Are you going out on the water to see the Southern Right Whale?
A reminder of the rules around marine mammal encounters from the Department of Conservation:
General
Do not disturb, harass or make loud noises near marine mammals.
Contact should be ceased should marine mammals show any signs of becoming disturbed or alarmed.
Do not feed or throw any rubbish near marine mammals.
Avoid sudden or repeated changes in speed or direction of any vessel or aircraft near a marine mammal.
There should be no more than 3 vessels and/or aircraft within 300 m of any marine mammal.
At sea
Ensure that you travel no faster than idle or ‘no wake’ speed within 300 m of any marine mammal.
Approach whales and dolphins from behind and to the side.
Do not circle them, obstruct their path or cut through any group.
Keep at least 50 m from whales (or 200 m from any large whale mother and calf or calves).
Swimming with whales is not permitted.
You may swim with seals and dolphins but not with dolphin pods with very young calves.
Avoid approaching closer than 20 m to seals and sea lions hauled out on shore.
Idle slowly away. Speed may be gradually increased to out-distance dolphins and should not exceed 10 knots within 300 m of any dolphin.
If you notice a marine mammal being harassed, severely injured or entangled, contact DOC immediately on 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468) (Or Project Jonah - 0800 4WHALE) .
scumbags
There are some really awful people around at the moment. This is what happened on Sunday.
We live in Hinemoa Street opposite the Waiwhetu Stream. At around 3.40 in the afternoon I was looking out my window and saw a car pull up and start to feed the geese and ducks out the window. Then The passenger an asian man jumped out and threw himself onto a goose. he picked it up and put it the boot of the car.
I immediately ran over and stood in front of his car to stop him moving I also called my husband to help. A lovely man was riding his bike and saw it and stopped to help me. The driver tried to drive into me but I didnt move. He tried telling us it was his pet. These are wild geese.
They had a cage in the boot and some wire all ready to catch the poor bird like they have done it before. My husband took the bird from the car and released it. I then moved out of the way and after lots of abuse from the driver they drove off threatening to come back and get more.
No one should be allowed to take these beautiful birds and certainly not like this. they are all starting to have wee babies at the moment the whole thing was so upsetting to me. Another neighbour further down the road also saw it all happen.
Please keep a look out for this car and if you see them by the stream go over and watch them lets all stop this happening.
Poll: Do you think NZ should ban social media for youth?
The Australian Prime Minister has expressed plans to ban social media use for children.
This would make it illegal for under 16-year-olds to have accounts on platforms including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and X.
Social media platforms would be tasked with ensuring children have no access (under-age children and their parents wouldn’t be penalised for breaching the age limit)
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Do you think NZ should follow suit? Vote in our poll and share your thoughts below.
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85.6% Yes
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13.2% No
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1.2% Other - I'll share below
What's your favourite recipe for courgettes?
Kia ora neighbours. If you've got a family recipe for courgettes, we'd love to see it and maybe publish it in our magazine. Send your recipe to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, and if we use it in the mag, you will receive a free copy of our January 2025 issue.
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