Definitive Tour.
There have been a lot of these scenic definitives over the years and many have turned out to be terrible looking stamps. The small format of a postage stamp does not show a lot of detail so what I think makes a good scenic stamp is to capture an interesting foreground combined with a not too crowded distant scene. Some of the stamps below achieve this very well while others don't.
For me the best was $2.00 - Mount Taranaki, with the cows grazing in the foreground and the mountain behind, this makes a great scene of typical New Zealand. $1.60 - Moeraki Boulders is good too as it captures these unusual boulders. On the other hand I believe the $2.50 - Pancake Rocks do not show us the full effect of this amazing place.
Gummed.
60c - Franz Josef Glacier. $1.60 - Moeraki Boulders.
60c - Franz Josef Glacier.
Franz Josef Glacier is a major tourist attraction on the West side of the South Island. This 'river' of ice begins high in the Southern Alps and extends down to only 300m above sea level. I once took the guided walk up onto this glacier and it is truly an unforgettable experience. Recently the glacier has been retreating and many scientists worry that should this continue, most of the lower glacier will eventually disappear.
$1.60 - Moeraki Boulders.
Found near the small seaside location of Moeraki, these boulders range in size from as large as 2m to as small as a football. There were formed under the surrounding mud stone and have been exposed as the sea has eroded the land away.
$2.50 - Pancake Rocks. $3.60 - Waikato River.
$2.50 - Pancake Rocks.
I've been to see these rocks. Its an amazing place as the rocks really do look like piles of pancakes stacked up. I do not think this stamp does it justice as the detail which gives the attraction is name can't be clearly seen.
$3.60 - Waikato River.
The Waikato River, New Zealand's longest river, cuts the beautiful city of Hamilton in two as it passes on its journey to the sea. The city has a number bridges crossing the river, this being one of them shown here.
Adhesive.
$2.00 - Mount Taranaki. $2.50 - Pancake Rocks.
$2.00 - Mount Taranaki.
The beautiful mountain that stands by himself, rising from the surrounding plains is a volcano that erupted in 1860. It is still considered to be active, only dormant "sleeping" and it will likely erupt again. The surrounding plains built by ash from the mountain make ideal farming country as can be seen with this dairy herd in the foreground.
This stamp is based on an image by professional photographer Rob Suisted.
The First Day Cover below is an attractive cover itself but it fails to relate to any of the scenes shown on the stamps. I believe that this could have been easily done and would have added to the presentation of the stamps.
The Changing Glacier.
Next on this post I have discovered something interesting concerning the Franz Josef Glacier. For a long time now this glacier has been growing and retreating. Now I have found three postage stamps that illustrate this clearly.
In 1946 the glacier could be seen behind the altar of the St James Anglican Church. The church was built in 1931, with a panoramic altar window to take advantage of its location. By 1954, the glacier had disappeared from view from the church.
The next stamps shows the glacier in 1992 while it was still hidden from the church window. In 1997 it reappeared again and continued to advance until 2008, but since then it has entered a very rapid phase of retreat.
By 2014 when this last stamp was issued we can see that the glacier is now far smaller than it has ever been before. Now the question is how long will this retreating continue? Will it stop or will it continue until the glacier disappears completely?
Original Photograph.
The photograph on this stamp was taken by professional photographer Rob Suisted. A copy of his original photograph can be seen below. Further down in the comments he gives his web site address.
http://www.naturespic.com/newzealand/image.asp?id=29663
Technical information
Date of Issue:
| 7 May 2014 |
|---|---|
Number of stamps:
| Four gummed and two self-adhesive stamps |
Denominations:
| 60c, $1.60, $2.50 $3.60 (gummed), $2.00, $2.50 (self-adhesive) |
Designer:
| New Zealand Post, Wellington, New Zealand |
Printer and Process:
| Southern Colour Print Ltd, by offset lithography |
Number of colours:
| Four process colours (self-adhesive tagged with red phosphor) |
Paper Type:
| Gummed: Tullis Russell 104gsm red phosphor gummed stamp paper. Booklets:Tulluis Russell 210gsm red phosphor PSA stamp paper. |
Stamp Size:
| 30mm x 25mm (horizontal) |
Sheet Size:
| 50 stamps |
Perforation Gauge:
| Gummed: 13.33 x 13.60 Self-adhesive: die cut |
Period of sale:
| Unless stocks are exhausted earlier, these stamps will remain on sale until further notice. |
Some of the images in this post were used with permission from the illustrated catalogue of StampsNZ.
You can visit their web site and On-line Catalogue at, http://stampsnz.com/
Nice set of stamps.
ReplyDeleteYes already I have seen some of those.
I like the dairy farming one. Have not idea why I would be attracted to it, but I am.
Anne
Of course it would have nothing to do with the fact you are a dairy farmer, would it Anne?
DeleteLOL Maybe just a little bit.
DeleteAnne
Anne if you really need to see cows, as if you don't see enough each day, go to my Chinese New Year collection above. Below year 2008 you will find sets of stamps on animal and farming themes. Yes there are your cows and sheep there as well.
DeleteAllan.
http://www.naturespic.com/newzealand/image.asp?id=29663
ReplyDeleteMt Taranaki stamp shot
Thank you for that link. I will leave it in here for others to view as well.
DeleteIt takes you to the web site of images by professional photographer Rob Suisted.
Interesting.