Wellington Cable Car at Sunrise, New Zealand

Postcard NZ-146552 from New Zealand shows a stunning sunrise with the Wellington Cable Car in the forefront. Established in 1902, Wellington’s historic Cable Car is the only cable railway currently in operation in New Zealand.

For visitors, no trip to Wellington is complete without a ride on the famous cable car; for locals, it's more than a commute. A good way to spend a morning is to get to the top of the Botanic Gardens early to watch the sunrise and view the cityscape. You will need to check the local sunrise time and the cable car timetable to plan the trip. Stop at the Cable Car Museum that was the original winding house. Then walk down to the city's central business district through the beautiful gardens and old houses.

The Cable Car is currently closed from June 7 to July 31, 2016 for upgrade.

The Milky Way - New Zealand

Postcard NZ-146406 from New Zealand shows a view of the Milky Way from Down Under. According to an article from the Photography Roundtable, for people living in the Southern Hemisphere, the best time period to see and photograph the Milky Way is from February to October, as the galactic center of the Milky Way will not be visible from November to January.

For us in the Northern Hemisphere, the best time to see and photograph the Milky Way is between March and October with the galactic center in full view.

On a separate note, USPS released the Pluto—Explored! and Views of Our Planets Forever stamps during the first-day-of-issue dedication ceremony at World Stamp Show-NY 2016 on May 31, 2016. I was excited to purchase two sheets of the Views of Our Planets Forever stamps yesterday. However, to my disappointment, our local post offices had not ordered the Pluto—Explored! souvenir sheets. I will have to order them on-line.

No New Flag For New Zealand

The national flag of New Zealand, shown on the lower left corner of postcard NZ-96168 of Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, is a defaced British Blue Ensign with the Union Flag in the canton, and four red stars with white borders to the right whose pattern represents the asterism within the constellation of Crux, the Southern Cross.

However, there has been on-going debates about changing the national flag for several decades, mainly because:

1. it is very similar to the national flag of Australia, causing frequent confusions;
2. as a derivative of the Blue Ensign, it acknowledges to the heritage of being a settler colony of the United Kingdom more than represents New Zealand's current status as an independent, sovereign nation;
3. it lacks representation of New Zealand's Māori culture and other ethnic groups.

The most recent effort, led by Prime Minister John Key, resulted in a two-stage binding referendum on a flag change in 2015 and 2016. When voting on the second final stage closed on March 24, 2016, voters chose to retain the current flag by 56.6% to 43.2%. John Key has to defend his position as critics accuse him of wasting 26 million New Zealand dollars and dividing country.

Southern Cross, Southern Hemisphere

Postcard NZ-120658 from New Zealand shows the constellation Crux, also known as the Southern Cross, one of the 88 modern constellations that is circumpolar, meaning can always being seen, from Earth’s Southern Hemisphere. However, it can never been seen from Las Vegas as the Southern Cross never rises above the horizon. In the U.S., you have to travel to Hawaii, or South Florida or Texas where it is south to 26°N latitude for limited viewing opportunities.

New Zealand, Australia, Brazil, and Papua New Guinea and Samoa have featured the stars of Crux on their national flags.

Cape Reinga, New Zealand

Postcard NZ-107618 from New Zealand shows a sunset view of Cape Reinga, the northwesternmost tip of the Aupouri Peninsula, at the northern end of the North Island of New Zealand. In native Māori culture, the cape is where the spirits of the dead leap into the underworld.

Cape Reinga is on the tentative list of UNESCO's World Heritage Site, waiting to receive formal recognition. The cape is already a favorite tourist attraction, receiving over 120,000 visitors per year and around 1,300 cars per day during peak season. However, similar to the Key West bouy, the cape is not the northernmost point of the North Island, and thus, of mainland New Zealand, contrary to the common belief. North Cape's Surville Cliffs, 30 kilometers or 18.6 miles east of Cape Reinga, are slightly further north.

Nevada Statehood Forever Stamp Unveiled

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) unveiled the Nevada Statehood 49-cent Forever Commemorative stamp at the Smith Center for Performing Arts in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada on May 29, 2014, with dignities include Vice Chairman of USPS Board of Governors James Bilbray, Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval, Nevada Lt. Governor Brian Krolicki, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Senator Dean Heller, and USPS Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe.

Musical Tribute Performed by Bilbray Elementary School Choir 

The stamp and other collectibles were on sale and the first-day-of-issue cancellation was available before and after the ceremony. Postcard US-2814029 to New Zealand got a first-day-of-issue postmark, showing the south end of the Las Vegas strip in the old days where motels, a Sambo's, gas stations, the Tower of Pizza, and the wonderful neon signs were lining along the old highway. Those signs towered over the traffic below, giving a sense of scale.

According to the USPS stamp announcement, customers have 60 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at their local Post Office, at The Postal Store® website at http://www.usps.com/shop, or by calling 800-STAMP-24. They should affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes (to themselves or others), and place them in a larger envelope addressed to:
Nevada Statehood
USPS Customer Relations Coordinator
1001 East Sunset Road, Rm 1030
Las Vegas, NV 89199-9998

After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark up to a quantity of 50. For more than 50, customers have to pay five cents each. All orders must be postmarked by July 28, 2014.

A Cat Peering Outside

Outgoing postcard US-2680023 to New Zealand shows a National Geographic photo of a cat, next to a blue door, peering out of the window of an adobe house at Taos Pueblo in New Mexico. Taos Pueblo is a Native American community with a population of 1264 in the 2000 census. It was designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1992 and a National Historic Landmark in 1960.

Copyright by Ira Block/National Geographic Stock. The postcard was created By National Geographic and can be purchased at Zazzle.

Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Postcard NZ-91131 from New Zealand, showing a Maori carving, arrived on September 13, 2013, the 6th anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by the United Nations General Assembly during its 61st session in New York City in 2007.

According to Wikipedia, the purpose of the Declaration is to "set out the individual and collective rights of indigenous peoples, as well as their rights to culture, identity, language, employment, health, education and other issues". It also "emphasizes the rights of indigenous peoples to maintain and strengthen their own institutions, cultures and traditions, and to pursue their development in keeping with their own needs and aspirations". It "prohibits discrimination against indigenous peoples"; and it "promotes their full and effective participation in all matters that concern them and their right to remain distinct and to pursue their own visions of economic and social development". The goal of the Declaration is to encourage countries to work alongside indigenous peoples to solve global issues, like development, multicultural democracy and decentralization. There is a major emphasis that the indigenous peoples will be able to protect their cultural heritage and other aspects of their culture and tradition.

New Zealand, along with Australia, Canada, and United States, initially voted against the Declaration. All four countries have since endorsed the Declaration. New Zealand's endorsement came on April 19, 2010,

On the postcard, it noted "Traditional Maori carving designs feature human or near-human figures, with the spiral also an important element."