Changes at Kiwigiftsonline.co.nz

This doesn’t happen often but is exciting when it does. Kiwigiftsonline has a new administrator, Jayne Drysdale. Jayne has lots of ideas and enthusiasm. Watch out for some new products and improvements from early December, and of course, if you have any feedback, let us know.


Christmas is coming. We still have quite a few weeks before the decorations go up, and the adverts insist we start buying, but for overseas friends, the last dates for sending to many countries are only about three weeks away. I dont like to post too early, as the parcel arrives too early in December but if you want to get things moving, choose the gifts and if they are for Christmas we will send them the day before the mailings close. That way they should arrive in time, but not weeks beforehand.

Turkish Delight is an old favourite. The ‘Legendary’ Turkish Delight we have on the website, is made from a Turkish family from genuine recipes. If you havent ‘tasted’ fragrance, try some of this. It’s amazing – and perfect for Christmas.


Dione Jones

What a great party

For the last six weeks New Zealand has enjoyed being the host at the Rugby World Cup. And of coursse it was even better when, after failing to win every time since 1987, this year was an All Black triumph. We hope the visitors take home some of the memories of a huge orchestrated Opening Ceremony, exciting matches, huge street parties and even larger parades after the finals. And we also hope a lot of kiwis send their new overseas friends - and old friends who couldnt be here for the party - a kiwi gift for Christmas. Mailing dates are now on the website. http://bit.ly/ct6pAY

The New Zealand Rugby party

If half the country were ho-hum about the Rugby World Cup, they may have come round by now. The Opening Ceremony was a brilliant spectacle.  Queens Wharf on the Auckland waterfront is exciting even when the rugby isn’t on. And the whole country is involved.

South Auckland is home to many Pacific Islanders who support New Zealand but also Tonga, Fiji and Samoa. So this part of the country is particularly enthusiastic.  All of them have their own flags and  ‘haka’ and impromptu haka appear all over the city, in shopping malls and main streets. And flags are the latest ‘extras’ on the cars,

Kiwigiftsonline is right up with the play, with a special line of wonderful skincare, Linden Leaves Rugby series. Great soap, shower gel and shave oil.And to keep those non-rugby fans happy, there is a great new cookery book based on the popular TV series, Country Calendar. Alyson Gofton is a well known TV chef with a very down-to-earth approach, so tis book will be a really welcome gift for visitors to take back home

The next few weeks is likely to be one long party in New Zealand whether the All Blacks win or not. But all the same, lets hope the All Blacks do win!

Creative artisans

There are so many creative New Zealanders running successful small businesses. Many are highly qualified but choose to work from home and sell locally so that they can more easily juggle the responsibilities of family life at the same time. 

Justine is a mother of two, an accountant and now an expert in using essential oils. Her company Be True produces natural soy candles, brilliant face oil and baby oil all handmade with the highest quality natural ingredients. The soy wax is melted and then cooled to an exact temperature before the mixture of essential oils is added, and then again, another exact temperature has to be reached before the wax is poured into the moulds - with a very steady hand.

The result is a gently perfumed, long lasting and environmentally friendly candles.

Many of our gifts are made by clever craftsmen and women. Often they have fallen into their product because they wanted products which had the best, least damaging effect. Many of them rival the expensive internationally-marketed top-of-the-range products and by comparison are far better value. A few are featured this month

One last piece of news from last month's blog – Happy Feet is still at Wellington Zoo, recovering well after a lot of operations to remove all the junk in his stomach. It is hoped he will be returned to the Antarctic waters where these Emperor Penguins live by boat once the weather is suitable for the boats to get there.

An unusual visitor

One of the latest visitors to New Zealand has had worldwide attention. Having arrived at Peka Peka Beach, near Wellington, it was hoped that the Emperor Penguin - immediately named Happy Feet by the public - would swim off again and back to his home Antartic waters.

After a few days he was seen eating sand - a poor substitute for ice - and the Department of Conservation arranged for him to be transported to Wellington Zoo, where he has undergone a number of operations to remove the sand and debris from his stomach. He is now recovering and back on a diet of fish and ice. Once back to health it is hoped he will be able to catch a ride in a ship to his native southern ocean.

Emperor penguins are the largest penguins, with adults standing over 1m tall. They were the stars of the film 'The March of the Penguins' and of course of 'Happy Feet'. They also hold the diving record of 450m and 11 minutes underwater.

Kiwigiftsonline have celebrated with a home page full of ideas for happy feet including our new addition of sheepskin baby slippers.

In response to requests from returning customers, we have also added a new category with the latest kiwigifts added to the website - a quick catch up for those who want to know what is new on the site.

Meanwhile, many thanks to DoC who do a great job in maintaining New Zealand's natural heritage.

Keep those feet happy......

Dione

Farewell Shrek the Sheep

At the particularly grand old age of 16 - nearly 17 - years, Shrek the Sheep died this week.

Surely one of the most famous sheep in the world, this merino was unique in so many ways. When he was found, he was a six year old merino 'woolly' who has missed several previous musters for shearing. That was not unusual. What was unusual was that the woman musterer who found and later caught him, up in the hills and caves of Bendigo Station, thought he was special enough to bring down. Most woollies are too woolblind to save. The rest is history, starting with a televised shearing session broadcast around the world.



John Perriam, his owner, had a great rapport with Shrek and their adventures are lengendary. His charity appearances for Cure Kids Charity, meeting the New Zealand Prime Minister, and a few years later, being flown to an iceberg to be shorn.

Shrek's story is now an integral part of the equally fascinating story of Bendigo Station, described in John Perriam's book, 'Dust to Gold'. It is written in an easy down-to-earth manner with wonderful photos by Stephen Jacqueiry. It makes a great kiwi gift - and royalties for the book go to Cure Kids.

Jo Seagar speed cooking

Some people missed this link. Here it is now. The fun of cooking