As many of us suddenly realise that we are in the eleventh month, the elections are behind us, Mega Mitre10 is soon to open, the All Blacks and Silver Ferns have had series wins, and Christmas is looming, life in Wanaka is relatively normal compared to the rest of the world.

Local Police have been busy in prevention mode: no drink drivers to mention and the pubs continue to be well run. Well done team.

This week we dealt with a youth-restricted driver who took dad’s car to Queenstown with two mates, but didn’t tell dad. Also a disqualified driver located on Eely Point Road who had his vehicle impounded, and an incident involving a parents driving at the Hawea Flat School at pick up time.

On Sunday we also dealt with a 10 year old who had a crash while riding a motor bike on a road in Hawea. Thankfully only minor cuts and bruising resulted.

Later that day another motorbike rider came off his bike on the Crown Range causing damage to his bike, but he was unhurt.

A considerable amount of our time is being spent dealing with domestic matters, so our advice is to get help before things get out of hand.

The 40km/hr speed restrictions have been quite a talking point around town but they are here to stay, so give yourself a little more time for those short trips around town.

Our local search and rescue team helped out with an injured mountain biker in Sticky Forest on the weekend. They extracted him from the scene and carried him to the landing zone were the helicopter took him away. Many thanks to all involved.

The back-country is looking likely to have more local trampers and walkers, so remember when you go into the mountains - be well prepared, let someone know where you are going and how long you will expect to be exploring, and take two forms of communication (cellphone and a locator beacon).

Have a safe week.