What Is A ... ?

The katipo is a native New Zealand spider (Latrodectus katipo), related to the Australian redback and the American black widow. The katipo is ground dwelling, living in and around New Zealand beaches in burrows or under logs and other debris. The female is larger than the male and has a distinctive red stripe. She is the most poisonous native animal in New Zealand. Unlike their Australian cousins, however, katipo are rare, so few people suffer katipo bites. New Zealand hospitals have antidote for the venom. In untreated cases, reactions vary from discomfort through to difficulty in breathing and problems with the nervous system.

Even the female katipo is small - her abdomen (the fat bit) is about the size of a pea at maturity. Males are around 4mm. Male katipo look like immature females. Contrary to popular belief males do not sacrifice their lives for a good time in the "web-of-love". He will approach her with some caution, twanging said web to make sure she knows he's coming, and if she's too aggressive he'll run away - preferring to live and love another day.

Katipo is a Maori word, and said like

Car-tde-poe

the "t" is a soft sound almost like a "d"

In full colour...

Above: Mature female katipo
Female katipo, about 3 months from full maturity	Mature male katipo

Koha

The giving of koha by the visiting party illustrates the principle of reciprocity which is a significant underlying principle in Maori society.
Koha does not mean a donation. It is not a token gesture, as a donation might be. Rather the giving of koha is an opportunity to reciprocate for something you have been given. A koha is at least of equal value if not more value than what you receive.

Traditionally food was given by the visiting group to the hosts. Today money is often given as the koha helps towards the cost of hosting. Sometimes koha take other forms such as taonga (treasured possessions) or items of symbolic significance.

Kea

The Kea is a highly animated alpine parrot. Full of personality, these large parrots have a thick green plumage. They also have a very strong beak and set of claws. Found generally in the shrub and tussock lands above the tree line in the South Island. The kea is highly intelligent, and not having any natural predators will approach humans in the high country quite readily. The kea may amuse you with his head bobbing dance and playful song and actions, but be aware that his buddies are probably trying to figure out how they are going to get at the lunch that is deep inside your backpack!

Konae

Konae is traditionally used to describe a small woven flax basket. But in modern times it has come to mean something to file/store things in.
We used it as the name of our timesheeting application as that's essentially what it is, a file of information.