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Thread ID: 78584	2007-04-21 03:31:00	NZ/Australia Drought?	SurferJoe46 (51)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
542796	2007-04-21 12:45:00	Don't forget Joe, NZ consists of two relatively small islands surrounded by thousands of miles of sea. So we don't have the sort of climates associated with large land masses, though the Central Otago region of the South Island does experience temperature extremes between summer and winter that is more like the interior of a large land mass. You can tell how small the islands are, there is an annual coast to coast race, running cycling, kayaking, 243 Km that the top athletes will complete in a day. You'd have a job to do a coast to coast in a day in the US or Australia: http://www.coasttocoast.co.nz/ Terry has explained well, Joe. I just want to add that our weather patterns can vary dramatically between 2 as-the-crow-flies settlements because of mountains - particularly in the South Island. So it's not just lat/longitude, but also height above sea level that counts. We have a surprisingly large collection of weather patterns for a small country. And some places are prone to drought - or flood - so have good & bad farming years. But niothing here currently compares with what you see about Australia - thank heavens.	Laura (43)
542797	2007-04-21 15:41:00	Thanks all . . most informative for me . I still have a hard time visualizing that NZ and Australia are that different . . after all, I hold no animosity toward Canadians myself . If they choose to live in a wild cold snow-infested wilderness with wolves and red-jacketed Mounties patrolling the area (I saw Sgt . Preston of The Yukon as a kid), then more power to them . I'd visit there, but refuse to stay in an igloo and learn Eskimo language skills . . . (Ugh . . Grunt . . . Mugwah . . chewing blubber . . . . . . etc . ) OK . . tongue outta cheek now . . . Besides the indigenous persons of NZ, what is the major ethnicity of people there? You must have "Eskimo-types" there too . . . every country is originated by them . For us, the Indians were here first, although their freeways and large cities left a lot to be desired . I imagine our history would be much different if the Indians had motorcycles to patrol the land . Hmmmm . . . strange thought, that! (Indian - Motorcycles . . get it?):p In spite of my Saturday morning humor attempts, I really DO appreciate the info, and youse guys give me a whole new venue of research and interest to investigate . Thanks .	SurferJoe46 (51)
542798	2007-04-21 16:00:00	Motorbyclist: kinda like how over there in the states you always have forest fires in the same area year after year . . not really . . it MAY seem that way though . What actually happens is that certain groups of tree-huggers with a "mission" make such a fuss about removing dead wood and dry ground cover . . . and here's the very wrong-est part . . . . . keeping ALL fires in control and putting them out . . . that the forests and scrub brush areas never get to stay clear of that tinder . The result is that when a fire DOES break out, it has so much fuel that it literally explodes in ferocity and death to all in the area . There is a mascot of the US Forest Department that tells us: "Only YOU can prevent forest fires" . . . and leads off with the message that fire kills or destroys . Never mind that it also CLEANS and REMOVES dead vegetation to keep the fire, should and when it occurs, to a small and insignificant blaze that does not totally destroy the wilderness . Re-thinking and hindsight being 20/20 has created a new ground swell that many people now agree that small fires are good and beneficial . Keeping major conflagrations to a minimum is the idea . So . . the real problem is the dense underbrush . Fire actually causes many coniferous trees to release their seeds for re-forestation of the area, and indeed most will not release their seed until kissed by moderate flames anyway . As to "the same area all the time" scene: Yes . . it SEEMS to re-burn the same areas over and over . Not actually true . The undeveloped areas here are really quite large . . there are even forests and privative land in between major cities . . . LA not included . What happens is that the geographic locations of fires are basically reported as "The LA Basin" . . which is many miles long and wide and includes many cities, both incorporated and unincorporated . The Simi Valley, for example is huge and covers a lot of cities also, but a fire there will usually just be monikered as a fire in Simi Valley, with no real scale or scope on the true areas involved . Most times, a fire-burned area from the last "fire season" will not have sufficient tinder for at least 4 to 10 years for another great fire . If the tree-huggers allow clearing and cleansing the underbrush as a preventative measure . . . the timespan will increase greatly . . perhaps to never another fire there . Small insignifican fires = GOOD Tree-huggers = BAD Smokey (the) Bear (US Forest Service Mascot) = STUPID! . . . and the Indians NEVER had a fire department either!	SurferJoe46 (51)
542799	2007-04-21 17:11:00	We might have had a very dry summer in parts of nz, but we certainly don't have a drought on the scale of Aus at the moment. They haven't had rain for quite a while (substantial rain) and are close to running out of water for irrigation in parts of South Australia.	Tux (606)
542800	2007-04-22 05:02:00	We might have had a very dry summer in parts of nz, but we certainly don't have a drought on the scale of Aus at the moment. They haven't had rain for quite a while (substantial rain) and are close to running out of water for irrigation in parts of South Australia. Ten years in fact.	mikebartnz (21)
542801	2007-04-22 05:32:00	Thanks all..most informative for me. If they choose to live in a wild cold snow-infested wilderness with wolves and red-jacketed Mounties patrolling the area (I saw Sgt. Preston of The Yukon as a kid), then more power to them. I'd visit there, but refuse to stay in an igloo and learn Eskimo language skills...(Ugh..Grunt...Mugwah..chewing blubber... ...etc.) Hey Joe. From what (little) I understand of Canada, it's a bit like NZ. Beautiful and rugged all in one. Stunning mountains, great skiing and fishing, and the people are really friendly. Wouldn't be jealous would you??? :D	allblack (6574)
542802	2007-04-22 05:42:00	. . . . . . . I hold no animosity toward Canadians myself . If they choose to live in a wild cold snow-infested wilderness with wolves and red-jacketed Mounties patrolling the area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . and if you listen carefully, even today you will still be able to hear Marie de Flor and Sgt . Bruce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . net/musicfiles/howmusic/rosemarie . ram" target="_blank">dismuke . net	Terry Porritt (14)
542803	2007-04-22 05:47:00	<S> "When I'm calling you....ou...ou...ou......ou...uo..ou...ouoooo!</S>	SurferJoe46 (51)
542804	2007-04-22 06:09:00	...and I love the Red Green Show	SurferJoe46 (51)
542805	2007-04-22 11:32:00	Thanks all . . most informative for me . OK . . tongue outta cheek now . . . Besides the indigenous persons of NZ, what is the major ethnicity of people there? You must have "Eskimo-types" there too . . . every country is originated by them . I don't think every country is populated by "Eskimo-types" SJ, and it is arguable that NZ is definitely not populated by that ilk as they are of asian extraction I believe, while our population is predominantly polynesian and european sourced . To be scrupulously fair though, there is strong genetic evidence emerging to suggest that the polynesian races originated in China so you never can be quite sure . Anything is possible! NZ split off from Gondwanaland (more specifically the east coast of australasia) millions of years before hominids appeared on the planet and it was only in the last 10-15,000 years that homo sapiens (mankind as we know and love it) appeared . The world's population slowly spread east from europe, but being isolated by sea, New Zealand was never populated by land-bridge migration and was too far away for early seafarers . It was thousands of years later that the polynesians (chinese sourced?) arrived to populate our country, though it can't be 100% guaranteed that there wasn't somebody who got here even before them . Even so, the polynesians have only been here for about 800 years . The foregoing assumes that you are not a creationist . If you are then setting a realistic time line presents some serious difficulties . It wasn't until some 350 years ago that europeans are known to have visited and they were Dutch explorers who arrived around 1642/43 . There are some amazing maps that show much of our coastline and that of Australia . It was they who named the country Nova Zeelandia, which has stayed with us as the anglicised New Zealand . English Naval Officer Captain James Cook is generally credited with discovering NZ but he was 130 years too late . We are now a polyglot bunch with a couple of major advantages . Firstly we don't need to build fences to keep out illegal immigrants . If they can swim here they are welcome to stay . Secondly, we are too far away to attract the interests of terrorists, in fact only the French have been seriously stupid enough to launch a true terrorist attack in NZ soil when they bombed a Greenpeace ship in Auckland Harbour many years ago . You must visit some time, you have friends here all over the country . Cheers Billy 8-{)	Billy T (70)
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