New Zealand, the uttermost?
All my life I’ve heard that New Zealand is the farther-most country from Israel. This is rather exciting in the light of scriptures like:
Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. (Psalm 2:8)
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. You will be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
Recently however I’ve been hearing an interesting update on the fact: Not only is New Zealand the ‘uttermost part of the earth’ concerning Israel, but that if one would dig a hole in Jerusalem, bore through the center of the earth, and keep digging, that they would come out almost in Whangarei, Northland, New Zealand. Exciting stuff to say the least, especially if you live there and are aware of the awesome revival prophecies regarding NZ’s North.
Perhaps I’m getting a bit too cynical in my old age (and have received one too many well meaning but absurd viral emails), but I figured there must be some tool available out there that could prove or disprove this fact once and for all.
Antipodr (“Find the other side of the world!”)
It just so happens that the exact opposite of Jerusalem is about the middle of the South Pacific Ocean (see here).
The exact opposite of Whangarei, New Zealand happens to be the town of Tangier, Morocco (see here).
Mythbusted.
Hidden tunnels under Albert Park
I have always been fascinated by World War 2 history and especially old gun emplacements, tunnels and stuff. A dream I have is to visit France and explore the Axis fortifications along the coast (including the sub-pens). In future posts I will be writing about some of New Zealand’s historic WW2 sites, but first I want to write about the Holy Grail of such sites… Albert Park.
Albert Park is a beautiful and serene park situated in the centre of downtown Auckland, a reprieve from busy city life and frequented by many suit-and-tie guys and students on their lunch-breaks each day.
Albert Park was originally the site of the Albert Barracks, one of Auckland’s early European military fortifications, which was converted into a public park in the 1880s. But it is not Albert Park itself that exudes intrigue… but what lies beneath.What most people don’t know is that underneath Albert Park is over 3.5 kilometres of man-made tunnels built during the war to shelter over 20,000 people in the event of an air-raid. The tunnels consist of a network of shelters, sanitation facilities and first aid posts, all ventilated by air shafts, with a total of nine entrances. Fortunately, the expected air raids did not eventuate, but with the tunnels unused, by the end of 1943 the timber supports were beginning to fail. By February 1945, the tunnels were filled in with unfired clay bricks, the entrances buried and the air shafts and other shafts in-filled.
And so the tunnels remain to this day…
This, my friends is the stuff adventure is made of. I don’t know about you, but the Indiana-Jones-alter-ego in me screams out to throw caution to the wind… to look for an entrance, rediscover long-forgotten places and flee from giant boulders (okay perhaps not flee from giant boulders 
). As this site shows, there have been exposed entrances in recent years and intrepid (or insane depending on how you look at it) explorers have ventured inside.
What I am dying to know is:
- Are they still accessible today? (One article written in march 2009 said they still are.)
- Will my wife let me? (Happy wife happy life.)
- If the answer to the above questions is “Yes”, who’s keen for a roadtrip to Albert Park (and beneath)?
Further Albert Park tunnel info: to whet your adventurer’s appetite:
- Large image of the Tunnel Plans
- Google earth image of Albert Park with with the tunnel system superimposed over top.
- Wikipedia’s Albert Park Tunnels entry
- The best Albert Park tunnel site in existence.
Please leave a comment if you have any further information, know of exposed entrances… think I’m crazy, etc.
The Doorway to Hell
Do I believe hell exists? Absolutely. Do I believe it is a physical place somewhere close to the Earth’s core? No… But if it was, no place could better be described as Hell’s doorway than the man-made phenomenon near the town of Darvaza, Uzbekistan.
Several slight variations exist, but in essence the story begins during Soviet times in 1971. While drilling, geologists found a huge underground cavern filled with natural gas, which impeded any further mining activity. The team decided to fire the gas and return when it was totally burned out, but the gas exploded forming a 60m wide, 20m deep crater (which one dramatic retelling of the account says engulfed the entire drilling site with the equipment and camps). Those responsible had hoped the inferno would only last a couple of weeks but it has been burning ever since without pause.
One phrase comes to mind as I ponder these images… “Hot enough for ya?”
The Mair Park Bigfoot pays off
Many moons ago while surfing Amazon’s Listmanias I came across an author by the name of Jeremy Robinson. To cut a long story short, he was running a viral video contest to promote his new book, Pulse. I bribed my good buddy Lesmondj into spending a Saturday afternoon in the bush and what eventuated was two versions of the now infamous Bigfoot attack video (over 10,000 hits now on Metacafe and YouTube).
We won by a landslide, the closest (and only) opponent trailing by 9000ish hits (but who’s counting) and I was delighted to recieve the promised books last week.
A massive THANKYOU to Jeremy Robinson for the very generous prize (and for forking out mega moolah for the postage). Please check out his site here.
And for all those dying to know how the movie magic was created, here is some Bigfoot Attack Footage trivia…
1. No, the Bigfoot wasn’t real. There was more than one concerned person thinking the footage was authentic. Lesmondj and I must have the mean acting skills (and girls dig guys who have skills…).
2. The entire attack scene was done on the first take… with an imagined Bigfoot, yes imagined, not real.
3. Jon Dylan used his computer hacking skills to overlay the Bigfoot sound effects (purchased from Itunes for $1.79).
4. Apparently, the Bigfoot growls sound identical to a real Bigfoot, as one reader commented (as she deals with them on a daily basis – seriously).
5. The Mair Park Ghost legend is mostly true.
6. On the short version, Yes, the blood was real… from my nose. Don’t ask.
7. The rotting bone at the cave’s entrance (tedious version) was stolen from my dog.
8. Lesmondj spent the majority of the attack scene voluntarily lying in a puddle of water. The mark of a true friend.
9. There was no script.
View the short (and exhilirating) version below:
Footage of Bigfoot Attack? – Click here for more blooper videos
View the long (but informative) version below:
B1509: The Hand Of God
The ‘Hand of God’ taken by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory Satellite. A 13 mile wide pulsar known as PSR B1509-58 (B1509) is responsible for this beautiful X-ray nebula that spans 150 light years.
B1509 makes one full rotation every 1/7 of a second. Think about that for a second. An immensely heavy star neutron star, 15 miles wide, spinning 7 times a second. Crazy. It’s magnetic field is estimated to be 15 trillion times stronger than the Earth’s. Double Crazy.
For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. (Romans 1:20 NLT)
Click here for a very large image of the Hand Of God.
2012: The end is near
For those of you unfamiliar with the current cuffufle about the year 2012, let me enlighten you. Apparently, the ancient Mayan Calendar ends on December 21, 2012, marking an end of a 5,126-year era. That’s it folks… and many people are quite literally freaking out that Dec 12, 2012 will indeed be doomsday (and in the meantime Columbia Pictures are using the opportunity to make a few bucks).
Do I believe the world will end in 2012? No way Jose. My reason? Because the Bible says quite specifically that no one knows when that day will be, not even God the Son (Jesus Christ), only God the Father (Matthew 24).
So I ask you… Do you place more faith in an old Mayan calendar, than in the infallible Word of God? Unfortunately, it would seem that many people do.
Getting back to the end of the world… The Bible does tell us to be ready for that day… and I am hoping that if nothing else, this movie will make people think about what is important to them, about eternity, and if they are ready to meet their Maker.
Peace Out.
Mair Park Ghost Footage
Revenge of the Weta!
New Zealand Giant Weta
Confession time again… I’m not fond of Wetas either.
When I was five, a lone Weta terrorized my primary school. I, being the bravest of them all, climbed up the tree where it was scaring us witless with its pure horror and crushed it with a rock. I faced my fears, saved the day, and then faced Weta pulp. Problem was I felt ashamed for what I’d done and my fear for Wetas only grew.
Last night a discovered a Weta on my back doorstep (perhaps a descendant of the one I murdered seeking vengeance?). As I am ‘not of those who shrink back’ I picked it up, got Paisleyjade to get photo proof and have now begun a new journey… overcoming my fear of Wetas.
1. Make a Weta Motel
2. Pray hard that I don’t get bitten by Wetas
3. Handle Wetas
4.
5. Overcome fear of Wetas
Dad, will you join me?
