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

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

. 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.

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 native bush. Residents describe the area as a "happy medium" between hilly and flat. The closest city is

Invercargill Invercargill ( , ) is the southernmost and westernmost list of cities in New Zealand, city in New Zealand, and one of the Southernmost settlements, southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland Region, Southlan ...

, approximately twenty kilometres away. Nearby villages include Hedgehope to the north, Grove Bush to the west, Rakahouka to the southwest, and Dacre to the southeast. The nearby

Makarewa River The Makarewa River is the largest tributary of the Ōreti River, and is in Southland, New Zealand. It flows for from its source in the Hokonui Hills, joining the Ōreti just north of Invercargill Invercargill ( , ) is the southernmost and ...

is sometimes visited by anglers, and holds numerous

brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a species of salmonid ray-finned fish and the most widely distributed species of the genus ''Salmo'', endemic to most of Europe, West Asia and parts of North Africa, and has been widely introduced globally ...

and, downstream,

perch Perch is a common name for freshwater fish from the genus ''Perca'', which belongs to the family Percidae of the large order Perciformes. The name comes from , meaning the type species of this genus, the European perch (''P. fluviatilis'') ...

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 The masked lapwing (''Vanellus miles'') is a large, common and conspicuous bird native to Australia (particularly the northern and eastern parts of the continent), New Zealand and New Guinea. It spends most of its time on the ground searching for ...

and

hawk Hawks are birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are very widely distributed and are found on all continents, except Antarctica. The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks, and others. This ...

Kiwi Kiwi most commonly refers to: * Kiwi (bird), a flightless bird native to New Zealand * Kiwi (nickname), an informal name for New Zealanders * Kiwifruit, an edible hairy fruit with many seeds * Kiwi dollar or New Zealand dollar, a unit of curren ...

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.

Climate

Mabel Bush has a temperate

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

similar to that of the

British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...

. 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 A solstice is the time when the Sun reaches its most northerly or southerly sun path, excursion relative to the celestial equator on the celestial sphere. Two solstices occur annually, around 20–22 June and 20–22 December. In many countries ...

in late December.

References

{{Southland District, New Zealand Populated places in the Southland Region