Aussies on ice...

Aussies on ice...

A group of Aussies are planning to take a helicopter ride to one of the icebergs now off the southern New Zealand coast, and carve out an ice-bar, stage a party, and with a DJ produce a music track. Oh those Aussies!

Thirty eight year old Sydney builder, Reynold Bierman, good Aussie name this, will check the berg out for safety. There are now a number of icebergs drifting out of Antarctic waters to southern New Zealand waters. Some have probably broken off a larger berg and could come close to shore in about ten days or so.

During the 2006 drift of icebergs, many helicopter rides and sight-seeing flights were made, often from tourists from Australia and other places. There is a buck in it for somebody!

A thought for the day...

Copied this from the noticeboard at the Hutt Hospital MH Unit::

The past is history,

The future is a mystery,

Today is a gift,

That why they call it the present.

And somebody wrote on the bottom: Just Like Christmas?

Its not NASA and the Kennedy Space Centre, but Kiwi aerospace company ROCKET LAB...

You may have read it on Twitter - now you can read it here:


Its not Nasa and the Kennedy Space Centre, but the Kiwi aerospace company Rocket Lab. They are counting down for their historic launch of a spacebound rocket from Great Barrier island in Auckland's Hauraki Gulf.

The launch from a private island off the Coromandel Peninsula in about two weeks time, will be the first time a private company in the southern hemisphere has launched a space rocket.

The 'Rocket Lab' company CEO, Peter Beck, said the rocket, named Atea-1, had a 2 kg payload capacity, and expected interest from commercial interests keen to send products or services into space, or even people wanting to send personal mementoes. This project will give the scientific community its first practical alternative to conventional rockets at a significant saving in costs as it will carry minature scientific equipment.

This coming launch will be the first in a series where the primary payload will be instrumentation measuring the machine's performance.

But the highlight of this small rocket will be its use of a new low-emission hybrid fuel technology; conventional rockets use solid fuel technology. The small rocket will travel at Mach 5 to an altitude of 120 kilometers.

Perhaps the big boys will have more competition from smaller ventures in the future, as minaturised equipment becomes more popular.

Rocket Lab will be holding online auctions both for premium viewing spots on the island and for payload space on the rocket.

Rocket Lab News

New two wheeled vehicles in NZ - Segways...

New two wheeled police vehicles in NZ - Segways...

New two wheeled police vehicles being used in Taupo in the North Island of New Zealand - Segways...

Taupo police are trialling two 'Segway' scooters as additions to their crime-fighting armoury.

Taupo police area commander Inspector Steve Bullock said the community policing unit would use the scooters, which have a top speed of 20km/h, in public parks and along the lake front.

The first deployment would be during the Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge on November 28, he told The Dominion Post.

"They will never replace police on the beat or in cars, but they will give us greater flexibility and access during big events," Mr Bullock said.

The scooters have been lent to police by the Taupo Safer Community Trust.

Segways can only be used for off-road use, not on roads or footpaths.

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Trans-Tasman police crackdown on violent drinkers in early Dec...

Kiwi and Aussie cops to cooperate on police action against violent drinkers...

Trans-Tasman crackdown on drinking:

Thousands of extra police on both sides of the Tasman including riot squad officers will crack down on binge drinking and violence

New Zealand and Australian police are cooperating on an unprecedented attack on binge drinking and violence.

They are focusing on two days of action, on December 11 and 12.

The plan was due to be announced this afternoon, but New Zealand police have confirmed a report in a Sydney newspaper on the issue. However, they will not reveal details of the plan of action in New Zealand until later in the day.

The Daily Telegraph says thousands of extra police including riot squad officers will flood the streets of Sydney and regional towns in New South Wales to declare war on hooligans.

Don't quite understand this story yet. Is this a joint action or will there be action on both sides of the Tasman at the same time for publicity reasons?

Acknowledgements: NZCity, NewsTalkZB

Erebus crash families receive only $100,000 and sworn to secrecy for thirty years...

Erebus crash families received only $100,000 compensation and sworn to secrecy for 30 yrs...

The families of those who died when Air New Zealand Flight 901 plunged into Mt Erebus, in Antarctica, received an average pay-out of only $100,000 - and they have been sworn to secrecy all these years.

The same year, an Auckland woman who was badly burned in a Pan American crash was awarded much more by a US court.

Compensation for the 200 New Zealand passengers on the doomed 1979 Antarctic flight totalled about $21 million, according to calculations based on new disclosures.

About a third of the compensation ($6.9m) was paid by the Government after Civil Aviation was named in a class action brought by a passenger consortium. That amount showed up in the 1982 Budget.

In addition to the $21m, a further $4m was paid out to the families of 24 Japanese passengers on the flight.

An Air New Zealand spokeswoman would not confirm the amounts, saying the Erebus settlements were confidential between the airline and the families.

Three Army LAVS heading for Afghanistan...

Three of the army's light armoured vehicles and their crews are being sent to Afghanistan to support the Special Air Service (SAS) troops in operations there.

Defence Minister Wayne Mapp said the deployment would be for as long as necessary.

"They will provide increased protected mobility for our personnel, particularly from improvised explosive devices. These are one of the greatest threats to coalition forces in Afghanistan," Dr Mapp said.

In early October Prime Minister John Key confirmed New Zealand SAS troops were in Kabul, Afghanistan.

The location of New Zealand's secretive SAS troops was revealed by Norway's defence chief, who said the New Zealanders were replacing their Norwegian equivalents.

The New Zealand Government had a policy not to publicly divulge their whereabouts.

The Norwegians had been involved in the arrest of several wanted insurgent leaders responsible for planning and running suicide attacks against targets in the Kabul region.

Insurgent activity has been increasing recently and another New Zealand military deployment in Afghanistan came under fire last month.

A patrol, comprising Hiluxes and Hummers, was returning from the northeastern area of Bamyan province, when it came under fire from insurgents armed with small arms and rocket propelled grenades.

New Zealand has about 140 defence force personnel running a provincial reconstruction team (PRT) in Bamyan.

A couple of the patrol's vehicles suffered minor damage but there were no injuries in the last exchange.

In June a home made bomb exploded in front of a New Zealand patrol. No one was injured.


Acknowledgements: NZPA