Fairfax media reported that the Canterbury district in the South Island urgently needed 60 extra public toilets to meet demand. New Zealand hit by `weather bomb` bringing summer snow and flooding Read moreNew Zealand?s economy is heavily reliant on the tourist dollar but the surge in visitor numbers is putting a strain on public infrastructure around the country ? and in particular on public toilets. Facebook Twitter Pinterest The lone public convenience in South Taranaki. Chris Wilkes, a local resident, said more than 50 people each night used a toilet block in South Taranaki that contained a single toilet. In the tiny town of Glenorchy in the South Island, which is the gateway to Mt Aspiring National Park, visitor numbers average 150,000 a year.

We hope their journals and dispatches ? conversational and visual on-the-ground reports ? gave you a welcome break from the news. Our foreign correspondents wrote about dozens of captivating people and places in 2016, from pirates in the Amazon to tourists in the nomad lands of Tibet to transgender goddesses in India. Here are some of the year?s highlights.

But the Chinese Consulate could only confirm the passport details of 18 Chinese citizens, Xinhua said. The report cited the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency as saying there were 28 Chinese tourists on board. Calls to the Chinese Consulate rang unanswered Sunday. They are contending with strong winds and choppy waters. Malaysia deployed search and rescue ships and helicopters after receiving a call Saturday night about the boat`s disappearance, Xinhua reported.