What to see in Tasman

I saw a question from a fellow Kiwi on Quora recently, asking what to see in Motueka (the town closest to where I live).

In reviewing the answers, I was quite surprised at many of them: they were of the 'don't bother' variety, or 'only take one day'. It got me thinking about how often we know very little of an area, and we don't bother to find out what else there might be of interest.

Having hosted many, many overseas visitors, I now have a good selection of options for them to try, to get a taste of the land and of what we produce here. I felt that the asker could fill up two weeks in the area easily, depending on what they were interested in, and what their fitness was like.

While the Motueka township might take half a day: it is a rural hub, with some good food places, and has a number of craft brewers. I suggested that they go to Toad Hall for lunch, and visit Bloom Cafe right in the middle of Motueka, behind the Real Estate agent in the old Church. Then an estuary walk is nice a couple of kilometres, and a good way to settle a lunch.

Kaiteriteri and Marahau are great beaches to visit, in any season. Taking a Wilson’s boat tour through the Abel Tasman National Park if there isn’t have time to walk the track (though I would recommend a day walk: winter or summer, it is lovely). There are some really great walks, such as the Mount Arthur track and the start of the Kaurangi National Park.

There are a lot of artisans with studios in the hills and bays between Mapua and Mouteka - working in clay, paint and other materials. Mapua is also worth a lunch or two: the waterfront is lovely, and most of the restaurants specialise in seafood. Fish and chips on the wharf with a beer from the Golden Bear is great too. A stop at the Tasman Store for ice cream is reminiscent of summer childhood trips in the car.

If you like wine there are plenty of good wineries from main road out of Richmond towards Brightwater, then towards Mouteka. The wines in the area tend towards the aromatics: riesling; pinot gris; rose; from award winning wineries such as: Seifried Estate; Greenhough; Brightwater; Richmond Plains; Moutere Hills (and a wonderful lunch at Forsters); Kahurangi; Neudorf; Rimu Grove, Riwaka Estate... I could go on! Being at Glovers Winery with Dave Glover explaining the terroir and the wine is most entertaining. Listening to a live band in Neudorf vineyard is an experience not to be forgotten.

A visit to the oldest pub in New Zealand in Upper Moutere, the Moutere Tavern, for lunch is a laugh, which serves local wines, craft beers and ciders. Buying the specialities of the area from the Old Post Office is fun, followed by a real fruit ice cream from the village dairy (there is also an artisan bakery tucked in behind). Drop in on the award winning clay sculptor, Katie Gold - and her potter husband, Owen Bartlett - across the road. Have a look around the old Lutheran church. This little township of Sarau - Upper Moutere - services three major wineries: Kahurangi, Moutere Hills (and Forsters), and Neudorf.

Then it would be easy to take a three or four day trip to Takaka and the Golden Bay, including a trip to the Cobb Valley, Anatoki Salmon, Pohara beach, stopping at more artisans along the way. Going on to Farewell Spit (I would definitely recommend taking a formal Spit tour from Collingwood), Wharariki beach, Totaranui, and Puponga is great. Time in 'the bay' could also include the Collingwood museum, a trip to Bainham, visiting the Bainham store, the start of the Heaphy, and the Devils Boots.

There is PLENTY to do in Tasman.

Sam

References:

• Department of Conservation (2021). Farewell Spit and Puponga Farm Park. https://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/nelson-tasman/places/farewell-spit-and-puponga-farm-park/
• NZ Guide (2021). 24 Nelson Wineries on the Nelson Wine Trail. https://nzpocketguide.com/23-nelson-wineries-on-the-nelson-wine-trail/
• The New Zealand Wine Directory (2021). Nelson. https://nzwinedirectory.co.nz/wine-regions/south-island/nelson/

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Newsletter Issue 106, December 2005

Sam Young Newsletter

Issue 106, December 2005

Hi guys,

Are you doing all you can to make your PC safe? Check out Are You Safe Online below to find out.

Tourism is one of our largest GDP contributors, so see what the Tourism Growth to 2011 will be like for what the sector has in store for us. 

What Is Your 'Credibility Quotient'?   TLAs for SMEs        Tips, Short & Hot Keys        Hot Linx

Don't forget, if you want to be taken off my mailing list, click here to send me a reply e-mail and I will remove your name.

Are You Safe Online?

New Zealand's internet safety group, NetSafe, has published the results of their 2005 Home Computer Security Survey on their website at http://www.netsafe.org.nz/research/netsafe_home_computer_security_survey_summary.aspx.

The results are - sadly - as dismal as you would expect:

• 70% of respondents don't have the net basics in place (ie auto-updated - or manually updated each online day - operating system, firewall and antivirus software)
• 36% don't have an updated antivirus program & 41% don't have an updated firewall
• 71% don't backup important files at least once a month
• 72% use credit cards online; 55% use them 'occasionally'. 49% of those who use credit cards online do not have the net basics in place
• 93% who use credit cards to buy from online sites said they DON'T look for all three of the recommended secure transaction indicators (ie the padlock symbol, a valid security certificate, and a change in the website address from http:// to https://)
• 42% reported that their computer had been attacked or infected resulting in a loss of files, data, and/or operating difficulties. 3% had lost money due to online fraud or email scams

So. If you think that you fall down on any of those issues above, what you need to do to be safe online is quite simple:

1. Download & install a firewall. Zone Alarm is (a) free for personal use, and (b) easy to use and update. Get it at http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/catalog/products/ (you may need to click on the "Zone Alarm" link in the Navigation bar on the left). Set your firewall to update each time you are online
2. Download & install antispyware. There are a lot of antispyware programmes, and you need at least two as none of them cover most of the range of spy-/mal-/adware in the wild. In my opinion, the best options - and I have all four - are:
   • Microsoft antispyware free beta version can be downloaded at http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx
   • Ad-Aware freeware is at http://www.lavasoftusa.com/support/download/
   • CWShredder freeware is at http://www.intermute.com/products/cwshredder.html
   • Webroot Spy Sweeper costs $29.95 US (≈ $45 NZ), and can be downloaded at http://www.webroot.com/products/spysweeper/?WRSID=76ba824dba6b1cd19a7a1c182c5b76e6
   • Remember to run whatever software you download regularly - I usually run them each week. And don't forget to check for software updates
3. Auto-update your Antivirus software. Either set your AV to update automatically, or remember to do it FIRST each time you go online
4. Update your Windows Operating System. It is probably easier for most of you to set this to happen automatically, each time you go online
5. Don't open email attachments from unknown senders. If you think the email is legitimate, email the sender back and ask if they sent you an attachment
6. BACKUP YOUR DATA REGULARLY! Set yourself up with two or three sets of rewriteable CDs, zip discs, removable hard drives or tape drive and back up at regular intervals. Write down what data you would need should your PC go pear-shaped and then plan how you will safeguard that information (and remember that your contact information is probably one of they key, critical data sets that you must protect)
7. 'Think safe' when using Credit Cards. Use only trusted sites with your credit card details, or if you want to buy from anywhere else, use Paypal as the intermediary. Much safer. Only enter your credit card number when the web prefix is secure (ie reads "https://www." etc) and look out for the padlock on the bottom of the page. Your browser will let you know if the site's security certificate is up to date (if isn't, don't enter your details!)

Another thing you can do is to delete your cookies regularly. This will mean that you always have to enter your user name and password for website logins, but it is generally considered to be safer practice. I delete all my cookies other than my Google search preference cookie weekly. Find your cookies at c:/Documents & Settings/[Your Logon Name]/Cookies

In the immortal words of the Hill Street Blues; "Let's be careful out there".

Tourism Growth to 2011

Tourism plays a very important part in the New Zealand economy; it is an important industry sector as it contributes 18.3% of NZ's export earnings, 9.9% of employment and 9.4% of GDP. 

In September the Tourism Research Council New Zealand (TRCNZ) released new forecasts, showing ongoing growth over the entire tourism industry until 2011.

Some key points about tourism flows in and out of New Zealand over the next six years are:

• International tourism numbers into New Zealand will grow by 37.5% to reach NZD$3.21 million by 2011
• By 2011 international tourism expenditure will be worth NZD$9.6 billion to our country
• International visitor nights will grow by 33.4% to reach NZD$59.5 million
• Domestic visitor nights will grow by 7% to reach NZD$62.3 million

However, TRCNZ predict that domestic tourism will decline until 2007, then slowly grow again after New Zealand employees' annual leave increases from three to four weeks; so the growth in domestic visitor nights will actually be greater than 7% between 2008 and 2011.

Additionally, the value of tourism spend to Nelson Tasman is pitched to increase over the next six years from NZD$404 million to NZD$568 million; an increase of 40.5% by 2011.

To view the entire forecast data, go to TRCNZ's website at http://www.trcnz.govt.nz/Topics/Forecasts+and+Trends/2005+-+2011+Forecasts+Summary/

What Is Your 'Credibility Quotient'?

On the American Management Association's website this month, they ran a short self-test for people to take to find out how credible those around them, find them.

To find out how the people who work with you would rate your credibility, answer each question using the following scale of 1-5 (5=Always 4=Often 3=Sometimes 2=Not often enough 1=Never)

People in my organisation would say:
1. I am transparent. I am clear, open and honest.	_____
2. I am clear and understandable in the directions and feedback I give.	_____
3. When I make a promise, I keep it.	_____
4. If I fail to do it, I own up to it and apologise.	_____
5. I “walk the talk”—I embody the values I ask others to live up to.	_____
6. I never ask people to do something I wouldn’t be willing to do myself.	_____
7. If I set a policy or make a decision, everyone knows I’m behind it 100%.	_____
8. When I set a policy or make a decision, it’s for the right reasons.	_____
9. If someone tells me something in confidence, it stays in confidence.	_____
10. I freely trust others around me, particularly those whom I need to trust me.	_____
Total score: _____

 

How to interpret your score:

• 41-50—You are probably an incredible leader!
• 35-40—You probably have high credibility.
• 30-34—You probably have moderate credibility.
• 20-29—You exhibit signs of low credibility.
• Below 19—“Ouch!”

Have fun with it :-)

TLAs for SMEs

Here are this newsletter's TLAs for you;

• OEM, Original Equipment Manufacturer. A company that supplies equipment to other companies to resell or incorporate into another product using the reseller's brand name. This term is also used to describe cheaper versions of software that come preinstalled on a PC (usually Microsoft products)

Please feel free to email me with any TLAs that you want to get the bottom (meaning!) of.

Tips, Short+Hot Keys

And the last of our Outlook hot key list, this time we look at all you can do with the plain old alphabet keys with Alt, Shift, Ctrl. In this newsletter we take letters U to Z;

• Outlook "Apply or remove an underline" Ctrl & U
• Outlook "Create a new Task request or open an existing Task report in Outlook" Ctrl & Shift & U
• Outlook "Paste" Ctrl & V
• Outlook "Move item" Ctrl & Shift & V
• Outlook "Cut" Ctrl & X
• Outlook "Show Go to Folder dialog box" Ctrl & Y
• Outlook "Copy item" Ctrl & Shift & Y
• Outlook "Undo last action (NB: some actions, like Shutdown, cannot be undone)" Ctrl & Z
• Outlook "Clear formatting" Ctrl & Shift & Z

Hot Linx

Do cold, wet feet make you more likely to catch a cold? The answer is yes, and you can read about it at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/4433496.stm

If you need a biography of a world leader, artist, writer, actor or musician, then this is the - admittedly mostly American - site for you at http://www.brain-juice.com/cgi-bin/browse.cgi

If you are having trouble with long URLs 'breaking' when you email links to others, then this site for trimming URLs down to a manageable length will be very handy at http://snipurl.com/

Want online storage for your photos? Then check out Yahoo's photo archival & e-album site at http://www.flickr.com/

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                                Catch you again soon!! E-mail your suggestions to me here

read more "Newsletter Issue 106, December 2005"