Introduction

Mabel Bush is a small community in the Southland region of New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

's South Island

South Island

The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...

. The community has an estimated population of 127 people. The main building in the area is the Mabel Bush Hall, which consists of the hall and tennis courts. The Hall is mainly used for parties and community events, such as Euchre

Euchre

Euchre or eucre, is a trick-taking card game most commonly played with four people in two partnerships with a deck of 24 standard playing cards. It is the game responsible for introducing the joker into modern packs; this was invented around 1860 to act as a top trump or best bower...

 Night on Thursday evenings during the winter.

Geography

Much of the surrounding area is farmland. Although the area is named Mabel Bush, only an approximate two hectares of the area is undeveloped.

Residents describe the area as a "happy medium" between hilly and flat.

The closest city is Invercargill

Invercargill

Invercargill is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. It lies in the heart of the wide expanse of the Southland Plains on the Oreti or New River some 18 km north of Bluff,...

, approximately twenty kilometres away. Nearby villages include Hedgehope

Hedgehope, New Zealand

Hedgehope is a locality in the central Southland region of New Zealand's South Island. Located in the Hokonui Hills, Winton is to the west, Mataura to the east, and Mabel Bush to the south .The nearest city is Invercargill, over 25 km to the southwest...

 to the north, Grove Bush

Grove Bush

Grove Bush is a village in the Southland region of New Zealand's South Island. It is located on the banks of the Makarewa River on the Southland Plains near the foothills of the Hokonui Hills....

 to the west, Rakahouka

Rakahouka

Rakahouka is a community in the Southland Region of New Zealand's South Island. It is located in a fertile farming area on the Southland Plains just south of the Makarewa River...

 to the southwest, and Dacre

Dacre, New Zealand

Dacre is the name of a small town in the South Island of New Zealand. It is situated on the Southland Plains between Invercargill and Edendale on State Highway 1. In Dacre, SH 1 is met by State Highway 98 , which runs west to Makarewa via Rakahouka. Nearby villages include Mabel Bush to the...

 to the southeast.

The nearby Makarewa River

Makarewa River

The Makarewa River is the largest tributary of the Oreti River, and is located in Southland, New Zealand. It flows for 60 kilometres from its source in the Hokonui Hills, joining the Oreti just north of Invercargill....

 is sometimes visited by anglers, and holds numerous brown trout

Brown trout

The brown trout and the sea trout are fish of the same species....

 and, downstream, perch

Perch

Perch is a common name for fish of the genus Perca, freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which there are three species in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Perciformes, from the Greek perke meaning spotted, and the...

.

Wildlife

The area contains livestock such as sheep, cows and deer. Dogs are used to herd the livestock.

Wildlife includes many of New Zealand's common birds, as well as the Australian Masked Lapwing

Masked Lapwing

The Masked Lapwing , previously known as the Masked Plover and often called the Spur-winged Plover or just Plover in its native range, is a large, common and conspicuous bird native to Australia, particularly the northern and eastern parts of the continent...

 and hawk

Hawk

The term hawk can be used in several ways:* In strict usage in Australia and Africa, to mean any of the species in the subfamily Accipitrinae, which comprises the genera Accipiter, Micronisus, Melierax, Urotriorchis and Megatriorchis. The large and widespread Accipiter genus includes goshawks,...

s. Kiwi

Kiwi

Kiwi are flightless birds endemic to New Zealand, in the genus Apteryx and family Apterygidae.At around the size of a domestic chicken, kiwi are by far the smallest living ratites and lay the largest egg in relation to their body size of any species of bird in the world...

s can be found here as well.

Plantlife

There are many types of plant life in the Mabel Bush area. Largely consisting of common New Zealand plants. There is a range of trees from introduced species such as pines and eucalyptus to native bush.

Sporting Events

There are some local sporting events such as cycling races based at the hall in the spring/summer months, including the SOUTHLAND ROAD CYCLING CHAMPS which was on the 20th of September 2008. And also small organized tournaments including sports like tennis, trapshooting and parkour.

Climate

Mabel Bush has a temperate oceanic climate

Oceanic climate

An oceanic climate, also called marine west coast climate, maritime climate, Cascadian climate and British climate for Köppen climate classification Cfb and subtropical highland for Köppen Cfb or Cwb, is a type of climate typically found along the west coasts at the middle latitudes of some of the...

 similar to that of the British Isles

British Isles

The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...

. The mean daily temperature ranges from 5.2°C in July to 14°C in January. The yearly mean temperature is 9.9°C. Rainfall averages 1112 mm annually, and measurable snowfall is occasionally seen during the winter months of June to September. It is the cloudiest centre of New Zealand with 1580 hours of sunshine per annum.

The average temperature high ranges from 18.8°C in February to 11°C in August. Owing to its relatively high latitude (46° 42'), the city enjoys nearly 16 hours of daylight at the summer solstice

Solstice

A solstice is an astronomical event that happens twice each year when the Sun's apparent position in the sky, as viewed from Earth, reaches its northernmost or southernmost extremes...

 in late December.

Mabel Bush is "The Community of H20 and Electro Magnetic Spectrum". This refers to the long summer twilights and the aurora australis (southern lights). The water reference, humorists suggest, comes from notorious horizontal, driving rain in high wind at the corner of the two main streets, Mabel Bush Grove Bush West, And Rakahouka Hedgehope Highway..