Shame, fear over driver’s road rage
Shame, fear over driver’s road rage attack on cyclists
Cyclists are upset and embarrassed over a road-rage attack on an American blogger and journalist visiting to tell the world about the pleasures of pedalling around New Zealand.
Russ Roca and his partner Laura Crawford have spent weeks extolling the country’s scenery from over their handle-bars to the 40,000 people around the world who read their blog – at www.pathlesspedaled.com – each month.
They are also preparing articles for United States cycling magazines, after being inspired to travel here by the Government’s $50 million investment in a national cycle trail network.
Soon after arriving, they joined 5000 cyclists, including Auckland Mayor Len Brown, in the first mass authorised ride across the city’s harbour bridge, and have pedalled from Taumarunui to New Plymouth on the Forgotten World Highway.
But they are struggling to remain upbeat after Mr Roca, 33, was tackled off his bike and – after picking himself up – punched by a motorist in Wellington on Tuesday afternoon.
They were riding single file in the inner of two southbound lanes along Riddiford St towards Newtown about 4.30pm when they say the driver cut them off, and then got out of his car.
“Words were exchanged, he stopped his car in front of us, Laura managed to swerve in front of him and he just came and knocked me off my bike,” Mr Roca said yesterday.
“He barged into me and knocked me over. I got up and he came towards me and punched me in the face and I went down again.”
He said other motorists stopped to help as the man sped off through a red light, and they provided licence-plate details for a complaint laid with the police yesterday.
He said he was lucky to be left with only a cut lip and sore shoulder and back from the attack, which would not deter him and Ms Crawford from exploring cycle trails in the South Island next week.
“The guy was just so angry that I think it was just his personal problems,” he said.
“It seems like such an isolated experience – it is not going to put us off touring or riding the trails of New Zealand.”
Ms Crawford, 33, said it was lucky the attacker was unable to throw “a very good punch” to cause more serious harm.
“I don’t want to diminish it, because it was absolutely awful, but it was a fluke thing – I don’t think anyone should take it as a reason not to cycle.”
But the attack has left members of cycling groups worried about its effect on New Zealand’s tourist reputation.
“It’s the last thing we need,” said Cycle Action Auckland chairwoman Barbara Cuthbert.
“The moment I heard about it, I just hung my head in shame and put my head in my hands and thought no, it couldn’t be.”
Cycling Advocates Network project manager Patrick Morgan, who is hosting the couple at his home, said his organisation would follow the progress of police inquiries.
“Unfortunately, this kind of aggression is not rare in New Zealand,” he said.
Public meetings to be held over Rena split
Concerned Bay of Plenty residents will have a chance to air their concerns over the Rena at a public meeting today.
The ship’s in two pieces on the Astrolabe Reef, and around 150 containers have fallen off in recent says.
Timber, recycled paper, plastic, and milk powder are amongst the debris that’s already washed ashore on the Bay of Plenty coastline.
So far 12 containers are known to have come ashore, but there are fears another 140 are still floating out at sea.
A meeting will be held at Waihi Beach Community Centre at 4pm.
There will be two meetings for Tauranga and Western Bay residents on Thursday.
More debris expected to wash ashore from Rena
Task forces are on standby – with more debris from the Rena expected to wash ashore today.
Trajectories suggest most will come ashore at Waihi Beach.
Twelve containers and some floating debris have already come ashore there, and there are reports of oil floating nearby.
Claudine Sharp, spokeswoman for container salvage company Braemar Howell, says they want, as much as possible, to collect the containers at sea – but the weather is still working against them.
“We acknowledge and we’re very concerned about Waihi Beach and we’d like to ensure that everyone is comfortable with what we’re doing and the fact that we are trying to do this as soon as we can with the most efficiency,” she says.
Claudine Sharp says they’re sending staff to discuss the situation with locals.
Boy’s 7-hour walk to find help for Father
A son’s seven-hour walk to get help may have been crucial in the survival of his 50-year-old father, who started having chest problems while on a hunting trip near Gisborne.
The man was airlifted from the isolated Makakoere Hut, about 70 kilometres inland from Matawai off Moanui Road, to Gisborne Hospital at around 6.30pm on Saturday.
The pair was on a hunting trip when the father started to have “fluctuating chest pains”.
Detective Sergeant Wayne Beattie said the son left his father at the hut so he could get help.
When the son reached a phone seven hours later, he contacted emergency services immediately.
Land Search and Rescue teams started to look for the man but low cloud and rain forced the ground search to be called off. The ECT Rescue Helicopter was called in to rescue the man.
It is believed the son started his walk around 9am on Saturday.
Mr Beattie said if the pair had had personal locator beacons, the son could have stayed to help manage his father’s health issue while emergency services tried to reach them.
“We encourage anyone who is going into the bush to hire or buy personal locator beacons,” he said.
People are awesome ( Don’s version)
Search resumes for missing DOC volunteer
A search is resuming on Tuesday for a Department of Conservation (DOC) volunteer missing on Raoul Island in the Kermadec Island group, 1000km northeast of New Zealand.
The man is believed to have been swept into the sea while carrying out routine meteorological readings on Raoul Island around 6am on Monday.
The Rescue Coordination Centre of New Zealand (RCCNZ)is sending a long-range helicopter at 10am on Tuesday to search for the missing man. It is expected to take five hours to reach Raoul Island.
“He was down at Fishing Rock taking sea temperature readings. The vehicle he used to go down there was at Fishing Rock, the thermometer was in the water,” Tim Brandenburg from DOC said on Radio New Zealand.
“Raoul Island is a small island in the middle of a very big sea. The sea conditions are often quite rough. There isn’t any natural harbour, or shelter really,” he said.
The helicopter will refuel on the island and search the coastline.
The six staff and volunteers remaining on the island have been doing everything possible to help find their workmate and are distraught.
RCCNZ sent a fixed-wing aircraft to search for him on Monday and has sent a mayday relay broadcast to vessels in the area for assistance if needed.
The man was one of seven DOC workers on the island, including four volunteers and three staff.
DOC manages the chain of islands, which are a nature reserve and home to five bird species unique to the islands.
The 745,000 hectares of ocean surrounding the islands is a marine reserve – volcanic Raoul Island is the biggest island at 2900ha.
Teenager trapped in waterfall dies
A teenager has died after being trapped in a waterfall for three hours on the Motatapu River near Wanaka on Sunday.
Dion Latta, 15, of Palmerston, was with a group of friends when his foot got trapped at the top of the 3.5m waterfall. He died in hospital after being rescued.
Friends tried to help him and raised the alarm at 6.30pm.
Senior Constable Mike Johnston, who was first on the scene, said the teenager was trapped in an airpocket and water was flowing over him.
Other rescuers, including members of Wanaka LandSAR alpine cliff and swift water rescue teams, arrived and abseiled down the cliff. They were able to break the power of the water so the leg could be freed.
“They were just kids out on a holiday having a good time and unfortunately it has ended in tragedy,” Sen Const Johnston told NZ Newswire.
He said the water level was low at the time.
“We got him out just on dark,” he said. “It’s rare but people do get foot entrapments. It’s been a long time since we’ve had a situation locally here in Wanaka,” he said.
The gorge is a popular area and the group was just swimming and cooling off.
26 December marks 7th anniversary of Great Tsunami
The Tsunami swamps Phuket’s Chedi resort (AFP/Joanne Davis)
- Scroll down for more images -
2004 SE Asia Earthquake & Tsunami Disaster:
Seventh anniversary of the South East Asia Earthquake and resulting Great Tsunami is today !
Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 26 December 2011: – - The combo photo above taken 26 December 2004 shows (top-L) Phuket’s Chedi resort staff preparing for the day as the first swell edges toward the lawn, followed by the arrival of the second and third waves (top-R and bottom-L) respectively, which engulfed the hotel restaurant and its surrounding gardens, and the final photo showing the water at its crest, flooding the whole area.
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, which had a magnitude of 9.3, triggered a series of lethal tsunamis on December 26, 2004 that killed approximately 230,000 people (including 168,000 in Indonesia alone), making it the deadliest tsunami as well as one of the worst natural disasters in recorded history. It also had one of the largest earthquakes.
The tsunami killed people over an area ranging from the immediate vicinity of the quake in Indonesia, Thailand and the north-western coast of Malaysia to thousands of kilometres away in Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and even as far as Somalia, Kenya and Tanzania in eastern Africa.
Khao Lak, Thailand coastline before & after (AP Photo/Space Imaging)
In the satellite images above provided by Space Imaging, the coastline of Khao Lak, Thailand is shown before the tsunami attack on Jan. 3, 2003, left, and after the tsunami on right, taken Dec. 29, 2004
Aceh is before & after the tsunami (AP Photo/Space Imaging)
In these satellite images above provdied by Space Imaging, the Indonesian province of Aceh is shown before the tsunami attack on Jan. 10, 2003, left, and after the devasting tsunami attack on Dec. 29, 2004, right.
Tsunami victims, at a mosque in Kuala Lumpur (Kamarulzaman Russali/Reuters)
Malaysian women say special prayers for the tsunami victims, at a mosque in Kuala Lumpur on December 31, 2004. Malaysia’s Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said that the government will not hold any celebrations to usher in the new year and called on all parties, including the private sector, to hold prayers following Sunday’s tsunami which resulted in deaths and destruction
The tsunami hitting Kammale temple, Phuket (Reuters/Stringer)
A view of the quake-triggered tidal waves hitting Kammale temple in Phuket, about 862 km (536 miles) south of Bangkok on December 26, 2004. Heavy rains and fresh floods disrupted aid deliveries to Asia’s tsunami-hit villages on January 2, 2005, just as a global $2 billion relief operation started to kick in a week after walls of water left millions struggling to survive. Picture taken December 26, 2004. REUTERS/Stringer .
Search heads to Meulaboh, Ache Province, Indo (REUTERS/Beawiharta)
Indonesian men head towards the tsunami-hit town of Meulaboh (used to be a good wave there) to search for family and survivors in Leupung district, 40km (25 miles) south-west of Banda Aceh, on the Indonesian island of Sumatra January 1, 2005.
Photo Series # 1
We had just hired a long tail boat to take us from Rai Ley west ( the beach with most of the boats in the aerial view – photo below) to Rai Ley east (the bay at the right side of the photo). We motored between the two small islands at the left side of the photo. We then stopped for a moment to admire the view next to the boat in the lower left corner of the photo.
A minute or so after we stopped, we noticed that we were fast drifting out to sea relative to an anchored boat. We looked outside to see what looked like a large set of waves. Normally the gulf of Phuket has the kind of waves you would expect from a large lake. The gulf is open on the south and could have waves if they came from the right direction. We asked the boat man if he had seen waves like this before. He said yes, every few years.
These photos are deceptive. If you have been to the Krabi Thailand area, you will know that these karsts (rock formations) are about 120 to 160 meters tall. The tsunami spray makes them look about 1/10th that size. These photos show spray going upward well over 20 meters! This photo was taken on Railey beach. We were on a long tail boat that literally surfed the tsunami swells as they were about to break. Andrew Melcher
Tsunami wave approaching rocks viewed from longtail boat, enlarge here
Wave breaks on rocks (120 meters tall) viewed from longtail boat, enlarge here The spray/water from the breaking is calculated to have reached 20 meters in height
I thought I was really lucky to see a beautiful place like Krabi breaking. I come from San Diego, California, and about once a decade, the La Jolla Cove breaks in late December/ January with just the right north swell.
It gets up to nearly 20 feet, which are the biggest sets that hit San Diego. I though that Krabi was breaking with some kind of rare winter solstice swell. Wrong thinking Andy. When the swell got closer, it became obvious that this wave was moving at around triple speed or more. After spotting the wave, we motored out about half again further from shore. As the wave got near, the boatman reversed course and kind of halfheartedly took off on the swell at 45 degrees.
Just as the wave started getting really close, the boatman turned parallel to the wave and hit the gas. The super fast moving swell was getting quite feathery, but it fortunately passed under us. We did the same thing for the other two swells. When there was no more to the set, I had little doubt that the waves were a tsunami.
The waves were strange. Like I said before, they were much faster than any wave I have seen before. And backside seemed high relative to the face of the swell. I guess all of these things are to be expected.
One more thing, the people (they look like little dots at the end of the beach – photo below) in the beach photo give you an indication as to how high the karsts are and how high the spray went.
Tsunami wave approaching rocks viewed from longtail boat, enlarge here
Photo Series # 2:
Digital Globe images capture locations before and after Tsunami:
This series of images taken from space focussing on 14 specific locations clearly show the locations before and after the tsunami struck. They are large size, and impressive, the examples below are half size. When you open the link a toggle button Before/After is provided for you two view the difference at the 14 locations.
Several images in the series clearly demonstrate how the sea retreats (empties) from the beach in advance of the tsunami wave approaching and swamping the shore. Our thanks to Tony Demark, and to K38 Rescue for kindly making this contribution to the tsunami coverage, and rescue missions. To go to the “before/after” gallery please click here
- Before tsunami -
Kalutara Beach, Sri Lanka, in normal conditions before the tsunami, enlarge here
- During tsunami – (ocean retreats)
Kalutara Beach, Sri Lanka, the ocean retreats in advance of tsunami’s approach, enlarge here
- Before tsunami -
Banda Aceh Shore, Indonesia before the tsunami struck, enlarge here
- After tsunami - (Town obliterated)
Banda Aceh Shore, Indonesia after the tsunami struck, enlarge here
Photo Series # 3:
Family Escapes Incoming Tsunami in Thailand:
The images below of Swedish Karin Svard, 37, were broadcast worldwide. They showed her desperately trying to warn her family who were playing in the surf as other tourists fled Hat Railey beach, in Krabi, Thailand. Miraculously she and her family survived the terrifying ordeal.
She told the Swedish Expressen newspaper that she only had one thing on her mind as she looked at the water – her children. Mrs Svardsaid she raced to warn her family when she saw the waves swelling but her shouts were drowned out by the noise. As the swell grew she said people were “flying in panic” for their lives as she ran towards the tsunami. By this time the waves were reaching heights of 10 metres and closing in on her family.
Finally she got within metres of them as they noticed the waves and fled for their lives. They were swept away but managed to hold on to trees and were washed to safety in what they describe as “fabulous luck”. Karin, children Anton, 14, Filip, 11, and Viktor, 10, their father Lars Eriksson and her sister Maria all survived.
Tourists run for their lives as the first of six tidal waves approach Hat Railay beach. A mother on the far right spots her family in the path of the tsunamis.
The sea was sucked away from the coastline by the giant waves approaching. Swedish mother Karin Svard continues the dash towards her family.
With the waves gaining ferocity, two yachts are swamped as the mum finally reaches the group. But the tsunamis are nearly upon the family.
Close up, the power of the walls of water can be seen bearing down on the family.
Boy watches on as the waves march onwards, eventually engulfing the entire resort. Miraculously Karin Svard and her family all survived.
Epicenter of the Dec. 26 earthquake that struck South Asia. (Jan Conroy/UC Davis graphic)
Epicenter of the Dec. 26 earthquake that struck South Asia. (Jan Conroy/UC Davis graphic)
R.I.P. Surfline founder Sean Collins dies at age 59….
Sean Collins : photo courtesy Surfline/Bill Livingston/Swen
Passages
R.I.P. Surfline founder Sean Collins dies at age 59….
Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 27 December, 2011 : – - Sean Collins, legendary surf forecaster and founder of surfline.com has died at the age of 59. The Orange County Coroner’s office confirmed Collins died of a heart attack Monday at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach. An announcement on surfline.com says Collins was playing tennis when he suffered the heart attack.
Collins was the first person to ever provide wave forecasts for surfers. He was self-taught in the area of meteorology. Collins was a respected surf forecaster for more than two decades. ‘Surfer’ magazine previously named Collins among the “25 Most Influential Surfers of the Century.” In 2008, Collins was inducted into the Surfers’ Hall Of Fame.
Surfers of all levels have for the past several years literally chased swells from region to region, relying on Collins’ forecasts. Surfline, established as a website in 1995, also placed dozens webcams at well-known surf spots around the world, enabling website visitors to see first-hand how the waves were breaking.
The Surfersvillage staff all send our condolences and best wish’s to the Collins family
Facebook: In Memory of Sean Collins
TEVA NZ IS STOKED TO WELCOME KELLY MCGARRY TO THE WHANAU FAMILY
It’s been a huge year for Teva after unveiling the new Links MTB shoe. Designed by freeride legend, Jeff Lenosky, these are the most functional and best looking MTB shoe on the market and have had loose lips sinking ships all over the world.
A few months ago we thought it was only prudent to send a couple of pairs to local New Zealand legend Kelly McGarry for testing and approval just to make sure that they would stand up to some proper freeride bashing by a Kiwi. The feedback we got was that they are most definitely “sweet as”. Which, if you’re not familiar with Kiwi slang, translates into a three thumbs-up endorsement – we’re not big on hyperbole down under.
From there it was only a matter of putting two and two together and when we approached Kelly to make things a wee bit more formal it was a no brainer for him.
“I’m stoked to be on board with Teva for 2012. The shoes are rad and work really well when I’m on my bike. I’m also excited about some of the new products they have in the pipe line for next year!”
We’re stoked too. Kelly is a living embodiment of our “Living Better Stories” motto, with an energy and enthusiasm for getting out and amongst it that would make Bear Grylls need a lie down.
Check this video for some Kelly McGarry / Teva Links shredding down in Queenstown: http://www.vitalmtb.com/videos/member/DiamondBack-DF5-Rider-Kelly-Mcgarry-Shreds-Queenstown,10087/LKFILMS,1578
About Teva
Teva is a global adventure brand dedicated to helping people Live Better Stories. The concept of “adventure” varies, but everyone understands an adrenaline rush and staggering sense of wonderment. These are the life-defining moments that Teva helps to provide. Born on the Colorado River in 1984, Teva’s connection to water is manifested in the products it makes and its support of clean water. In partnership with the Waterkeeper Alliance and Ocean Conservancy, Teva’s “A Pair for a Foot” campaign will clean a linear foot of global waterways for every pair of shoes sold. www.teva.com
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