2 More German Tourists, Anke Kuballa and Marc Busch, Robbed In Northland

Unfortunately crimes against tourists in Northland don't seem to be abating despite the widespread publicity that some recent incidents have attracted.

Anke Kuballa, 20, and Marc Busch, 22, bought a touring van for $1,600 in Auckland and were driving  it north to Whangarei a month later when the clutch failed. They paid $600 to a local Whangarei mechanic to have it fixed. Shortly afterward they were doing some shopping in the town and when they returned to where they'd left the vehicle found that it had been stolen, along with $13,000 worth of belongings  including passports, three cameras, two iPods, four backpacks and camping gear.

According to an article in the Northern Advocate the couple said they thought it would be a good idea if tourists were warned about thieves as soon as they arrived in NZ. We agree with them.

We've also said that we think that tourists should have access to free, safety deposit boxes or lockers in some tourist towns. It would give them somewhere safe to leave valuable equipment, cash and passports and also make them less of a target for muggers and thieves.

See also our other posts about:
Numerous incidents involving German tourists
Northland 


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Other German Cyclists Killed In March and August. Stephan Stoermer And Jens Richardon

Today we were reminded that Mia Pusch wasn't the only German cyclist to have died in New Zealand in the last twelve months. Much the same as Mia, another German national was also killed by a truck and it was moving in the same direction as he was.

German tourist Stephan Stoermer  had been on a cycling world tour since 2006, he was winding his way through 26 countries in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia since early 2006 before arriving in New Zealand. He died a week before his tour was scheduled to end when he was hit by a logging truck near Te Puke in the Bay of Plenty on March 12, 2009.

As if it was a portent of worse to come two months previously Police Superintendent Steve Fitzgerald, a road safety expert and National Commander of the Police Communications Centres, was killed when he was involved in a collision with a truck as he cycled home in Petone. At one time Mr Fitzgerald oversaw all NZ road policing operations and achieved significant and sustained reductions in road deaths and injury crashes. That same day, and in a separate incident, Des Eyre also died in Wellington when he collided with a truck.

Another German cyclist died on 6 August in a hit an run at Leeston, 45 km south west of Christchurch. 34 year old Jens Richardon (above, centre) had been living in NZ for a few years. He must have been quite familiar with the peculiarities of the roads and of the local driving habits. His body was eventually discovered by a passing motorist at 7.30pm and police located the offender's car, a dark blue BMW 3251, 20km away.

Slumped over bar
The driver of the car that hit him was seen slumped over a bar shortly before the crash. Phillip Kirkwood Hamilton, 40, of Southbridge, pleaded guilty on 6 November 2009 to driving under the influence of alcohol causing death and failing to stop for an injury accident. He had drunk around 10 pints of beer at a bar in Rolleston from around 2.30pm that day. He told police he knew he had hit a cyclist but panicked because he had been drinking.

He was remanded on bail for sentencing until 8 February and the judge ordered a pre-sentence report on his suitability for home detention, and a victim impact statement from the dead cyclist’s wife.


Home detention? for drinking a skinful and then killing another man?! it's an utter disgrace and is beyond belief. That would be an insult to Mr. Richardson's memory and will send a message out to the local community that if you drink, drive and kill someone you'll likely get off with little more than a slapped wrist. There should be zero tolerance for crimes such as these, it's important that justice is seen to be done.

Stephan Stoermer kept a blog of his journey which was completed for him after his death, here is a rough translation from the original German of the last entry: (link) 

"On 12 March 2009 he arrived at Tauranga Bay of Plenty. He got no further. He got no further. One on the same street in the same direction errant truck ran over him, just like that.

How do we learn from New Zealand in New Zealand is such a thing, more or less than normal: Cyclists must - if they do not want to be killed - to avoid any motor vehicle, no matter which way this comes out.

Niguel Short, author of the famous bike tour leader neuseeländsichen Pedall 'Paradise, writes in the introduction to Bicycle Tours in New Zealand at Relevant Traffic Laws:

    Cyclists should give way to cars and trucks ... or you may be run over!
    New Zealand might be a crank 'Paradise but it is not Utopia! Thus it might be worth investing in a mirror to keep an eye on the moronic drivers approaching from behind.

The Bay of Plenty Times reported on 17 March 2009 about the accident:

    Cyclist this week from one world tour finish
    17/03/2009 by Vicki Waterhouse
    The tourist killed after he was hit by a truck while cycling near Te Puke had been biking around the   world for the past three years and was due to fly home on Friday.
    The man was named today as Stephan Stoermer, 38, of Frankfurt.
    Mr. Stoermer died on the way to hospital after he was hit by a fully load logging truck on State Highway 2 near Te Matai Rd last Thursday night.
    Mr. Stoermer had traveled through 25 countries on his bicycle, throughout Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Australia.
    On his website he talked about being on the move all of his life, but not for the purpose of arriving at a destination.
    "I'm always looking for a new, different mode of traveling," he wrote.
    Mr. Stoermer began his journey in the northern hemisphere's spring of 2006.
    He said on his website he enjoyed touring the world on a bicycle because he always met people with whom he could tour for hours or days and had the most interesting conversations with them.
    On this three-year tour he was meeting people from various cultural backgrounds who shared his interest in cycling.
    He also sought to promote environmentally friendly travel and motivate people to use bikes.
    His website features hundreds of pictures of himself on the road in various locations.
    Senior Sergeant Ian Campion of road policing said Mr Stoermer's family in Germany had been notified of his death.
    Mr Campion said according to Mr. Stoermer's travel documents, he was due to fly out to Frankfurt on Friday after traversing 26 countries.
&nbsp0wA5oGRlTI/AAAAAAAAAI8/htDHt3C/span>He arrived in New Zealand on December 30 and had traveled the South Iceland.
    The Rotorua logging truck driver who drove the truck which hit Mr Stoermer has not been charged over the incident. Police are still investigating the collision.
    Mr Campion said it may be some time until the cause of the crash was determined.

This investigation will probably result hardly anything, since there are no surviving witnesses to give except the truck driver himself, who wrote Websklave in March 2009. That's not quite true anymore.  On 30 September reports Stephen Stormer-sister Ulrike Hertel, after receiving a detailed police report:

    In fact there were witnesses to the accident, and as a result of the investigation of truck drivers because of "reckless driving resulting in death is indicted."

Would you so much, since (insert a sentence or at least the old rauszunehmen) - simply because it is not true, and we otherwise the New Zealand police and their thorough work can not be met.

What the Websklave obviously likes to do.
Cremation in New Zealand
Stephen Stormer was posted on Saturday, 21 March 2009 at 11h30 cremated at the cemetery in Rotorua NZ. Michiel van Dijk and Anna Lim report on the book of condolence. You have set at the accident scene and a small compass to remember and evergreen. "

Stephan visited  Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia,Ukraine,Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand on his journey.

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Dead German Cyclist Named As Mia Susanne Pusch - Updated

Police have released the name of the 19 year old German touring cyclist (see previous post ) who died in a road collision in Bulls Manawatu: Mia Susanne Pusch.

Mia had been in NZ on a cycling holiday since late October and was travelling towards Wanganui when she was struck by a truck heading in the same direction, according to a police statement.

Mia kept a public blog of her journey through New Zealand (translation) on the bike she'd called "pinkie". In it she spoke about being constantly harassed by drivers honking their horns at her - sometimes as by way of a greeting, often accompanied by a thumbs up sign. These positive honkers appeared to be particularly frequent in underpowered and overloaded vehicles, people on vacation, since the owners had generally  learned that they didn't need to hurry.

Then there were the less positive types - the negative tooters driven by the importance of an "incredible race against time". Those who were fond of using a loud horn when a cyclist got in their way and slowed them down. The type that would sneak up at high speed to well within her safety zone (0.5 -1.0 metres)  and then overtake with horn blaring, leaving her shaking with adrenaline. 


Her mother is understandably distraught at her daughter's death and we'd like to extend our sincere condolences to her for her unimaginable loss, it's every parent's worst nightmare to lose a child in such a way. 

Update 1

We have discovered that Mia isn't the only German born cyclist to have died in New Zealand in the last 5 months. Gifted post grad student Jens Richardon, who'd been living in NZ for around 10 years and well used to NZ road conditions and drivers, was killed in a hit and run whilst  cycling in Springston-Leeston Rd, about 45 kilometres southwest of Christchurch in August of last year. link

Cycling cannot be considered to be a safe pursuit in New Zealand when there are so many aggressive hoons owning the road. We are instantly reminded of the awful death in October of North Shore doctor Graham Robinson who was struck and killed under similar cirumstances whilst cycling outside of Helensville. The driver of the white Toyota Hillux sped off after hitting him and police have yet to track him down, despite having an excellent description of the vehicle.

We also recall the 'Tamaki carnage' a month earlier when a cyclist was critically injured and three others hurt when a car ploughed into a pack of 20 riders on Tamaki Drive, Auckland. News reports at the time stated

"Witnesses to the crash said the vehicle was turning from Cliff Rd on to Tamaki Dr when it collided with the pack, who were riding from the waterfront towards Vale Rd. They said the car appeared to slow down briefly before speeding towards the cyclists.

"She accelerated into the middle of the group, just cleaned the guys up," said John Cooney. The driver was "roundly abused" by the riders when she stopped. Police inspector Willie Taylor said the driver appeared to have driven through a compulsory stop before colliding with the group."

Heather McCracken's report concluded with details of other cycling fatalities and high number of injuries on NZ's roads during 2009

* Fatal cost of riding your bike
Seven cyclists have been killed so far this year on New Zealand roads.
Last year 10 riders were killed and almost 900 injured, with most crashes occurring at intersections on urban roads.
Last weekend cyclist Frank van Kampen, 46, was killed after being struck by a car near Otaki.
A 34-year-old cyclist was killed last month in a hit-and-run accident near Leeston, Christchurch.
Another Christchurch crash took the life of a 19-year-old cyclist in July.
Two cyclists have been killed in the Bay of Plenty, one in a May accident at a Mt Maunganui roundabout, and another following a crash involving a logging truck near Te Puke in March.
Two Dunedin cyclists have also lost their lives - one after colliding with a car in the city in March, and another in a crash outside of Mosgiel in June."

Pretty awful figures for such a small country. NZ does have the worlds highest car ownership - 720 per 1000 people, even more than the United States' 675 per 1000 people (in 2005) and when that's combined with intolerance towards other road users the weaker and more vulnerable need to be better protected than they are at present.

We suggest a national network of safe cycling routes, in which bike riders are protected from collision hazards with motor vehicles and more publicity given to visitors about which roads are dangerous for cyclists, so that they may plan out their holidays around those routes before they leave home.

Something has to be done to re-educate NZ drivers too, perhaps a national advertising campaign to make them more aware of the difficulties cyclists face and that the roads are for all to share, a revision of the driving test and tougher penalties for dangerous driving causing death or injury.

For other information about NZ poor road death and injury statistics see "Road death toll increases" and "NZ's roads described as killing fields"

See also 1.5m to Survive: 1.5 metres of  space for NZ's 1.5 million cyclists 


Related post : Another German Cyclist Killed In March


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German Cyclist Killed In Bulls, Manawatu

Today we heard the awful news that another tourist has been killed on New Zealand's roads.

A 19 year old woman on a cycling holiday from Germany died after she was hit by a truck on State Highway 3 approxmiately 4km north of Bulls, Manawatu between the junctions with Neumans Line and Stantoft Road. Our thoughts are with her family at this difficult time.

View Larger Map
Her death came days after American journalist Deborah Howell was killed near Springs Creek.

Related posts :
Dead German cyclist named as Mia Susanne Pusch

Facebook group set up in memory of Mia Pusch

Another German Cyclist killed in March - Stephan Stoermer


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German Tourists Robbed In Omapere, Northland

View Larger Map
It's taken well over a week for the news to leak out that a couple of German tourists were robbed in Northland, New Zealand on November 2. Why it has taken so long to report on something that happened a week last Monday is anybody's guess, but the more cynical amongst us could speculate that it was so the story could be given a more 'positive' slant?

The middle aged couple were said to be highly upset when they returned to their campervan at Signal Station Lookout, Omapere to find that thieves had broken in and stolen a bag containing a large amount of foreign cash, camera gear and personal items.

Northland seems to have been having more than its fair share of attacks and robberies on tourists of late, it's almost a month since two other German tourists were attacked and robbed on the street in Paihia .

We think that tourists should be given more information about how to keep themselves and their possessions safe and be allowed to rent secure safety deposit boxes (for a nominal charge) at local banks and post office whilst staying in the region. Perhaps if all the crims knew that tourists' cash was safely locked up they'd be less interested in them?

Other recent attacks on tourists in Northland include:
* Two American tourists who were robbed of their backpack in Shipwreck Bay in September.
* Threee Chinese tourists who were attacked and robbed south of 90 Mile Beach at month earlier
* Anthony Cressend, a French tourist, who was beaten and robbed at a campsite in Ahipara.

But we strongly suspect that there may be more than this.


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7 People Killed In Holiday Weekend Carnage

Despite safety warnings and pleas from police and motoring organisations for people to take care over the holiday weekend at least seven people have died and many more have been injured in 16 separate incidents, some of them from countries such as Germany and Saudi Arabia. The death toll however wasn't as bad as it was over Anzac weekend when 14 people lost their lives, causing the National Road Policing manager, Superintendent Paula Rose to describe the roads as "killing fields".

The fatalities this weekend started on Friday night and have occurred at

• SH 5 Near Reporoa, one person died and another was seriously injured. Shortly after the collision two more vehicles crashed into the wreckage and two more people were hurt.
  

• SH1 at Five Mile Bay, south of Taupo. A head on crash claimed two lives of two women at a spot where there had been numerous serious crashes, the last one only six weeks previously.

• Maungatapu Track in the Maitai Valley, near Nelson. A four wheeled drive rolled into a river killing the 16 year old driver Tod Woodman. Two other people were flown from the scene with minor injuries.

• SH6 at Coal Creek, Greymouth where a motorcyclist was killed when his bike crashed into a bridge.

• Lyttleton Avenue in Porirua where a woman died when she was hit whilst running alongside a bus.

• SH2 near Woodlands Road at Waihi where a van carrying eight people rolled. A Saudi Arabian man was was killed, one critically injured and the rest taken to hospital.
  

Injuries in other incidents included

• Two German tourists in their twenties who were injured when their van hit a bank then rolled onto its roof near Pelorus Bridge as they travelled from Nelson.
• A toddler and a motorcyclist who were critically injured in a collision on SH1 near Huntly. 
• A crash between a truck and car on SH2 Pekapeka Road at Netherton. 
• A driver who was injured when a rental car left SH2 at  Rimutaka Hill, Upper Hutt and rolled down a bank, 
• A car that rolled in the Manawatu Gorge.
• A woman received serious head injuries after she was thrown from her car whilst backing out of  driveway in Manurewa.
• A child was badly injured when it ran out in front of a vehicle in Otara. 
• A woman was seriously injured after being hit by a 4WD vehicle on a rural property west of Hokitika.
• 21-year-old quad bike rider suffered serious spinal injuries after falling from his vehicle on sand dunes at Muriwai Beach, north-west of Auckland. The incident came despite the Auckland Regional Council's promise to crack-down on vehicle safety at the beach over the labour weekend following both deaths and injuries to both drivers and other beach users.
• SH1 northbound at Waikanae was blocked following a crash.
  
  

German Tourists Attacked in Paihia

There's been another attack on tourists in Northland, this time in Paihia at around 3am today on School Road.

Two German tourists reported to police that they were attacked in the early hours of this morning, According to a report on 3 News the two men are aged 19 and 23, suffered cuts and bruises when they were robbed of their passports, cash, German driver’s licenses and other personal items.


View Larger Map, School Road, Paihia
The attacks are bound to re-ingnite the debates over crime and tourist safety in Northland. It comes hot on the heels of other well publicised attacks and robberies in the region including
* Two American tourists who were robbed of their backpack in Shipwreck Bay in September.
* Threee Chinese tourists who were robbed south of 90 Mile Beach at month earlier
* Anthony Cressend, a French tourist, who was beaten and robbed at a campsite in Ahipara.


View Larger Map

See also posts under the tag "Tourist Attacks"

Hamilton On-Line Date Leads to Sex Assault

Source: Stuff.co.nz
Clio Francis

"Police have issued a warning over the perils of online dating after an alleged sexual assault in Hamilton over the weekend.

Detective Inspector Greg Nicholls said a 41-year-old man was facing a variety of charges relating to the alleged sexual assault of a woman in her home on Saturday morning.

He would appear in Hamilton District Court this afternoon, he said.

"The offender and victim had connected via the internet sometime last November and had been in subsequent contact since by phone, text and email but had not previously met in person.

"The pair had planned to meet on Friday night, however when that fell through the accused had gone to the victim's house and sexually assaulted her," Mr Nicholls said.

He urged people to exercise caution.

"Wherever possible when meeting with someone for the first time meet in a public place, such as a cafe or restaurant and inform someone where you are going and who you are meeting."

A German tourist made headlines last month after travelling to New Zealand to stay with a Dunedin man she had met on the internet.

The woman, 36, struck up an online friendship with a man she believed was a 33-year-old PhD student from Dunedin in October.

When she arrived on February 8, she realised the unkempt, unemployed 54-year-old had lied about his identity.

She went to his house, where chickens lived inside among cartons and rubbish, and there was no electricity.

When he refused to let her leave the house on her own or take her passport, she contacted a person she had met on her plane, who called police.

The Armed Offender Squad were called while the pair were in Kaikoura, but she was later rescued by police.

The man would not be prosecuted, police said."