New Zealand Nature Blog

Who or what is DOC? 

When travelling through New Zealand and especially if you venture outdoors, you will inevitably see DOC signs and or meet DOC rangers -  But who or what are they?

Well 'DOC' or the 'Department of Conservation'  is the government agency charged with conserving New Zealand’s natural and historic heritage. They have a very cool vision and that is for New Zealand to be the greatest living space on Earth | Kāore he wāhi i tua atu i a Aotearoa, hei wahi noho i te ao.

The Southern Lights, as it is also known, is particularly active in our hemisphere during the winter months. The base is usually seen at about 100km up in the air, and can extend up to a further 300km at the top. This breathtakingly vibrant optical phenomenon is named after the Roman goddess of the dawn (Aurora) and appeared to Tekapo's residents as a  huge green undulating  curtain of light.

With a blatant show of electioneering, the Aurora Australis danced high above the residents of Lake Tekapo this week.

Deep in the South Seas, the most southerly of the Cook Islands has the distinction of being the oldest island in the Pacific. Analysis of its geology shows it dates from 18 million years ago Steeped with legends and myths, its age, structure and ancient artifacts have for decades meant this unique tropical island has become a Mecca for archaeologists and anthropologists... Mangaia’s remarkable natural beauty and serenity are only part of its fascination…

This week two US students trapped in New Zealand's South Island wilderness by a snowstorm, trekked back out to safety after surviving their nine-day ordeal by rationing their meager supplies to a biscuit and jelly per day. "I believe when you go into the bush you take your life into your own hands and need to be prepared to handle whatever conditions occur,"  said 21 year old  Alec Brown . "We could have been more prepared, but in the end we were prepared enough to walk ourselves out." We disagree.

The NASA Discovery crew spent the equivalent of 365 days in space on a range of missions including launching satellites, working on the Hubble Telescope and carrying materials to the international space station in orbit 400km above Earth. The space station travels at 28,000km/h orbiting the planet six times a day - so one can only assume they were quite capable of handling the 100 metre Abseil (rappel) into Waitomo’s Lost World Cave.