Suspected meteor causes 'sonic boom' over North Canty
People across North Canterbury have reported hearing a loud "boom" and seeing a suspected meteor or space junk trace through the sky at roughly 6pm on Monday night.
The object looked like it was "burning up and coming down", one neighbour said. She described it as "moving slowly", and said it had an "orange glow to it" and a long trail.
Coster thought it was a meteor, and joked the "hunt's on to find it now". One person posted to social media to say they had heard it in Oxford. Others reported seeing it from Kaiapoi and Rangiora.
Story and Image credit: Stuff
Noel
“I took to bikes from a very young age, I got into Penny Farthing riding when I was 12. There were Penny Farthing races happening in Oamaru and I asked a guy if I could have a go on one. Half an hour later, I won my first race, and six months later, I built my first Penny Farthing from scratch. I’ve built about 56 Penny Farthings in my time, there are bikes of mine all over the world.
I'm the type that has a bike for every kind of cycling. There are project bikes, I always tend to have projects on the go. I work as much as possible with recycled materials, so I'll have all these projects going, but they may be completely still until such a resource is available. I grew up in a household with a workshop. We strapped a chainsaw to a Raleigh 20 and ripped around the neighborhood, so I was very familiar with motorized bikes.
I love e-bikes as a great form of transport. I can get out to places that would literally be out of my range on a normal bike, I just don't have quite the same steam as I used to. And e-bikes make even the hills flat, I love the freedom I have.
After the earthquakes there was a major issue with bike theft. At one point, we were losing over 200 bikes a week in Christchurch. I started the stolen bikes group on Facebook with the mission of trying to combat it, that's been going solidly for the last 10 years.
Back then, bikes were maybe two grands worth that were getting pinched. Nowadays you've got bikes that are worth more than cars so it's become even more critical that groups like mine exist. I'd love it if we didn't need to exist, but unfortunately, we do. We’re getting multiple bikes back, empowering people, teaching people how to secure their bikes. We're actually making a difference.
We have a zero tolerance for people asking for money, no one's allowed to accept rewards at all. If people insist on giving rewards, we say, give it to charity. It's cyclists helping cyclists, that’s how it should be. I like the fact that Christchurch is one of those cities that if you break down on the side road, another cyclist will stop for you. Christchurch really is a bike city.”
Apply now: SPCA Street Appeal 2025 – Volunteer Area Coordinator
Are you passionate about making a difference in the lives of animals? Do you love events and have strong organizational and administrative skills? Are you calm under pressure, an exceptional communicator, and eager to contribute to a cause that truly matters?
We’re looking for SPCA Street Appeal Coordinators to help organise our sites across your local region. SPCA Street Appeal is a crucial fundraising event that directly supports our mission to protect and care for animals across New Zealand. As an Area Coordinator, your role is vital in ensuring the success of this event. You’ll assist our Events Team by managing volunteers, overseeing rosters and collection sites for your specific areas during the Street Appeal on Friday, May 30th, Saturday, May 31st, and Sunday, June 1st.
Area Coordinators are responsible for:
• Oversight of the roster for Volunteer Collectors to ensure sites are covered for all 3 days. You will be provided with software to facilitate the rostering.
• Providing instruction and communicating with Volunteer Collectors in your area in the lead up to the appeal.
• Helping volunteer collectors be familiar with the non-cash donation options available (you will be provided with a full brief on these and systems to be used are incredibly user friendly).
• Being the first point of contact for Volunteer Collectors throughout the collection days.
• Setting up and visiting sites in your area to ensure everything is running smoothly throughout the two collection days.
• Banking the money collected in your area. We provide banking bags to make the process easy.
• Helping us promote the 2025 Street Appeal and encouraging your friends, family, colleagues and contacts to volunteer.
• Ensuring all event collateral is collected and returned after the event.
You must be available ALL of Fri 30th, Saturday 31 May & Sun 1st June from approx. 8am-6pm each day and have access to a vehicle.
You are required to attend one information session – this may be held in person or virtually (details TBA). Collection sites are provided but we really appreciate any suggestions for good areas to book.
We are more than happy to provide references afterwards.
This is an opportunity not to be missed to gain valuable experience in the not-for-profit sector and make a real difference in the lives of New Zealand’s animals.
If you are interested in becoming a Volunteer Area Coordinator, please contact SPCA Events Team via email events@spca.nz and detail the location you would like to coordinate.
Do you have a great recipe for pears?
Kia ora neighbours. We give away free copies to readers whose recipes are used in our magazine, and we're still on the hunt for pear recipes! Send your family's favourite way to use up this delicious fruit, to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, by the end of this week . If we use it in the mag, you will receive a free copy of the April issue.
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