Cook Strait Cook Strait Cook Strait () is a strait that separates the North and South Islands of New Zealand. It connects the Tasman Sea on the northwest with the South Pacific Ocean on the southeast, and runs next to the capital city, Wellington. It is wide at its narrowest point, and is considered one of the most dangerous and unpredictable waters in the world. The strait is named after James Cook, the first European commander to sail through it, in 1770. In Māori it has the name "Raukawa" or "Te Moana-o-Raukawa". "Raukawa" may mean "bitter leaves". In Māori legend, Cook Strait
Southern Cross Healthcare Group (New Zealand) Southern Cross Healthcare Group (New Zealand) Southern Cross Healthcare Group, a collection of independent, health-oriented businesses in New Zealand, operates on not-for-profit principles and is New Zealand's largest non-public health care organisation. The Group's businesses include health insurance, private hospitals, travel insurance and pet insurance. The Group encompasses the Southern Cross Medical Care Society and the Southern Cross Health Trust and their respective subsidiaries. According to Peter A. Smith's "The Private Prescription", which chronicles the history of Southern Cross, the group's origins can be traced back to the 1950s when the New Zealand private healthcare sector became concerned that the