1976 - 1977 Scenic Stamps

1976 - Scenic Stamps - Waterfalls.
See the full collection Scenic Stamps Series - Part One. 
          Four of New Zealand's most beautiful waterfalls are featured in this series of stamps. As depicted on the stamps, each is different in character, sinuous delicate tiers of Purakaunui in the far South Island, contrast with Marakopa in the North Island - a crashing curtain of water.

                   
               10c - Purakaunui Falls.                             14c - Marakopa (Marokopa) Waterfall.

10c - Purakaunui Falls. 
The Purakaunui Falls are a cascading three-tiered waterfall on the Purakaunui River, located in The Catlins, 11 kilometres south-west of Owaka township in South Otago.  Purakaunui gives its name to a reserve, first established in 1905 and added to in 1970.  It now covers 494 hectares.  This reserve is mainly a silver beech forest.
A small viewing platform near the top of the falls is accessible by wheelchair. Steps continue down to the main viewing platform at the base of the 20 metres (66 ft) three tiered cascade.

14c - Marakopa (Marokopa) Waterfall.
The Marokopa River is a river of the Waikato Region of New Zealand. It flows west for approximately 26 km to join the Tasman Sea at Marokopa. Near Te Anga, in the Waitomo County, the river flows over the picturesque Marokopa Falls.
   After negotiating numerous drops of up to 40 feet upstream, the river makes its final drop of 120 feet, onto jagged rocks below.   The river surges around and through small colonies of greenery, clinging grimly to large rocks in mid stream.  In a reckless, broken fashion it pours down, boiling and seething around boulders at the bottom before continuing its journey to the sea.

                   
15c - Bridal Veil Falls.                                             16c - Papakorito Falls.

 15c - Bridal Veil Falls.
Approximately 15 minutes from the nearby town of Raglan, the falls can be found after an easy 10 minute walk through native bush, along the Pakoka River in the Waikato area. These falls were discovered in 1880 by an explorer named Powell. The old Maori name for Bridal Veil is Waireinga - leaping waters.
The aptly named falls reflects the long train of a bridle veil, a long white ribbon of water falling from the grassy cliff-face and plunging 55 metres (160 feet) into a rocky basin.  The cliff from which the veil falls is scarred and undercut, partially overhanging the basin below.  Above its face the cliff is heavily wooded.  At the bottom a softly coloured carpet of greenery covers large rocks.  
16c - Papakorito Falls.
This is one of several falls on the Aniwaniwa Stream, which runs through Urewera National Park from Lake Waikareiti, dropping over a number of falls before reaching the larger Lake Waikaremoana, Set in a low bushy area, Papakorito Falls slips sharply over a broad cliff face broken in several sections by rocky outcrops.  
 The Park itself is a beautiful setting.  William Colenso, early New Zealand Explorer and Missionary wrote "Not a human being dwelt in all that immense tract of country on which my eager gaze then rested.  The grass grew, the flowers blossomed and the river rolled, but not for man.  Solitude all!" 


 The First Day Cover for the 1976 Scenic Issue.
I am pleased we could find an addressed cover for this issue.


1977 - Scenic Stamps - Seascapes / Beach Scenes.
 See the full collection Scenic Stamps Series - Part One.
The 1977 Scenic Stamp Issue focused on New Zealand seascapes and beach scenes. The New Zealand seascapes included images from Karitane Beach, Ocean Beach, Piha Beach and Kaikoura Coast.

                             
         10c - Karitane Beach, Otago.                                         16c - Ocean Beach, Mount Maunganui.

 10c - Karitane Beach, Otago.
The small seaside settlement of Karitane, set in rolling country near the mouth of the Waikouaiti River, is a popular holiday retreat for Dunedin people.
Karitane is renowned for its scenic beauty, golden beach, tranquil environment, and Maori and European history. It was the location of a pre-European Maori kaik (undefended village); close by is the site of Huriawa Pa, a fortified Maori village strategically set on a rock promontory above the coast. European sealers and whalers began to arrive as early as the 1820s and a whaling station was established at Karitane in 1837.
Today, Karitane is a base for various ocean activities, including kayaking, surfing and fishing charters. A walk along the beach and the walkways of the Huriawa Penninsula will often provide encounters with fur seals or sea lions, as well as the wide range of sea birds.
Ocean Beach, Mount Maunganui.
Mount Maunganui NZ is situated in the city of Tauranga in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand. Mt Maunganui is New Zealand's favourite summer holiday destination with its white sandy surf beach on the ocean side, and a safe sheltered inner harbour beach. Mount Maunganui's world recognised surf beach is a popular area for surfing, swimming, and all beach activities.  It is also well known for the quality of its surfing conditions, though parts of the beach are notoriously dangerous.

                            
18c - Piha Beach.                                                                     30c - Kaikoura Coast

18c - Piha Beach, West of Auckland.
Piha is New Zealand’s most famous surf beach. Situated on the west coast of the North Island, 40 kms from the city of Auckland, this black iron-sand beach has a reputation for awesome surf which rolls in over the Tasman Sea. This sea-side village is surrounded by the Waitakere Ranges Regional Park, Piha is a popular spot for swimmers and surfers, in fact it is said that Piha was where surfing began in New Zealand in the 1950s.
Lion Rock is a natural formation dividing North and South Piha beaches. It is an eroded 16-million-year-old volcanic neck, named for its similarity to a lying male lion when viewed from the rear (shore side), Lion Rock is immediately visible to visitors as they descend along the only access road. Lion Rock has become iconic not only of Piha, but of Auckland's West Coast in general. 

30c - Kaikoura Coast
What do you think of when you think of the Kaikoura Coast? For me two things come to mind. The first image is of a passenger train travelling along the sea-shore just above the rocky beach before ducking into yet another of the many tunnels along this line. The second image is of a boat taking another load of tourists out to watch great whales as they gracefully swim along this coast.  
The name Kaikoura means 'meal of crayfish' (kai - food/meal, kōura - crayfish) and the crayfish industry still plays a role in the economy of the region. However Kaikoura has now become a popular tourist destination, mainly for whale watching (the sperm whale watching is perhaps the best and most developed in the world) and swimming with or near dolphins. There is also a large and readily observed colony of southern fur seals at the eastern edge of the town.

Again we have an addressed First Day Cover for this issue as well. 

Technical information - 1976 Scenic Issue.

                              Date of Issue:
2 June 1976
                              Printers:
Courvoisier, Switzerland
                              Stamp Size:
28mm x 33.4mm
                              Sheet Size:
100 stamps per sheet
                              Process:
Photogravure
                              Perforation Gauge:   
11.4
                              Paper Type:
Granite, unwatermarked

Technical information - 1977 Scenic Issue.

                              Date of Issue:
1 June 1977
                              Designers:
D A Hatcher, Auckland
                              Printers:
Heraclio Fournier, Spain
                              Stamp Size:
35mm x 28mm
                              Sheet Size:
100 stamps per sheet
                              Process:
Photogravure
                              Perforation Gauge:   
13.75 x 13.25
                              Paper Type:
Harrison and Sons, unwatermarked



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/