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Lake Kaniere
Lake Kaniere is a glacial lake located on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island, nearly 200 m deep and surrounded on three sides by mountains and mature rimu forest. It is regarded by many as the most beautiful of the West Coast lakes, and is a popular tourist and leisure destination. Geography Lake Kaniere lies southeast of Hokitika, between two mountain ranges. At , it is second only to Lake Brunner in size among the West Coast's lakes. It is oriented north-south, 8 km long and 2 km wide, and has a maximum depth of 195 m. Mount Graham and Mount Upright / Te Taumata o Uekanuku are on the west coast of the lake, Tūhua on the east. The lake is included in the Lake Kaniere Scenic Reserve. The road from Hokitika meets the northern shore of the lake at "The Landing" and splits; Dorothy Falls Road runs up the entire eastern side of the lake past Hans Bay and Dorothy Falls to the Styx River, while the other fork goes a short way west to Sunny Bight. A four-hour hiking trail ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Westland District
Westland District is a Districts of New Zealand, territorial authority district on the West Coast, New Zealand, West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. It is administered by the Westland District Council. The district's population is History Westland was originally a part of Canterbury Province, administered from Christchurch in the East coast. The booming population as a result of the gold rush, together with the difficulty of travel and communication across the Southern Alps, led first to the creation of a special Westland County, then the formal separation of Westland from Canterbury to form the short-lived Westland Province (1873–1876). Westland Province also included what is now the southern portion of Grey District with the provincial boundary at the Grey River (New Zealand), Grey and Arnold River (New Zealand), Arnold rivers. Greymouth proper was in Westland Province, Cobden, New Zealand, Cobden, on the north bank of the Grey River, was in Nelson Province . After the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Libocedrus Bidwillii
''Libocedrus'' is a genus of five species of coniferous trees in the cypress family Cupressaceae, native to New Zealand and New Caledonia. The genus is closely related to the South American genera ''Pilgerodendron'' and ''Austrocedrus'', and the New Guinean genus ''Papuacedrus'', both of which are included within ''Libocedrus'' by some botanists. These genera are rather similar to the Northern Hemisphere genera ''Calocedrus'' and ''Thuja'': in earlier days, what is now ''Calocedrus'' was sometimes included in ''Libocedrus''. They are much less closely related, as recently confirmed (Gadek et al. 2000). The generic name means "teardrop cedar", apparently referring to drops of resin. The leaves are scale-like, 3–7 mm long, in apparent whorls of four (actually opposite decussate pairs, but not evenly spaced apart, instead with the successive pairs closely then distantly spaced). The cones are 8–20 mm long, and have just 2 pairs of moderately thin, erect scales, ea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Metrosideros Umbellata
''Metrosideros umbellata'', the southern rātā, is a tree endemic to New Zealand. It grows up to or more tall with a trunk up to or more in diameter. It produces masses of red flowers in summer. Unlike its relative, northern rātā, this species rarely grows as an epiphyte. Description The flowers of southern rātā are scarlet, with stamens about long. White or yellow flowers are also known. Flowering usually occurs between December and February, but this depends on local conditions. Leaves are from to long, and are sharply pointed. The wood is hard, dense, and very strong. The bark is rough and flaky and provides an ideal stratum for the roots of epiphytic plants such as ''Astelia'' species and Freycinetia banksii (Kiekie). Southern rātā is a major source of honey on the West Coast of the South Island. Kaka, tui, and bellbirds visit rātā to take advantage of the abundant nectar. Distribution It prefers cooler regions with high rainfall and is particularly co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dacrydium Cupressinum
''Dacrydium cupressinum'', commonly known as rimu, is a large evergreen coniferous tree endemic to the forests of New Zealand. It is a member of the southern conifer group, the podocarps. The Māori name ''rimu'' comes from the Polynesian term ''limu'' which the tree's foliage were reminded of, ultimately from Proto-Austronesian *''limut'' meaning "moss". The former name "red pine" has fallen out of common use. Distribution Rimu grows throughout New Zealand, in the North Island, South Island and Stewart Island/Rakiura. This species is common in lowland and montane forest. Although the largest concentration of trees is now found on the West Coast of the South Island, the biggest trees tend to be in mixed podocarp forest near Taupō (e.g., Pureora, Waihaha, and Whirinaki Forests). A typical North Island habitat is in the Hamilton Ecological District, where '' Fuscospora truncata'' and rimu form the overstory. Associate ferns on the forest floor are ''Blechnum discolor'', ''Bl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kākāpō
The kākāpō ( ; ; from the mi, kākāpō, , night parrot), also known as owl parrot (''Strigops habroptilus''), is a species of large, flightless, nocturnal, ground-dwelling parrots of the super-family Strigopoidea, endemic to New Zealand. Up to in length, these flightless birds have finely blotched yellow-green plumage, a distinct facial disc, owl-style forward-facing eyes with surrounding discs of specially-textured feathers, a large grey beak, short legs, large blue feet, and relatively short wings and tail: a combination of traits making it unique among parrots. It is the world's only flightless parrot, the world's heaviest parrot, and also is nocturnal, herbivorous, visibly sexually dimorphic in body size, has a low basal metabolic rate, and does not have male parental care. It is the only parrot to have a polygynous lek breeding system. It is also possibly one of the world's longest-living birds, with a reported lifespan of up to 100 years. The weight is for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Māori People
The Māori (, ) are the indigenous Polynesian people of mainland New Zealand (). Māori originated with settlers from East Polynesia, who arrived in New Zealand in several waves of canoe voyages between roughly 1320 and 1350. Over several centuries in isolation, these settlers developed their own distinctive culture, whose language, mythology, crafts, and performing arts evolved independently from those of other eastern Polynesian cultures. Some early Māori moved to the Chatham Islands, where their descendants became New Zealand's other indigenous Polynesian ethnic group, the Moriori. Initial contact between Māori and Europeans, starting in the 18th century, ranged from beneficial trade to lethal violence; Māori actively adopted many technologies from the newcomers. With the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, the two cultures coexisted for a generation. Rising tensions over disputed land sales led to conflict in the 1860s, and massive land confiscations, to which ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brown Creeper
The brown creeper (''Certhia americana''), also known as the American treecreeper, is a small songbird, the only North American member of the treecreeper family Certhiidae. Description Adults are brown on the upper parts with light spotting, resembling a piece of tree bark, with white underparts. They have a long thin bill with a slight downward curve and a long stiff tail used for support as the bird creeps upwards. The male creeper has a slightly larger bill than the female. Brown creepers are smaller than white-breasted nuthatches but larger than golden-crowned kinglets. Measurements: * Length: * Weight: * Wingspan: Its voice includes single very high pitched, short, often insistent, piercing calls; ''see'', or ''swee''. The song often has a cadence like; ''pee pee willow wee'' or ''see tidle swee'', with notes similar to the calls. Creepers in California have songs of four to nine syllables, except in the San Bernardino Mountains, where there are as many as nine to thir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rifleman (bird)
The rifleman (''Acanthisitta chloris'') (Māori: ''titipounamu'') is a small insectivorous passerine bird that is endemic to New Zealand. It belongs to the family Acanthisittidae, also known as the New Zealand wrens, of which it is one of only two surviving species. The rifleman resembles a wren in form, but is not related to the family of true wrens, Troglodytidae, nor the fairy-wrens of Australia. Taxonomy The rifleman was described by Anders Sparrman in 1787 based on a bird collected in Queen Charlotte Sound in the Marlborough Sounds of New Zealand's South Island. He originally placed it in the nuthatch genus ''Sitta''. Frédéric de Lafresnaye placed it in its own monotypic genus ''Acanthisitta'' in 1842. The name ''Acanthisitta'' is a portmanteau of the thornbill genus '' Acanthiza'' and the genus ''Sitta''. The rifleman is named after a colonial New Zealand regiment because its plumage drew similarities with the military uniform of a rifleman. Description The riflem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Morepork
The morepork (''Ninox novaeseelandiae''), also called the ruru, is a small brown owl found in New Zealand, Norfolk Island and formerly Lord Howe Island. The bird has almost 20 alternative common names, including mopoke and boobook—many of these names are onomatopoeic, as they emulate the bird's distinctive two-pitched call. Three subspecies of the morepork are recognized, one of which is extinct and another that exists only as a hybrid population. Described by Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1788, it was for many years considered to be the same species as the Australian boobook of mainland Australia until 1999. It was also considered the same species as the Tasmanian boobook of Tasmania until 2022. It has dark brown plumage with prominent pale spots, and golden-yellow eyes. It is generally nocturnal, though sometimes active at dawn and dusk, retiring to roost in secluded spots in the foliage of trees. The morepork feeds on insects and small vertebrates, hunting by pouncing on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yellow-crowned Parakeet
The yellow-crowned parakeet (''Cyanoramphus auriceps'') is a species of parakeet endemic to the islands of New Zealand. The species is found across the main three islands of New Zealand, North Island, South Island and Stewart Island/Rakiura, as well as on the subantarctic Auckland Islands. It has declined due to predation from introduced species such as stoats, although unlike the red-crowned parakeet, it has not been extirpated from the mainland of New Zealand. Its Māori name is ''kākāriki''. History The yellow-crowned parakeet was once widely distributed across all of New Zealand, both the main islands and the outlying ones. However, due to both the aforementioned introduced mammals and human destruction of habitat, these parakeets have become much scarcer in the last few decades. While uncommon, they are still the most common parakeet in New Zealand. Taxonomy This species was first described by Heinrich Kuhl in 1820 and originally named ''Psittacus auriceps''. Descriptio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blue Duck
The blue duck or whio (''Hymenolaimus malacorhynchos'') is a member of the duck, goose and swan family Anatidae endemic to New Zealand. It is the only member of the genus ''Hymenolaimus''. Its exact taxonomic status is still unresolved, but it appears to be most closely related to the tribe Anatini, the dabbling ducks. The whio is depicted on the reverse side of the New Zealand $10 banknote. Taxonomy Captain James Cook saw the blue duck in Dusky Sound, South Island, New Zealand, on his second voyage to the south Pacific. In 1777 both Cook and the naturalist Georg Forster mentioned the blue duck in their separate accounts of the voyage. A specimen was described in 1785 by the English ornithologist John Latham in his ''A General Synopsis of Birds''. Latham used the English name, the "soft-billed duck". When in 1789 the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin revised and expanded Carl Linnaeus's ''Systema Naturae'' he included the blue duck and placed it with all the oth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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