1987 Tourism

       Tourism is a high profile, growth industry.  Facilities are bursting at the seams with foreign tourists, and investors and developers have responded by pouring millions of dollars into new hotels and other facilities at holiday resorts.  There is an ever increasing number of tourists seeking outdoor adventure in New Zealand so in 1987 the Post Office played its part in promoting New Zealand overseas by issuing a set of six tourism stamps.  The theme of the stamps underlines a significant development in New Zealand tourism.
       This issue was designed to promote tourism overseas so it didn't include the value for the current standard letter rate within New Zealand at that time. All the stamps have denominations for overseas postage to various parts of the world. In this way, New Zealand tourism, with activities for visitors to New Zealand on each stamp, would be promoted overseas.

        Personally, I feel the appearance would have been improved if sharp photographs of the various activities had been used. Images such as these were all I could find either mint or used.

 

60c - Jetboating.

The jetboat was invented in New Zealand and has become a major tourist attraction, thrilling passengers by skimming along shallow rivers where conventional propellers would be snagged or torn off. A jetboat sucks water into the propulsion system to be ejected through high-pressure nozzles at the back to drive the boat forward at high speed. The jets keep the boat high in the water making them able to operate in the very shallow rivers of many New Zealand rivers.

Tourist trips are operated in a number of places around, New Zealand in both the North and South Islands. It was said that in 1987 that 45,000 people a year were getting a taste of the speed and thrill of the high-speed jetboats on the South Island's Shotover and Kawarau rivers near Queenstown. 

 

70c - Flightseeing.

Flightseeing has become a major part of New Zealand's tourist operations. Flights give visitors a bird's eye view of mountains and glaciers, or cities and coastlines. Floatplanes are often used with tour operators in the Marlborough Sounds on the northern coast of the South Island, at Rotorua with regular flights exploring the craters of Mt Tarawera or Taupo with flights across the vast Lake Taupo to the great central volcanoes of Mt Ruapehu, Mt Tongariro and Mt Nagauruhoe. Ski planes from Mt Cook take visitors on spectacular flights over the Southern Alpes and even land on the Mt Cook Glacier. Flights out of Queenstown fly over the scenic lakes and give closeup views of the Remarkables mountain range.

 

80c - Campervan.

Travelling by campervan is one way to see the country at your own pace. Four or six berth vehicles can be hired from a number of different companies and fully equipped camping grounds can be found in many parts of New Zealand. Freedom camping, that is parking and camping outside of camping grounds has become a problem in many places so visitors are better to check first as to where it's acceptable to camp. With 10 National Parks and 21 Forest Parks, there is a lot to explore through New Zealand.

 

85c - Windsurfing.

No part of New Zealand is very far from an ocean so water sports are very popular. In 1987, windsurfing was catching on fast in a country where surfing was well established. Predominant winds are usually about 15knots, with a good day pushing strengths up to 25 - 30knots. Hire schools are located in many popular windsurfing spots for those who want to "have a go."

 

$1.05 - Mountain climbing.

Climbers find no shortage of challenging peaks in New Zealand, with a choice of mixed rock and ice routes in Mt Cook and Westland National Parks, or volcanic peaks in the North Island. For those not ready to conquer the Southern Alpes, tramping routes are found in most parts of New Zealand and many are equipped with huts for overnight shelter. New Zealand's most famous route is the Milford Track, a four-day tramp between Lake Te Anau and Milford Sound in Fiordland National Park.

 

$1.30 - Rafting.

Rafting has an image of being whitewater rafting, strictly for thrill seeking, fit, young adventures. But it's also an activity enjoyed by family groups, with a minimum age of 13. River rafting trips of one to five days are run commercially on major rivers in all parts of New Zealand, some routes being more adventurous than others. All equipment, including helmets and wetsuits, are provided and in the case of whitewater rafting, thrills are guaranteed.

The First Day Cover shows a luggage ticket in the bottom left corner.

Technical information

Date of Issue:	14 January 1987
Designer:	M Wyatt, Queenstown
Printers:	Leigh-Mardon, Australia
Stamp Size:	28mm x 40mm
Sheet Size:	100 stamps per sheet
Process:	Lithography
Perforation Gauge:	14 x 14.25
Paper Type:	Unwatermarked

Some of the images in this post were used with permission from the illustrated catalogue of StampsNZ

You can visit their website and On-line Catalogue at, http://stampsnz.com/

Information for this post came from.

New Zealand Post (Stamps)