| ATHENS
2004 - HUHU OLYMPICS SPECIAL FEATURE |
|
|
Well,
the final fireworks have fired and the tavernas have
served their last tofu powershake. As the Olympic village
drains and Athenians wonder how on earth it went so
well, a satisfying five medals are on their way to
New Zealand.
In chronological order, our winners:
|
|
| The
pin-up girls of international rowing, Caroline and
Georgina Evers-Swindell, held their race-long first
place to the finish line in the double-sculls
to clinch a richly deserved and highly anticipated gold.
"Bring
on Beijing" say the twins. |
|
| Cyclist
Sarah Ulmer blitzed her Australian challenger in
the 3000m individual pursuit and set a new world record.
The NZ face of McDonalds now has BikeNZ falling off their
bicycles with her refusal
to make any commitments about the future. |
|
| And,
with nearly a million compatriots watching on TV, Kiwis
Hamish Carter and Bevan Docherty clinched
the top
two places on the triathlon podium, blowing
away the last vestiges of their Swiss and Australian challengers
on a hot, fast run. |
|
| And
Ben "Who?" Fouhy ensured nationwide
hero status by surging
to second in the K1 1000m kayaking. |
|
| Final
tally: 3 golds, 2 silvers - 24th on the medal table. We
also had two 4th placed athletes, and another 20 top-ten
finishes. Not bad for a small country... (seventh per
capita in fact). And in the words of commentator Russell
Brown "Carter, Ulmer and the twins seem
to be peculiarly New Zealand champions: not just excellent,
but unaffected, sweet and humble." Still, if you
need to know we somehow beat those Aussies, we
did - in
medals per dollar of GDP. |
|
| News
|
|
|
The
increasingly vociferous Destiny Church staged
a march through Wellington to protest the Civil Unions
Bill currently before Parliament. The 6,000 strong march
was no foreshore and seabed hikoi in scale, but
the black tee-shirts and fist salutes brought back chilling
memories for some onlookers. The socially
conservative church, under the charismatic leadership
of millionaire Brian Tamaki, has leapt onto talkback
radio and liberal toes with its opposition to the Bill
but their newly launched political wing has yet
to register in opinion polls.
|
|
| The
Government continues to find itself between a rock and
the seabed over its foreshore legislation: as a
senior Maori academic warns the dispute could lead
to bloodshed a Rotorua group has taken the
Government to
court over its decision to hand over 14 lakes
and land to Te Arawa. |
|
| Still,
some good news for Labour - crime
has reportedly fallen in most of the country,
casting doubts on the credibility of the opposition's
'crimewave' complaints. |
|
|
And
anyone who's anyone in showbiz is now
in Wellington as rehearsals begin for King
Kong. Jack Black, Naomi Watts and Adrian Brody have
joined Hollywood heavyweight Peter Jackson himself at
his Miramar studios.
|
|
| Only
in New Zealand |
|
| And
English tourists in Rotorua were shocked
to observe a geyser explode from the
middle of the street. Except it turned out to be a burst
water main; what a disappointment. |
|
|
Despite
the threat of imminent civil war (see above), New Zealanders
are undereducated, underpaid, overweight, rough on kids
but - wait for it - we're basically happy, according
to a recent
survey.
|
|
|
Kahukura rugby club of Rotorua bucks the nationwide happy
trend, however, after they recently
discovered a carving they presented to All
Black great Sean Fitzpatrick had wound up in a
second hand store. |
|
|
| Featured
products |
|
 |
|
Apicare
Cremes
Made from natural New Zealand products, like manuka
honey, lavender and royal jelly, these hand, face
and body cremes absorb quickly into the skin leaving
no residual stickiness. An excellent gift!
NZ$16.50
each Orderpage
|
|
 |
| Kiwi
Survivor Hamper
A
selection of staples, spreads and sweets to remind
you of home.
Wattie's
Tomato Sauce (330g), Weetbix (24), Toffeepops,
Moro bars (3 x 65g), Vegemite (250g), Rata honey
(500g), Pineapple Lumps (140g), Bell Tea (30),
Milo (350g) and Snifters (140g).
NZ$37.50
Orderpage
|
|
|
