31 Jan - 06 Feb 2019 | Edition 907

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Wanaka

P 03 443 0097 E info@fnwanaka.com

A gem of a race Almost 400 swimmers participated in last Saturday’s The Ruby swim.

110 Matai Road Wanaka

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THUR 31.01.19 - WED 06.02.19

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EDITION 907

Petition to save historical lakefront tiles ALLISON MCLEAN

journalist@thewanakasun.co.nz

T

housands of clay tiles, many inscribed with historical messages, make up Wanaka’s Millennium Walkway; however, one key message is missing: “The path is in jeopardy. Our community millennium project, your family history and tiles paid for by your families and businesses will be lost.”

Wanaka-resident Elizabeth (Liz) Hall shared that message with the Wanaka Sun on Monday while she was headquartered at New World Wanaka to gather signatures on a community petition to preserve the 650m, 2000-tile Millennium Walkway, which she said is currently is at risk of being removed from the town’s lakefront walkway after 18 years of display. Other concerned Upper Clutha residents, including Graham Taylor and Frances Copland, who originated the petition idea, joined her efforts at the grocery store.

Construction on Queenstown Lakes District Council’s (QLDC) stage two of its proposed lakefront development plan is projected to start next month and will determine the future or fate of the existing millennium tiles as part of the widening of the lakefront walkway between the new Mt Aspiring Road car park to Dungarvon Street.

It is reportedly proposed that, to preserve the community significance of the Millennium Walkway, the printed tiles could be individually recorded and uplifted into a 4m-wide shared path.

Conversely, it is also reported that the plan could reposition similar historical tiles around the foot of low garden walls near the log cabin, thereby deleting some or all of the community millennium tiles.

“My understanding from listening to others who have had more direct contact with council is that there may be not enough space for all the existing tiles. Therefore, some tiles would be left out, some may be altered and more added to record history since 2000. This alarms me. We need clarification and assurance from council that all the tiles will be retained,” said concerned Luggate resident Jenny Moss who wants to see the Millennium Walkway preserved in its

original location.

“Our council may greatly alter what locals in the past have created. It’s part of our history. Any future recorded history should be a separate project.”

When asked for comment, a QLDC spokesperson said, “No decision has been made by QLDC and the Wanaka Community Board (WCB) regarding the future of the Millennium Walkway and its tiles. Both QLDC and WCB are attending a workshop on Monday, February 4, to further define the future of the Millennium Walkway. The WCB has indicated strong support for the inclusion of a Millennium Walkway in stage two of the Wanaka Lakefront Development Plan, and details of the preferred option will follow this workshop.”

Hall, who was a former QLDC community programmes coordinator and instrumental in starting and completing the Millennium Walkway project in November 2001, said she has not been a part of any “meaningful discussion” on the walkway’s future since April 2016, and she implores council that she be included in the conversation. She also maintains that the millennium tiles should be retained in their original location.

“I feel that this is very disrespectful of that effort and the people responsible for the compilation and the art work,” said Hall.

Originally hired to organise the millennium projects for the town, Hall assembled a project committee, and more than 200 people and businesses paid $100 per tile to represent a year of the millennium; the most important events of the world, New Zealand and Wanaka were recorded on the tiles by hand.

The Community Trust of Otago, the Lotteries Commission and sponsors all helped fund the $39,000 project.

There are reports from some that the tiles are too brittle to withstand the heavy foot, bike, city mowers and other walkway traffic resulting in their damage throughout the years.

“Thirty volunteers wrote the information on the tiles with black glaze which has never worn off,” said Hall. “Some tiles have been replaced because they were broken mostly by the council mower. Locals and visitors use the path with great interest daily. Groups of

PHOTO: Wanaka Sun

children use it for a quiz. Dozens of people worldwide have contacted us to inquire how we did it so they can try something similar in their community.”

Taylor said, “Since the bricks were laid alongside the winding tiles, the mower damage has been greatly reduced; it is no big problem to replace damaged tiles and, for that matter, to make corrections, but you cannot rewrite history.”

Hall added, “We have been asking for a tidyup for a couple of years but have been told to wait because of the impending lakefront revamp, and they [council] were unsure of what was going to happen on the Lakefront.

The path was formed by fundraising money,

but council are responsible for its upkeep.”

Hall, Taylor and Copland collected more than 300 petition signatures on Monday and their efforts are ongoing. The petition will again be available to sign at New World this Saturday and at several Wanaka-based businesses. From there, Taylor will present the collected signatures at an upcoming WCB meeting.

Pictured: Graham Taylor, Frances Copland and Liz Hall (standing) were at New World Wanaka on Monday to gather signatures on a community petition to preserve the historical Millennium Walkway, which is reportedly at risk of being removed from the town’s lakefront.

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Al fresco dining rent increase STAFF REPORTER

editor@thewanakasun.co.nz

Queenstown Lakes District’s Councillors will be asked to consider a fee increase for Table and Chair licences at their full council meeting today (Thursday, January 31).

The licences allow for and encourage al fresco dining to provide “vibrant and attractive streets” within the district’s town centres.

QLDC general manager property and infrastructure, Peter Hansby, said the rental rates under the council’s Table and Chair Policy have not increased since it was adopted in 2006.

“A current market rent valuation has been completed and has indicated the rents are now well under market rate,” he said.

“The recommendation we’re putting to Councillors is to partially increase rents for the 2019 licence renewals due later this year. This would be a first step towards reflecting the assessed market rents with a further rent review proposed in 2020,” he said.

The increase would be implemented at the next renewal in the Wanaka ward in September 2019, with fees of $100 for Wanaka waterfront and $70 for remaining Wanaka pavements proposed. The new figures reflected a 100 percent increase on the fees set in 2006 which are currently in force.

“The council has a significant number of town centre improvements planned over coming years.

The increased rent received from the Table and Chairs licences will assist in paying for those projects,” Hansby said.

Council documents consider current market

PHOTO: wanaka sun

rates in Wanaka to be $160 (waterfront) and $130 (remaining pavements), however a partial increase in rents is recommended for the next renewal, “in order to balance the need to increase rents towards market, with the needs of the operators to be able to plan ahead and budget for the cost of rent. On this basis, operators should expect further increases over coming years”.

Pictured: Rental rates under the council’s Table and Chair Policy will be considered today.

PHOTO: Wanaka Sun

Recent storm activity deemed significant, but not unusual ALLISON MCLEAN

Three Waters Programme ready to go Emma Conyngham

newsdesk@thewanakasun.co.nz

The ambitious Three Water Programme is in Queenstown Lakes District Council’s long-term plan and comprises multiple, staggered projects to improve and upgrade critical infrastructure in the district’s storm water, waste water, and water supply.

The Programme will enable local infrastructure to keep pace with growth and demand, and is three times larger than anything that QLDC has previously delivered for the community. The complexity and scale of the Programme has led to a bundled approach to take this work to market.

The Programme, developed as part of the 20182028 Ten Year Plan, has been positively recognised as part of an independent Ernst and Young review.

The report, completed in November 2018, was commissioned by QLDC and undertaken by multinational professional services firm, Ernst and Young (EY). Faced with an infrastructure programme and investment almost three times larger than what the district and QLDC has delivered before, QLDC officers needed to understand the overall ‘readiness’ of the council team.

Criteria that was being critiqued in the review included; governance, execution strategy, organisational design and development, risk

management, asset management, procurement and business requirements. The conclusion stated that, “The review has found that the risks and issues for the Programme to be well understood by the Programme team and leadership and that there is a good delivery structure in place. There are no burning issues that suggest the timetable or route forward should be changed.”

QLDC general manager property and infrastructure, Peter Hansby, explained that ‘readiness’ included ensuring the right frameworks and governance were in place to ensure the success of the programme and enable continuous improvement.

“It’s reassuring, when we have a programme of this magnitude ahead of us, to receive the feedback that the risks and issues are well understood and that we have the right delivery structure in place. In particular this is important given that we are taking a new approach in bundling the packages of work in a way we have not done before to make both tendering and delivery processes as efficient as they can be,” said Mr Hansby.

He added, “the real value comes in understanding the areas that need to be improved, clarified or documented to avoid any problems when delivering the number of projects planned, and recognising how well the team has responded to this feedback to address any issues.”

journalist@thewanakasun.co.nz

National meteorologists say the summertime storm activity that hit Upper Clutha last week was not out of the ordinary climatology wise, but it was certainly “impressive”.

The storm of strong northwesterlies and rain that pummelled the South Island last Wednesday resulted in three large poplar and willow trees blown down along the Wanaka lakefront, according to a Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) spokesperson.

NIWA Weather meteorologist/ forecaster Maria Augustis told the Wanaka Sun that one of the reasons behind the strong winds was due the front moving in during the height of afternoon heat.

“This caused a quick increase in air pressure and wind speed. Over 4200 properties lost power in Central Otago and the Queenstown Lakes regions,” said Augustis. “The front rushed up the South Island, which brought strong winds and rain with northwesterly winds ahead of the front and a strong southerly change behind it.”

Augustis said NIWA's Wanaka station recorded a wind gust of 72.3kph and sustained wind of 27.7kph. Gale

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winds were not recorded in Wanaka last Wednesday as they are defined as sustained surface winds exceeding 62kph. “Nevertheless, this was a significant wind event for Wanaka with fallen tree limbs around town and damaged power lines on Youghal Street,” said Augustis.

After the storm’s wrath, QLDC ground maintenance teams worked alongside Wanaka Tree Care to clear fallen trees and debris from roads and public open spaces. QLDC said some of that clean-up is ongoing, but no injuries were reported to them.

“It’s also important to acknowledge the work done by roading crews across the district from Downer and their subcontractors, responding to reported debris and dangerous trees, assessing conditions and setting up any signage required,” said the QLDC spokesperson. “We’d like to thank everyone that respected warnings around using trails in the area at the time. We also appreciate the community utilising our Request for Service (Fix It) to help direct assistance to places in need.”

Pictured: Last Wednesday’s storm clocked wind gusts of more than 70kph in Wanaka resulting in three large trees being blown down.

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THE WANAKA SUN

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Sun News

Gordon Ramsay doesn’t drop the F bomb. For once.

Emma Conyngham

newsdesk@thewanakasun.co.nz

Relay for Life open now for registration Emma Conyngham

newsdesk@thewanakasun.co.nz

The Cancer Society’s Relay for Life is coming to Wanaka on March 23 - 24 and the call is on for people and teams to register. Relay for Life is an inspiring and fun community event for people of all ages and fitness levels to celebrate the lives of cancer survivors and carers, remember loved ones who have died, and empower people and communities to fight back against cancer.

Participants camp out around a set track, and walk (or run) in relay style for 24 hours from midday on Saturday to midday on Sunday, all to the backdrop of local entertainers and supporters.

Team members can sleep in tents pitched in your allocated team camp site around the relay perimeter allowing walkers and their families to be present all through the night.

The Wanaka Sun is entering a team and is putting the challenge out to other local businesses to enter.

A team has a minimum of 10 participants and all teams raising over $1000 will go into the draw to win the Business Challenge prize. There is also a special prize for the best themed team. Organiser Jane Sharman says teams can dress up their campsite and their team members as they wish “which is also an opportunity to showcase your business.”

Jane also adds, “We are delighted to have Mitre 10 Wanaka on board as our major partner and they are

looking forward to also participating in the event.”

The number of people supported by the Cancer Society in the Otago region has doubled in the past five years, and the Society needs to raise money to provide staff and services assist meet the increasing demand. The funds raised will help continue to provide personalised support and care for people and their families in the area who are impacted by cancer; support health promotion activities for our young people to reduce the risk of getting cancer (such as the SunSmart programme run for free in schools); help fund vital research into the causes and impacts of cancer; and fund Daffodil House, a home-away-from-home for people travelling from the region to Dunedin for cancer treatment.

If you would like to join the Wanaka Sun team, email newsdesk@thewanakasun.co.nz or go to www.relayforlife.org.nz and register for only $25 as an individual. Each team member gets a t-shirt, free cooked breakfast, a candle bag and candle.

Jane Sharman says, “We are also looking for local businesses who are keen to support as sponsors, prize donors or to provide services for the event and we need several enthusiastic volunteers to help out in the week leading up to the event and throughout the weekend.” Interested businesses and volunteers should contact rflwanaka@gmail.com.

Pictured: Alistair Conyngham, Emma Conyngham and Allison McLean who are part of the Wanaka Sun team for Relay for Life.

e h t m o r f P tyleFLOOR U

Wattle Bay, Cockle from Godfrey Hirst

PHOTO: Beatrix Conyngham

Well known for his profanity, Gordon Ramsay defied his own reputation with his visit to Wanaka last week, without a single swear word to be heard but only “beautiful”, “stunning” and “take me there”.

Ramsay was in town to film ‘Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted’, a series that draws connections between exploration, adventure and food — with a dash of friendly competition — starring (of course) Ramsay.

Produced by his own Studio Ramsay, the celebrated chef is embarking on anthropology-through-cuisine expeditions to unearth the most incredible people, places and flavours the world has to offer.

‘Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted’ will premiere globally in 2019 on National Geographic in 171 countries and 43 languages, which is a lot of coverage for a little town like Wanaka.

Each episode of ‘Uncharted’ will include three key ingredients: unlocking a culture’s culinary secrets through exploration and adventure with local food heroes, no matter where they may lead him; tracking down highoctane traditions, pastimes and customs that are specific to the region in hopes of discovering the undiscovered; and, finally, testing Ramsay against the locals, pitting his own interpretations of regional dishes against the tried-and-true classics. There is no word on what

food Ramsay was focusing on here, or which chefs he is testing his mettle against. There has been some criticism that the show simply picks up where Anthony Bourdain left off, in a white male colonial triumph through countries and cultures he knows nothing about. Whether he respects or conquers local culture is yet to be seen.

Ramsay and crew went into Mount Aspiring National Park to film their episode so there is no doubt that the scenery will make an epic backdrop for the show. Off camera, Ramsay dined at Kika.

Ramsay's order included pickled white anchovies with a chilli granita, a 40-degree salmon dish with fresh peas, homemade wasabi peas and horseradish, an avocado dish, a beetroot and chickpea fritter, duck and a "tea and biscuit" dessert with tea-flavoured ice cream and fresh shortbread.

Other location adventures in the series include scaling cave roofs in Malaysian Borneo to harvest nests, and hunting tarantulas in Cambodia.

Producers have been tight lipped about what took place locally.

“My passion for adventure has made me not only a better chef but also a fearless apprentice of all cultures, which makes it so exciting for me to work with National Geographic, who’ve been taking exploration to the limit for their entire storied history,” said Ramsay.

A release date for the series has not been announced.

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THE WANAKA SUN

THURSDAY 31.01.19 - WEDNESDAY 06.02.19

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THURSDAY 31.01.19 - WEDNESDAY 06.02.19

THE WANAKA SUN

thewanakasun.co.nz

Sun News

PAINTBALL PAINTBALL CENTRAL CENTRAL CROMWELL

PHOTO: Studio Pacific Architecture

Objections to proposed Northlake hotel Emma Conyngham

newsdesk@thewanakasun.co.nz

Northlake Investments Ltd’s submission to Queenstown Lakes District Council for a new 113-bed hotel has met with objection.

The proposed hotel is to be located on the northern side of Northlake Drive, in Activity Area D1 which is the commercial precinct of the Northlake Special Zone.

That commercial activity was supposed to be small-scale neighbourhood retail to service the daily needs of the local community, however those needs appear to be going by the wayside.

Warwick Thompson, a long-time Wanaka resident says, “So far, this [Northlake] development has been a stealthy step-by-step process to create an alternative -- or additional -- town centre, contrary to all the long-term plans for Wanaka. This is the ‘frog in hot water’ for Wanaka and the QLDC won’t wake up and take any action until it's all a fait accompli and the frog is boiled.”

The proposed hotel site is accessed from Northlake Drive which extends off Outlet Road and will consist of two main buildings with a maximum height of 10m.

The tennis court, currently situated on the western end of the site, is to be relocated to a different site, approximately 60m to the west along Northlake Drive. One angry resident [name withheld] says, “They said there’d be two courts but now there’s only one, and now their proposal says they are ripping that one up. They say they will put it further down the road but based on their current behaviour now I’m not sure that’s going to happen.”

The land is already subject to an Outline Development Plan but a new ODP is proposed for the site on which the hotel is located. Some residents have quietly commented that this amounts to players not liking the rules of a game, so they rewrite the rules, leaving opponents unable to score a goal or even get their hands on the ball.

The proposed bus park is not related to any other commercial or residential activity on the current development plan and therefore needs special consent at council’s discretion but the word ‘discretion’ seems to be a trump card that developers and council can play whenever they want to proceed with anything that counters previous decisions and established plans.

“At council discretion” appears 27 times in the application which in reality means, the proposed actions are against current plans

THE WANAKA SUN

but if council chooses to, it could override those decisions.

The developer is asking council to use its ‘discretion’ for every breach it is proposing: these include but are not limited to breaching current development plans on visitor accommodation within Activity Area D1; breaching the the nature and scale of non-residential activities; breaching with regards to walls and fences located within the road setback; breaching with regard to the volume of earthworks; and breaching a number of transportation site standards.

Clearly, the developer knows their plan goes against plans that have currently been defined for the development of Northlake, but they also know that if they ask council, they may very well receive.

This has locals up in arms.

Lynette [surname withheld] says, “I sat through five days of resource consent hearings for Northlake subdivision and there was no mention of a hotel. How can they do this?” This begs the question, what’s the point of having hearings and establishing the game rules, if they can be changed so easily. However, council has stressed the point that “A person or company can put in a resource consent application for whatever they like, whenever they like. Any application will go through a specific legislative process with council before either getting approved or declined.”

The feeling of being hamstrung is exacerbated by a deeply buried gag clause in Northlake residents’ Sale and Purchase Agreements that forbids them from opposing any action of the developer; to make a submission against the hotel would be a breach of their contract and make them liable. So where do Northlake owners go to complain? Aside from venting on Facebook there are not many options.

As to whether residents will even be notified if the hotel is to proceed, this is still to be confirmed. Council has stated that “further information is required from the applicant before council can proceed with making this notification decision.”

One local who wishes to remain anonymous says, “We own a house in Albert Town but have friends that have invested everything they have got in Northlake and [are] so disappointed with the outcome. I would love to know how much profit Northlake is providing the developers as they are taking hard-earned savings off some of my dear friends. As a community it would be awesome to see

the community turn their backs on them ie real estate agents, tradies refusing to build the hotel. Such a crafty, sneaky shame.”

Paul [surname withheld], a Wanaka resident for over 20 years says, “I totally disapprove of it. I believe the Northlake residents have been deceived. In the plan that was first mentioned six or seven years ago, people were in the understanding they were going to live in affordable housing, in a beautiful setting for a new village with everything they require to be held in that village, like a swimming pool etc and all of that has disappeared. Now as a Wanaka person looking in, it seems the council has given up their right to challenge developers. I would want the community to be more engaged in the development process.

Even if they don’t understand it we have people they can ask. I never used to get involved but I didn’t understand but I can see the bigger picture and I don’t like it. It’s happened before and will happen again.”

A Northlake resident who needs to remain anonymous says she bought a land and house package in stage two. When she purchased her property what she thought she was buying is now dramatically different to what she’s got.

“What I was buying into was two tennis courts, small-scale commercial shops with a swimming pool, gym and community space, and a village hub type of feel.”

She says when they purchased their lot off the development plans, their house would have had a pretty outlook over the tennis courts - but now it looks like it could be a carpark for 70 cars. “From my perspective, I understood things might change but a 113-bed hotel with 70 carparks and a bus carpark and the exit way very near our house - that is totally inappropriate. I would have expected small changes and I’m fine with high density housing but now it’s surpassed anything we would expect.”

Objections from residents include issues around noise, shading, traffic, loss of promised facilities but also the unquantifiable factor of ‘character’ and how their neighbourhood makes them feel.

For parents, the loss of a quiet, residential village where kids could ride bikes on the streets - something that will now be strictly off limits with tourist coaches driving through the small lanes - is keenly felt.

As for the way forward now, council has stated they have requested more information from the applicant before an assessment can be made.

THURSDAY 31.01.19 - WEDNESDAY 06.02.19

BIRTHDAY PARTIES • WORK DO STAG/HEN PARTIES • FAMILY GAMES • FREE BBQ ON SITE • FUN FOR ALL AGES email: paintballcentral@xtra.co.nz PHONE (027) 448-5399 TO BOOK

BACK TO SCHOOL After weeks of summer holidays staying up late, zoning out in front of the TV or computer, lots of free play, and snacking at will, kids need to make quite an adjustment as they head back to school routines. Here are a few tips to help things along – • Bring bedtime forward and ease into it with some quiet conversation time, reading or music.

Studies show that the glowing light from electronic devices and computer screens can disrupt sleep cycles. Turning these off an hour Dr Fiona MacLean MBChB, BSc, before bedtime is MRCGP (UK), ideal.

FRNZCGP • Reduce the stress in the morning by laying out clothes the night before.

• Make a healthy breakfast and application of sunscreen pre-school rituals.

• Have a look online for ideas for inexpensive, tasty and healthy school lunches. For example www.kiwifamilies.co.nz/2015/10/lunchbox-ideas • If it’s practical, walking to school gives kids a great start to the day.

Find out if there’s a ‘walking school bus” in your area. They’re good for getting to know the neighbourhood and making new friends.

• Head lice and nits are a fact of school life, and you will be lucky if your child manages to avoid them. If an outbreak of head lice does occur at school it can be annoying but not harmful to health – seek advice from your pharmacist about treatment options.

• Support them in their school work – find out from their teacher what you can do to help at home and help them set goals for the year.

• Celebrate their successes! Follow their progress and let your child know how proud you are of them.

Call: 443 0725 www.aspiringmedical.co.nz 23 Cardrona Valley Road, Wanaka

WWW.THEWANAKASUN.CO.NZ PAGE 5

Sun News

Local barista vying for national award

OPINION

QLDC Mayor Jim Boult focuses on the issues facing Wanaka and Surrounds.

ALLISON MCLEAN

journalist@thewanakasun.co.nz

Wanaka brews some of the country’s finest baristas, and your vote could help one get adorned with the title of “New Zealand’s best”.

Wanaka’s Bonnie Lam is competing against 22 other finalists for the Meadow Fresh NZ Barista Championship 2019 People’s Choice award, and voting is live through Saturday.

Lam, who owns The Coffee Shack Wanaka, will be competing in the barista championship in Wellington’s Upper Hutt this weekend, hosted by New Zealand Speciality Coffee Association.

“I've been planning to go back into the NZ Barista Championship ever since I competed last year. The competition was so much fun and very humbling to stand on stage with some of New Zealand’s best baristas; it motivates you to learn and develop as a barista,” said Lam. “This year, I'm super excited to go back the second time now that I know what to expected. I also have Ozone [Coffee Roasters] backing me up and helping me train…”

Born in Hong Kong, Lam was raised in Auckland where she learned about the coffee trade and trained as a barista before moving to Wanaka to open her coffee shack in July 2017.

“The main focus of the coffee shack is smashing out quick and delicious coffee,” said Lam. “We keep everything else pretty simple as it only accompanies the coffee; coffee is the main focus. So no heating or toasting; just quick and efficient service. Our standing current longest wait time is seven minutes; we mostly average at three minutes and your coffee is in your hand.”

Lam said she is new to the world of barista competitions, only starting them last year and winning an in-house latte art competition. She remains focused on doing

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thewanakasun.co.nz

Tackling freedom camping boult J Jim QLDC Mayor

PHOTO: supplied

what she loves.

“I have to honestly say I love my regulars; such a great collection of human beings.

The coffee, oh man, making coffee is such a beautiful, satisfying job. There's so much to it to learn and it is forever changing with the industry, season, location, water and roast. Just this last year I have developed so much as a barista; it's a great combination of patience, love and technicality.”

Winners of the People’s Choice award will be announced after voting closes on Saturday. The winning barista will receive a trophy and other prizes, including bragging rights. To vote for your favourite New Zealand barista, visit http://nzcra.org.nz .

Pictured: The Coffee Shack Wanaka’s Bonnie Lam is up for the People’s Choice award as part of this weekend’s NZ Barista Championship 2019 in Wellington.

It’s probably a little too late to wish everyone who I haven’t run into personally a very happy new year, however I’ll do it anyway!

There’s been much in the news of late regarding Freedom Camping. Last year, the government provided QLDC with a grant of $530,000 to provide temporary facilities for Freedom Campers to avoid some of the issues that have beset us over the last few summer periods.

In particular, QLDC established “Responsible Camping Hubs” near both Wanaka and Queenstown. These hubs were visited by over 10,000 campervans over the December and January period with over 20,000 individual campers. There must have been some positive effect because the level of complaints regarding the activities of Freedom Campers has dropped immeasurably. Yes, there have been some issues at various parts of the district but by and large the feedback that I have had has been uniformly positive from both locals and the campers themselves.

I know that the measures have not met favour with some camping ground operators and that will be an issue for us to take into account when we look at adjusting the way the system operates for next summer. Part of the strategy was, where possible, to redirect visitors to use existing camp grounds and we

THURSDAY 31.01.19 - WEDNESDAY 06.02.19

may need to strengthen this message more.

A major part of the success however, had been in the employment of twelve Responsible Camping Ambassadors who have handed out over 20,000 flyers to campers and given advice on the local rules relating to freedom camping.

I’m still not satisfied with many aspects of the Freedom Camping laws in New Zealand and last year I was part of a government think tank which tried to find ways to improve matters. In particular, I think the rules relating to the licensing of campervan onboard facilities are a nonsense. I’m sorry but a porta-potty in the back of a station wagon in my world doesn’t qualify for the blue selfcontained sticker on the back window. I am hopeful that new regulations will see change to this in the near future.

Finally, Queenstown Lakes District is proud to host the 2019 Ngãi Tahu Treaty of Waitangi commemorations marking New Zealand’s very special day on February 6. This is the first time our district has been honoured as the venue for the celebrations for the southern part of the South Island.

While the events will be held in Queenstown, I do issue an invitation to all in the district to take part in this special day. In particular, cultural performances will enable us to showcase the wide range of ethnicities who make up our wonderful district. The event will be held at the Queenstown Recreation Ground beginning at 10.30am. I hope some of you are able to make it.

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Sun News

LandSAR gifted vital communications tool ALLISON MCLEAN

journalist@thewanakasun.co.nz

Wanaka LandSAR’s (Search and Rescue) now defunct mobile communications repeater has been replaced with a new one just in time for the team’s busy summer season. The new repeater was funded and gifted by the Rotary Club of Wanaka before Christmas 2018, but Wanaka Rotary club had a chance to view it last week.

The $3500 repeater will enable one of New Zealand’s busiest backcountry search and rescue groups to extend its communication range and capabilities, which is vital while on missions.

The mobile repeater can be secured atop a mountain to receive the signal from Wanaka LandSAR’s main repeater, which is anchored on Roys Peak, thereby extending the range.

“We were delighted on every level, firstly because it’s always really nice to get that kind of support from within the Wanaka community, and, secondly, it is a central piece of equipment so we were very happy to have it up and running before the start of the summer season,” said Wanaka PHOTO: supplied LandSAR fundraiser Phillip Melchior.

Rotary Club of Wanaka president George Scott said the club visited Wanaka LandSAR last year, which is you can test your longbow skills against an archer, go headquartered on Ballantyne Road, on a quest for the Holy Grail, joust on a hobby horse, and heard about their need for a piece have your hair braided, create beeswax candles or of communication equipment that learn the art of calligraphy.

The festival starts at 11am on Saturday, February 9 at the Wanaka Showgrounds. To add to the atmosphere of the day, visitors should come dressed in period costume: knight, lady, merchant, First on the agenda was to consider serf, monk or even the king. Prizes will be given for STAFF REPORTER new time restrictions for three the best dressed. editor@thewanakasun.co.nz mobility spaces in the Queenstown The festival is aiming to be a zero-waste event that celebrates the pre-plastic era so be sure to Queenstown Lakes District Council’s Town Centre, two on Arrowtown’s bring your own jug, tankard or goblet. Tickets are (QLDC) new Traffic and Parking main street and one in Frankton.

“We received a number of available at the gate; $5 per person, and free for the subcommittee will meet for the first time this week. submissions last year highlighting under-5s.

QLDC general manager property and issues with the current mobility Pictured: Keiran Drabble operating the trebuchet infrastructure, Peter Hansby, said the parking system and all-day time at last’s years festival. newly formed subcommittee would restrictions in central areas. consider and implement a range of We’ve taken that on board and changes recommended under the new recommended some changes to Traffic and Parking bylaw, which will address the concerns,” Hansby said. come into effect on March 1.

Also being considered is the “The new bylaw outlines a number of formalisation of a rule that allows These locations are 1-38 Ballarat Street, 4-26 Rees changes to the way council will manage mobility permit holders to park for Street, between 13-17 Ballarat Street and Searle parking restrictions, zones, permits and double the posted time restriction.

Lane and, in Arrowtown, 12-54 Buckingham Street. other traffic controls across the district.

“For example anyone holding a English said all thoroughfares and buildings The group will play an important role mobility permit could remain in a P60 throughout the district were assessed by QLDC as in making sure these are implemented for two hours, or a P30 for one hour for part of the initial identification process. in a timely manner, that processes and no additional charge,” Hansby said.

“This was using Ministry of Business Innovation systems are clearly documented and A complete list of the parking and and Employment (MBIE) methodology and no the community is kept well informed of traffic restrictions can be found on the Wanaka or Hawea thoroughfares have been any changes,” he said.

QLDC website. identified as priority thoroughfares. If this consultation is approved by council on Thursday, the community will be able to let us know if any additional thoroughfares need to be included on this list.”

There are a number of potentially earthquakeprone buildings in Wanaka and Luggate listed on the council website, including 70 and 71 Ardmore Street and 173 Upton Street in Wanaka, and 60 and 114 Main Road, Luggate.

All new enrolled patients “These building owners have been notified and have been asked to undertake seismic assessments receive a free half hour which will determine whether their building meets nurse appointment. the new standards,” English said.

If the proposal is adopted by council at its Phone 03 443 0710 meeting today, a special consultative procedure will any time. run from Friday, February 8 until Friday, March 15.

“After this proposed consultation, any building on these thoroughfares that has unreinforced masonry 23 Cardrona Valley Road, Wanaka www.wanakamedical.co.nz that is likely to fall on walkways or motorways in the event of a moderate earthquake will be deemed a priority building and remediation work will be required,” English said.

Medieval Festival's new date set Emma Conyngham

newsdesk@thewanakasun.co.nz

Holy Family’s Medieval Festival was cancelled in November due to weather but is now going ahead on Saturday, February 9. The school is hosting the event which aims to raise money for the development of a creative playspace outdoors.

The Medieval Festival will cast you back in history to a time of fair maidens, gallant knights, and trebuchets tossing fiery cannon balls against castle walls. And for those who have always harboured a secret love of Morris dancing, then this festival is one place where it’s totally socially acceptable to skip around in lederhosen shaking bells.

There is fun for the whole family. Period musicians and puppeteers will entertain on the main stage while

had failed and needed to be replaced.

“After some discussions, LandSAR put an application in for funds which was approved,” said Scott. “This piece of communication equipment is important in any search and rescue call out to provide good communications in remote areas. As a person who has enjoyed the outdoors over many years I realised how easy things can go wrong so quickly and the need for LandSAR to have good equipment to complete a rescue successfully.”

Wanaka LandSAR is comprised of approximately 80 local volunteers on a variety of teams who work alongside the police and New Zealand’s Rescue Coordination Centre and respond to about 50 call outs a year, most of them during summer months.

The volunteer team operates on community funding. “We are very fortunate in Wanaka to have access to very high-level outdoor skills from the highest mountains with the steepest faces to swift-flowing rivers, canyons and what have you,” said Melchior.

The Rotary Club of Wanaka raises funds through various volunteering activities, including the group’s annual Book Sale, Bullock Creek Duck Race, catering at the Wanaka A&P show and working at Warbirds Over Wanaka.

The club is open to any requests for funding, and Rotary members aim to allocate two-thirds of all fundraising dollars back into the local area.

Mobility parking considered

Proposed priority thoroughfares Ruth Blunt

editor@thewanakasun.co.nz

An assessment undertaken to identify priority thoroughfares in the Queenstown Lakes District has found none in the Upper Clutha. Queenstown Lakes District Council has however identified four locations in Queenstown and Arrowtown as potentially priority thoroughfares with earthquakeprone buildings due to unreinforced masonry.

Council is required under the Building (Earthquake-prone Buildings) Amendment Act 2016 to identify buildings which pose a life safety risk due to falling unreinforced masonry during an earthquake and prioritise those buildings for remediation. These buildings are termed priority buildings and have to be identified and assessed within 2.5 years and remediated within 7.5 years for those in high seismic zone, and five years and 12.5 years for those in medium seismic zones QLDC building services manager Chris English advised that to identify priority buildings, priority thoroughfares must first be identified.

“These locations have been identified due to their high pedestrian or vehicle movements along with having buildings on them that are fully or partly constructed of unreinforced masonry that may fall on those thoroughfares if we had a moderate earthquake,” English said.

“We want to know from the community whether they agree with this list and if any other locations need to be included”.

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Sun News

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Performance artist’s interactive work gains national attention

PHOTO: Carol Saxby and Renee Walden

Painters and Printmakers exhibition a success ALLISON MCLEAN

journalist@thewanakasun.co.nz

A steady flow of guests went through the Wanaka Arts Centre’s (WAC) front door for a chance to view local, original artwork during the three-day Wanaka Painters Group and Wanaka Printmakers Group combined art exhibition. Nine artists sold their work during the free community event held last Saturday through Monday.

“We had a wonderful weekend,” said Painters Group and Printmakers Group member Carol Saxby. “The Painters and Printmakers groups are very happy with how the exhibition went and feedback from all visitors was positive saying that they had enjoyed the exhibition.”

Both groups currently meet weekly in

the arts centre, with the Painters Group painting together outdoors at varying locations during the summer months.

Now that the exhibition has wrapped, Saxby said the groups are looking forward to getting back to their weekly meetings, sharing knowledge with each other and enjoying creative company.

The groups are already talking about hosting another art exhibition and will release more details once they establish an event date.

“We would like to thank all of the people who supported us in making this such a great success,” said Saxby.

Pictured: Guests viewed original works of art during the Wanaka Painters Group and Wanaka Printmakers Group art exhibition held at Wanaka Arts Centre last Saturday through Monday.

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ALLISON MCLEAN

journalist@thewanakasun.co.nz

There is another performance-based field in Wanaka that is garnering national attention besides in the activity of sport. A Wanaka-based international performance artist is heading to Wellington next month following his selection to participate at The Performance Arcade 2019.

Ivan Lupi is amongst 24 performers selected to join this year’s The Performance Arcade, which opens February 21 and runs through March 3 on the Wellington waterfront. The 46-year-old Italian immigrant told the Wanaka Sun he is excited for the opportunity to share his art in such a well-organised and established festival.

“I feel pretty lucky because since my move to New Zealand [two years ago] I have been greeted and supported by fellow artists who helped me to understand the national art environment. I have already had opportunities to perform at The Museum of Transport in Auckland and at the Centre of Contemporary Art in Christchurch, and I have a relationship with the Vivian Gallery in Matakana.”

Lupi, who has been confirmed New Zealand residency, said he is using his art to cast a light on the 125th anniversary of women’s suffrage in New Zealand, which was marked in 2018, as well as immigration issues and xenophobia from a queer perspective.

His first piece, entitled “X,” runs for 12 consecutive hours daily from February 21-24 to celebrate the

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achievement of gender equality and exploring polling booth responsibilities.

“It was selected for performance three times last year, including one at Performance Art Week Aotearoa in Wellington. It’s a long duration performance that focuses on decision-making and how permanently our decisions can affect our life and the lives of others in the future. I bring my skin and a tattoo machine, inviting people to leave a mark together on the back of one of my hands of their choice,” said Lupi.

His second piece, called “Immigrants Welcome,” is also a 12-hour performance that celebrates the art of Khristopher Khrist, who is a graffiti-collage artist living in Spavinaw, Oklahoma; “a place where homophobia is tangible in the air every single day they step out of their houses,” said Lupi.

“The performance brings a living, threedimensional setup to one of Khrist’s collages…. with Khrist’s help and the contribution of tattoo artist Mana Timu from Invercargill, we have created an interactive room where people can enter and decide to which level of interaction they intend to experience the work.”

Lupi said his work is bolstered by the high number of artists in town, but he thinks that Wanaka could use more performance artists to help demonstrate safe ways of exploring varying topics, including political, historical and philosophical. Next month’s The Performance Arcade will allow him to stage performances that “challenge people’s prejudices in mainstream settings”.

“I still think that in terms of performance artists, there could be more of us. We actually need more of them. There is still a lot of work to do,” he said.

The Performance Arcade 2019 is a free, all ages event on the Wellington Waterfront.

Pictured: Wanaka performance artist Ivan Lupi will perform two pieces at The Performance Arcade 2019 in Wellington next month, including “X,” which invites people to mark his hands with a tattoo machine.

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NATURE - A monthly column by your local branch of Forest and Bird

Let’s lose the love for lupins Steven A Anne Member, F&B Branch Central Otago Lakes I used to admire Russell lupins (Lupinus polyphyllus), loved their colourful spikes lining the Mackenzie Basin roadsides. But I exclaimed loudly and happily on a recent trip to Christchurch when I noticed lupins were almost absent along the Mackenzie highway, thanks to NZTA’s huge effort in spraying them out.

They are an impressive plant actually and I understand why people are so impacted by them, for about one month of the year. The flowering en masse is spectacular – a lush carpet of crimson, purple, blue, pink and yellow – nature’s exuberant paintbrush.

They are very fast growing and spread like – well, like lupins – explosively, prolifically and persistently. They can tolerate acidic soils and low fertility; they have really long, tough tap roots enabling them to survive in dry loose substrate; they are nitrogen fixers – warty nodules on the roots contain rhizobia bacteria that convert nitrogen in the air to plant-available nitrogen, sharing it with other plants when plant material dies and releases it or other fungi help share it with other plants’ roots. And they grow fast and tall, outcompeting other plants. They have in recent years been promoted as stock fodder and pasture improvers, reportedly being somewhat palatable to sheep but their main agricultural use is as a persistent legume in Altoxic soils, an alternative to clover.

My observation is that stock rarely graze wild Russell lupins, certainly not enough to have any impact at all on their spread, because their high alkaloid content makes them bitter especially the seeds.z Lupins in flower frequently feature in high country imagery to promote NZ as a wonderful landscape, for example the classic lupin foreground to views of Lake Tekapo, with tourists posing in their midst. The real NZ? In fact lupins are an North American species and Russell lupins a British cultivar. Their showy flowers win public favour despite the fact they are either an ugly pile of dead brown sticks or a non-descript green clump for about 11 months of the year.

Lupins are extremely invasive particularly into open ecosystems such as braided riverbeds, herb/ cushionfield and tussock grasslands.

They rapidly take over, totally excluding all native plants because they are so competitive, removing habitat for lizards, insects and birds.

They alter the soil chemistry, making it less suitable for native vegetation and more suitable for exotic pasture plants. They provide hiding places for predators of native ground nesting birds, and decrease available openground habitat essential for breeding for the likes of black stilt, banded dotterels, wrybills and black-fronted terns contributing to their threatened status. The dense, deep-rooted vegetation interferes with natural water movement, diminishing the natural dynamism of braided rivers.

The Lindis River is a good example of

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a very degraded and altered braided river ecosystem due to lupins, as well as crack willows. Longslip Creek/ lower Ahuriri River and the Cardrona River are good examples of the environmental havoc lupins wreak on entire river systems. Lupins also ruin the recreational experience impeding access to waterways, as you will know if you have ever tried to walk through a tall mature lupin thicket. I have yet to receive an expert answer to my question: what role does the annual decay of vast areas of dense lupin cover in our riverbeds play in contributing excessive nitrogen to our water? Maybe it’s connected to excessive periphyton growth including nasty cyanobacteria.

And who has witnessed glassy-eyed tourists parking in awkward places and wandering all over the road to take photos of lupins?

What should we do about lupins?

The answer is simple – they need to be removed out of our ecosystems and prevented from returning.

Under the proposed Otago Regional Pest Management Strategy, wild Russell lupin is a pest species with a “sustained control” status; the focus however at present is limited to getting them out of waterways – too narrow an imperative in my view.

All landowners will be required to prevent them seeding within 200m of the outer edge of an open braided riverbed, within 50m of any other kind of natural waterway, and within 10m of the boundary of any property where lupins are being controlled. It will be an offence not to do so. This means LINZ, DOC, QLDC and private landowners will have to remove the lupins from the Lindis and Cardrona riverbeds for example, and to within 200m of the outer edges of the current gravel riverbed. That is a significant challenge but one that should have been tackled years ago when lupins first appeared.

So, what can YOU do?

Do not buy lupin seed or plants.

Do not plant any lupins or spread seed anywhere outside your garden!

Deliberate seed spreading has been a major culprit in the spread of lupins along our highways and rivers. If you do have them in your garden, keep them there - immediately destroy any escapees. And don’t forget you will also need to keep them 50m away from any waterway.

You can take part in conservation efforts to eradicate lupins from public areas such as the Lindis Pass conservation areas. And now you know the rules that will very likely apply to landowners later this year including our district and regional councils, the DOC, and LINZ, don’t be shy about being forward in loudly and persistently encouraging compliance with the rules! Your local F&B branch will be!

Anne Steven is a local landscape architect, committee member of the Central Otago-Lakes branch of F&B and Chair of the Lindis Pass Conservation Group.

PHOTO: supplied

Quartz Reef a leader in its field STAFF REPORTER

editor@thewanakasun.co.nz

Last week Rudi Bauer of Quartz Reef Wines was awarded the 2019 Gourmet Traveller Wine NZ Leadership award. The second annual Gourmet Traveller Wine “New Zealand Winemaker of the Year Awards” dinner was held at Gusto at The Grand in Auckland.

The leadership award is given to a high achiever working in any area of wine who has demonstrated outstanding leadership qualities. The recipient of this esteemed award was announced by New Zealand editor of Gourmet Traveller Wine and chair of judges, Bob Campbell MW. “Rudi is a tireless enthusiast who will put up his hand to help with anything he’s passionate about. A speaker and presenter at numerous national and international events and masterclasses, he’s a leading promoter of the Central Otago region and a figurehead of New Zealand wine in general”, said Campbell.

Bauer (pictured) who founded Quartz Reef Wines in 1996 was grateful to accept the award, “We have come a long way in such a short time. Now it is time to be ready for our next written page. I want to grow and vinify 100 percent dynamic, varietalexpressive, site-distinctive wines; embedded in our cultural heritage of Aotearoa. It is our privilege and responsibility that wine is part of New Zealand culture.”

Bauer moved to Central Otago in the late 1980s to work for Rippon Vineyard, making the region’s first gold and trophy pinot noir in 1991. He was awarded

THURSDAY 31.01.19 - WEDNESDAY 06.02.19

PHOTO: supplied

Winemaker of the Year in 1999 and again in 2010.

He was also honoured to be the first New Zealand winemaker nominated for the prestigious “Der Feinschmecker Winemaker of the Year” in 2010.

Widely considered as a far-sighted pioneer of the Central Otago wine region and one of the most charismatic producers in the country, this award follows decades of dedication to the industry and recognises numerous achievements throughout his career.

PAGE 9

Sun News

Report into K5 highlights mixed results Ruth Blunt

editor@thewanakasun.co.nz

Otago Regional Council has reiterated that land owners must control pests on their land, an expectation ORC Councillor Michael Laws says is “lunacy”.

ORC Chairman Stephen Woodhead said yesterday all Otago land owners have a fundamental obligation to control the pests on their land – especially rabbits.

“We all know that if you can see rabbits on your property you have a problem. It is your duty as a land owner to deal with that problem and put in place effective controls”.

Effective rabbit control relies on a number of tools, including poison, shooting, and biological controls – like the recently released RHDV K5 virus.

Coordination between landowners is also essential.

Responding to a report on the impact of the RHDV K5 virus Woodhead said he has noticed that rabbit control is something that some farmers have not put enough effort into over recent years.

“ORC is not in the business of controlling rabbits, that ceased when Rabbit Boards were disbanded in the early 1990s. Landowners need to take their responsibilities seriously.”

Laws disagreed, he said that it was time to have a “much more interventionist and active strategy implemented by regional councils, including the establishment of designated rabbit control teams.

Leaving rabbit control to land owners is just lunacy.” “[It’s] time for central and local government to admit that the introduced Korean virus - released specifically to decimate southern rabbit populations – has failed.”

A report on the rabbit project, prepared by Haines Battrick, ORC senior environmental officer, and presented to council yesterday, noted the release of the virus RHDV 1 K5 had mixed results but was never meant to be a “silver bullet”.

“The ORC released the virus from mid-March, at approximately 100 sites across Otago. Results varied over the region, as they did over the whole country. At individual monitored sites in Otago results ranged from no reduction in the rabbit population to reductions of up to 80 percent. Across all monitored sites in Otago the measured rabbit population decreased by 47 percent.

Woodhead was pleased the results of the K5 release lined up with what was expected and has been found elsewhere in NZ. “In some places the impact has been as high as 80 percent. In others, where there has been high background immunity, the impact has been very low.”

In some ORC sampling sites the background immunity to the virus was as high as 80 percent of tested rabbits.

Woodhead noted the “extraordinary effort” that ORC staff went to last autumn to ensure an efficient and effective release of the K5 virus. He stressed that the efforts of ORC staff have ensured the successful establishment of K5 across the whole region.

“I completely disagree with Michael Laws

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A monthly column by Kim Reilly, Federated Farmers South Island regional policy manager, on issues affecting the Upper Clutha’s rural community…

Temperature extremes should ignite water storage discussions Reilly K Kim Regional Policy Manager, South Island

PHOTO: supplied

criticisms, they are a cheap swipe from someone who does not have the slightest understanding of rabbit control or the work that staff and landowners do with regards to pest control.”

Landowners that have a rabbit issues need to plan a control programme, for some this will include a winter poison which needs good strategy and coordination with neighbours.

The report also reiterates that landowners must continue to undertake rabbit pest management on their own land.

(Acting) director environmental monitoring & operations, Peter Winder said, “While the RHDV1 virus released in March 2018 was highly effective in some parts of the region, it was never intended to be a ‘silver bullet’. Primary control, such as shooting, was also advised and expected of landholders.

This has been reinforced in our communication methods to landholders on a regular basis.”

“We understand that there’s a lot of rabbits around in parts of the region, especially where high levels of background immunity have limited the impact of the K5 virus. This highlights the importance of landowners undertaking their primary pest control activities.”

Sampling has confirmed that three viruses are currently active in Otago rabbit populations: in addition to the Czech strain of RHDV introduced illegally in 1997, and the K5 strain which was released in 2018 after a lengthy MPI consultation.

The report confirms the presence of RHDV2 in Otago, however it is unclear how RHDV2 will impact K5 and Czech strain mortality rates.

New Zealanders love to talk (or moan) about the weather. Despite this, we have tended to roll our eyes as friends or relatives who’ve crossed the ditch remind us ‘how hot it is’ over there.

Lately though, the bragging has pretty much disappeared. The seemingly never-ending summer heatwave, with temperatures soaring into the 40s, is taking its toll across Australia.

Rural fire fighters are at capacity, beaches are packed, airconditioned malls have become go-to venues, and animals and people alike are suffering in the heat. There are reports that large numbers of wild animals, including herds of brumbies and a third of the spectacled fruit-bat population, have dropped dead from dehydration and heat stress.

The Aussie heatwave is now making its way across New Zealand, so it’s timely to have a ‘refresher’ on sensible things to do, and not do, in the heat. It’s also a crucial reminder on the importance of water storage, given the frequency of extreme weather events seems to be intensifying.

On the ‘don’t be bloody stupid’ list, are things like not leaving dogs (or people) in cars. Cranking down a window is seldom going to be enough, and hot cars quickly become ovens on wheels.

Central Otago is in a restricted fire season and the danger of unplanned fires is currently ‘high’.

Cigarette butts need to be disposed of carefully, not chucked out of a moving car window into the tinder dry surrounds.

Any kind of mowing (lawn or farm) needs to be done as early in the morning as possible to avoid sparks off stones in the heat of the day. Same

with dog walking, if the pavement is too hot to put your hand on, it’s too hot for your dog’s paws.

Sky lanterns remain a disastrous idea – lighting up a paper lantern and sending it off into the sky above parched vegetation is a recipe for disaster.

Extreme care needs to be taken around fires and BBQs of any kind, so if in doubt, check out the www. otagoruralfire.org.nz website.

Extended periods of heat are not pleasant for animals, whether farmed, wild or domestic. Being able to spot issues such as heat stress in animals is a skill most farmers are well versed in. Symptoms include panting, increased water consumption, loss of appetite, listlessness and increased salivation.

A key to avoiding heat stress before it happens is ensuring all animals have a plentiful supply of drinking water, and access to shade wherever possible.

It is highly likely we’ll continue to see more of these extended heat events into the future and preparation is key. This includes storing water during times when it’s plentiful.

While more big-hydro may be off the table, smaller scale water storage is crucial. It not only improves our resilience to climate change, it keeps our future production options open. Plus, importantly, it ensures communities, businesses, households and animals alike have certainty when it comes to access to water, when and where it’s needed, into the future.

New Zealand needs to start having some serious conversations about the benefits of smaller scale and community water storage projects.

That’s something I’m happy for us to learn from those across the ditch.

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PAGE 10

THURSDAY 31.01.19 - WEDNESDAY 06.02.19

THE WANAKA SUN

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Sun Sport

Record-breaking Ruby event ALLISON MCLEAN

journalist@thewanakasun.co.nz

The Ruby swim may have had tough weather during last Saturday’s events, but its participants were tougher.

Event organisers said a recordbreaking 432 people registered and 385 of them plunged into Lake Wanaka during six different community swimming events ranging from a 10km to a 200m children’s dash in shallow water.

“There were tales coming back of swimmers going wildly off course and being disoriented and having to be pointed the right way, so they swam even further. There was only one course record broken: Stefannie Gillespie of Dunedin took about a minute off the old record for the 2.5km The Ruby from 2017. As well, we had the most non-wetsuit entrants of any year; 34 in all and on the day the water temperature was closer to 16 degrees [celcius] than 17 degrees, and that takes its toll,” said event director Eddie Spearing.

Lake temperatures hovered around 19 degrees celsius this time last year.

After winning The Ruby 10km race, Spearing said Dunedin’s Hanna Morgan took off her transponder and completed another 2.5km lap while water conditions were at their worst.

“She did that as training for her attempt on the Foveaux Strait on February 12. But really, everyone this year did really well because we think this was about the limit we would run the event, waves and wind wise, and it still be enjoyable.”

Spearing said he enjoyed creating such an inclusive event and noted community feedback praising the event’s positive atmosphere.

“This year we had, for the first time, a small group of young people with learning disabilities swimming in their own little event and that provided, through the photographs of our event photographer Simon Williams, a most unexpected

PHOTO: Si Williams/AuthenticAs

highlight for me personally.”

This group of young people had been regularly swimming in the Wanaka Pool.

A portion of the event’s proceeds went to Fiona (Fi) Fairbairn for her successful swim across the length of Lake Wanaka the week before The Ruby.

“We will put about $600 into Touchstone.org, our water and environment partner, and this year, through the generous sponsorship from Emerson’s Brewery, we put nearly $1500 towards individual jet ski and boat volunteers to help with their costs, because sometimes volunteering is expensive and we want to recognise that,” said Spearing.

The Touchstone Project examines and shares patterns of lake snow around Ruby Island in order to create solutions to water contamination.

Spearing noted the prevalence of lake snow during the events and around Ruby Island on Saturday.

“Touchstone are continuing to cover this, working with the Wanaka Lake Swimmers Club, but the amount of swimmers emerging with so much algae all over them does make you question the pure Lake Wanaka that we tout. Obviously the lake is still pristine in comparison, but the question marks are there.”

Pictured: Almost 400 swimmers participated in The Ruby swim.

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Emma Conyngham

newsdesk@thewanakasun.co.nz

Wayne Pretty, ‘one of the head guys’ at the local skateboard park put out a casual call for kids who would be interested in skate lessons. What he got was a tidal wave of interest with over 70 kids putting their hand up to learn some tricks.

“I can’t even count the amount of people that commented. [It was] a really good response,” said Pretty. “The Wanaka Skate Club helps get things built around here for skaters. The park at Pembroke and just recently the vert ramp just out of town.”

Pretty said that other key members of the club were keen to help out with the kids coaching. All have been skateboarding for over 20 years.

“We are just doing it to get people down there and involved. The skate park a great facility and it’s a good family vibe,” he said. “Whatever we profit out of this will go back into the skate club and be used to help with the

THE WANAKA SUN

new extension of the park. No one in the club will take a cut; just put the money towards the club’s funds.”

The skate club plans to do one-hour lessons once a week for six weeks with beginners.

“When I started skateboarding there wasn’t a older guy seen, we had to learn everything as we saw it on videos or what the guy beside you was doing,” said Pretty. “Now with skateboarding being an Olympic sport (good or bad I’m not sure yet) kids can actually have a big future ahead of them in the sport.”

Pretty has been skateboarding since he was seven although admits he’s hardly older than that now in spirit, even if his bones tell him otherwise. All the skate club members work full time but with the overwhelming interest in lessons, they will figure out a way to cope with the demand. “We need to sit down and sort how this will work but I think it will be a good thing.”

Pictured: Wayne Pretty of the Wanaka Skate Club in action.

THURSDAY 31.01.19 - WEDNESDAY 06.02.19

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GREBE DIARY 14 January 27 2019

“Wind storm, January 23, 2019” is written on eight of my nest record sheets and noted a number of times in my field notebook. It is the day that we had a heck of a wind whistle through Wanaka and create mayhem in the grebe world (and for much of the Upper Clutha region for that matter).

We lost four of our eight viable nests in a brief hour or so of turmoil which sadly included the only five-egg clutch we have had this breeding season.

Most casualties resulted from nests being swept clean off platforms, the remaining one I suspect had all its eggs tipped out.

The theory would have it that given that grebes have been around in one form or another for

almost 40 million years that they would know how to make a decent nest. The reality is that they are not very good. Like it’s a risky business trying to build a nest that floats on the water and then to make sure it doesn’t float away. That’s achieved by weaving and fixing their nest to shallow underwater dead tree branches and so on. And that might be all well and good, but the nest is not deep with little more than about 3cm in height between the bottom of the nest and the upper rims, thus severe rocking and rolling, especially if the bird is off the nest will have eggs roll out of the nest. Willow trees that overhang the water’s edge are much the preferred habitat.

PHOTO: John Darby

The good news is that nest five which has been hammered twice by blackbacked gulls this season hatched three of its four eggs on January 25.

Speaking of nest five, I have received a number of enquiries as to whether we had seen a red-headed, blackbacked gull and whether we might have stopped the egg predation that was occurring. I think we may have.

Two of my hen’s eggs (doctored by mixing yolk with cayenne pepper and chilli powder and injected back into the egg) went missing within a day off platforms seven and eight. The egg on

nest eight was replaced and the last one lasted just over a week, but may have been lost during the storm.

The Harrier Hawk continues to create havoc on the lake triggering the alarm calls of the native scaup. It’s a quite wonderful sound!

The Robinson Crusoe nest survived the storm remarkably well (see above) and its occupants had laid two eggs

by January 26. The remaining nests are two,11 and 12 and all going well, they should have hatched by the end of January.

– John Darby

Crimeline BOPP C Calvin Constable, NZPD

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Phone: 03 443 8000 Top of Helwick Street, Wanaka OPENING HOURS: 8AM TO 8PM 7 DAYS PAGE 12

Wind. Wind, wind, wind, wind, wind.

Wind everywhere. You all saw it, experienced it. Maybe you had no power for the evening as a result of it. Heck did it cause some chaos! Our boys in blue had their work cut out for them that night and did a fantastic job where they could, but I think all credit belongs to the men and women of the fire service, especially the volunteers.

They’ve been nonstop this week with weather and multiple fires. Hats off to you team, hats off to you. I do not doubt that a bit of the old neighbourly community spirit kicked off when the wind appeared, so thanks for making sure your neighbours were OK. I myself got whacked in the head by a piece of roofing iron for my troubles, but it was awesome to help out.

The Masonic Lodge, opposite Kika, had a bit of a rough Tuesday night. A male busted his way through the front door with a near Indiana Jones-sized boulder and proceeded to trash the place for no apparent reason. He broke some windows and caused a fair bit of damage. A few hours later there was also an attempted arson at the lodge when somebody tried to set it on fire.

That same morning, another fire was deliberately lit at a residential address with people inside. A pretty cowardly move if you ask me, and one that can have horrible consequences if that fire became worse than it was. Again, big ups to the fire crews for sorting those ones out. We have arrested someone

THURSDAY 31.01.19 - WEDNESDAY 06.02.19

for these incidents and they will be appearing in court on two arsons and a burglary charge.

Two trampers took more of a swim than they bargained for when crossing the Wilkin River near Makarora. They became separated during the crossing and Wanaka River Rescue was deployed and helped save the day. I’m sure they’re extremely thankful to them.

One drink driver was nabbed this week and they face the judge’s gavel as a consequence for their decision to drink and drive. Please don’t do it. It is nothing short of idiotic and places innocent people at risk.

Three vehicle crashes tied us up this week for about 2.5 hours at each.

Please take care when you are driving as all of these were preventable.

Nobody expects to have a vehicle on their side of the road coming round a corner or have a vehicle suddenly pull out in front of them. Drive better.

A drunk male was found inside some properties on Friday night. He was lost and had no criminal intent, just wanted to sleep. We all know Wanaka is a safe town but locking your doors helps prevent unwanted people entering.

A media release was made about some people in Wanaka posing as council building inspectors. In Wanaka, legitimate contractors may have been misidentified. We do encourage home-owners to always seek to confirm the ID of anyone coming onto their property if they have any doubts.

I hope this forecasted hot spell delivers and you all enjoy your week.

THE WANAKA SUN

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Retain our local history

“Call Me Local”: What a great slogan for our upcoming 2019 Upper Clutha A & P Show.

But what does it all mean if we are prepared to destroy our locally made Millennium Path on our lake front?

The Millennium Path was created by a group of enterprising and hard working locals to celebrate the new millennium by showcasing, in visual form, the previous 2000 years. This was a community project that locals, just like us, created and believed would be there for a long, long time. Instead it faces destruction after less than 20 years! Shame on us!

Look around you, Wanaka does not have a lot of history on show. We have already destroyed much of our past.

Tourists too enjoy our Millennium Path especially when they often find some of their own history recorded here. How cool is that ? It also places Wanaka within the context of the world stage.

There has been talk about involving our young people in updating the history recorded. Yes let’s, but the Millennium Path is not the place for that. We need to respect the intention of previous locals (yes, some of these folk have passed on now) to record the history prior to the year 2000.

Leave it as it was intended. What a wonderful opportunity for our young people to begin planning how they would like to record history since 2000.

And if we really want to record our local history we need a local museum.

In the meantime, let’s respect the local history we have. Restore it and keep the council lawn mowers away from our precious heritage left for us by locals. Let’s treat our Millennium Path as a treasured art installation. Leave it where it is!

Jenny Moss Luggate Sponsored by

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Wishlist for maternal hub (WS, 24.01.19)

We appreciate the high level of interest our efforts to improve access to primary maternity services are receiving in the Wanaka area and across the district, and that you have highlighted significant progress in your front page article on 24 January. In addition to the examples you gave, we would like to point out several further areas where important progress has been made to support pregnant women and their families.

In Wanaka, a second full-time LMC midwife started practice in November, and a relief midwifery service – comprised of roster of three LMCs - has also been established to provide weekend backup coverage. This means there are two LMC midwives available at all times to support new and expectant mothers in the Wanaka area.

A monthly telehealth clinic commenced in October, connecting midwives and expectant mothers in need of additional support with an obstetrician at Dunedin Hospital. This well-received service means women can now avoid travel to Dunedin for specialist appointments and advice. Should the need arise, we would work to add more telehealth clinics and possible specialist visits in the future.

LMC midwives in Wanaka have also been among 14 midwives from across the Southern district who have begun receiving additional payments from the DHB in recognition of the additional costs and challenges they experience. This helps to ensure midwifery is a viable and sustainable career choice for the district. And to further support the LMC workforce and other emergency maternity responders, such as rural general practitioners and nurses, we are offering to support their participation in PROMPT - emergency maternity response skills training - in February and November.

We’re also moving ahead with the establishment of a Maternal and Child Hub, starting with the subsidised clinic space for LMC midwives and emergency equipment at Wanaka Medical Centre.

It’s worth reiterating that all hubs are part of an overall network of primary maternity services and are designed to be flexible, and adaptable to the changing needs of the population.

Again, we thank the community for its active support of primary maternity services and we look forward to working with you to provide the best possible care for women and their babies in Wanaka area and throughout Otago and Southland.

Lisa Gestro Executive Director, Strategy, Primary and Community Directorate, Southern DHB

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Grumpy Granny takes issue with tourists

I take issue with (Letter to the editor: Welcome everybody, WS 24.01.19) as I think these people are freeloaders and makes me Grumpy Granny.

Why should the tax payer, rate payer pay for these people. There are camping grounds they can go to. Some are even council owned.

If they can afford to come to New Zealand, hire a van, pay for food – why should we have to pay for them, we are being used and abused.

That’s not racism.

Grumpy Granny

LETTER TO THE EDITOR To submit a letter for possible publication in the Wanaka Sun, please send it via email to editor@thewanakasun.co.nz.

Letters can also be sent by private message on our Facebook page.

Letters may be edited or abridged. Letters of no more than 300 words are preferred.

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PAGE 13

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FOR BOOKINGS CALL 03 443 5252 | 021 786 740 marketing@thewanakasun.co.nz PAGE 14

Wanaka Pharmacy is your local pharmacy. We’re the big pharmacy at the top of Helwick Street - open from 8am until 7pm every single day. Ph 443 8000.

FREE COMPUTER lessons for older people Community Networks is offering one-on-one lessons in your own home on your own device or at our offices.

If you are interested call into Community Networks or phone 03 443 7799.

INLAND REVENUE - are at Community Networks, Wednesday 27th February.

If you need help with your Tax return, Family Tax credits or any other enquiry give Community Networks a call on 03443 7799 to make an appointment for this free service.

JP SERVICES are available at Community Networks every Tuesday from 1pm - 2pm and Friday from 10:30am 11:30am. Please book your appointment by ringing Community Networks on 03 443 7799.

WHEELS TO DUNSTAN - free shuttle service to Dunstan Hospital or Alexandra specialist appointments, also linking with the St John Health Shuttle to Dunedin Hospital.

For bookings please call Community Networks on 443 7799.

10/26/2017 11:38:28 AM

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7.0 – 9.0 m3 Skip Bins 4.0 m3 Hard Fill Skips 4.0 m3 Rubbish Bin With Lid Contact Johnny Ph: 0224 SKIP IT (754 748) W: www.skipit.nz When you want to get rid of it - just skip it!

NOTICES

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WANTED

WANTED

Wanted by the Salvation Army Family Store, if any one has any spare pillow cases we would love them, please just drop them into the store, thanks.

The Salvation Army Family Store is desperately needing good quality mens clothing and shoes. If you could please just drop these into the store or phone for a pick up for large amounts.

Volunteers required at The Salvation Army Family store if you have some free time and would like to be part of a team which makes a difference, come and see us.

THURSDAY 31.01.19 - WEDNESDAY 06.02.19

THANKS Thanks to everyone who comes to Wastebusters to donate goods, shop and recycle. Your support helps us work for zero waste and a resourceful community.

Wanaka Salvation Army Family Store. Opening Hours – Monday to Friday 9am – 5pm, Saturday 9.30am – 4pm. We look forward to seeing you here!

Donations kindly received.

Please drop them into the Salvation Army Family store or ph 443 5068 to book a pick up.

Cut rags (100% cotton) and drop cloths, only $7 for a big bag. Now in the yard container at Wastebusters.

Open 9-5 seven days.

Business Networking International. The Wanaka chapter of BNI meets weekly at 7am Tuesday morning. Great networking opportunity to grow your business. Contact Vicki Donoghue for information 027 208 9462.

Rags, rags, rags... little ones, big ones, cotton ones and drop cloths, available from the Wanaka Salvation Army Family Store 443 5068.

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PUBLIC NOTICE

EMPLOYMENT

WANAKA POOL CLOSURE

DO YOU

Mount Aspiring College is holding its annual Swim Sports at Wanaka Recreation Centre on Tuesday, 5 February.

This is the biggest event to date in the pools with up to 700 kids taking part and cheering on their mates.

All pools will be closed to the public between 9am–3pm except normal Swim School classes which will run as normal in the learners’ pool until midday. MAC has also reserved one indoor court and the meeting room until 3pm.

All facilities will be available as normal before 9am and after 3pm.

Many thanks for your understanding while we host this awesome event!

NETBALL UPPER CLUTHA 2019 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Tuesday 26th February 2019 – 7pm

EMPLOYMENT

ENJOY DRIVING? Guests Services Position Minaret Station is a family owned tourism business operating as a division of The Alpine Group Limited.

Based in Wanaka, we specialise in Guided Fishing, Heli-Skiing, HeliAdventures, Guided Hunting with guests able to stay in New Zealand’s most remote Luxury Lodge.

FULL & PART TIME DRIVING POSITIONS

WANAKA BASED Class 2 + 4 license with P endorsement an advantage.

Ritchies Wanaka is looking for reliable drivers.

Enjoy the Wanaka lifestyle while you earn. Become part of a large, well respected, privately owned and operated New Zealand company.

Do you ? • Have a good driving record • Have New Zealand citizenship or residency

We require an experienced, well presented and hard working Guest Service professional to join our tight knit and dedicated team at Minaret Station Alpine Lodge. The role requires an adaptable ‘all-rounder’ capable of juggling housekeeping and kitchen duties, the service of meals and beverages, with the role requiring the hosting of high end guests and clients.

To apply please send a cover letter and resume to recruitment@alpinegroup.co.nz

APPLICATIONS CLOSE TUESDAY, 5 FEBRUARY.

if this sounds like you

Construction Supervisor

Contact Us Today on 021897142 or email CV to: design@ritchies.co.nz

G.J. Gardner Homes is NZ’s leading group housing company.

Wanaka Recreation Centre Boardroom

We are looking for a Construction Supervisor to join our Wanaka team.

We are seeking a confident person with strong self motivation and a keen eye for quality workmanship.

Committee members are required for the 2019 season.

Nomination forms available on our website: www.sporty.co.nz/uppercluthanetball

SPORTS RESULTS

Any queries please contact our Secretary: netballupperclutha@gmail.com

Please send sports results to sports@thewanakasun.co.nz by Tuesday at noon.

We are looking for competition sponsorship.

For more information please contact:

Jane Bates – janebatesnz@gmail.com 021 316 676

SUN TEAM

WANAKA’S INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER ISSUE 907 Free delivery to Wanaka, Cromwell and surrounds, PO boxes in Makarora, Cromwell, Haast, Wanaka, Albert Town and Hawea. Also distributed to businesses in the Wanaka business district Average circulation: 15,000 weekly.

Phone: 03 443 5252 • Fax: 03 443 5250 Editor: Ruth Blunt • editor@thewanakasun.co.nz Journalists: Emma Conyngham • newsdesk@thewanakasun.co.nz Allison McLean • journalist@thewanakasun.co.nz Advertising: 021 956 740 • adrep@thewanakasun.co.nz Admin: Benn Ashford • 021 956 740 • admin@thewanakasun.co.nz Mail: PO Box 697, Wanaka Deadlines: Display Advertising

Classified Advertising

Subscriptions:

4pm Friday prior to publication. adrep@thewanakasun.co.nz 021 786 740 5pm Monday prior Text: 0220 786 778 admin@thewanakasun.co.nz $175 within NZ (including GST) per year.

Overseas rates on request.

Remittances to PO Box 697, Wanaka, NZ.

This fixed term position will involve weekend shifts, as well as multi day rosters requiring overnight stays at the remotely located Minaret Station Alpine Lodge.

Exceptional customer skills are paramount, as is the ability to work well within a small team and turn a hand to a varied number of tasks.

The successful applicant will ideally be comfortable flying, hold current First Aid certification and have an affinity with the outdoors.

A practical connection with New Zealand’s High Country would be advantageous.

Applicants for this position should have NZ residency or a valid NZ work visa.

You will need to be able to prioritise and meet deadlines. Customer focus and timeliness is imperative as well as strong communication skills to liaise with both contractors and customers. If you have a building or contract management back ground this could be an ideal opportunity.

We offer a friendly and positive working environment and excellent remuneration including vehicle and phone.

Results should be unformatted and presented in the body of the email.

Wanaka Progressive Bowls 18/01/19 Skips 1st T Tovey 2nd D McLeay 3rd I Fletcher Thirds 1st J Skeggs 2nd J Rich 3rd J Feehly Leads 1st B Dawson 2nd B Thorburn 3rd T Tattersfield. 25/01/19 Skips 1st P Traynor 2nd F Beardsley 3rd D McLeay Thirds 1st C Keiweit 2nd J Hogan 3rd J Skeggs Leads 1st D Wales 2nd B Thorburn 3rd S Morris.

Wanaka Bridge Club Monday - Kingsway Stakes Final Ladder: 1st Peter Recordon Michael Chapman – Smith 57.94% 2nd Sherril Harries Maggie Stratford 57.16% 3 Ken Saxby Martin Unwin 56.00%. Kingsway Stakes 3: North/South 1st Murray Pryde Ken Roberts 61.70% 2nd Jenny Pryde Marion Furneaux 59.29% 3rd Ken Saxby Martin Unwin 55.93% East/ West 1 st Deirdre Lynch Gerarda Herlihy 59.46% 2nd Sherril Harries Maggie Stratford 59.29% 3rd Josey McKenzie Madeleine Reveley 56.25% Wedensday – Clutha Pairs 2: North/ South 1st Angela Heising Carolyn Field 59.40% 2nd Jude Gunn Julie Holdgate 56.84% 3rd Nicola Brown Miranda O'Leary 56.41% East/ West 1st Judy Muir Suzanne Ewing 58.84% 2nd Sue Koevler Lin Koevler 58.10% 3rd Bruce Cathie Kate Summers 52.78% Friday 25 Jan - Handicap : North/ South 1st Michael Chapman – Smith Angela Heising 59.98% 2nc Pat Gray Pam Miller 59.76% 3rd Dorothy McDonald Nan Ottrey 56.41% East/ West 1st Josey McKenzie Jan Wynn-Williams 59.63% 2nd Lynne Fegan Maggie Stratford 57.72% 3rd Madeleine Reveley Jenny Muir 53.11%

If you believe you have the necessary attributes and can provide positive input in a team environment, please forward your application now.

Applications Close 15th Feb 2019 Forward C.V and Cover Letter to paddy.kilbride@gjgardner.co.nz GJ Gardner Wanaka 03 443 2196

www.gjgardner.co.nz

PUBLIC NOTICE

N o t i c e b o a rd | P a p a P ā n u i Amendment to February Meeting Schedule Amended Meeting Times: Planning & Strategy Committee - Council Chambers, 10 Gorge Road, Queenstown. Thursday 7 February 2019 at 12.30pm.

Appeals Subcommittee – Council Chambers, 10 Gorge Road, Queenstown. Thursday 7 February 2019 at 1.00pm or at the conclusion of the Planning & Strategy Committee meeting - whichever is the latter.

This meeting will be held with the public excluded, pursuant to Section 7(2)(g) and Section 7(2)(i) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987.

Private Bag 50072 | 47 Ardmore Street Wanaka Phone 03 443 0024 | www.qldc.govt.nz

EVERY LETTERBOX EVERY THURSDAY Is your Wanaka Sun delivered every Thursday?

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THURSDAY 31.01.19 - WEDNESDAY 06.02.19

PAGE 15

Sun Sport

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Wanaka's Winter Olympians have the X factor STAFF REPORTER

editor@thewanakasun.co.nz

Wanaka’s Winter Olympic stars Zoi Sadowski-Synnott and Nico Porteous were in action at the X Games in Aspen held from January 24-27, picking up gold, silver and bronze medals.

Snowboarder Sadowski-Synnott claimed the gold medal in snowboard slopestyle at the invite-only event on Saturday, backing up the silver medal she earned in snowboard big air last Thursday (Friday NZT). The 17-yearold was originally named as an alternate for the slopestyle competition, but received a last minute call up.

She was the second rider to drop in to the course, scoring 90 from a possible 100 points with her first run combination of back to back 900s and a double wildcat. Holding the top spot after run one, she tidied up her trick execution and was able to up her score to 91 points on run three.

“Words can’t even describe how I’m feeling,” said Sadowski Synnott. “I woke up this morning not even expecting to ride today and then I managed to land a run I hadn’t done before in competition. I’m just really happy.”

Hailey Langland (USA) finished in the silver medal spot, with Finnish athlete Enni Rukajarvi in third.

On Thursday, Nico Porteous earned bronze in the men’s freeski halfpipe just an hour before Sadowski Synnott landed her silver medal in women’s snowboard big air.

Porteous landed his top score of 89.00 on his second run of three to take the third place, David Wise saved his best for last with 90.33 on run three, while Alex Ferreira took gold scoring 92.66 on his last run.

“It hasn’t really sunk in yet, I can’t quite believe it,” said Porteous. “This comes close to the feeling of an Olympic medal, X Games is such a prestigious event in skiers’ eyes, this is definitely up there.”

Pictured: Zoi Sadowski-Synnott in action at the X Games in Aspen. (Inset) Nico Porteous and Zoi Sadowski-Synnott with their first X Games medals.

PHOTO: supplied; (Inset) Tommy Pyatt/Snow Sports NZ

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