New Zealand Surf Breaks 2017

New Zealand’s tiny land mass with vast stretches of epic coastline has made it somewhat of a surfer’s paradise - minus the constant warm weather and coconut trees! The New Zealand Surf Breaks stamp issue takes a look at some of New Zealand’s most popular surf breaks - from the long peeling waves at Piha to the frigid waters along the Dunedin coast.

New Zealand sits right in the cross hairs of the Roaring Forties, leaving it exposed to the rolling swell that boils up from turbulent Antarctic storms. New Zealand’s minute size means that surfers are able to chase swells from north to south in a matter of hours.

Each of the five stamps in this issue features one of New Zealand’s prime surfing spots, with dramatic images captured by some of New Zealand’s top surf photographers. The North Island is represented by two of New Zealand’s most well-known surf spots, Piha Bar in Piha and Manu Bay in Raglan, as well as the Waiwhakaiho River mouth in Taranaki along Surf Highway 45. The South Island is represented by Mangamaunu in Kaikoura and Aramoana Spit in Dunedin, both producing world-class breaks in the cooler southern waters

Individual stamps: 

$1.00 Piha Bar, Piha 

Piha Bar is at the south end of South Piha Beach west of Auckland. Piha is the birthplace of modern New Zealand surfing. The infamous Piha [sand] Bar is a fickle beast. Sand will build up in the southern lee of the bay along Taitomo island, this can create long peeling waves.

Photo credit to Craig Levers. 

$2.20 Manu Bay, Raglan 

Raglan is New Zealand’s international surf mecca. Being the closest west coast settlement to Hamilton the discovery of its three rocky left hand point breaks was inevitable. Manu Bay is arguably the nation's most consistent surf break, on any given day of the year there will be a rideable wave. If the swell is too small, Wainui beach just to the north or Ruapuke Beach to the south will have a wave. 

Photo credit to Jwan Maliek.

$2.30 Surf Highway 45, Taranaki 

Surfing is so engrained in Taranaki they named their main regional road The Surf Highway. And it is no exaggeration; there are surf breaks everywhere. The Waiwhakaiho river mouth is just to the north of Fitzroy beach, known as Waiseys by the locals. As a general rule, it's a fun A frame shaped peak. The right-hander peels back into the river mouth and is more consistent than the left-hander. 

Photo credit to Daisy Day.

$2.70 Mangamaunu, Kaikoura 

Situated on State Highway 1, just 15 minutes up the road from the Kaikoura township, Manga’s is perhaps New Zealand's most iconic right hand point breaks. It is on every Kiwi surfer's bucket list. After the 2016 Kaikoura earthquakes the sea bottom at Manga's raised 2.5 metres. Many feared an icon of the coast was lost. But waves still peel down the point for over 300 metres, and new surf breaks have been formed. 

Photo credit to Warren Hawke.

$3.30 Aramoana Spit, Dunedin 

The Otago coastline is New Zealand's most surf drenched. With world-class surf breaks at every turn. Aramoana Spit is one of Otago's prime jewels. Its beach produces world class waves due to the off shore outer sand banks. These break up incoming walls of swell into perfect A frame peaks that pitch onto the shallow inshore banks. 

Photo credit to Silas Hansen.

AUSTRALIA 2017, Trans-Australian Railways: 1917-2017 minisheet

The Trans-Australian Railways: 1917-2017 minisheet consists of the two stamps from the issue incorporated into a miniature stamp sheet

FINLAND 2016 - MIKKELI KIRKONVARKAUS

FINLAND 2015 - Million miles away

Six internationally successful rock bands

The other music-themed stamp sheet to be released in September features six internationally successful Finnish rock bands that got to where they are today through a great deal of determination and perseverance. The Finnish invasion of the global rock music scene began with Hanoi Rocks back in the 1980s. The other bands featured in the stamps are The Rasmus, HIM, Apocalyptica, Children Of Bodom and Nightwish.
“For each stamp, I selected a band photo and a logotype that together resemble a band poster,” says Klaus Welp, the graphic artist that designed the Million miles away sheet. The background of the sheet depicts the green room backstage in the legendary Tavastia rock club, which Welp describes as an archaeological treasure of Finnish rock ’n’ roll.

AUSTRALIA 2015 - Our Solar System

Our Solar System is our local neighbourhood in space. Compared to the distance to the nearest star, all the planets and smaller bodies that revolve around the Sun are close to us.

The Sun itself dominates our Solar System, making up 99.8% of its mass. Eight major planets circle the Sun, divided into two groups: the small rocky planets of the inner solar system, and the massive gas giants beyond the asteroid belt.

Mercury is the smallest planet in our Solar System (about 4,900 km in diameter), and is closest to the Sun. Venus is hidden under a blanket of clouds, and is a hellish world of crushing atmospheric pressure, high temperature and acid rain. Earth is the largest of the rocky planets (12,742 km in diameter), and has the greatest density of any planet in the Solar System. Mars has a diameter of 6,799 km, about half that of the Earth, with a surface temperature range of -87 to -5°C. A day on Mars is about 40 minutes longer than an Earth day, and it takes 687 days to orbit the Sun. Jupiter is massive, with an equatorial diameter of 141,000 km. Its gaseous envelope has complex cloud bands that are roiled by massive storms. Saturn, famous for its complex ring system, is the sixth planet from the Sun and has an equatorial diameter of 120,536 km. Uranus is the first planet to be discovered with the aid of a telescope (in 1781 by Sir William Herschel), and is an unusual world, tipped on its side by an ancient impact. Neptune, the outer most of the major planets, was discovered by telescope (in 1846, by Urbain Le Verrier and Johann Galle) as the result of mathematical calculations.

Pluto, also discovered mathematically in 1930 (by Clyde Tombaugh) was once considered a planet, but is now categorised as a dwarf planet.

AUSTRALIA 2015 - Animals In War

This issue commemorates the countless animals that have assisted troops during times of war. Essential for transport, logistics, communications and companionship, they are often forgotten.

Mules and donkeys have been vital pack animals in most war situations. The best known are Simpson’s donkeys, who carried first aid and wounded soldiers during the Gallipoli campaign in World War I.

Dogs have been used to carry messages and medical equipment. Their intelligence enables them to locate wounded men and to detect explosive devices. One of the most celebrated, Sarbi, vanished in Afghanistan in 2008, and was found 14 months later. Sarbi received several honours, including the RSPCA Purple Cross Award, the War Dog Operational Medal and the Canine Service Medal. The purple poppy commemorates the role played by animals in world conflicts.

Thousands of horses sent from Australia died on the Western Front during World War I. They were used for troop and ammunition transport and hauling, equipment. Of the more than 136,000 Walers (Australian-bred New South Walers) sent, only one, Sandy, was lucky enough to return home.

Pigeons were used by the Allies during both World Wars, although the Australian Corps of Signals Pigeon Service was not established until World War II. They were useful when communication was difficult with messages enclosed within tubes attached to the pigeon’s leg.

Thousands of camels served in the Imperial Camel Corps in the Middle East during World War I. The Corps was founded in 1916 to deal with a revolt in Egypt’s Western Desert. Of the first four battalions formed, the first and third were entirely Australian, and the fourth was a mix of Australians and New Zealanders. Camels were obviously well suited to a desert environment, and could walk at 4.8 km an hour, while carrying a soldier, his equipment and supplies.

 

AUSTRALIA 2015 - Islands of Australia

Australian islands are the source of some of our most stunning and diverse terrain. The Islands of Australia stamp issue presents four Australian islands at ground level, to highlight their natural, yet distinct, beauty. Featured are Phillip Island in Victoria, Lady Musgrave Island in Queensland, Bruny Island in Tasmania and the Buccaneer Archipelago in Western Australia, itself a collection of around 1,000 islands off the Kimberley Coast.

The stamps present the spectacular Horizontal Falls at Talbot Bay, in the Buccaneer Archipelago, which are the result of some of the highest tides in the world pushing through small cliff gaps. There’s the coral-filled navigable lagoon surrounding Lady Musgrave Island. And we present the 360-degree views from Truganini’s Lookout at the Neck, a sandy isthmus that separates North Bruny and South Bruny. We also feature a lovely view of the Pinnacles, from the rugged and rocky Cape Woolamai at Phillip Island.

Australia has more than 8,000 islands with an area span of over 30,000 square kilometres.

 

  

 

POSTCARD - ISLANDS OF GREECE

POSTCARD - THESSALONIKI

POSTCARD : NESSEBAR BULGARIA

POSTCARD: PARIS FRANCE

POSTCARD: THESSALONIKI 1916

POSTCARD: GROSSGLOCKNER in the HIGH TAUERN, AUSTRIA

POSTCARD: GERMANY