North
Island Scenery
North
Island Scenery
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This is the Manawatu Gorge
near Palmerston North. The main road is cut into the gorge on the right
and gets it's fair share of rock falls, especially in the winter. The road
was carved out of the rock face by hand during the great depression. Similarly,
the railway, which is still part of the network, runs through on the other
side of the gorge. A train runs along this line daily to Napier from Palmerston
North and back.
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You can just see the old railway
line on the far side of the Manawatu Gorge.
That must be an exciting journey!
This gorge isn't the Manawatu
Gorge although it is still in Manawatu. There are many similar gorges in
the region, most of them are quite short, perhaps 10km long at best. Never-the-less,
they are very pretty and unspoiled and the rivers are full
of fish.
Plenty of gold was extracted from the land and the river beds although thankfully it ran out before 'gold fever' drove the prospecters to spoil the land.
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Here is yet another small gorge
carved out of the hills over thousands of years. This one
is still in Manawatu but quite
well east, almost at the coast. To find out more about Manawatu and the Tararua district, go to the website of the Tararua District Council
You will find up-to-date information on this beautiful and interesting part of New Zealand
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Some Cabbage trees overlook
NZ's capital city, Wellington.
Although not the largest
city in NZ (Auckland takes this title), Wellington is the capital of NZ.
The seat of government used to be in Auckland but was transferred to Wellington
in 1865 mainly to centralise the capital city and make it more accessible
for South Islanders. Despite the two largest cities in the country, and
the government being located in the North Island, South Islanders insist
on being referred to as "Mainlanders!" Captain Cook first sailed
into the harbour in 1773, but the first European to make any stay was Captain
James Herd, in 1826, in the ship Rosanna in company with Lambton.
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No New Zealand website would
be complete without a look at our national bird, the Kiwi.
Here is a Brown Kiwi and like
all Kiwi's, he cannot fly, although he does have the distinction
of being the only long beaked
bird that has his nostrils at the end of his beak! He makes his home in
the native bush, feeding on worms, insects, berries and seeds. He is a
nocturnal bird exept on Stewart Island where he may sometimes be seen during
the daytime.
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