Did you know that searches for Maori tattoos are quite a popular directory query on NZS.com? While many may want a Maori design on their arm, how many Kiwis actually speak the language? The last census revealed it is just 4% of the country - so what can you do to learn a little Te Reo Maori?
It’s Maori Language Week in
Image from Flickr.
You’ll probably know that New Zealand Post recently updated the entire postcode system across New Zealand. Every single postcode in existence changed to another unique number that you need to use when addressing physical mail.
So, what’s your current postcode?
New Zealand Post have thankfully provided a set of useful online tools that I came across today when looking for the postcodes of a particular business. Their Address and Postcode Finder is useful as it’ll show you a boundary map page (once you click through to the “view map” link).
Just in case you’ve forgotten how physical mail actually works (when was the last time you sent a written letter to someone?) they also have helpful tips on How to Address Mail.
The introduction of the new postcodes has lead to a complete set of updated addressing standards, that have now been implemented alongside the new postcodes to bring New Zealand up to international standards in postal service addressing.
Image from Flickr.
What does Waitangi Day mean to New Zealanders?
Every year on 6 February, New Zealand celebrates its national day and the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. More than 150 years ago, a contingent from Britain signed our nation’s founding document with over 500 Maori chiefs, making New Zealand part of the British Empire and establishing formally what would become a problematic relationship between European settlers and native Maori.
So, what meaning does the Treaty have in a modern, multicultural New Zealand?
While we celebrate as a nation, we also reflect on what the Treaty means in the 21st century - and how we live together in New Zealand, as Maori and Pakeha. With disagreement over the terms of the Treaty, and even the original translation from English to Maori, tensions have run high for many years. Waitangi Day may be a public holiday and our national day, but it continues to raise important issues: Maori land rights, sovereignty and race relations in New Zealand, to name just a few.
What do you know about Waitangi Day? Do you celebrate our national day? Find out more about about Waitangi Day celebrations in our Articles section.
Image from Flickr.
Apparently desk dining is a common phenomenon. I know I’m guilty as charged, but are you one of the many hardworking, office-air-breathing employees staying put during your lunch break and eating lunch in front of your computer?
I know I’m a fitness junkie outside office hours, so the odd slug-like lunch break doesn’t bother me. Fitness is one of those things that’s brilliant for physical and mental health. Now (even if you’re a desk slug) you can have the best of both worlds with online fitness training!
Yes, that’s right. Let’s hear it for online personal trainers and fitness information. They’ll set you up with a personalised fitness programme to get you on the way towards your goals - whether you’re wanting to improve your fitness, lose weight or tone your body. This is often supplemented with nutrional advice, motivational tips and other useful advice to keep you motivated and on track.
Check out these online fitness training resources:
If you can’t motivate yourself with these, try a professional NZ personal trainer, in person.
Our brand new weather section was launched this afternoon - now there’s no excuse for getting caught out by the weather! With all the latest New Zealand weather reports, forecasts and updates from MetService, we offer local weather information for your region. You’ll find:
Online, up-to-the-minute weather reports mean you’ll always have the latest information on-hand, whether you’re planning a weekend escape, wondering whether to catch the bus or walk, or just hoping for summer sunshine to arrive. So, get the latest NZ weather reports, now!
Have you ever wondered how many people will live in New Zealand in the future?
According to the New Zealand population clock, we’re currently sitting on 4,240,179.
I think it’s fair to say that ‘getting away from it all’ is a Kiwi pastime, so it’s hard to imagine our country being overcrowded, without beautiful areas of unspoilt wilderness. I hope we always stay this way - and now statistics seem to be backing me up on this…
New Zealand’s population will continue to rise at its current rate until it reaches around five million. Our permanently small population offers some opportunities (tourism, great lifestyle, a beautiful environment) but it also means limitations for our economy and society. The rate of population expansion will drop as the number of deaths overtakes the number of births annually. At present, one person is born about every 14 minutes and 20 seconds. Statistics New Zealand projections show population growth beginning to slow, with the population peaking at just over the five million in the late 2020’s. The rate of growth has been around 1.4 percent per year since 2001.
Some things you may not have known about the NZ population:
Find more stats ‘n stuff in our New Zealand information section, or take a look at the Government-run New Zealand population project, examining issues as they relate to sustainability and development.
Getting a property valuation used to indicate the amount you could expect to receive when selling your home. But what can you expect the value of your home to do in today’s property market?
According to some commentators, the New Zealand property market has entered a period of consolidation (that’s flattening off to the rest of us) after a time of unprecedented and sustained rises in property prices. Most real estate experts don’t expect the market to crash; current real estate trends indicate a more stable property market.
In real terms, this means the real estate industry is not quite as booming as it once was - there are fewer houses being sold and prices are not continuing to rise at the same heady rates as they have for the last few years - but there is still a healthy demand for properties nationwide.
If you’re looking to buy or sell real estate, this can all be a little unsettling. Luckily, there are plenty of real estate resources to keep you informed:
Whether you’re buying or selling, be sure to do your research on New Zealand property trends so you can make an informed decision.
How much do you know about your family?
When I trained to be an ESOL teacher, one of the topics we covered was having a sense of home (a tricky thing for migrants to regain in a new country). Family plays an important role in our sense of home and identity - who we are and where we’ve come from - but when we were asked to name just one of our great-grandparents, not one person could do it.
This got me thinking about where my family had come from… I knew some of the names, but did I know anything about who those people really were, what mattered to them, what their achievements had been and why they’d come to New Zealand from far-off lands? Not a chance. Yet these people are the reason I’m here today, calling myself a New Zealander and living in this peaceful, prosperous country.
Try talking to your family about your heritage and ancestry, so that this knowledge won’t be lost. Plus, it’s fascinating stuff when you get into the stories of people’s lives. And if you want to get serious, you can even research your family history through one of the many New Zealand genealogy resources in libraries and online.
Last night I gave a talk about my space and Internet activities to a group of twenty-somethings at ConnectioNZ. I touched on the usefulness of having a life plan and was extremely surprised when I asked who had one - not one of them had a life plan!
I believe creating a life plan every two years is the single most powerful thing you can do to achieve your goals; it will help you get clarity on your career, health and relationships. There are heaps of ways to approach a life plan, and if you do some searches on ‘creating a life plan’ you’ll get numerous sites, but for starters, two great exercises are:
1. If you had just three years left on the planet, what would you really want to achieve?
2. Visualise yourself at 80 years old, reflecting on your life. If you follow your current life path, think about the things that are likely to happen to you and then contemplate; Is that the life you would have wanted to live? Do you have any regrets? How could you improve things?
The act of writing something down, and committing to it, will draw you towards that goal. Once you know what you want, then break your goal down into little steps and move towards it.
People often overestimate what they can achieve in a week, but they underestimate what they can achieve in a year. Within 10 years you can achieve just about anything!
Well, it seems like just yesterday that the only way to have your say on community issues was by writing a letter to the editor (hand writing, mind) and posting it by snail-mail to your local newspaper. Now, thanks to sites like uthink, you can have your say on pretty much anything that tickles your fancy (or gets you in a lather!).
Taking a look around this community forum, you’ll find a plethora of issues that have sparked discussion, outrage and strongly voiced opinions. Want to know what people really think about child abuse, Air New Zealand carrying troops to Iraq, or the judicial system in New Zealand? Then take a look at what uthink tells us wethink.
But it’s not all current events; it’s more like a snapshot of New Zealand society, with everyone getting a look-in. I suppose it highlights what matters to us at any given moment. Topics span everything from movie reviews to parenting, relationships, sport, lifestyle choices, and those great dividers, religion and politics.
One of the things I love about this site is that it has one of those nifty tag clouds (like our very own Swicki search). Tags are simply a way of indexing and categorizing information using selected keywords (for instance, an article on endangered monkeys might be tagged with ‘animals’ and ‘conservation’). You can tag almost anything: articles, websites, pictures and videos. This allows all the links/pictures/articles with the same tag to be viewed together.
A tag cloud is, as the name suggests, a cluster of tags. The size of each tag’s font in the cloud indicates the relative popularity of each topic. On sites like uthink, the tagging of all posts on the forum means you can easily see current hot topics (the great thing about tag clouds is their dynamic nature - they’re constantly changing!). According to uthink, we’re currently hot under the collar about Nelson, money, power prices and chicks. Amongst other things.
Check out this site and other community forums to get thinking and keep in touch with grass roots New Zealand.
