1.
Summit
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A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. Mathematically, a summit is a maximum in elevation. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak, and zenith are synonymous, the UIAA definition is that a summit is independent if it has a prominence of 30 metres or more, it is a mountain if it has a prominence of at least 300 metres. This can be summarised as follows, A pyramidal peak is an exaggerated form produced by ice erosion of a mountain top, Summit may also refer to the highest point along a line, trail, or route. In many parts of the western United States, the term refers to the highest point along a road, highway. For example, the highest point along Interstate 80 in California is referred to as Donner Summit while the highest point on Interstate 5 is Siskiyou Mountain Summit, geoid Hill List of highest mountains Maxima and minima Nadir Summit accordance Peak finder
2.
Mountain range
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A mountain range is a geographic area containing numerous geologically related mountains. A mountain system or system of ranges, sometimes is used to combine several geological features that are geographically related. Mountain ranges are usually segmented by highlands or mountain passes and valleys, individual mountains within the same mountain range do not necessarily have the same geologic structure or petrology. They may be a mix of different orogenic expressions and terranes, for example thrust sheets, uplifted blocks, fold mountains, most geologically young mountain ranges on the Earths land surface are associated with either the Pacific Ring of Fire or the Alpide Belt. The Andes is 7,000 kilometres long and is considered the worlds longest mountain system. The Alpide belt includes Indonesia and southeast Asia, through the Himalaya, the belt also includes other European and Asian mountain ranges. The Himalayas contain the highest mountains in the world, including Mount Everest, mountain ranges outside of these two systems include the Arctic Cordillera, the Urals, the Appalachians, the Scandinavian Mountains, the Altai Mountains and the Hijaz Mountains. If the definition of a range is stretched to include underwater mountains. The mountain systems of the earth are characterized by a tree structure, the sub-range relationship is often expressed as a parent-child relationship. For example, the White Mountains of New Hampshire and the Blue Ridge Mountains are sub-ranges of the Appalachian Mountains, equivalently, the Appalachians are the parent of the White Mountains and Blue Ridge Mountains, and the White Mountains and the Blue Ridge Mountains are children of the Appalachians. The position of mountains influences climate, such as rain or snow, when air masses move up and over mountains, the air cools producing orographic precipitation. As the air descends on the side, it warms again and is drier. Often, a shadow will affect the leeward side of a range. Mountain ranges are constantly subjected to forces which work to tear them down. Erosion is at work while the mountains are being uplifted and long after until the mountains are reduced to low hills, rivers are traditionally believed to be the principle erosive factor on mountain ranges, with their ability of bedrock incision and sediment transport. The rugged topography of a range is the product of erosion. The basins adjacent to a mountain range are filled with sediments which are buried and turned into sedimentary rock. The early Cenozoic uplift of the Rocky Mountains of Colorado provides an example and this mass of rock was removed as the range was actively undergoing uplift
3.
Southern Alps
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The Southern Alps are a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealands South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the islands western side. The term Southern Alps generally refers to the range, although separate names are given to many of the smaller ranges that form part of it. The range includes the South Islands Main Divide, which separates the water catchments of the heavily populated eastern side of the island from those on the west coast. Politically, the Main Divide forms the boundary between the Canterbury and West Coast Regions, the Southern Alps run 500 km north to south. Their tallest peak is Aoraki / Mount Cook, the highest point in New Zealand at 3,724 metres, the mountains are cut through with glacial valleys and lakes. A chain of lakes are found on the eastern side of the ridge from Lake Coleridge in the north to Lake Wakatipu in Otago in the south. Settlements include Maruia Springs, a spa near Lewis Pass, the town of Arthurs Pass, the Southern Alps were named by Captain Cook on 23 March 1770, who described their prodigious height. They had previously noted by Abel Tasman in 1642, whose description of the South Islands west coast is often translated as a land uplifted high. The climate is cold with snow and ice year-round at the highest points, because of its orientation perpendicular to the prevailing westerly winds, the range creates excellent wave soaring conditions for glider pilots. The town of Omarama, in the lee of the mountains, has gained a reputation for its gliding conditions. The prevailing westerlies also create a pattern known as the Norwest arch, in which moist air is pushed up over the mountains. This weather pattern is visible in summer across Canterbury and North Otago. Over the last 45 million years, the collision has pushed up a 20 km thickness of rocks on the Pacific Plate to form the Alps, although much of this has been eroded away. Uplift has been most rapid during the last 5 million years, despite the substantial uplift, most of the relative motion along the Alpine Fault is transverse, not vertical. However, significant dip-slip occurs on the boundary to the north and east of the North Island, in the Hikurangi Trench. The mountains are rich in flora with about 25% of the plant species being found above the treeline in alpine plant habitats. The cold windswept slopes above the treeline are covered with areas of fellfield, to the east, the Alps descend to the high grasslands of Canterbury and Otago. Plants adapted to the alpine conditions include woody shrubs like Hebe, Dracophyllum, and Coprosma, wildlife of the mountains includes the endemic rock wren and the kea, a large parrot that was once hunted as a pest
4.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
5.
Mountain pass
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A mountain pass is a route through a mountain range or over a ridge. At lower elevations it may be called a hill pass, the highest vehicle-accessible pass in the world appears to be Mana Pass, located in the Himalayas on the border between India and China. Mountain passes make use of a gap, saddle or col, a topographic saddle is analogous to the mathematical concept of a saddle surface, with a saddle point marking the highest point between two valleys and the lowest point along a ridge. On a topographic map, passes are characterized by lines with an hourglass shape. Passes are often found just above the source of a river, a pass may be very short, consisting of steep slopes to the top of the pass, or may be a valley many kilometres long, whose highest point might only be identifiable by surveying. Roads have long been built – and more recently railways – through passes, some high and rugged passes may have tunnels bored underneath to allow faster traffic flow throughout the year. The top of a pass is frequently the only ground in the area. If a national border follows a mountain range, a pass over the mountains is typically on the border, and there may be a control or customs station. For instance Argentina and Chile share the worlds third-longest international border,5,300 kilometres long, the border runs north-south along the Andes mountains, with a total of 42 mountain passes. On a road over a pass, it is customary to have a roadside sign giving the name of the pass. As well as offering relatively easy travel between valleys, passes also provide a route between two mountain tops with a minimum of descent. As a result, it is common for tracks to meet at a pass, passes traditionally were places for trade routes, communications, cultural exchange, military expeditions etc. A typical example is the Brenner pass in the Alps, some mountain passes above the tree line have problems with snow drift in the winter. This might be alleviated by building the road a few meters above the ground, there are many words for pass in the English-speaking world. In the United States, pass is very common in the West, the gap is common in the southern Appalachians, notch in parts of New England. Scotland has the Gaelic term bealach, while Wales has the similar bwlch, the roads at Mana Pass at 5,610 metres and Marsimik La at 5,582 metres, on and near the China-India border respectively, appear to be worlds two highest motorable passes. Media related to Mountain passes at Wikimedia Commons
6.
South Island
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The South Island or Te Waipounamu is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, the South Island covers 150,437 square kilometres and has a temperate climate. In the early stages of European settlement of the country, the South Island had the majority of the European population, in prose, the two main islands of New Zealand are called the North Island and the South Island, with the definite article. Charcoal drawings can be found on rock shelters in the centre of the South Island. The drawings are estimated to be between 500 and 800 years old, and portray animals, people and fantastic creatures, possibly stylised reptiles, some of the birds pictured are long extinct, including moa and Haasts eagles. They were drawn by early Māori, but by the time Europeans arrived, early inhabitants of the South Island were the Waitaha. They were largely absorbed via marriage and conquest by the Kāti Mamoe in the 16th century, Kāti Mamoe were in turn largely absorbed via marriage and conquest by the Kāi Tahu who migrated south in the 17th century. While today there is no distinct Kāti Mamoe organisation, many Kāi Tahu have Kāti Mamoe links in their whakapapa and, a notable feature of the Moriori culture, an emphasis on pacifism, proved disadvantageous when Māori warriors arrived in the 1830s aboard a chartered European ship. In the early 18th century, Kāi Tahu, a Māori tribe who originated on the east coast of the North Island, There they and Kāti Mamoe fought Ngāi Tara and Rangitāne in the Wairau Valley. Ngāti Māmoe then ceded the east coast regions north of the Clarence River to Kāi Tahu, Kāi Tahu continued to push south, conquering Kaikoura. By the 1730s, Kāi Tahu had settled in Canterbury, including Banks Peninsula, from there they spread further south and into the West Coast. In 1827-1828 Ngāti Toa under the leadership of Te Rauparaha successfully attacked Kāi Tahu at Kaikoura, Ngāti Toa then visited Kaiapoi, ostensibly to trade. When they attacked their hosts, the well-prepared Kāi Tahu killed all the leading Ngāti Toa chiefs except Te Rauparaha, Te Rauparaha returned to his Kapiti Island stronghold. After destroying Te Maiharanuis village they took their captives to Kapiti, John Stewart, though arrested and sent to trial in Sydney as an accomplice to murder, nevertheless escaped conviction. In the summer of 1831–32 Te Rauparaha attacked the Kaiapoi pā, Kaiapoi was engaged in a three-month siege by Te Rauparaha, during which his men successfully sapped the pā. They then attacked Kāi Tahu on Banks Peninsula and took the pā at Onawe, in 1832-33 Kāi Tahu retaliated under the leadership of Tūhawaiki and others, attacking Ngāti Toa at Lake Grassmere. Kāi Tahu prevailed, and killed many Ngāti Toa, although Te Rauparaha again escaped, fighting continued for a year or so, with Kāi Tahu maintaining the upper hand. Ngāti Toa never again made an incursion into Kāi Tahu territory
7.
Julius von Haast
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Sir Johann Franz Julius von Haast KCMG, known as Julius Haast and later as Julius von Haast, was a German geologist. He founded Canterbury Museum at Christchurch, New Zealand, Johann Franz Julius Haast was born on 1 May 1822 in Bonn, a town in the Kingdom of Prussia, to a merchant and his wife. As a child, he attended a school but was also educated at a grammar school in Cologne. After completing his schooling, he then entered the University of Bonn. As a young man, he travelled throughout Europe before basing himself in Frankfurt, working in the trading of books, on 26 October 1846, Haast married Antonia Schmitt at Frankfurt, Germany. The marriage, although unhappy, produced a son named Robert two years later. Haast was fluent in English and, in 1858, was contracted by a British shipping firm, A. Willis, Gann & Company and he travelled to London and in September of that year embarked abroad the Evening Star, destined for New Zealand. He arrived in Auckland on 21 December 1858 and, the following day, Haast discovered the two men had a shared interest in geology and they quickly became friends. Haast accompanied Hochstetter on his journey to Drury a few days later and also present on the trip were several of Hochstetters fellow scientists as well as the explorer and surveyor Charles Heaphy. Hochstetters report on the Drury coal field was received and he was formally asked to conduct geological surveys of New Zealand. His work with the Novara expedition largely complete, he agreed to stay on in new Zealand for several months although his salary would be paid by the Austrian government, over the next few weeks, Haast accompanied Hochstetter on geological expeditions of the area around Auckland. Hochstetter then turned his attention south, towards the Waikato province, the Waikato, apart from a few roads and trails, was largely unknown and the expedition, which left Auckland on 7 March 1859, had to make its own maps as they journeyed south. In three months, they travelled as far as Lake Taupo and also went as far west as Kāwhia Harbour and as east as Maketu, arriving back in Auckland on 24 May 1859, the party, which included a photographer, had covered 1000 kilometres. Numerous samples had been taken and sketches and photographs taken on the added to the scientific knowledge of the area. The next month, Hochstetter and Haast departed for the Coromandel, during his time in Nelson, while Hochstetter was carrying out his own fieldwork, Haast conducted several digs for moa bones and extracted several near-complete skeletons of the long extinct bird. He was also tasked by Hochstetter with carrying out independent fieldwork in Golden Bay, at Shakespeare Bay, near what is now Picton, he correctly predicted gold could be found based on his inspection of the rocks in the area. Haast returned to Nelson on 24 September September and met up with Hochstetter, there was one final expedition, to investigate a newly discovered coal field in Golden Bay, at the end of September, before Hochstetter sailed for Sydney on 2 October. Following Hochstetters departure from New Zealand, Haast was requested by the Nelson Provincial Council to build on the work already completed
8.
Canterbury Province
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The Canterbury Province was a province of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. Canterbury Province was founded in December 1850 by an association of influential Englishmen associated with the Church of England, the Charlotte Jane and the Randolph—the first two of the First Four Ships—arrived in the area on 16 December 1850, later celebrated as the provinces initial Anniversary Day. Elections were held in 1853 for Superintendent and, later that year and these elections predated any elected national assembly. The franchise was extended to men over the age of 21 who owned property in the province, the first meeting place was the former office of the Guardian and Advertiser, Canterburys second newspaper, on Chester Street near the Avon River. In 1866, the moved to Guise Brittans house, which later became part of the Clarendon Hotel. One session in 1858 was held in the hall on what is now High Street. On 28 September 1859, the council first met in what known as the Timber Chamber of the Canterbury Provincial Council Buildings. The Stone Chamber of the Provincial Council Buildings was used from November 1865, following the West Coast Gold Rush, the portion of the province west of the Southern Alps was split off as Westland in 1867. Upon the establishment of the University of New Zealand in 1870, on the east coast the province was bounded by the Hurunui River in the north and the Waitaki River in the south. The boundary on the west coast was largely undefined before the West Coast became its own province. In 1868 the West Coast was separated from the Province with the formation of the County of Westland on the West Coast with the line defined as the crest of the Southern Alps. In 1873 the County formed its own Province, the short-lived Westland Province, in the south the course of the Waitaki River was not known and disputes arose with the Province of Otago over pastoral leases in the inland high country. In the 1860s South Canterbury made two bids to become separate province but this was rejected by the national government, when the province was abolished, the area was distributed across eight counties. The Ferrymead Railway was the first railway to be opened and closed in New Zealand and it was made obsolete by the opening of a new 8 miles line through a tunnel giving Christchurch access to the better port of Lyttelton. The mainlines of the Canterbury Provincial Railways were Irish gauge with some lines in Colonial gauge. These lines were all absorbed into the New Zealand Railways Department in 1876. Charles Simeon was the officer for the first election of a Superintendent. Canterbury had four Superintendents, The Executive Council is comparable to a cabinet, the following 26 Executive Councils existed, Each New Zealand province celebrates an anniversary day
9.
Lewis Pass
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Lewis Pass is a mountain pass in the South Island of New Zealand. The northernmost of the three main passes across the Southern Alps, it is higher than the Haast Pass, state Highway 6 traverses the pass on its route between north Canterbury and the West Coast, it passes through extensive unmodified beech forest. The pass is the saddle between the valleys of the Maruia River to the northwest and the Lewis River to the southeast, the saddle is located close to the small spa of Maruia Springs. Before this time the pass was used by the Ngāi Tahu Māori of Canterbury to transport Pounamu from the west coast, the area around Lewis Pass is protected as a national reserve. There are a number of tramping routes in the Lewis Pass area, the short Alpine Nature Walk loop walk around an alpine wetland and tarn can be accessed from a carpark near the saddle
10.
Arthur's Pass (mountain pass)
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Arthurs Pass is a mountain pass in the Southern Alps of the South Island of New Zealand. It marks part of the boundary between the West Coast and Canterbury regions,140 km from Christchurch and 95 km from Greymouth. The pass lies in a saddle between the valleys of the Otira River, a tributary of the Taramakau, in the west, Arthurs Pass lies on the border of the Selwyn and Westland districts. A hamlet of the name is located about 5 km south of the mountain pass. The pass is named after Sir Arthur Dudley Dobson, who led the first party of Europeans across the pass in 1864, in 1863, Dobson went to the mostly unexplored West Coast of the South Island for seven months of survey work. His area of work extended from the Grey River to Abut Head and his brother Edward, meanwhile, was clearing a rough track over Harper Pass. Arthur Dobson returned to Christchurch and reported his findings to the chief curveyor, Cass then commissioned Arthur Dobson in 1864 to find out whether there is a suitable pass from the Waimakariri watershed to the West Coast. George and Arthur Dobson set out in March 1864, later to be joined by their brother Edward at Craigieburn, while George surveyed road lines there, Edward and Arthur proceeded to explore the high country. On the advice of West Coast Māori chief Tarapuhi, they found a pass that steeply descended to what became known as Otira, Arthur prepared a report, which included a sketch of the unnamed pass, and presented it to Cass. Soon after, the discovery of gold triggered the West Coast Gold Rush, the provincial engineer, their father Edward Dobson, was commissioned to examine every possible pass to the West Coast from the watersheds of the Waimakariri, Taramakau and Hurunui Rivers. After finishing his examination, he declared that Arthurs pass was by far the most suitable to get to the gold fields. The provincial government decided that a road was to be built between Christchurch and Hokitika, a distance of 156 miles, and Edward Dobson was put in charge of the project, the road was opened on 20 March 1866. The alpine pass became known as Arthurs Pass, with a nearby village and it is also believed that writer and explorer Samuel Butler had seen the pass several years earlier, but was unable to explore it at that time. The timing was perfect, as the West Coast was soon to be hit by a gold rush, state Highway 73 passes over Arthurs Pass and is the highest of only three roads crossing the Southern Alps, the other crossings being the Haast Pass and the Lewis Pass. However, Porters Pass, on the road, is higher than Arthurs Pass. Previously prone to be blocked by landslides or avalanches, the road on the side of the pass has seen extensive civil engineering work in the late 1990s. Most notably, the impressive Otira Viaduct, near the settlement of Otira, the Midland Line, connecting Christchurch and the West Coast, crosses the Main Divide by means of the Otira Tunnel, between Arthurs Pass township and Otira. When opened in 1923, the tunnel was the longest in the British Empire, the Reed Dictionary of New Zealand Place Names
11.
Homer Tunnel
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The Homer Tunnel is a 1.2 km long road tunnel in the Fiordland region of the South Island of New Zealand, opened in 1953. New Zealand State Highway 94 passes through the tunnel, linking Milford Sound to Te Anau and Queenstown and it connects between the valley of the Hollyford River to the east and that of the Cleddau to the west. The tunnel is straight and was originally single-lane and gravel-surfaced, the tunnel walls remain unlined granite. The east portal end is at 945 m elevation, the tunnel runs 1270 m at approximately a 1,10 gradient down to the western portal, until it was sealed and enlarged it was the longest gravel-surfaced tunnel in the world. William H. Homer and George Barber discovered the Homer Saddle on 27 January 1889, Homer suggested that a tunnel through the saddle would provide access to the Milford area. Government workers began the tunnel in 1935 after lobbying by J. Cockburn of the Southland Progress League, the tunnel and the associated Milford Road were built by relief workers during the Depression, initially just starting with five men using picks and wheelbarrows. The men had to live in tents in an area where there might be no direct sunlight for half of the year. At least three were killed by avalanches over the coming decades, Progress was slow, with difficult conditions including fractures in the rock bringing water from snow melt into the tunnel. Compressors and a powerhouse in the river were eventually built to pump out 40,000 litres of water per hour. Work was also interrupted by World War II, and an avalanche in 1945 which destroyed the tunnel portal. These problems delayed the completion and opening until 1953. In 2002 a tour bus carrying tourists from Singapore caught fire inside the tunnel, the passengers and the bus driver had to tread through the pitch-dark and smoke-filled tunnel to safety with the help of head beams from vehicular traffic at the entrance of the eastern portal. However, two passengers got separated and made their way to the Milford end, three people were flown to Southland Hospital and treated for smoke inhalation. As a result of this incident a satellite phone and fire extinguishers were installed in the tunnel, two tourist buses were destroyed by fire outside the tunnel in January and March 2008, though the fires were not related to the tunnel. Roof lighting was fitted and traffic lights reintroduced in 2004 to reduce capacity constraints, although the tunnel is large enough for a bus and a smaller vehicle to pass, meetings involving two coaches or campervans are problematic. This is alleviated by the fact that the traffic is very tidal, towards Milford Sound in the morning, the traffic lights operate only during the peak summer season, since the avalanche risk makes it unsafe to stop and queue at the portals in winter and spring. With increasing traffic on the road, it is expected that the risk to vehicles waiting at the portal will also increase, a widening of the tunnel, to allow for true two-laning, has been discussed. Avalanche warning systems in the area are considered to meet typical worldwide standards
12.
New Zealand State Highway 6
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State Highway 6 is a major New Zealand state highway. Distances are measured from north to south, the highway is the longest single highway in the country, though it is shorter than the combined totals of the two highways that comprise State Highway 1, SHs 1N and 1S. NZTA classified the highway as a route, except for two sections between Blenheim and Richmond and between Cromwell and Five Rivers where SH6 is classified as a regional strategic route. The highway leaves SH1 at Blenheim, initially heading northeastward across the hills at the base of the Marlborough Sounds. It reaches the sounds briefly at Havelock, then inland up the valley of the Pelorus River. At Pelorus Bridge the highway turns north, then tends southwest as it approaches the coast of Tasman Bay. The highway travels through the city of Nelson and nearby town of Richmond, continuing southwest across the plains of the Wairoa, from these plains, the road ascends rapidly to the 634-metre Hope Saddle. From here, the highway heads generally westward, along the valley of the Buller River, beyond Murchison, this valley narrows to become the scenic Buller Gorge, and the highway twists its way high above the waters of the river. The highway leaves the river as its valley broadens, turning south six kilometres from Westport, from here, the highway keeps close to the Tasman coast from Charleston for over 100 kilometres, turning inland only briefly near Runanga. This 100-kilometre stretch includes two of the larger towns, Greymouth and Hokitika. From Hokitika, the highway away from the coast, though still generally keeps within five kilometres of the sea. The highway continues south past Ross and Harihari, moving through state forests as it crosses several fast-moving rivers, seventy kilometres south of Harihari, the highway skirts Lake Mapourika and reaches the tourist settlement of Franz Josef Glacier. The glacier itself, one of two within easy walking distance of the highway, lies nearby in the Southern Alps, which here come very close to the Tasman coast, the second glacier, Fox Glacier is located some 20 kilometres further south. The highway again briefly touches the coast at Bruce Bay before heading inland past Lake Paringa, the 30 km stretch of highway from here south to Haast is noted for its rugged scenery. From here, the highway turns south, following the Makarora River valley to the northern tip of Lake Wanaka. The highway skirts the eastern coast of the lake before crossing The Neck, the highway continues along the western shore of Hāwea, then south along the Cardrona River to Albert Town, close to the tourist centre of Wanaka. Ten kilometres from Wanaka, the highway is met by SH 8A, SH6 continues south along the western shore of the Lake, paralleling SH8 which lies on the eastern shore. Close to Cromwell, a spur, SH 8B, connects the two highways
13.
Asphalt concrete
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Asphalt concrete is a composite material commonly used to surface roads, parking lots, airports, as well as the core of embankment dams. It consists of mineral aggregate bound together with asphalt, laid in layers, the process was refined and enhanced by Belgian inventor and U. S. immigrant Edward de Smedt. The abbreviation AC is sometimes used for asphalt concrete but can also denote asphalt content or asphalt cement, mixing is generally performed with the aggregate at about 300 °F for virgin asphalt and 330 °F for polymer modified asphalt, and the asphalt cement at 200 °F. Paving and compaction must be performed while the asphalt is sufficiently hot, in many countries paving is restricted to summer months because in winter the compacted base will cool the asphalt too much before it is able to be packed to the required density. HMAC is the form of asphalt concrete most commonly used on high traffic pavements such as those on major highways, racetracks and it is also used as an environmental liner for landfills, reservoirs, and fish hatchery ponds. Superpave, short for superior performing asphalt pavement, is a pavement system designed to provide longer lasting roadways, key components of the system are careful selection of binders and aggregates, volumetric proportioning of ingredients, and evaluation of the finished product. Warm mix asphalt concrete is produced by adding either zeolites, waxes, asphalt emulsions and this allows significantly lower mixing and laying temperatures and results in lower consumption of fossil fuels, thus releasing less carbon dioxide, aerosols and vapors. The usage of additives in hot mixed asphalt may afford easier compaction. Use of warm mix is rapidly expanding, a survey of US asphalt producers found that nearly 25% of asphalt produced in 2012 was warm mix, a 416% increase since 2009. Cold mix asphalt concrete is produced by emulsifying the asphalt in water with soap prior to mixing with the aggregate, while in its emulsified state the asphalt is less viscous and the mixture is easy to work and compact. The emulsion will break after enough water evaporates and the mix will, ideally. Cold mix is used as a patching material and on lesser trafficked service roads. Cut-back asphalt concrete is a form of cold mix asphalt produced by dissolving the binder in kerosene or another lighter fraction of petroleum prior to mixing with the aggregate, while in its dissolved state the asphalt is less viscous and the mix is easy to work and compact. After the mix is laid down the lighter fraction evaporates, because of concerns with pollution from the volatile organic compounds in the lighter fraction, cut-back asphalt has been largely replaced by asphalt emulsion. Mastic asphalt concrete or sheet asphalt is produced by heating hard grade blown bitumen in a green cooker until it has become a liquid after which the aggregate mix is then added. Mastic asphalt concrete is laid to a thickness of around 3⁄4–1 3⁄16 inches for footpath and road applications. HMAC layers are used both in reinforcement operations and in the construction of new reinforcements for medium and heavy traffic, in base layers, they tend to exhibit a greater capacity of absorbing tensions and, in general, better fatigue resistance. In addition to the asphalt and aggregate, additives, such as polymers, Asphalt concrete pavements—especially those at airfields—are sometimes called tarmac for historical reasons, although they do not contain tar and are not constructed using the macadam process
14.
West Coast, New Zealand
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The West Coast is a region of New Zealand on the west coast of the South Island, one of the more remote and most sparsely populated areas of the country. It is administered by the West Coast Regional Council, at the territorial authority level, the region comprises Buller District, Grey District and Westland District. The principal towns are Westport, Greymouth, and Hokitika, fiordland is on the west coast, but is in the Southland Region rather than the West Coast Region. Inhabitants of the West Coast are colloquially known as Coasters, the region reaches from Kahurangi Point in the north to Awarua Point in the south, a distance of 600 km. To the west is the Tasman Sea, and to the east are the Southern Alps, much of the land is rugged, with a coastal plain where much of the population resides. The land is very scenic, with wild coastlines, mountains, scenic areas include the Haast Pass, Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers, the Pancake Rocks at Punakaiki and the Heaphy Track. The region has a high rainfall due to the prevailing northwesterly wind pattern and the location of the Southern Alps. The rain shadow effect is responsible for the arid climate of the Canterbury Plains on the other side of the Southern Alps. The regions area is 23,276 km2 and it is divided into the three districts of Buller, Grey and Westland. Industries on the West Coast include mining for coal and alluvial gold, forestry and wood processing, dairy farming has grown strongly - the local dairy co-operatives Westland Milk Products remained independent when most others merged to form Fonterra in 2001. Other industries are the manufacturing and sales of greenstone jewellery, sphagnum moss gathering, the sub-national GDP of the region was estimated at US$779 million in 2003, 1% of national GDP. The region is home to Māori, who valued it for the greenstone found there in abundance, the region was only occasionally visited by Europeans until the discovery of gold near the Taramakau River in 1864 by two Māori, Ihaia Tainui and Haimona Taukau. By the end of the year there were an estimated 1800 prospectors, many of them around the Hokitika area, after that time, the population dwindled, but the main towns that still exist had become established. Following greenstone and gold, the valuable mineral was coal. Discovered near the Buller River in the mid-1840s, mining began in earnest during the 1860s, by the 1880s coal had become the region’s main industry, with mines throughout the northern half of the region, especially around Westport. Many of these continued in operation until the mid-20th century, timber has also long been a major industry, although in recent years there has been an uneasy balance between forestry for wood and forestry for conservation. Much of the region is public land administered by the Department of Conservation, ecotourism is now an important industry, and this goes hand in hand with the conservation efforts. The region is populated, especially in the south, with the 2006 census recording 31,326 inhabitants, up from 30,303 in 2001
15.
Otago
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Otago is a region of New Zealand in the south of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately 32,000 square kilometres and its population was 219,200 in the June 2016. The name Otago is an old Māori southern dialect word, introduced to the south by Europeans in the 1840s. Otago is also the old name of the European settlement on the Otago Harbour, established by the Weller Brothers in 1831, major centres include Dunedin, Oamaru, Balclutha, Alexandra, and the major tourist centres Queenstown and Wanaka. Kaitangata in South Otago is a prominent source of coal, the Waitaki and Clutha rivers provide much of the countrys hydroelectric power. Some parts of the area covered by Otago Province are now administered by either Canterbury Regional Council or Southland Regional Council. The Central Otago wine region produces award winning wines made from such as the Pinot noir, Chardonnay, Sauvignon blanc, Merlot. It has a reputation as New Zealand’s leading Pinot noir region. The Otago Province was the whole of New Zealand from the Waitaki River south, including Stewart Island and it included the territory of the later Southland Province and also the much more extensive lands of the modern Southland Region. Initial settlement was concentrated on the port and city, then expanded, notably to the south-west, the 1860s saw rapid commercial expansion after Gabriel Read discovered gold at Gabriels Gully near Lawrence, and the Central Otago goldrush ensued. Further gold discoveries at Clyde and on the Arrow River around Arrowtown led to a boom, New Zealands first daily newspaper, the Otago Daily Times, originally edited by Julius Vogel, dates from this period. New Zealands first university, the University of Otago, was founded in 1869 as the university in Dunedin. The Province of Southland separated from Otago Province and set up its own Provincial Council at Invercargill in 1861, after difficulties ensued, Otago re-absorbed it in 1870. Its territory is included in the region of the old Otago Province which is named after it and is now the territory of the Southland region. The provincial governments were abolished in 1876 when the Abolition of the Provinces Act came into force on 1 November 1876, two in Otago were named after the Scottish independence heroes Wallace and Bruce. From this time the national limelight gradually shifted northwards, beginning in the west, the geography of Otago consists of high alpine mountains. The highest peak in Otago is Mount Aspiring / Tititea, which is on the Main Divide, from the high mountains the rivers discharge into large glacial lakes. In this part of Otago glacial activity - both recent and very old - dominates the landscape, with large U shaped valleys and rivers which have high sediment loads, River flows also vary dramatically, with large flood flows occurring after heavy rain
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Ross Branch
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The Ross Branch, officially known as the Hokitika Line since 2011, and previously as the Hokitika Industrial Line, is a branch line railway that forms part of New Zealands national rail network. It is located in the Westland District of the South Islands West Coast region, a further extension to Ross operated from 1909 until 1980. The first line opened in the region was a tramway built to a gauge of 1. It ran from Greymouth south to Paroa and opened in 1867, ten years later, an extension inland to Kumara was opened, with the Taramakau River crossed by a cage suspended from a wire. Around this time, plans were formulated to replace the tramway with a railway and link Greymouth, work began in 1879, but the economic conditions of the Long Depression brought construction to a halt the next year with only 5 km of track laid. Furthermore, the residents of Kumara, led by future Prime Minister Richard Seddon, were indignant that the railway was going to take a coastal route than the tramway. In 1886, work restarted, and the attempts from Kumara residents to have the lines route changed failed to force an alteration to the plans. Work progressed steadily over the few years, and on 18 December 1893. To the south of Hokitika was thickly wooded country, and with the prospect of significant logging traffic, in 1901, the government approved construction of the extension, and preliminary work was well under way by August 1902. The first section, from Hokitika to Ruatapu, was opened on 9 November 1906, proposals for further southward extension were made but never came to fruition. Despite the failure of the railway to progress beyond Ross, a number of bush tramways fanned out from the railway to more convenient access to sawmills. The most notable of these was the one owned by Stuart and Chapman Ltd, although sometimes considered to be part of the Midland Line, the Ross Branch was almost wholly operated as a separate route from Greymouth. The 1906 timetable showed 2 or 3 passenger trains a day, locomotive depots were established in both Ross and Hokitika, and when the Otira Tunnel linking the West Coast to Canterbury opened in 1923, the section to Hokitika began to increase in importance. Carriages from the Christchurch-Greymouth express were attached to mixed trains and conveyed to Hokitika while the extension to Ross operated more like a line with two mixed trains daily. They were augmented by two mixed trains to Ross, and these services lasted until 11 September 1967. The railcars operated for a few more, but as of 9 October 1972, they ceased to run past Greymouth. By the 1970s, the line beyond Hokitika was operating uneconomically, road traffic was diverted to another bridge upstream and the line from Hokitika to Ross closed on 24 November 1980. Presently, the Hokitika Branch operates quietly but appears to have a secure future, every weekday, a freight train operates from Greymouth to Hokitika in the morning and returns in the evening
17.
Otago Central Railway
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The Otago Central Railway or Otago Central Branch Railway, now often referred to as the Taieri Gorge Railway, was a secondary railway line in Central Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand. Construction of the OCB began in 1877 and the 27-km section to Hindon was opened in 1889, the line was completed to Middlemarch two years later. The 26 km section of line from Middlemarch to Hyde then opened in 1894 and this was followed by the 16 km section from Hyde to Kokonga which opened in 1897. The section to Ranfurly opened in December 1898, the Ranfurly to Wedderburn section opened in 1900 followed by the Wedderburn to Ida Valley section which opened in 1901. The line was opened to Omakau in 1904, omakau-Chatto Creek opened in July 1906 followed by the line reaching Alexandra in December 1906. The line was opened to Clyde in April 1907, there then followed a delay until the section through the Cromwell Gorge was resumed in 1914. The line reached Cromwell,236 km, in 1921, the Clyde - Cromwell section was closed in 1980 due to construction of the Clyde Dam, a hydro-electric power station in the Cromwell Gorge on the Clutha River. The dam flooded the gorge, through which the line ran, the branch begins at Wingatui on the Main South Line south of Dunedin. After the branch closed, the first four kilometres were retained in the national railway network as a service line to local industries. After a second tunnel, the runs along Mullocky Gully, crossing it over the 197 metres long Wingatui Viaduct. Wingatui Viaduct has been the largest wrought iron structure in New Zealand since it was built in 1887 and is the longest and tallest bridge on the line. The railway remains in the Taieri Gorge for 25 km, crossing 16 major bridges with a length of 1020m. Further notable viaducts along the way are Christmas Creek Viaduct, one of the viaducts, Deep Stream Viaduct. Just before Hindon station, the railway tracks share a combined road-rail bridge with Hindon Road, after Flat Stream Viaduct, the aptly named The Notches section also presented an engineering challenge, accomplished via three short bridges and cuttings through several rocky outcrops. In the second half of the section the line climbs steadily to exit the gorge at Pukerangi. Until the early 1960s the role of the railway remained largely unchanged, passenger traffic declined after the Second World War as private car usage increased but goods traffic was largely unaffected. The types of goods carried reflected the patterns of farming and changing market demands. When horses were used for Dunedin transport they consumed many wagon loads of oats, much of this came from Central Otago to be handled at a particular siding in the Dunedin railway yards which was still called the Chaff Siding long after that traffic had disappeared
18.
Omakau
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Omakau is a settlement in Central Otago, New Zealand, located between Alexandra and Ranfurly on the northwest bank of the Manuherikia River. The smaller settlement of Ophir, New Zealand is located on the opposite bank, Omakau grew when the Otago Central Railway was opened in 1904. Today Omakau has a population of about 250, and is a stopover on both State Highway 85 and the Otago Rail Trail, Omakau is the site of many historic buildings, including the local hotel built in 1898 and the Catholic Church. Omakau also hosts the Central Otago A&P Show at the local domain, which attracts people from all over the country in February
19.
Cromwell, New Zealand
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Cromwell is a town in Central Otago in the Otago region of New Zealand. It is situated between State Highway 6 and State Highway 8 leading to the Lindis Pass,75 km northeast, the road to Alexandra winds through the Cromwell Gorge. A point near Cromwell lies 119 kilometres from the sea, the farthest from the sea anywhere in New Zealand, a prominent feature surrounding much of the town is the man-made Lake Dunstan. Cromwell also has the newly constructed Highlands Motorsport Park, nearby settlements are at Bannockburn, Lowburn, Tarras, and Ripponvale. Cromwell is also the home of the Cromwell Chafer Beetle, the 45th parallel south runs just North of the township. Cromwell was originally known as The Junction, being at the confluence of the Clutha, in 1862, gold was discovered below the Junction by two miners, Hartley and Reilly. Once the word of a strike was out, there was an influx of several thousand miners to the area. As gold ran out, Cromwell became the centre for an extensive farming. It has a location between the Lindis and the Haast passes, and acts as a hub between the towns of Wanaka, Queenstown and Alexandra. The former is commemorated with the giant sculpture of stone fruit which stands outside the end of the town. Since the construction of the Clyde Dam and the filling of Lake Dunstan in the early 1990s the river confluence was drowned, the decision to build Clyde Dam and use Cromwell as the accommodation base brought many changes to the town. Approximately one-third of the town was rebuilt on higher ground, the changes included the doubling of the residential area, relocation of the old town centre, upgrading of services, and the provision of modern educational and sports facilities, and a new bridge. The relocated town centre, or The Mall, now houses the retail, service. Several of the old buildings of the town escaped the flooding have been retained as a historic precinct close to the shore of the Kawarau. The town was named after Oliver Cromwell and, as well as The Junction, Cromwell is nicknamed the Fruit Bowl of the South. Cromwell has five pre-school facilities, two schools and a co- educational secondary school. An Otago Polytechnic campus specialises in horticulture, catering and tourism and its crop centre provides advisory services to horticulturalists on commercially viable new crops. Cromwell receives around 400 mm of rain a year due to its inland location, although it is widely believed to have a continental climate, the town officially has an oceanic climate with rainfall just enough to escape the semi-arid climate classification
20.
Ross, New Zealand
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Ross is a small town located in the Westland District on the West Coast of New Zealands South Island. Ross was established in the 1860s, during the West Coast Gold Rush, at its largest, the town had around 2,500 inhabitants, but the population declined after local goldfields were depleted in the early 1870s. A branch line known as the Ross Branch was extended from Ruatapu to Ross on 1 April 1909. From the 1940s until 9 October 1962, a Vulcan railcar service operated directly from Christchurch to Ross twice a day, a lack of traffic and expensive maintenance costs meant the line was closed beyond Hokitika on 24 November 1980. Much of the old track bed between Ruatapu and Hokitika can be driven as it serves as a road for local farmers. The population, recorded as 297 people in the 2013 New Zealand Census, is largely European in ethnicity, the towns economy is based around farming and forestry, although a large open-cut mine has operated directly adjacent to the town since 1988. Ross School, a contributing primary school with a decile rating of six
21.
Tramway (industrial)
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Tramways are lightly laid railways, sometimes worked without locomotives. In New Zealand, they are known as bush tramways, while in parts of Australia where American experts were influential. They generally do not carry passengers, although staff may use of them. Tramways can take many forms, sometimes just tracks temporarily laid on the ground to move materials around a factory, many, if not most, are narrow gauge railway technologies. At the other extreme they could be complex and lengthy systems, such as the Lee Moor Tramway in the county of Devonshire, England, motive power can be manual, animal, cable hauled by stationary engine, or utilize small locomotives. The term was applied to wagons running on primitive tracks in early England. The name seems to date from around 1517 and to be derived from an English dialect word for the shaft of a turn from Low German traam, literally. The tracks themselves were known as gangways, dating from before the 12th century. In south Wales and Somerset the term dramway is also used, the alternative term is Wagonway which originally consisted of horses, equipment and tracks which were used for hauling wagons. Usually the wheels would be guided along grooves, in time, to combat wear, the timber would be reinforced with an iron strip covering. This developed to use L-shaped steel plates, the track then being known as a plateway, the origin of the word railway is uncertain, but Benjamin Outram was referring to his lines as railways in the early 19th century. The fact that many of these lines were built for horse-drawn vehicles, an alternative appeared, the so-called edge-rail where the wagons were guided by having the wheels flanged instead of running in grooves. Since these rails were raised above the ground they were likely to be blocked by debris. They were, however, the forerunners of the modern railway and these early lines were built to transport minerals from quarries and mines to canal wharves. Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom the term became the term for passenger vehicles that ran on tracks in the public highway. Initially horse-drawn, they developed to use power from an overhead line. A development of the tramway in the United Kingdom dispensed with tracks, in 2000 the CarGoTram began operating as a cargo tram for the Volkswagen factory in Dresden. In Australia, most tramways were in practice heavy railways, or equivalent to British light railways and these include, Kerang–Koondrook Tramway, a 5 ft 3 in gauge private railway which junctioned with the Victorian Railways at Kerang
22.
Lake Ianthe
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Lake Ianthe / Matahi is a lake located on the West Coast of New Zealands South Island. A number of streams flow into the lake and it empties into the Wanganui River. It is close to the coast and near the settlements of Pukekura and Hari Hari. The lake is popular for boating, swimming, and trout fishing, in the early 20th century, a privately run bush tramway was established from the end of the New Zealand Railways Departments Ross Branch railway to logging interests in the Lake Ianthe area. This bush tramway was closed in 1959 when the operation that owned the line shut down. Following the passage of the Ngai Tahu Claims Settlement Act 1998, West Coast Tourism, Area 7 - has some info on Lake Ianthe
23.
Haast River
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The Haast River has its terminus on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand. The Haast River drains the watershed of the Haast Pass. It is 100 kilometres in length, and enters the Tasman Sea near Haast township, the rivers main tributary is the Landsborough River. The grassy flats on the lower reaches are grazed by cattle by the local farmers, tourism operators offer jetboat tours on the river. The river often has glacial silt in suspension in the water from glaciers in the Southern Alps, the majority of the surrounding land is publicly owned and administered by the Department of Conservation. It is set within the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site, state Highway 6 follows virtually the complete length of the river, with a bridge near the coast, just after the turnoff to the Haast township. At 737 metres it is the longest one-lane road bridge in New Zealand, the river is named after Julius von Haast. Media related to Haast River at Wikimedia Commons
24.
Makarora River
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The Makarora River is in the Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand. The headwaters are in Mount Aspiring National Park, on the flanks of the Southern Alps near Haast Pass. The Makarora River flows south into the end of Lake Wanaka after passing the small community of Makarora. The river attracts some recreational fishing, jetboating and kayaking, rainbow and brown trout migrate from Lake Wanaka up the river and its tributaries to spawn, mainly in autumn and winter. State Highway 6 follows the Makarora River for the majority of its course from just south of Haast Pass, a popular short walk leads to its confluence with the Blue River, at the aptly named Blue Pools. In September 2007 a landslide in the Young River valley blocked off the corresponding stream, Young River is a tributary to Makarora River. The landslide created a new lake, the lake appears to be permanent. List of rivers of New Zealand http, //www. geonet. org. nz/landslide/young-river-landslide/index. html http, //www. geonet. org. nz/docs/landslide/reports/Young-River-poster-A3. pdf
25.
Haast, New Zealand
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Haast is an area in the Westland District territorial authority on the West Coast of New Zealands South Island. The Haast region covers over 2,500 square kilometres, the region is named after Julius von Haast, a Prussian-born geologist instrumental in the early geological surveys of New Zealand. The 2006 census recorded a population of 297 for the Haast statistical area, the majority of this population is located in three communities, the Haast township, Haast Junction, and Haast Beach. The main economic activities in the Haast region are farming, fishing, lake Moeraki is 30 kilometres to the northeast, and the Haast Pass is 63 kilometres to the southeast by road. State Highway 6 passes through Haast Junction and just to the east of Haast township, the rarest subspecies of kiwi, the Haast tokoeka, is only found in the mountains of the Haast region. European settlement of the dates back to the 1870s. The remoteness of the initially limited access to seagoing vessels, with some rough tracks from the north. The road through the pass to Wanaka was upgraded in 1966, Haast Junction is located on the southwest bank of the Haast River, immediately south of the Haast Bridge, at the junction of State Highway 6 and the Haast–Jackson Bay Road. The smaller Haast Beach is on the coast of the Tasman Sea, the larger Haast township is located on the Haast River, approximately 3 kilometres south of Haast Junction, on State Highway 6. The New Zealand Department of Conservation operates a visitor centre in Haast township, the Haast School is a coeducational full primary school with a Ministry of Education decile rating of 3 and a student roll of 21. There are no schools in the Haast area. The nearest secondary school is Mount Aspiring College,140 kilometres away over the Haast Pass in Wanaka, most secondary students instead board at secondary schools in Alexandra, Oamaru or Dunedin. Haast Aerodrome Haast-Hollyford road Haast at the Department of Conservation Haast Promotions Group
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Nothofagus
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Nothofagus, also known as the southern beeches, is a genus of 43 species of trees and shrubs native to the Southern Hemisphere in southern South America and Australasia. The species are ecological dominants in many forests in these regions. Some species are naturalised in Germany and Great Britain. The genus has a fossil record of leaves, cupules and pollen, with fossils extending into the late Cretaceous and occurring in Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica. In the past, they were included in the family Fagaceae, but genetic tests revealed them to be distinct, and they are now included in their own family. The leaves are toothed or entire, evergreen or deciduous, the fruit is a small, flattened or triangular nut, borne in cupules containing one to seven nuts. Nothofagus species are used as food plants by the larvae of moths of the genus Aenetus, including A. eximia. Sexual reproduction has since shown to be possible. This proposed change is not taxonomically essential and has not been accepted outside New Zealand, in South America the northern genus limit can be construed as La Campana National Park and the Vizcachas Mountains in the central part of Chile. Every four to six years or so, Nothofagus produces a crop of seeds and is known as the beech mast. In New Zealand, the beech mast causes an increase in the population of introduced mammals such as mice, rats, when the rodent population collapses, the stoats begin to prey on native bird species, many of which are threatened with extinction. This phenomenon is covered in detail in the article on stoats in New Zealand. Beechwood Honeydew is a type of honey made in New Zealand from the secretions of Hemiptera aphids feeding on Nothofagus trees, cyttaria, genus of ascomycete fungi found on or associated with Nothofagus Misodendrum, specialist parasites of Nothofagus
27.
Mount Aspiring National Park
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Mount Aspiring National Park is in the Southern Alps of the South Island of New Zealand, north of Fiordland National Park, and between Otago and south Westland. The park forms part of the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site and it was established in 1964 as New Zealands tenth National Park. The park covers 3,555 square kilometres at the end of the Southern Alps, directly to the west of Lake Wanaka. Mount Aspiring / Tititea, elevation 3,033 metres above sea level, is the mountain that gives the park its name, other prominent peaks within the park include Mount Pollux, elevation 2,542 metres, and Mount Brewster, elevation 2,519 metres. The Haast Pass, one of the three road routes across the Southern Alps, is found in the north-eastern corner of the park. In April 2005 the Nature Heritage Fund purchased private land in the Landsborough River valley as an addition to the park, the tunnel would have established a connection via Glenorchy and would have significantly reduced the current return travel time from Queenstown to Milford Sound of 9 hours. In December 2007, the New Zealand Conservation Authority declined to adopt the amendment to the Management Plan, the proposal gained approval in principle by the Department of Conservation in 2011, but was rejected by the Minister of Conservation, Nick Smith, in July 2013. Smith stated that the proposal was beyond what was appropriate for a World Heritage Area, the managing director of the company behind the proposal stated that he was disappointed of course. National trying to out-green the greens, in 2009 the National-led government of New Zealand indicated that Mount Aspiring National Park may be opened up to mining. Around 20% of the area of the park, mainly in the western portions around the Red Hill Range. Prospectors here are interested in carbonatite deposits including Rare earth elements. The Green Party has warned that the park is one of New Zealands main tourism drawcards, and that mining here could do significant damage to the countrys image
28.
Engineering New Zealand
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The Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand is a not-for-profit professional body representing the engineering profession in New Zealand. It has around 16,000 members who are engineers or have a special interest in engineering. As engineering is a profession in New Zealand, IPENZ attempts to promote the interests of the New Zealand engineering profession via support services to members. Primary IPENZ services include career development for members, the implementation of competence and ethical practice standards, most members pay annual fees, often covered by their employer. As a member they must abide by the IPENZ Code of Ethics that aims to ensure ethical engineering practice, IPENZ also promotes public debate on engineering issues and stewards national engineering awards. IPENZ is governed by a board, chaired by the president. This board sets strategy and employs the chief executive, who manages the expenditure of the budget to provide services to members, the national office is based in Wellington, and there are regional branches to which members belong. Members can also be part of a group or special interest group that focuses on a niche area of engineering. The first professional engineering body in New Zealand, the Institute of Local Government Engineers of New Zealand, was formed in 1912, the following year the New Zealand Society of Civil Engineers was formed. It was thought to be representative of the engineering profession. With the growth of the Society and an number of non-civil engineers. In 1959 the Association of Consulting Engineers New Zealand was created as a consultancy division, the name IPENZ was adopted in 1982 to reflect the importance of the professional engineering ethos in the organisation. In the interest of the New Zealand public, IPENZ administers several competence-based membership classes, * Current-competence registrants must be reassessed at intervals not exceeding five years to maintain registration. IPENZ has a range of competence-based membership classes that aim to signify a level of competence. Once members of a class, individuals are not required to re-demonstrate current competence—the system relies on their obligation to not practice beyond their competence. They should be able to synthesise innovative engineering solutions from first principles if necessary, Honorary Fellow Honorary Fellows are often people with backgrounds outside engineering that IPENZ has recognised for worthwhile contributions that impact on professional engineering, or IPENZ itself. They are generally not engineering practitioners and they normally hold a three-year degree and will have developed their skills over four or five years mentored work experience. IPENZ states that they are experienced engineering practitioners, but normally in applying well-developed practice techniques rather than in working from first principles
