Christchurch tourist attraction up for sale as leading operator sheds businesses
One of New Zealand’s leading tourism operators is selling off a number of businesses across the South Island, including Christchurch’s International Antarctic Centre.
RealNZ has announced plans for “future growth”, acting chief executive Paul Norris said on Wednesday, including changes to its portfolio of business to “better align to the organisation’s purpose” and its focus on inspiring an interest in conservation.
As well as selling the International Antarctic Centre, RealNZ is also offloading its Queenstown Jet Boats tourism business, Queenstown Ferry (water taxis), and the Stewart Island Lodge.
The company also owns the historic Walter Peak homestead on the shore of Lake Whakatipu, and is exploring new ways to “expand” guests’ experiences there. It hopes to sell its vessel Spirit of Queenstown to fellow tourism operator Southern Discoveries, with the boat continuing to provide trips to Walter Peak.
Read the full story from reporter Carly Gooch here (subscription required - first two stories a month free).
Best way to use leftovers?
I'm sure you've got some excess ham at home or cold roast potatoes.
What are some of your favourite ways to use leftover food from Christmas day? Share below.
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
Greed and townhouses.
Any council that allows a new building permit without requiring at least one carpark (if not two) should be charged for pandering to developers and builders greed. A recent report indicating a lot of townhouses are on the market now because owners/occupiers are leaving/selling to move to places with carparks. And anybody with even the smallest degree of intelligence will be well aware of the worldwide hassles with charging EVs where there is/are nowhere to park in an evening while charging. This has been known about for years now. The cure for this is instead of building 6 townhouses you only build 4 or 5. So it boils down to greed and a total lack of planning on behalf of those meant to be doing this sort of stuff for us.