My son, after watching a YouTube video where the Paw Patrol had a barbecue competition, decided that we needed to also get a BBQ - I was inclined to agree. So this morning I’ve headed out and bought the family the finest mid-price kettle that mitre 10 has to offer.
Now I can spend the Christmas break subjecting my family to my sure to be mediocre attempts at BBQing.
I’ll probably just stick to the standard sausages and burgers to start with. I don’t eat meat myself, but the kids do, so probably won’t be doing anything too fancy.
I am intrigued with the idea of using it as a pizza oven though
Rocket Lab launched its first flight of its Electron rocket since a failure on Sept. 19. The 42nd mission for the small-satellite launcher lifted off on Dec. 15 from New Zealand during at about 1705 NZDT (0405 UTC or 11:05 p.m. EST)....
A proposal to deal with Wellington City Council’s significant external economic pressures while continuing to deliver for the capital city was today presented to elected members working on the 2024-34 Long-term Plan....
And specifically where they should be posted… I know it is a tricky area as to what counts as political, but in my view there are some that definitely are that I would prefer to be kept on NZ politics community....
I created that linked post, and it genuinely was a heads up to people who might be commuting that there may be disruption. I hadn’t seen these protests mentioned anywhere and as it was getting late in the evening I thought it best to post to the main community to reach the most people in a timely fashion.
Granted I could have posted without linking or providing details on the protests, but I felt that it was necessary to have some information so people had an idea what sort of disruption they might expect (and so could plan accordingly).
I personally don’t think it’s reasonable to require everything politically adjacent to be exclusively restricted to the politics community. Doing so would limit the usefulness of this instance and it’s ability to provide useful information to users.
Posting here, and not in politics, as a heads up for people who might need to adjust travel plans for tomorrow morning (if you want to discuss the politics around this then maybe a separate thread in the politics community would be best)...
Two kiwi chicks have been born in the wild around Wellington for the first time in more than 100 years, one year after the national bird was reintroduced to New Zealand’s capital.
Is it something where you can go for a night walk and see kiwi or do we not have the population for that yet?
I doubt it. The Makara area is pretty huge, and there’s only walking trails in tiny party of it - iirc most of the tracks out there are on private land.
Not quite the same but you can see kiwi on night walks at Zealandia - one clambered over my foot on a tour a few years back.
Made gyoza for the first time tonight, turned out far better than I thought it would. Took a bit of prep work, but was far cheaper and tastier than the frozen stuff from the supermarket. Even got two thumbs up from the four year old, and the seven year old went back for seconds.
I’m lucky enough to have Ruru in my back garden. While I rarely, if ever, see them I do often hear them gently hooting throughout the night, and I love them for that.
I’m way under qualified to comment on the efficacy of the rat poison drops, but my impression is that they are generally seen as a necessary evil in the fight to protect native wildlife. There’s definitely a fringe, but vocal, anti 1080 (the most prominent poison used) movement, but that’s less rooted in environmental concern and more on conspiracy theories: 1080 activism: Going down the conspiracy ‘wormhole’
It is worth noting that poison drops aren’t the only tool employed. There’s been some massive victories in the Wellington region using trapping to eliminate rats (and other pests such as stoats) from a large area of the capital: Rats, stoats and weasels eliminated from Miramar
I’d be remiss if I didn’t also mention Zealandia when talking about the return of native birds to the capital. It’s large sanctuary in the city suburbs that’s completely surround by a 1.8 - 2.2m (6.2 - 7.2 ') predator exclusion fence. This area allows native birds a space to thrive without rat predation. It’s been so successful that threatened birds are growing in numbers and returning to areas outside of the sanctuary - good example being the Kaka (not an owl but still superb) which seem to growing steadily in number in my area.
I used to bike every day but kinda fallen out of the habit of late as I mostly work from home. There’s been some good improvements to the both the cycle, and general road infrastructure recently which has made it a lot safer for me going into to work.
That said with the narrow winding roads in my area, there’s not really any room for further cycle lanes. So unless they introduce lower speed limits, or remove on street parking, then it’s probably as cycle friendly as it’ll get - which is still not super friendly.
I get by because I have an e-bike and can mostly keep up with traffic if I go hard out (except for uphill), but I wouldn’t recommend cycling on those roads to more casual / younger riders.
Wellington’s ecosanctuary Zealandia Te Māra a Tāne has been named the top tourism operation in Aotearoa New Zealand as winner of the prestigious Air New Zealand Supreme Tourism Award....
The Phoenix kick off their season with a home game at the cake tin on Sunday. I believe this will be one of only two games they’ll play at the Stadium - with the rest being at smaller venues around the Wellington region....
Aotearoa Daily Kōrero 22/12/2023
Welcome to today’s daily kōrero!...
Rocket Lab successfully completes return-to-flight Electron launch (spaceflightnow.com)
Rocket Lab launched its first flight of its Electron rocket since a failure on Sept. 19. The 42nd mission for the small-satellite launcher lifted off on Dec. 15 from New Zealand during at about 1705 NZDT (0405 UTC or 11:05 p.m. EST)....
Long-term Plan and rates update (wellington.govt.nz)
A proposal to deal with Wellington City Council’s significant external economic pressures while continuing to deliver for the capital city was today presented to elected members working on the 2024-34 Long-term Plan....
Houses flooded, flights cancelled as wild weather lashes country (www.rnz.co.nz)
Can we please have another discussion about political posts?
And specifically where they should be posted… I know it is a tricky area as to what counts as political, but in my view there are some that definitely are that I would prefer to be kept on NZ politics community....
Te Pāti Māori plans protests across the North Island as Parliament restarts (i.stuff.co.nz)
Posting here, and not in politics, as a heads up for people who might need to adjust travel plans for tomorrow morning (if you want to discuss the politics around this then maybe a separate thread in the politics community would be best)...
‘Very sweet milestone’: wild-born kiwi chicks are Wellington’s first in a century (www.theguardian.com)
Two kiwi chicks have been born in the wild around Wellington for the first time in more than 100 years, one year after the national bird was reintroduced to New Zealand’s capital.
Aotearoa Daily Kōrero 27/11/2023
Welcome to today’s daily kōrero!...
Morepork / Ruru (lemmy.world)
Photo by Hayden Wood...
Aotearoa Daily Kōrero 23/11/2023
Welcome to today’s daily kōrero!...
World-leading ecosanctuary Zealandia takes top prize at NZ Tourism Awards (www.visitzealandia.com)
Wellington’s ecosanctuary Zealandia Te Māra a Tāne has been named the top tourism operation in Aotearoa New Zealand as winner of the prestigious Air New Zealand Supreme Tourism Award....
Wellington's Miramar Peninsula finally predator-free (www.newshub.co.nz)
It’s been a hard-fought effort but Wellington’s Miramar Peninsula is predator-free - having eradicated the last of the ship rats....
Diwali Festival of Lights (wellington.govt.nz)
Sunday 29th October:...
Some sort of stick caterpillar? (lemmy.nz)
Hard to get a good photo due to the size of this little guy, so apologies for the blurriness
Sustainability Trust Community Clean-Up (sustaintrust.org.nz)
Regular - 3rd Wednesday of every month - lunchtime street cleanup....
Wellington Phoenix women ready for new A-League season (www.rnz.co.nz)
The Phoenix kick off their season with a home game at the cake tin on Sunday. I believe this will be one of only two games they’ll play at the Stadium - with the rest being at smaller venues around the Wellington region....