Meri Kirihimete! / Merry Christmas! 🎄 Whether you celebrate or not, I wish you and your loved ones health and happiness. ❤️💚

Tokangawhā / Split Apple Rock Approx. 50 metres off the coast between Kaiteriteri and Mārahau, Māori legend says the rock was split by two gods arguing over ownership. Geologists say it was a naturally occurring joint in the granite which water, waves and ice weakened over time. 📸 Pablo Heimplatz

The UK’s Online Safety Act is genuinely draconian. The internet in one of the most powerful tools in history. Access to it should, frankly, be a right. In some places it is. The UK government, past and present, is hiding behind the disingenuous “won’t someone please think of the children” argument.

Perhaps not the most popular of takes but I loved seeing the King open the Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister Carney and Canada are showing that patriotism, tradition, and constitutional heritage can be centrist principles and don’t have to be the preserve of the right. New Zealand next, please!

Lake Rotoiti in the Tasman District in the northwest of South Island. Surrounded by beech forests, the lake has a maximum depth of 82 metres and is popular for tramping and trout fishing. It is, unsurprisingly, a popular photo destination. 📸 Tim Foster

Canada’s closest ally shouldn’t be the US (especially now). It should the UK and the Commonwealth. I know it’s not very popular or trendy to think it, and there are all manner of political and economic implications and ramifications nowadays, but I wholly support #CANZUK. 🇨🇦🇦🇺🇳🇿🇬🇧🤝

Two lambs in a field in Rosewill. Sheep farming is a major industry and in its early days NZ built itself on the wool and lamb trades. With approximately 24 million, NZ has the highest density of sheep for any country in the world and were the world’s leading exporter of lamb. 📸 Tim Marshall

Lest we forget. #ANZACDay #ANZAC

“𝘒𝘢𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘢 𝘪 𝘬𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘪: 𝙠𝙪𝙖 𝙖𝙧𝙖 𝙠𝙚, 𝘬𝘶𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘢 𝘪 𝘮𝘦𝘢 𝘢𝘪.” “He is not here: for 𝐇𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐧, as He said.” Believer or not, wishing everyone a happy, healthy, and hopeful Easter! ✝️🙏🕊️ (Apologies for late post!)

Kia pai tō whakatā Aranga! Hope you have a good Easter! ✝️🐣

Update to my gaming account on X being suspended. I appealed asking which rule(s) I broke as it’s just a gaming account save that one post re: Trump and Greenland. Reply is below. So p*rn, graphic violence, and overt racism are fine. Question Trump? Ban. It’s so laughably pathetic. Oh well 🤷‍♂️

Rainbow Falls (Māori: Waianiwaniwa; lit. “Waters of the Rainbow), a single-drop waterfall on the Kerikeri River. The 27 metre waterfall is popular with tourists and located along a 3.5 km track. The river passes through kiwi habitat, regenerating native trees such as kauri and tōtara. 📸 Marc St

The Church of the Good Shepherd on the shores of Lake Tekapo. The iconic Anglican church was built in 1935 to commemorate early settlers. One of the most photographed places in NZ, in recent years its grounds have been damaged & services interrupted by est. 600,000 annual tourists. 📸 Peter Hammer

So I recreated the account from X in this post 👇 on BlueSky and within 12hrs it’s been labelled “spam” and all posts hidden 🙃 I only made 2 posts and they were pictures from a game I play (which X account was about) Apparently that counts as “spam posting/interaction churn” (what even is that??) 🙄

25 March was the day the One Ring was destroyed in Lord of the Rings canon. The site of Hobbiton, a farm west of Hinuera, was chosen by Peter Jackson because it “looked like a slice of ancient England”. Originally temporary, it was eventually kept and, of course, can be visited. 📸 Nate Johnston

My X account (not to do with New Zealand) got suspended. I can submit an appeal but, because they haven’t told me what rule I broke, I don’t know on what grounds I’m appealing. My last post compared Trump’s preying on Canada to his well known predatory behaviour. I wonder if that’s what did it? 🤷‍♂️

Golden fields and mountains of Lindis Pass (Māori: Ōmakō). Crossed by State Highway 8, it is the highest point on the South Island's highway network. It is surrounded by snow tussock (Māori: wī kura) which grows up to 2 metres high. Some specimens are estimated to be centuries old. 📸 Eugene Quek

Why do people – sorry, but it’s mainly Americans – think this is an official Government of New Zealand account? One glance at my bio or what I post should spell it out, surely? 👀 So strange to log on and be tagged in unhinged rants from non-Kiwis… 🙃😅

@aotearoa.bsky.social Koru outside the Manse on Stewart Island, Nikon D3500 (I THINK THATS MY MODEL?) - 2018. :3 Thought i'd share.

Hooker Valley Track with Aoraki / Mount Cook in the distance. At only 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) long and gaining only about 100 m (330 ft) in height, the well formed track is the most popular walk for tourists in the Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park in central-west South Island. 📸 We Are Travellers

Taranaki Maunga, formerly Mount Taranaki/Egmont. North Island’s second highest peak at 2,518m was made a “legal person” by Parliament in 2025. It is the third geographic feature granted personhood in Aotearoa, officially recognising it as sacred to—and an ancestor of—local iwi. 📸 Sophie Turner

The Shotover River (Māori: Kimiākau) in Otago, South Island. The 75 km river is fast flowing, cutting a path through Skippers Canyon before joining the Kawarau River east of Queenstown. Once a rich source of gold, today it’s a tourist spot for whitewater rapids and jet boating. 📸 Werner Sevenster

The sun rises over Wharariki Beach near Pūponga, the northernmost settlement of South Island / Te Waipounamu. 📸 Boon Panthalany

Maungawhau / Mount Eden overlooking Auckland. Mount Eden—whose Māori name means “whau tree mountain”—is the remnant of a long dormant volcano, one of—and the highest—of many on the Auckland isthmus. It was also once the site of the main pā (fort) of Tāmaki Māori. Today is the rohe of Ngāti Whātua.

I am amazed.🤯 I passed 2K followers – or as I prefer to call you all, friends (Māori: “hoa”)!🙂 I began posting lesser known tidbits from our wonderful home NZ in the hope some may find it a little interesting. The engagement regularly floors me and I thank you all for it. Kia ora! (“Be well!”) ❤️

On this day in 1842, Auckland held its first Anniversary Day Regatta. Auckland’s Anniversary Day commemorates Lieutenant-Governor William Hobson’s arrival in the Bay of Islands in 1840. Today it is best known for a regatta on Waitematā Harbour that is possibly the largest such event in the world.

Lupins at Lake Tekapo. In hues of purple, blue and pink, lupins belong to the bean family and are not native to NZ. Planted by some farmers to lock nitrogen into the soil of the merino sheep stations in the high country, they outcompete native species and clog riverbeds. Problematic. But pretty.

Lake Wānaka and its famous tree at sunset. Wānaka is NZ’s 4th largest lake covering 192 km². “That Wānaka Tree”—as it’s often named—is a willow tree that is around 80-years-old. Sadly, the tree is increasingly under threat from over zealous tourists and vandals who sawed branches off in 2020.

19 January 1845 – Hōne Heke cuts down the British flagstaff… again The first Māori to sign the Treaty of Waitangi, Ngāpuhi chief Hōne Heke Pōkai soon became disenchanted with colonisation. He expressed his outrage by repeatedly attacking the flagstaff on the hill above Russell / Kororāreka.

Apologies for the radio silence everyone – having issues with kidney stones. Again. 🤕🤒 Be back at it soon enough! 🙂

𝗛𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗶 — The distinctive and traditional Māori greeting performed by two people pressing their noses together, usually including the touching of the foreheads. What is it? What does it symbolise? Where does it come from? Ready to find out? Hoake! (“Let’s go!”)

Ngā mihi o te tau hou! / Happy new year! 🥳 🎆 Thank you all for absolutely making my 2024 with how successful this account has been! It genuinely delights me that so many strangers across the internet find interest in anything I have to say… 😅 I wish every one of you health & happiness for 2025! 🍻

30 December 1835 – Charles Darwin leaves New Zealand after nine-day visit Darwin’s visit to the Bay of Islands on HMS Beagle was brief and unspectacular from his point of view. The Beagle’s captain, Robert FitzRoy, would later serve as the second governor of New Zealand.

Meri Kirihimete! / Merry Christmas! 🎄

“We don't have to save the world. The world is big enough to look after itself. What we have to be concerned about is whether or not the world we live in will be capable of sustaining us in it.” — Douglas Adams There is no second Earth, no second chance. Humanity needs to wake up.

On this day in 1878, universal male suffrage was introduced. The Qualification of Electors Act extended the right to vote to all European men aged 21 or over, regardless of whether they owned or rented property. This was 12 years after Māori men obtained universal male suffrage in 1867.

18 December 1642 — First known encounter between Māori and Europeans. Abel Tasman’s Dutch East India Company expedition had the first known European contact with Māori. It did not go well.

On this day in 1977, the Contraception, Sterilisation and Abortion Act passed. Parliament passed the Act following an inquiry by a Royal Commission. In the 1970s there was heated debate around women’s access to contraceptives, abortion services, and women’s level of control over their own bodies.

Kea parrot in Arthur’s Pass, South Island, New Zealand. (Image copyright Pablo Heimplatz)

On this day in 1931, the ‘Mother of Parliaments’, the British Parliament, enacted the Statute of Westminster, granting complete autonomy to its six Dominions. Australia and New Zealand held back from adopting this status and in 1947 New Zealand became the last of the Dominions to do so.

Five years ago today, 47 tourists (38 of them passengers on the cruise ship 𝘖𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘦𝘢𝘴) and guides were on Whakaari (White Island) in Bay of Plenty when the active volcano erupted at 2:11 pm.

There is little I hate more than telling someone you’re autistic and them deciding they can make you ‘normal’ by forcing you to do things you don’t enjoy… “Why won’t you come out with work?” “I’m autistic and noisy crowds overwhelm me.” “But you’ll have a great time!” “I really won’t.” “You will!”

I see the crypto spam bots have also made the move from X/Twitter… 🙄

Today in 1928 the First Bishop of Aotearoa was consecrated. Frederick Bennett—who had a Ngāti Whakaue mother and an Irish father—was ordained as an Anglican priest in 1897. He spent 13 years as superintendent of the Māori mission in Rotorua before moving to Hastings for mission work in Hawke’s Bay.

1 December 1898 – The first movie shot in New Zealand 🎥 The first motion pictures to have been taken in NZ were by W H Bartlett for entrepreneur Alfred Whitehouse, who in 1895 had imported the colony’s first ‘kinetoscope’, a Thomas Edison invention that showed moving images to one viewer at a time.

Aoraki / Mount Cook and Lake Pukaki (Copyright Casey Horner) #NewZealand #Aotearoa #Photography 🇳🇿📸

On this day in 1949, the First National Government was elected. The First Labour Government led by Peter Fraser was defeated by Sidney Holland’s National Party after 14 years in power. The result heralded a long period of National dominance with the party holding power for 29 of the next 35 years.

29 November 1893 – First woman mayor in British Empire is elected. By becoming mayor of the Auckland borough of Onehunga, Elizabeth Yates struck another blow for women’s rights in local-body polls held the day after the first general election in which women could vote.

28 November 1893 — New Zealand women went to the polls for the first time, just 10 weeks after the governor, Lord Glasgow, signed the Electoral Act 1893 into law, making New Zealand the first country in which women had the right to vote in parliamentary elections.