more attractive to read the content -
"Popular Bouquet Flowers"; or "Top Blooms that ...
...won't wilt at your Summer Wedding" ...will bring magic to your Winter Wedding"
Short, Sharp Content - Keep your paragraphs short. Three or four lines creates the illusion of short, sharp snippets as opposed to a half page paragraph giving the illusion of monotonous drone.
Personalise - Create your own unique style and tone in your writing. Make yourself personable to your readers. Let them feel that they know you so they can build up a relationship and trust with you. We all know we wouldn't buy something from somebody we don't trust.
Accuracy - Make sure what you are saying is accurate! If you are quoting stats link to the stat source. This is not only giving credibility to your stat but also showing you have researched your topic.
Once complete step back from your article. Go back to it later and re- read. Take out unnecessary words. The word "that" for example is almost always superfluous. Make sure your information reads fluidly and each fact gives a complete picture and finally ask yourself, if you wanted information on the topic you are writing on, do you think you would find your article useful?
Retirement living is about more than money.
Financial planners tell us to start thinking about retirement living decades before we're ready to retire, and it's good to make a retirement planning checklist about five years before your retirement date.
While you're thinking about how much money you'll need in retirement, think about what you want your life to look like, and how you want to feel.
Make life plans. It's important to plan for the non-financial aspect of retirement living by considering what will make you happy. Maybe you’ll climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, go dog sledding in Alaska, make time to write that novel you've been thinking about, or even continue to work part-time. Make a life plan and tick off your experiences as you move ahead.
Find a purpose. When making your retirement living plan, look for things you can do on an on-going basis that bring you joy and add structure to your life. This can include travel, hobbies or even training for a new career.
Keep your mind sharp. "Use it or lose it" applies to your brain. If you feel the need to replace the intellectual stimulation you found at work, try learning a foreign language or a musical instrument, or join a book club. Lifelong learning offers many opportunities to keep your mind sharp. How about checking out the lifelong learning classes offered by your local community centre or college?
Volunteer. Getting involved in your community is a great way to give back, and it's a wonderful opportunity to interact with people and make new friends.
Develop new friendships. A measurement of whether people are successful at retirement living is the strength of their social network - that includes family and friends. Check out groups that help you meet new people or join community or religious organisations that have members who share your interests. It's possible to meet people and make new friends even if it's difficult to get around. Did you know that friendship helps to increase longevity?
Ask your spouse or partner. If you live with someone or have a close partner, retirement living becomes a shared experience. It's important to make time for you and your partner to both share your dreams—you might be pleasantly surprised to learn that your partner wants to join you on that Mt. Kilimanjaro climb, and he or she may have ideas you'll enjoy.
Increase your financial stability. If you can’t afford to retire yet, what about partial retirement? This can include working part-time in your current job or finding a retirement job that's new and interesting—and will also help you earn money.
Keep your spirits up. The life changes that come with retirement living can be challenging, but your attitude plays a big part in whether you'll find happiness in retirement living or not. Check in with yourself to assess your mood; if you feel sad or hopeless it's important to see your doctor or a professional. Learn the signs of senior depression (or ask a friend or family member to assess your mood) and don't be afraid to ask for help.
Remain healthy. With increasing life spans, retirement living can be a long race, so get yourself in shape. That means eating well, watching your weight and staying active. When you feel good, it's easier to stay positive and open to new experiences.
Tips courtesy of Joan Carter, co-founder of Life Options Institute, USA
Face it, car tyres are not something most people budget for in the day to day activities, but are of course necessary and important. So do you need to pay for the premium brands or are budget tyres adequate?
When considering car tyres it is important to know what you want from your car before you consider the type of tyre. Are you a long distance, heavy usage motorway driver? Are you a ‘round the town’ lower speed user? A huge range of tyres are available for virtually any car.
When thinking premium tyres brand names such as Goodyear, Michelin, Pirelli and Bridgestone come to mind the prices of which deflate your bank account faster than your last blowout. Budget brands, on the other hand, are the cheapest tyres in the market and can be very friendly on the wallet.
All tyres sold in New Zealand are required to meet particular standards and this of course dictates a certain level of certainty and safety. In fact often many of the budget tyre companies are owned by the ‘big boys’ in tyre research who still want their share of the budget market.
In the real world, nobody can actually state that a budget tyre will fail or a premium tyre won’t. This depends on both the type of driving you do and the care you take of your tyres.
Buying a budget tyre doesn’t necessarily mean you are settling for a low quality product and in fact many budget tyres are developed using the same techniques as the premium tyre ranges.
There is the argument that budget tyres don’t last as long as premium, however, there’s no such thing as an average lifecycle for a tyre as, once again, a tyre’s life is always related to how you drive and the care you take of them. If you check the air pressure once a month, the recommended tyre pressure is usually recorded on the pillar of the driver’s door, this can drastically increase the life of your tyres as well as saving you money as under inflated tyres result in increased road friction, meaning the tyres will wear faster and require move fuel to run the car. All four tyres should also be of the same tread pattern.
It is also wise to use the skills and experience of your tyre professional. They understand all about the factors that cover the range of things such as good wet and dry handling and grip, noisy and quiet tread patterns, off road traction required, etc and can help in deciding the best option for your driving use.
At the end of the day, budget tyres are not unsafe and, as long as you aren’t planning on completing a high speed tour around New Zealand, budget tyres can offer really good sense and good value.
When organizing your flowers note there are a number times you can use flowers, some often forgotten, and remember to keep in mind any theme you would like running through the day. Keep in mind the season and particular favourites you’d like to include. Your florist will always be happy to advise.
Bride’s Bouquet - Keep in mind the Wedding gown, colour, style, fabric and any particular style you would like. Consider the colours in the bouquet if you want them to match or contrast the bridesmaids and if you want to include any special or favourite flowers.
Toss-away bouquet for the bride - This is a pretty, matching posy for tossing if you want to keep your bouquet.
Hair flowers for bride - Fresh wired blooms, a fresh floral fascinator, or a flower circlet are all beautiful finishing touches.
Bridesmaid’s flowers - Consider the Number of Bridesmaids / Matron of Honour, the colour they are wearing and style of dresses
Hair flowers for bridesmaids - Fresh wired blooms, a fresh floral fascinator or a flower circlet are all beautiful finishing touches.
Flowergirls - Consider the number, their ages, colour and style of their dresses. You could consider a wand, posy, basket of petals, floral ball, hoop or flower basket. Do you want flowers in their hair?
Buttonholes - Consider the numbers required. The Groom’s should be extra special. Remember to provide for not only the bestman, groomsmen and pageboys but consider the Fathers of the Bride and Groom, Stepfathers, Grandfathers, Brothers and other special male family members. You may even wish to extend these to the Ushers, Master of Ceremonies, Celebrant/ Minister.
Corsages for the ladies - Made to match the dress. Remember you can have either a pin corsage or wrist corsage. These should be provided for Mother of the Bride, Mother of the Groom and provide Grandmothers Boutonnieres. You may also want to provide for Stepmothers, Sisters, Aunties, or even the Celebrant, Soloists, Readers and any other special ladies.
Flowers for the Ceremony - If you are planning a giving ceremony you will want long stem roses. Consider your flower arrangements for the entrance and pew bows or chair decorations. You will want flowers on the Alter, Pedestal or other central arrangements. Consider rose petal confetti. It may be possible to take some of your ceremony flowers to the reception venue.
Flowers for the Reception - Items to consider will be your Bridal Table Centre piece, Table Centre pieces. Keep in mind the number of tables, number of seats, shape of tables, flowers to include candles or not, etc. Perhaps you would like cake flowers. Plus your room decor flowers - Entrance, Bar area, buffet tables, Cake Table, Guestbook, restrooms.
Thank you bouquets - Consider flowers after the big day. The Mums or head bridesmaid.
Flowers can be a major expense in your wedding budget so talk to your florist, make sure they understand your requirements and wishes and make sure they know your budget so you can work together for the best results!
by Linku2 Limited
22 June 2013
Update: 12 June 2018
by Linku2 Limited
22 June 2013
Update: 12 June 2018
One of the biggest challenges faced by the majority of homeowners is finding ways to make the most of their space, because not everyone can afford to simply get a bigger place — and regardless, you may not even need to.
The following is a look at some of the things you can do to create more space in your home and have it feeling like a much larger place.
Better storage will give you somewhere to put all of those items that are cluttering up your place, so take a good look at exactly what is taking up so much room and add a few extra storage spaces that will be able to fit all of those things. By adding an extra storage chest that can double as a table, or even adding a backyard shed, you will finally have somewhere to put everything and will probably be quite amazed at how spacious your home can actually be.
If you are lucky enough to own your home but your family has started to outgrow it, consider having some renovations done, because even a few simple additions can once again provide all of the space your family needs. Strategically knocking out an interior wall can add a huge amount of space to your home, or having a granny flat built out back can suddenly mean there are no space problems at all.
Opening up the kitchen, adding a veranda, or putting in a patio will all help create more space at your home, and you can be as drastic or conservative with the changes as you like. Whether you research online or watch home renovation shows; get some advice and you may be able to do at least some of the renovations yourself.
The reason you feel short on space may be due to the fact you simply own too much stuff, so downsize your belongings and get rid of all of those items you rarely ever use. You may be able to sell some of those that are still in good condition by way of a yard sale, or even online classifieds like Gumtree. Otherwise, donate or recycle as much as you can.
Your space issue might be due to being disorganised with the way you are storing your belongings, and may be mostly a matter of finding better ways to use the space you have. It may take you a few solid hours of work, or even an entire weekend, but by going through your current storage and reorganising it a little, you may find you have more than enough space already.
If you are stuck for ideas, take a look at what others are doing to get more space in their homes. Whether you search online, watch home decorating shows, or look through interior design magazines at the local library, often all it takes it seeing someone else’s solution to spark a great idea of your own.
from Linku2 Limited
by Linku2 Limited
10 February 2012
Update: 28 June 2017
How often do you hear of the nightmares experienced by those who build their own property about budget blowout and the stress of extra costs and over spending.
Everybody has some sort of budget in mind when they plan to build and here are a few tips to keep in mind if you are limited and would like to maximise what you can get for those tighter budget costs.
Consider the size of the house you need. Smaller houses are cheaper to build but don’t cut back too far. If you are a young couple do take into consideration the number of children you might like to have, if you have family living overseas also take into consideration if they visit and you have three children how practical will it be. If this is a first time home and investment for you these matters may not be relevant but do keep in mind
Collect estimates early. Before you are even too far into the planning process start gathering estimates. While these will only be rough guides there’s no point in going down the track saying you want underfloor heating if your budget simply won’t stretch that far.
Make the shape of your building simple. Angles, corners, rounded edges will all add to the building costs
Consider what services you can complete yourself. This may include gib stopping, painting, curtain making and often certain types of flooring which can be laid with a little instruction
Shop around for your materials and services. Be prepared to negotiate, you may not get a discount on that oven or dishwasher but at the very least you might get a free toaster or a year supply of dishwasher tablets! Consider clearance stores or seconds as often this can save you lots of money and the flaw may be hidden in your layout
Consider package lots or basic finishes. Fixtures, taps and tops can always be upgraded later once you have more money. Consider open shelving which can be replaced later
Consider recycled materials and estate auctions. Items can add character to your place and if you change your mind they can always be replaced when the budget has grown again
Landscaping can be done on a budget. Level the land, grass your lawn and you can add your exterior design and flower beds later
Whilst you might be building on a budget do consider your expenses down the track. It is worth putting greater emphasis on the basic building blocks of your home including energy saving heating options, water conservation and ventilation and, yes, it is wise to have a Plan B if you find your costs are spiralling out of control!
from Linku2 Limited