What is going on when icebergs are sighted off southern New Zealand?
Icebergs up to three kilometres wide were sighted just before Christmas, prompting navigation warnings from the Maritime Safety Authority. The iceberg struck by the Titanic in the North Atlantic in 1912 was estimated at up to 30 metres high and 120m long.
But why have icebergs appeared off southern New Zealand now, and is it further evidence of the end of the golden weather? Playwright Bruce Mason set his play of the same name, which evokes a classic New Zealand summer, in the hazy days of the early 1930s, a time when an iceberg was actually seen off the mainland. (cont.)
