New Zealand And South Pacific Islands Map

Brand: Hinkler Puzzlebilities

Pieces: 500
Size:  73.6cm x 58.4cm

Product Code: -

I'm back! After 10 days campervanning around the South Island of New Zealand- from Christchurch to Queenstown- I am now back on Australian soil. We arrived back last night and although I loved our little family holiday, I am also so glad to be back in the comfort of the familiar.

While I was away, I bought one puzzle of an illustrated New Zealand map (not the one above- this is one I completed a long time ago and put up specially for this post) and I'm excited to begin it. I didn't see any dedicated puzzle shops in my travels (I don't even know if they exist in New Zealand) but I found the one I bought in a souvenir store. I also saw a few New Zealand puzzle designs that I have not previously seen from Cavalini and Co and so I'm not sure if they're just exclusive to NZ or can be purchased elsewhere. I didn't buy any cos the price was high and my husband wasn't too keen on me buying more than one puzzle but it was still interesting to note. 

I'm going to leave it here- I have a lot of unpacking and washing to do now! I'll need a holiday after my holiday!

World Map

Brand: Hinkler Puzzlebilities
Pieces: 500
Size: 91.4cm x 60.9cm
Product Code:  HB22-FEB16-08

With all the turmoil going on around the world at the moment, I thought I might put up a puzzle of the world map today, just to remind people that no matter what's happening thousands of kilometres away, we're all still living on the same planet. 

The last few weeks have seen so many unfortunate events- there have been natural disasters like the devastating earthquakes in Mexico, Hurricane Irma in Texas, and the imminent eruption of a volcano in Bali. There were also a few earthquakes in New Zealand but I don't think there were any casualties this time round. 

There has also been a lot of political unrest around the world, with the murder of hundreds of Muslims in Burma (which has sadly been under-reported in the media) and, of course, the tensions between North Korea and the rest of the world. In Australia, the government has posted out a ballot, asking people to vote on whether same-sex marriage should be legalised- there are staunch supporters for both sides, but hopefully commonsense will prevail, discrimination (in this case at least) will be stamped out and everyone will have the opportunity to marry the person that they love, regardless of their gender. 

Now, I've gotten through my little rant so I can talk about the above puzzle! 

The pieces in this puzzle were quite large (although that is mentioned on the box) and made from a thin, relatively low-quality cardboard. If you have a good grasp of geography, then the bright design will be simple to complete.

This would make a good educational resource for someone learning about world maps, as it provides an adequate amount of basic information. 

Dinosaurs

Brand: Hinkler Puzzlebilities
Pieces: 500
Size: 91.4cm x 60.9cm
Product Code:  HB22_FEB16_04

I can't tell you how excited I am for today!

I have always enjoyed Jurassic Park, the 1993 film directed by Steven Spielberg, which stars Sam Neill and Laura Dern. With one of the most recognisable musical scores, and that iconic Jurassic Park logo, the film has a permanent place in my list of favourites. I even enjoyed most of the sequels (including Jurassic World which was released a few years ago). 

But my enjoyment of the movie will be taken to new heights today when I head up to Melbourne to see a special representation of the film. The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) will be performing the soundtrack to this film live at Hamer Hall (in the  Arts Centre). 

As the film plays, the orchestra perform all the musical pieces as they would occur in the film. You'd be amazed at just how much music is composed for films- most of the time, we just hear it in the background and don't think about all the effort involved in composing, playing and performing the soundtrack. 

I attended the MSO's Raiders of the Lost Ark performance last year and it was simply incredible! Sometimes I would become so engrossed in the story that I would be startled to hear the audience clapping around me. Then I would remember that the music I was hearing was actually being performed live in front of me and was not actually 'coming from' the film. The musicians are so incredibly talented, and if you ever get the chance to attend one of these events, you should definitely take it, as you won't be disappointed! 

In my excitement for this performance, I decided to do a puzzle featuring dinosaurs (including some from the Jurassic period!). This puzzle was very quick to do, and has particularly large pieces (made of thin, cheap cardboard), but it is also very educational and has a well set out design.

There are over 25 dinosaurs featured in this puzzle, with the name, pronounciation, origin, size, eating habits (carnivore, herbivore, etc) and years it was around listed underneath each image. The pictures of each dinosaur are set against one another so that you can see the size difference between each type, and there is even a human on the end of each line so you can see the scale of just how big (or small) they were in comparison to us. 

While the piece quality isn't terribly great, this is otherwise a great educational tool and a must for lovers of dinosaurs! (...or films that feature them 😊)

Close up 1

Close up 2

Close up 3

  

Australia

Brand: Hinkler Puzzlebilities
Pieces: 500
Size: 73.6cm x 58.4cm
Product Code:  HB22-FEB16-08

On Thursday (January 26) it was Australia Day- our national celebration day. It's a public holiday usually dedicated to barbecued sausages, lots of drinking, listening to Triple J's Hottest 100, and celebrating what makes Australia great.

In recent years, however, there has been growing controversy over the suitability of the day, particularly for some Indigenous Australians. They, and many others who agree with them, have renamed the day Invasion Day, and are striving to change the date so that they too can celebrate their home country without thinking about the genocide that was involved in Australia's 'discovery'. A date suggestion has been May 8 ('Maaaattttttee') as 'mate' is a well-known Aussie colloquialism. 

Personally, I'm not fussed if they change the date or not, as long as we still have the chance to celebrate this amazing country. Of course, it would be better if more people felt comfortable with the date, but, as usual, there will always be someone who wants to complain...

Okay, enough social commentary...

If you haven't already figured it out from what I have written, there is a reason I have posted up this puzzle- Australia Day! 

This puzzle actually took longer for me to do than I expected. The pieces are huge, yet some of them feature very small text (town names, rivers, etc), in order to fit it all on. If the pieces had been any smaller, the puzzle would have been impossible to do! I also realised through doing this puzzle that my knowledge of Australian geography is not as great as I thought it was. I had to Google search a few town names just to work out which state they were in! That said, this would make a great educational tool for people wanting to learn about Australian geography. The map features topographical information as well as a handy key. It also covers a little bit of neighbouring countries Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. The quality of the pieces isn't terribly great- thin cardboard- but that's to be expected from a relatively low-budget puzzle. 

This is a good, cheap puzzle that has strong educational values. 

A handy key at the bottom of the map provides plenty of information

The puzzle pieces are quite large