Science & Environment

Secret Life of Slime

Ever wondered why your mouth develops a furry feeling between brushes? This dental floss provides the answer. Biofilms—biological mats containing vast ecosystems of exotic creatures—adhere to wet surfaces: river rocks, bathroom tiles, even teeth!

Magazine

ISSUE 096

Mar - Apr 2009

Ruamanhanga Skull

Kakariki

Hokianga

Spirt of New Zealand

Slime

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Geography

Hokianga, harbour of dreams

The Hokianga is a harbour steeped in history. Maori call it "the nest of the northern tribes" because it was here that their great voyaging ancestor, Kupe, made landfall from Hawaiki, and here that his descendants settled. Hokianga has been a nest for Europeans, too. Over the past two centuries, sawmillers, shipbuilders, missionaries, traders, farmers, fishers, hippies and artisans have found a home along its sheltering shores. To trace the waves of Hokianga settlement, veteran journalist Mark Scott and photographer Arno Gasteiger hit the road while former editor Kennedy Warne took the sea route, navigating the harbour by kayak.

Profile

Squid woman

You may be aware of the colossal squid, preserved and exhibited among much fan­fare and media hype at Wellington’s Te Papa last year. One of the key New Zea­land scientists involved in the defrosting, fixing and display of the aforementioned, world-famous Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni was Kat Bolstad, who is gaining something of a reputation in cephalopod circles, par­ticularly for her comprehensive work on the family Onychoteuthidae.

Travel & Adventure

Spirited away

Thousands of young New Zealanders have been tested by the indiscriminate justice of the elements on board the Spirit of New Zealand. Gareth Cooke braces himself against one of the worst storms of the decade to record the voyage of 40 young trainees on the greatest test of their lives.

Living World

Strangers from paradise

What is a brightly coloured parakeet whose nearest ancestors live in the tropics, doing in the company of penguins in the subantarctic? Kakariki, New Zealand’s endemic parakeets, break all the rules.

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