A steady rise in foodbank patronage is demonstrating increasing hardship in the community.Community Link provided a record 1,032 food parcels in 2023, up from 770 in 2022, and in 2024 that number is on track to increase again. “Between January and the end of May this year we had 468 parcels feeding 1029 people in our community,” Community Link acting manager Vicki McDermott told the Wānaka App.One day in early June, 14 parcels went out in a single day.Demand for the organisation’s community support fund, which can help households with school-based costs and living costs, has also soared.Vicki said 230 households accessed the fund in 2023 - another record number - approximately a 30 percent increase on the previous year.She said the main concerns for people accessing that fund were heating costs.“Others are medical costs and car repairs which are essential [as there is] no public transport for people getting to work when there are car repairs to pay for.”The rising cost of living was the main factor in increasing demand across both services, she said.“The price for petrol, food, and the increase in mortgage rates are all contributing factors,” she said. Vicki said she had also heard anecdotally that waitlists for childcare in Wānaka had affected parents’ ability to return to work, affecting family incomes.“Donations, both large and small, are critical to enable us to be able to provide support to our community,” she said. “We are hugely grateful as it goes a long way to alleviating family stress.”She encouraged anyone in the community who is struggling to get in touch with Community Link to find out what kind of support they may be able to offer.“It can be extremely hard to reach out and ask for help and we endeavour to be caring and confidential in our approach.”Community Link (formerly Community Networks/LINK ) is a one-stop community and support connection centre.PHOTO: Community Link

Work continues to take place on walking tracks in the district, but one section of the Clutha River Track - between Gunn Road and the Albert Town Bridge - has now reopened after an upgrade.The Upper Clutha Tracks Trust (UCTT) thanked Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) for upgrading the section of the track and giving it “some loving”.UCTT also praised a plaque erected by the Albert Town Community Association explaining the naming of Dean's Bank.Dean’s Bank was named after one of New Zealand’s most noted physicians and public health researchers, Sir Charles Ernest Hercus (1888-1977). Sir Charles was Dean of the Otago University Medical School from 1937-1958. The bank (on the north side of the Clutha River) was his favourite spot to fly-fish brown and rainbow trout.Meanwhile QLDC continues to upgrade the Wānaka Millennium Trail, with the completion date scheduled for this Friday (June 28). Contractors have been on the track since late last month smoothing out rocky areas to improve the trail surface.A third track, one alongside the Cardrona River which is maintained jointly by QLDC and the Department of Conservation, is also up for reconstruction.The Cameron Creek track was damaged by floods in October 2023The track which follows Cameron Creek, a tributary of the Cardrona River, was a well formed track which was wiped out by floods in October last year.QLDC spokesperson Sam White told the Wānaka App the floods destroyed a trail previously constructed by the UCTT.Cameron Creek track when it was first opened in Sep 2019.“Council is working with the UCTT on what a reinstatement of the former trail would look like,” he said.PHOTOS: Supplied

Hāwea residents and visitors alike plunged into the nine degree celsius water of Lake Hāwea yesterday (Sunday June 23) to celebrate the winter solstice.The annual event was organised this year by Jess Clark, Craig Smith, and Kaz Armstrong Smith - members of the Hāwea Hangouts social group.Craig, Kaz and their daughter Mackenzie (13), took the plunge wearing their Hāwea Karate gis (uniforms) to promote the local karate dojo.“This is also a really fun way to connect with the community,” Mackenzie told the Wānaka App.Two of the event organisers, Kaz and Craig, exit the water after taking the plunge in their Hāwea Karate gis (uniforms).There was drama when police officer Lorne Capell chased two fugitives down the jetty, exhorting them not to jump into the water, before scooping the two black-clad figures (his wife and daughter) into the water with him.Two brothers visiting from Brisbane, Max (15) and Sam (17), who were used to swimming in 20 degree water, told the Wānaka App it was fun swimming in the cold lake and they would do it again. Brisbane brothers Max (15) and Sam (17) enjoy the sausage sizzle after their plunge. Local brothers Finn (7) and George (5) took a little bit longer to enter the water but were both well rewarded with applause and ice cream.Five-year-old George takes the plunge.Daniel (12) was not looking forward to going in for his first polar plunge, but afterward he told the Wānaka App he felt energised and “would definitely do it again”.All the children who jumped from the Hāwea jetty received a free Mr Whippy ice cream. There were also hot drinks, sausages, cheese rolls and soup available for both jumpers and spectators.Hāwea librarian Jess Clark said the water was “not too bad”. Hāwea Community Association member Colleen Carr said it was “a really good turnout” for the Polar Plunge, despite the cold weather.Hāwea Hangouts also organised an “extremely successful” annual bonfire night last month, she said, which attracted about 300 people, mainly young families.PHOTOS: Wānaka App

Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) is asking people to join it in thanking its volunteers for donating their time, effort, and family life to serve and protect their communities.This National Volunteer Week (June 16-22), FENZ chief executive Kerry Gregory acknowledged volunteers as “the backbone of New Zealand’s fire response”."Nearly twelve thousand people volunteer for Fire and Emergency, protecting the communities they live in, 24/7, 365 days a year," he said."Volunteers make up 80 percent of our workforce across the motu and we couldn’t run this organisation without them.”Within the Upper Clutha, there are four local fire brigades - Wānaka, Hāwea, Luggate, and Makarora - with a total of  89 volunteers.They include 70 firefighters, eight firefighter trainees, four brigade support members and seven operational support members."They are ordinary New Zealanders from all walks of life who are totally committed to serving their communities and who frequently go above and beyond to keep their communities safe and supported,” Kerry said.A significant fire at Glendhu Bluffs in 2022 required every local fire brigade - including a 76-year-old fire chief and a 17-year-old on his first call out. PHOTO: SuppliedIn 2022 a significant and destructive fire which started at Emerald Bluffs (near Glendhu Bay) required a response from all local fire brigades, as units from elsewhere in Central Otago, as well as a flight of 10 helicopters with monsoon buckets.The 2022 fire the Luggate brigade fire fighters included 76-year-old fire chief Rod Anderson (who marked 50 years of fire fighting in this region later that year) and a 17-year-old Mount Aspiring School student on his first call-out.Just a few weeks ago, Wānaka fire brigade stalwart Ralph Feagan was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Fire and Emergency New Zealand and the community in the King’s Birthday Honours List.Ralph’s motivation for community service is “the old story”, he said. “It’s the people, the people, the people.”Ralph said his father’s message that “you’ll get more pleasure from giving than taking” stuck with him.He told the Wānaka App that local emergency services do an “absolutely bloody amazing” job, with families as a very important part of the team.Read more: Ralph Feagan, ONZM: ‘It’s been a great ride’

A Wānaka Community Workshop (WCW) open day tomorrow (Sunday June 23) is open to anyone interested in learning more about what’s on offer at the community facility. WCW is the home of Fabricate, a hub for all things fabric and sewing, and the ‘(Wo)Men Shed’, which has all the tools and gear needed for woodworking projects. Event organiser Kristina Krzan told the Wānaka App the open day will feature a craft market featuring items made by WCW users, a fabric sale, outdoor games for kids, a raffle, and how-to demonstrations. “The idea is to show people what we do here and what they can do here,” she said. “It’s also about inspiring creativity in the community.”Kristina said she has learned a lot since discovering the WCW.She’s currently working on a chess set made from scrap wood found around Lake Wānaka at the (Wo)Mens Shed and learning how to make a jacket at Fabricate.“It is a great community resource,” Kristina said.Organising the event was a way to give back to the WCW, she said.As well as introducing people to the WCW, she said she hopes it will also attract people who have skills they would like to share with the community at future WCW workshops or events.Money raised via the raffle and craft market will go back to the workshop, which is a charitable trust.The Wānaka Community Workshop open day will take place tomorrow (Sunday June 3) from 11am-3pm at 15 Gordon Road. Everyone is welcome.PHOTO: Supplied

Flights to check that farmers are abiding by Intensive Winter Grazing regulations are resuming this week, Otago Regional Council (ORC) says.The flights, over farms, forests and waterways in general, assess land uses across slopes of more than 10 degrees, critical source areas, wetlands, gullies, and fencing from waterways.They will also be looking for large land disturbances around forestry and any machinery working in or around streams, rivers and wetlands, ORC compliance manager Tami Sargeant said.“The ORC undertakes compliance flights every year to gain a bird’s eye view on land use in districts around the region to identify any potential risks to water quality,” she said. Tami said the flyovers would begin at the end of this week and continue in the coming two weeks.Following the flyovers, staff will assess the information and undertake site visits on any potential high-risk sites to ‘ground truth’ and check compliance, she said.Even though the government has signalled pending changes around consents, Otago farmers should still continue with their best management practices under their current consents, as any government changes will not come into effect until winter next year.“We know farmers are well set for this winter and grazing is underway,” Tami said. “Please keep your consents; they’ll give you all certainty during this time and still apply to this winter.”Farmers who do not have a consent should continue to strive to meet the permitted criteria for the regulations and have a grazing management plan in place which will support good on-farm decisions around grazing, she said. “ORC’s compliance programme will continue for this winter, with a continued focus on education and assessments of any on-farm risks to the environment,” she said. “We’re expecting farmers, forestry contractors and earth moving contractors, to have plans drawn up for managing sediment which is likely to be mobilised and sediment controls in place to keep sediment from getting into Otago waterways.”Anyone who sees pollution of a waterway is encouraged to call the ORC’s 24/7 pollution hotline on 0800 800 033, or email [email protected]: Supplied

The NZ Mountain Film & Book Festival kicks off in Wānaka today (Friday June 21) with an impressive lineup of award-winning films and world-class speakers on offer for the next five days. The festival will head to Queenstown on Thursday (June 27) for two days and it will also be available online for the month of July.Festival director Mark Sedon said while the online festival allows more people to enjoy the films he encourages them to come along to the live shows if they can.“It's all about catching up with old friends and fellow adventure-lovers, the shared laughter and the mutual awe, those moments when you’re holding onto your arm rest watching the jaw dropping scenes on the big screen,” he said.There will be 17 speakers at this year’s festival including headliner Simone Moro.Read more: Veteran alpinist to headline festival“We’re absolutely delighted to have Simone Moro speaking this year,” Mark said. “He is a true legend in the mountaineering world and has some amazing stories to tell, some of them pretty chilling and harrowing.”Organisers have whittled down the films from a record 241 entries and the 19 award winners include ‘Terra Incognita’ by Wānaka filmmaker Finlay Woods, which won the Best NZ Made Film, and French director Hugo Clouzeau’s, ‘Nuptse: Touching the Intangible’, which won the Grand Prize.Read more: Best NZ-made film goes to local filmmakerMark said ticket sales have been “a little slower this year and we understand that the cost-of-living crisis is having an impact”. “We’ve kept ticket prices the same for the last few and want to give as many people as possible the chance to watch these amazing films and hear from our inspiring speakers.”There will also be free one-hour film sessions for families in Wānaka and Lake Hāwea, which will take place on Saturday morning at 10am at Edgewater Hotel and the Hāwea Hotel and 10am Sunday at Edgewater.Find the full festival lineup and book tickets here.PHOTO: NZMFF

A local man has set up a range of social activities - including a run club - aimed at creating a “safe community” for locals.Builder’s apprentice Tim Douglas started ‘After Laughter’ in 2022, organising a few events during that first year.“The idea for After Laughter came from seeing the mental health struggles of my friends, family, and myself,” he told the Wānaka App.“I noticed that people are often shy about discussing mental health, even though it's an issue for over a quarter of Kiwis.”Without any formal mental health qualifications, Tim decided the best way he could help was “creating a safe community for people” by organising events that people would want to attend, using them as a way to spread a message.“I wanted to focus on those who haven't dealt with mental health issues themselves because, in my experience, the stigma usually comes from people who don't understand what it's like, making it difficult for those struggling to talk about it.” Tim said people who haven't faced mental health challenges often don't learn about the topic on their own.“Whether it's music, art, sports, or any other distraction locals are into at the moment, I wanted to get everyone together. These events became a space for people to meet new friends, discuss how to have those tougher conversations, and support each other. “As a result, I've created a little community of regulars and it’s been incredibly fun and rewarding to do.”Last year one of Tim’s friends trained for and ran the Queenstown Half-Marathon, and told Tim how much it helped with their mental health. That led Tim to the idea of setting up a run club which would take people “from couch to marathon” by November.Tim said the “saviour” of the run club was the help and support of friends Alice and Fionn from the outdoor lifestyle store Heatwave.  “In a sport which can often be intimidating, we wanted to create a really open and supportive environment where people didn’t feel like they had to be at any specific level to join.”Eighty-four people have already signed up for the run club, Tim said.“We’ve got runners from all stages in their journey and ages from about 20 to 60. It really is such a cool opportunity to be able to work with everyone.”There are other After Laughter social events planned for the next few months, including yoga, a group hike, and more. Events so far have included a Heatwave Alleycat race and a group gym seminar put together by Pure Performance. Rhyme x Reason and Bao have also offered membership deals and the Queenstown Marathon has offered 20 percent off entry. Tim said he hopes that everyone involved in the run club will achieve their goals, “whether it’s breaking a time, meeting friends, trying something new or even overcoming a current battle they are having”. “At its core, the run club is something people can rely on, it’s a welcoming and supportive space and we’ve made it clear we’ll be there for members rain, snow, shine, whatever gets thrown at us,” he said. Find more information about After Laughter here, or on Instagram @afterlaughter.nz and @it's.heatwave. The website is afterlaughter.co.nz, and people can sign up for the marathon here. PHOTO: Supplied

Community Link is celebrating its volunteers this National Volunteer Week.The community support and connection centre currently has 65 volunteers helping it deliver its key programmes.“On average our volunteers deliver 80 hours of time weekly, the equivalent of two full-time staff members,” Community Link acting manager Vicki McDermott said. “To put it simply, we couldn’t do it without them. They really are the backbone of our organisation.”Volunteers are essential to the organisation’s foodbank, family support programme, community gardens, Meals on Wheels and Justice of the Peace services, and its board of trustees is also made up of volunteers.“We also have volunteers step up for specific events,” Vicki said. “For example Wanasoup – the free soup sessions we are holding on Wednesdays throughout winter; or our events for seniors – the most recent being our Musical Bingo event.”The Meals on Wheels volunteers are out driving around the community five days a week delivering 90 to 100 meals a week to elderly people in the community.The foodbank volunteers have the most varied roles, Vicki said, ranging from unpacking deliveries to tidying and organising the food stores, making up food packages for recipients and, at the end of year, all aspects of delivering the Food Bank Christmas Shop.Meanwhile, the family support programme is for local families with young children that “need some extra help”, Vicki said, and volunteers will visit their family once a week for eight weeks.“What form this help takes is specific to each family, but typically the family support volunteers help with household chores, meal preparation and helping with the kids,” she said.Community garden volunteers visit throughout the seasons to plant, weed and harvest; the Justice of the Peace services are offered twice each week; and “we also have an amazing IT person, who volunteers his time to go out into the community and assist older people with any tech related problems”, Vicki said.She said the volunteers, who range from one-timers to seasonal help and year-round, say they get a lot out of it too.“Overwhelmingly the feedback that we get back from our volunteers is that they feel more connected and part of their community and that it simply feels good to be able to help others out – it gives volunteers a sense of purpose,” Vicki said.Anyone who is interested in volunteering with Community Link is encouraged to get in touch.Community Link has recently changed its name from Community Networks/LINK.PHOTOS: Community Link

A local developer’s bid for a new barn on his west Wānaka property has been opposed by local groups including the Guardians of Lake Wānaka and the Upper Clutha Environmental Society.Beech Trustees Ltd has applied for resource consent for a 300m2+ barn within an Outstanding Natural Landscape (ONL) zoned, 32ha lakeside property owned by Allan Dippie. If approved, the eight-metre-tall barn would be located on a gentle slope overlooking Lake Wānaka.It would be visible from a range of locations around the lake (as well as on it), including sections of Wānaka-Mt Aspiring Road, the Millenium Trail, the eastern side of Lake Wānaka, and others.It will be down to an independent commissioner to determine whether or not the barn gets the go-ahead, with a hearing date now set for late August.Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) media and channels advisor Sam White told the Wānaka App there were various reasons the application was going to a hearing.The application is a restricted discretionary activity, within the ONL, and it has attracted six opposing submissions, he said.One of those submissions is from the Upper Clutha Environmental Society (UCES), which asks for the application to be denied in its entirety.A woolshed was approved for the property in  2017 and “...the society can see no conceivable reason why another large farm building can be seen to be appropriate in this highly sensitive ONL location,” UCES president Julian Haworth said in his submission.The barn would create “significant adverse visual effects,” he said.Other submitters included two neighbouring landowners who said the barn would impede their views; a representative for three iwi groups which said the proposal was too large and too close to the lake; and the Guardians of Lake Wānaka, who said they would withdraw their opposition if concerns about runoff from the barn’s construction entering Lake Wānaka were appropriately remedied.A landscape assessment for Beech Trustees Ltd completed by Baxter Design Group said proposed mitigation planting and mounding would screen part of the barn.Where it will be visible from the eastern side of Lake Wānaka “it will be a very small part of a wider panorama” and from the surface of Lake Wānaka it will appear as “part of a cluster of farm buildings in a working rural landscape”. “The proposed barn will be clad in weathered corrugated iron, which will blend into the existing landscape and reinforce the rural character,” it said.The hearing on the barn proposal will take place on August 27 at the Wānaka Community Hub.IMAGE: Supplied

A local man has completed the trip of a lifetime, cycling a huge 6,500km all the way from Nairobi, Kenya to Cape Town, South Africa. Seventy-three-year-old Tony Harris and his son Richard returned to New Zealand earlier this month after completing the cross-country epic with Tour D’Afrique.On the 50-day trip they biked an average of 130km each day with the shortest travel day coming in at around 80km and the longest at 220km. Just ten rest days broke up the routine, which usually saw the bikers on the road by 6.30am.Some of the elephants Tony encountered on ‘Elephant Highway’ in Botswana.Africa is home to some of the earth’s most stunning landscapes, and the trip transited everything from lush rainforests to endless savannahs and soaring mountains.“The average daily ascent was 800m but that ranged from almost zero to 2,000m,” Tony said. Botswana was Tony’s favourite of the seven countries he travelled through, and a highlight was biking along the country’s famous ‘Elephant Highway’ and seeing elephants, giraffes and zebras.While Namibia’s arid desert landscapes were stunning “the sand in Namibia is never going to be a biker’s friend”, Tony said, citing the long stretches of dry sand as some of the toughest of the trip.Locals they met during the journey helped keep the riders’ spirits high.“The local people often seemed like they were expecting us,” Tony said. “In some places the whole school was out on the side of the road. The kids were just so excited.”“They jumped up and down and waved and ran alongside us.”Locals were excited to see the riders as they passed through rural areas.Tony said the Tour D’Afrique staff, who provided food, water, medical support and much more “couldn’t have been better”, but the riders still lived simply, spending their nights camping.“We had a number of what they call ‘bush camps’ which are basically right out in the bush but sometimes those bush camps consisted of a soccer field and a school and we would camp on the sports fields,” Tony said.Tony slept well, tired from the physical challenge, the “intense focus” of the long days on the bike and the many concerns - from navigation to punctures and the fear of bodily or mechanical failure.He said emotions that developed during the long days could be very intense.“When you are extremely tired, small things become issues which are really only issues in a tired man’s head,” he said.Arriving in Cape Town after so many weeks on the bike was a surreal feeling, Tony said.He was “dangerously close” to the end of his tether by that time but seeing the city, first in the distance, then getting closer and closer, came with a huge sense of accomplishment.One of many ‘bush camps’ during the trip.Tony said the trip came with a “whole lot of soul searching” and he has returned with a different perspective.“You reset your values to some extent - it happens for you.”After being home for a few weeks, Tony is getting used to being back in a normal routine - and starting to think about his next adventure.“I was warned it would become addictive and at the time I couldn’t believe it,” Tony said.“Now I’m all for trying something along those lines again.”PHOTOS: Supplied

Challenge Wānaka will return to Pembroke Park next year.The triathlon festival, next set to take place in February 2025, has been held in Glendhu Bay for the past four years.The Challenge Wānaka Sports Trust will work closely with Queenstown Lakes District Council to ensure a “vibrant atmosphere and enhanced accessibility” back at Pembroke Park, a statement from the trust said. The trust said next year’s event will feature “a revised format” designed to ensure the festival’s capacity for future growth and longevity.The festival's schedule will run from February 13-15, with events for everyone from preschoolers through to elite athletes, culminating in the Challenge Wānaka Half, a middle distance triathlon.Part of the Challenge Wānaka ‘revamp’ is a new naming sponsor, Challenge Wānaka event director Jane Sharman said."Gallagher Insurance's three-year partnership as naming sponsor not only signifies their support for the event but also reflects our shared values and our dedication to supporting the local community,” Jane said.“We look forward to collaborating with Gallagher Insurance to elevate the festival to new heights.”Jane said Challenge Wānaka’s 20th anniversary would take place in 2026.She was excited to “write the exciting next chapter” for the festival.Entries for the 2025 Challenge Wānaka will open tomorrow (Friday June 21).Challenge Wānaka is New Zealand’s largest triathlon festival.PHOTO: Supplied

Wānaka athlete Braden Currie finished second at the Cairns Ironman Asia Pacific Championships on Sunday (June 16) with the result qualifying him for the Ironman World Championship event in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii in October.He finished behind Australian Matt Burton and fellow Kiwi Mike Phillips secured third place. All three athletes broke the course record previously set by Braden.Braden said he was “happy enough” with the day.“It was great to see my body in good form and I felt good overall.”“I had a really good swim, got off to a strong start and managed to gain some ground early on.“During the run I felt comfortable … however Matt had an outstanding race and managed to run consistently right to the line.”Braden recorded the fastest run leg.Braden - the three-time Ironman Cairns Champion - recorded the fastest run of the day.He said he was “conserving a bit” during the run as qualification for Kailua-Kona - the biggest event on the Ironman calendar, also known as ‘Kona’ - was his “number one goal”.Braden has secured his Kona slot and now ranks sixth in the Ironman Pro Series standings.His next event is the Ironman Lake Placid on July 21.Fellow Kiwi Hannah Berry won the women's event.PHOTOS: Korupt Vision

Keen volunteers from the community have been invited to come along to an upcoming ‘Cleaning up the Cardrona’ event on Thursday (June 20).The clean-up has been organised by WAI Wānaka, in partnership with Love Wānaka and Wastebusters.Volunteers will collect, sort, and record the rubbish collected, which will be entered into the national ‘Litter Intelligence’ database. “The Cardrona River flows directly into the Mata-au/Clutha River, our clean-up is in an area that is often overlooked and could use some love,” event organiser Heather from WAI Wānaka said.“Our volunteer clean-up will take place below the Cardrona River bridge, off Ballantyne Rd,” she said.The event will run from 10am to 12pm - all are welcome to join, and hot tea and snacks will be provided. “We ask volunteers to please bring gloves, warm clothes, sturdy footwear and a water bottle, as well as friends and whānau if they’re interested.” The event is supported by local businesses Wānaka Civil and Interlink Ltd, who are providing their trailers to help collect larger items. Proceeds from Mitre 10 MEGA Wānaka’s sausage and burger sizzle (on the same day) will also be donated to support future clean-ups.Find more information here.PHOTO: Wānaka App

Four Upper Clutha community groups have received thousands in funding as the inaugural recipients of the Love Wānaka community fund.Love Wānaka - and a Love Queenstown counterpart in Wakatipu - were formed last year by the district’s regional tourism organisations with the goal of promoting regenerative tourism.Te Kākano Aotearoa, WAI Wānaka, Wānaka Backyard Trapping and Upper Clutha Wilding Tree Group, alongside three other organisations in Queenstown, received funding. “Collaboration is at the heart of everything we do, and we couldn’t be happier to be working together across the entire visitor industry to support these incredible initiatives,” Love Queenstown and Love Wānaka community fund coordinator Ash Bickley said.Te Kākano Aotearoa’s $10,000 grant will support its ongoing native revegetation programmes and WAI Wānaka’s $7,924 will go towards its waterway health project ‘Our Drains Are Streams’.The $7,500 granted to Wānaka Backyard Trapping will help them expand their trapping lines around the Upper Clutha and the $10,000 to the Upper Clutha Wilding Tree Group will support the removal of wilding pines on the face of Mt Roy.Ash said the grants have been made possible through support from the local business community and visitors in Queenstown and Wānaka.“In just one year we’ve formed a number of key partnerships and have had some great support from the tourism industry, with businesses big and small contributing both financially and in-kind.” Groups like Siddartha’s Intent NZ and GOOD Travel have made generous financial contributions, Ash said.Love Wānaka and Love Queenstown are initiatives from the region’s recently adopted ‘Destination Management Plan: Travel to a Thriving Future’.Read more: New tourism plan adopted for districtPHOTO: Supplied

Red Frog volunteers, a regular sight at Wānaka’s New Year events, are being celebrated this week as part of National Volunteer Week (June 16-22).The young volunteers have been on hand across New Zealand since 2008, helping people stay safe at various events and festivals by offering ‘chill-out’ zones, free food and water and first response teams.Last year, through a range of programmes and activations, 350 Red Frogs volunteers helped safeguard more than 275,000 young people. In Wānaka alone the Red Frogs attended three nights of New Year’s events in the CBD, and two nights at the Cardrona Valley’s Rhythm & Alps festival.Red Frogs volunteers handed out more than 3,000 pancakes in the Wānaka area while safeguarding young people last year.Red Frogs NZ national director Ray Thomson told the Wānaka App the volunteers supported 28,000 young people in Wānaka during that period, contributing 793 volunteer hours.They had 8,820 interactions with young people, and provided extra care and support to 69 of those.Forty-eight kilograms of Red Frog lollies (which the volunteers are named after) were handed out, he said, as well as 5,817 cups of water and more than 3,000 pancakes.“The Red Froggers themselves are the key to the organisation's ability to serve young Kiwis for the past 16 years,” he said.“Red Frogs volunteers are the backbone of what we do. They can flip thousands of pancakes for hours on end, hand out litres of water without complaint, rack up thousands of steps walking people to safety and their vomit-catching skills will put any ninja to shame.”National Volunteer Week’s theme this year is Whiria te tangata, which means ‘weave the people together’.“That's what Red Frogs volunteers do. Without them our work would not be possible,” Ray said.PHOTOS: Shannon Thomson/Red Frogs NZ

Bird strikes are a known risk to aviation around the world and airports put considerable effort into mitigating this risk, Queenstown Airport has said, following an incident on Monday (June 17).Reports suggest bird strikes were the cause of an engine fire that forced a Queenstown-Melbourne flight to make an emergency landing in Invercargill yesterday.Flames were seen coming from the Virgin Australia flight - a Boeing 737 with 73 people on board - as it took off over the Shotover Delta at 6pm. Virgin Australia chief operations officer Stuart Aggs later confirmed the diversion was due to "a possible bird strike on take-off". An inspection was completed minutes before Virgin Australia flight VA148 departed on Monday and no birds were detected on the airfield at that time, Queenstown Airport said this morning.The Civil Aviation Authority records the incident rate for bird strikes at Queenstown Airport as ‘low’, the airport said.“Bird activity varies according to the season and migratory patterns. The primary species of concern at Queenstown are oystercatchers and plovers, along with smaller birds such as finches, starlings, and sparrows”.The Airport Emergency Service (AES) team is responsible for ongoing wildlife hazard management at ZQN and monitors bird activity around the airport closely, the airport said.“A range of measures are used to deter birds from settling on the airfield and surrounds. These include mowing grass to keep it low and less attractive to birds, spraying to reduce food sources, and use gas cannons, acoustic machines, lasers, and pyrotechnics to scare birds away.“We also work with our neighbours to reduce the likelihood of birds settling nearby.”In addition airfield inspections are conducted by ZQN staff multiple times each day.If a pilot suspects a bird strike has occurred, this is immediately reported to the Airways control tower, which in turn advises the AES team on duty, and a runway inspection is immediately carried out.IMAGE: Supplied

Community-led advocacy group Health Action Wānaka (HAW) is calling on Minister of Health Dr Shane Reti to give the Southern region access to faster and free radiology services.The minister recently announced a $30M funding boost to give people free access to radiology services when referred directly by their general practitioner. The boost would pay private providers to do scans, reducing the need for people living in rural areas to travel to a public hospital to access publicly funded radiology services.The first areas to benefit from the funding are Wellington and the Hutt Valley and the minister said these areas would be followed by other districts with poor access to radiology services.HAW chair Monique Mayze said the Upper Clutha area in particular had poor access to radiology services.“We’ve heard stories of people who live in Wānaka travelling more than three hours for a ten-minute appointment with a specialist in Dunedin to get a referral for diagnostic imaging,” she said, adding that locals often have to take time off work and stay overnight in Dunedin or Invercargill simply to see a specialist for a referral.HAW members Lucy Middendorf, Monique Mayze, and Heather Clay. PHOTO: Wānaka App“Allowing GPs to refer patients directly for a wider range of diagnostic imaging would reduce the need for people to travel,” Monique said.“We all know that early diagnosis is critical in achieving optimal health outcomes so it’s essential that people in our community are able to get timely access to diagnostic tools and specialistassessments.”Monique said the removal of co-payments would be welcomed by people living in the Upper Clutha who already pay more for radiology services “due to Pacific Radiology’s dominance of the market”.“Our group did a price comparison of radiology services and discovered that people in Wānaka, Queenstown and Dunedin pay $375 for a shoulder ultrasound in the private system while the same service costs $310 when delivered by Beyond Radiology in Christchurch,” she said.“Having access to the government’s new funding for radiology services would go a long way to reducing the strain on our community.”Read more: More radiology resources on way - but no mammography yetIn 2022 Wānaka Lakes Health Centre moved two relocatable, prefabricated radiology buildings to the rear of the building to extend the range of radiology services offered.Pacific Radiology Otago Southland regional manager Paul Morrison told the Wānaka App that Wānaka was a “growth area”.

More than 600 people took part in a recent survey about Glendhu Bay Motor Camp and the feedback was mostly positive, its owners say.Ninety-eight percent of respondents said they’d stay at the camp again; 83 percent are happy with the facilities and amenities; 93 percent are content with the camp rules; and 98 percent are positive about their interactions with staff.The survey comes following a difficult period for the camp’s new owners, Hampshire Holiday Parks, after rumours spread that the company would alter the ‘Kiwi camping experience’ at the iconic camp.A camping association was formed to provide a voice for long term campers, but Hampshire Holiday Park CEO Frank Sharley put the rumours to rest at a public meeting in March.Read more: Glendhu owners guarantee ‘affordable Kiwi camp’Frank told attendees it would be “business as usual” as the camp, explaining that the terms of the company’s lease with Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) do not allow for substantial changes.The company had no plans to change the character of the place or upset the Kiwi camping model, and any improvements would be in line with that ethos, he said.This week Frank said he was “thrilled” with the positive feedback in the survey, which was circulated at the meeting.“It reaffirms our commitment to maintaining the unique character of Glendhu Bay  Motor Camp while making thoughtful improvements that enhance the overall experience for everyone,” he said.The company had taken note of suggestions for improvement from respondents, which ranged from upgrading toilet and shower facilities to better WiFi and improving the clarity and consistency of telephone and rollover booking arrangements.“We acknowledge the valuable suggestions provided and are committed to addressing these areas to further improve our guests' satisfaction,” Frank said.“[We] look forward to welcoming you back for many more memorable stays.”Australian-based Hampshire Holiday Parks acquired the lease for the camp - and a handful of others around the district - after receiving Overseas Investment Office (OIO) approval last year.PHOTO: Wānaka App