Two of Wanaka’s best search and rescue specialists were rewarded recently for their significant contribution by New Zealand Search and Rescue (SAR). Gary Dickson received a plaque recognising his vast experience in mountain rescues and Roy Bailey earned a Merit Award as a river rescue expert with more than 10 years experience for LandSAR.Both men are long-serving members of NZ SAR and are both well-known and highly-respected rescue specialists in their own fields, Wanaka SAR chair Bill Day said."These guys are the ultimate Kiwi good bastards who get out of bed on a stormy night to go looking for perfect strangers,” he said. "They’re heroes.”Bill said like many volunteers involved in emergency services, they earn a living by the hour, but are willing to walk off the job, often risking their lives in treacherous conditions, to save someone in trouble.He said both Gary and Roy have developed skills and a level of expertise equivalent to a PhD, and their experience and knowledge has been integral in the development of New Zealand’s fledgling search and rescue organisation into the sophisticated institution it has become.Alpinism & Ski Wanaka Ltd’s director and principal guide Gary has had a long career in mountain guiding and instruction operating in both New Zealand and Switzerland. With his vast experience in the mountains he has held technical advisory roles for mountain safety in Iceland and in NZ, where he has been heavily involved with the Mountain Safety Council and the NZ Mountain Guides Association.Gary started with SAR in Canterbury assisting with technical mountain rescues in Christchurch and Mount Cook during the 1980s, rescuing hikers from alpine passes and climbers out of crevasses. He was also involved in recovering victims from an aircraft crash in the mountains.He moved to Wanaka in 1999 and became the team coordinator for the Alpine Cliff Rescue Team in Wanaka, a role he held for 10 years. Gary has also been a Tai Poutini Polytechnic rope rescue instructor (2013-2014) and is the Wanaka SAR communications expert: maintaining equipment, conducting training sessions, and advising on the set-up of communications in the challenging local mountainous terrain. He remains an active team leader of the Alpine Cliff Rescue Team in Wanaka SAR.Roy Bailey, of Bailey Builders, is a river rescue specialist and has been integral to the development of the river rescue team both in the Wanaka region and at a national level. After being called in to help on an operation to find an Australian hunter who drowned in the West Matukituki River, Roy formed the concept of a specialist River Rescue/Swift Water team.He is now a River Rescue expert for LandSAR, writing the competency framework for River SAR in NZ in 2015/2016, and has presented papers at national LandSAR conferences. Additionally, Roy is a national representative on the Back Country Technical Rescue Advisory Group.Locally, Roy has been a valued member of Wanaka SAR for the past 11 years. He played a key role in managing the building of the new Wanaka SAR premises and is still an active and experienced team leader of Wanaka’s River Rescue and Sub Alpine teams.Roy said he was "pretty stoked” to receive the award. "SAR has been a fairly large part of my life for the last 10 years and to get recognition for that is quite nice, especially at a national level.”"The key point of why I enjoy SAR is because we don’t do it for ourselves, or even people we know. Mostly the people we search for are complete strangers to us,” he said.PHOTO: Supplied

In Wanaka, Marjorie Cook needs no introduction. If you don’t know her personally, you certainly know her writing.Marjorie has been reporting local news since 2003, when she made the move here in order to take a job with the Otago Daily Times (ODT). Her role with weekly newspaper The Mirror, which began in 2014, finished on Friday as part of Fairfax’s closure or sale of 28 rural newspapers. The change follows many years of Marjorie digging out the best ‘good’ news in town, and having the unenviable task of reporting the ‘bad’ too.If the typical reporting persona to you is someone tough and insensitive, you might be surprised to learn that Marjorie is none of these things. The ups to reporting have made the downs worthwhile, Marjorie told the Wanaka App, but it’s digging out the interesting, heartwarming stories that has sustained her amid the challenges of reporting local tragedies.Her knack for finding the curious, charming and funny news in Wanaka and sharing it with humor has set her apart.But writing wasn’t Marjorie’s first love, or even her second. At school in Timaru, swimming and music defined her. She still swims regularly, but music is something that slowly drifted from her life, although she’s picking it up again now.Having studied music and english at university in Dunedin - her instrument was piano, and she sang in choirs - it’s been somewhat intimidating going back to music. But singing lessons are the first step, she said, in rediscovering something that was an important part of her early years.The way she ended up here is "that classic Wanaka story,” Marjorie said. "I came here every year for my holidays. From a very early age I was visiting Wanaka four or five times a year.”Her understanding of Wanaka and the mechanisms that make it tick didn’t come to her completely until she moved here in 2003."When you’ve only visited a few times a year you really notice the changes,” Marjorie said. "But it’s not until you live here full time that you really understand the town, the people and the environment.”It was after completing her diploma in journalism through Aoraki Polytechnic that Marjorie began writing for newspapers. First in Dunedin at the ODT, followed by a stint at the Timaru Herald. It was a job in Wanaka with the ODT that caught her eye while she was living in Timaru, and eventually led to a move down here."I started at the beginning of 2003,” Marjorie said. "At the time the ODT office was in a grotty little office where Urban Grind now is. It was a cubby hole, really.”Marjorie shared her office with Mark Thomas (a former reporter better known as Curly the chimney sweep), and Basil, a very old dog of some acclaim, who had at least one article written about him.A visit from Dunedin-based ODT staff, who were shocked by the size of the "office”, led to the purchase of the newspaper’s existing office on Brownston Street, where Marjorie worked until 2012."I went on my big OE,” Marjorie said. "I went to Europe.” While away she visited Cork and Jersey, two of the top open water swimming clubs, where she had the opportunity to learn from some of the best gurus of open water swimming. Her experience swimming mainly in Wanaka felt amateurish in comparison, Marjorie said, but it was a huge learning opportunity.After the trip away, Marjorie was drawn back to Wanaka but not straight back into reporting. After 18 months at Mitre 10, Marjorie took on her role at the Mirror in September 2014. She is candid about the difficulty of the decision to return to journalism."I didn’t think I’d want to be a journalist again and then I did some research again and decided I could give it another go. There were a whole lot of reasons why, partly because of all the good stuff that was going on.”The deaths and tragedies that Marjorie has had to report on have been difficult for her. "I found myself getting more sensitive to reporting on grief,” she said. The old premonition - that bad things come in threes - has rung true to Marjorie. "Without being superstitious I do think you get clumps of things,” she said.The sense of responsibility when reporting on tragedies can be huge. "It is a privilege to report those sorts of stories, and it’s so important to get the information right that it’s one of the hardest parts of the job.”And the best part?"All those lovely times when people have gifted you the time and the energy to explain their passions, and how they feel about where they live and what they do, those are the stories that have sustained me.”The change in her situation doesn’t mean a move away from Wanaka. Adventure and sports are a big part of Marjorie’s life, which is one of the reasons Wanaka is such an important place to her."You keep coming back for the fun things,” Marjorie said. "Swimming in the lake has been incredibly fun, with biking I’ve had some adventures - there are stories where you think ‘did we really do that?’ Things like cycling in blizzards and snow… There have been all sorts of adventures.”On the writing front, Marjorie plans to keep on writing - mainly for herself - "just to keep the creative impetus going”. Her next opportunity, while just around the corner, is still unclear, but Marjorie is looking forward to - at least briefly - having more time for her hobbies, while she figures out what comes next. What seems certain is that it will be here."I feel so hooked for the town now that when I go away it’s Wanaka that I pine for,” Marjorie said. "What Wanaka takes out of you it also gives back.”PHOTO: Wanaka App

Bruce Shanks believes your attitude is poured into your work. After 12 years of working mostly on the demanding and repetitive recycling press at Wanaka Wastebusters, he’s in a good position to know."When everybody’s miserable, it comes back out in the work, and if everyone’s happy it comes out in the work,” Bruce says.Bruce has lived in the Wanaka area for more than 20 years (he’s lost track of how long it’s been). He worked at the Mt Iron Sawmill (now closed) and Placemakers before starting at Wastebusters, where he was initially a kerbside runner.Bruce used to press wool when he was younger (he grew up in Oamaru), and now he’s the main press man out the back of the recycling yard at Wastebusters. It’s not the cushiest workplace. Bruce is pretty much outdoors year round, but he has his strategies for dealing with that.He reckons the ‘emergency shower’ near the fence is just for him: he had to use it a few times last summer to cool down in the 30+ degree heat. "Sometimes I put my head under the emergency shower. I’m the only one that does.”Winter’s a different matter. Does it get cold? "Oh, far out. When it’s really cold, I just stop. I can’t work when my forehead and fingertips are freezing.” That’s when Bruce goes into the shop for a while to join shop cat Mr Manly thawing out in front of the fire.Bruce has noticed how much busier Wastebusters has become over the past 12 years. "More people have come to town, there’s more recycling. We used to do about one bale a week, now we do about one a day,” he said.While he puts "just about everything you can think of” into the bales he presses, "cardboard is the biggest one for miles”. He is responsible for ensuring the correct materials go into the press, and those clean bales are Wastebusters’ pride and joy - it means the recycled material is actually recycled into new products, even when the worldwide recycling industry is in a crisis. Some of Bruce’s bales go to Dunedin, some to Christchurch, then overseas to remade into useful stuff.Sue Coutts, Bruce Shanks, and Gina Dempster on some of Wastebusters’ clean bales of recycling.Stopping waste is a concern to Bruce. "There’s just so much waste now. I reckon the biggest waste will be supermarket plastic bags.”But for all Bruce’s serious approach to getting his job done, his sense of humour can’t be missed."Yeah, OK, I am pretty friendly and sociable,” he admits. That’s where his philosophy of being happy at work comes in. "One thing that makes the job is the people. If you say ‘how’s it going’ and you get a not very good response, how would you feel? When I make jokes and say nice things, people like it.”Bruce’s job at Wastebusters and his church community - he attends Wanaka’s New Life church - are both important parts of his life. He uses tradespeople from his church to work on his house wherever possible, and a Wastebusters colleague describes Bruce as a model employee: he’s never been late to work, and seldom takes sick days. Bruce bought his house (with "an extremely good view of the lake”) at Lake Hawea in 2002. He’s pretty house proud: he’s renovated the roof, the shower, painted inside and out, and is now looking forward to getting new curtains and blinds. While he does furnish his place with the occasional Wastebusters find (maybe a DVD and a vase to put with his "lovely plants”), he prefers brand new, and says his house is "getting quite flash”."I’m sitting on it - I’ll never move,” Bruce says. He likes the idea of a holiday though - the last time he travelled overseas was in 1988, and sometimes, while operating the Wastebusters press, he dreams of a cruise around the Pacific Islands. "I reckon it would be quite fun, quite cool.” But in the meantime, he "doesn’t mind” working away out the back of Wastebusters."Everyone’s around me, sorting out and recycling. It’s not a stressful job.”If he has one complaint, it’s that other people’s music choices at work don’t accord with his taste for 60s music. Maybe the right music enhances the positive attitude Bruce pours into his work, as he keeps the press going, producing more clean Wastebusters bales.PHOTOS: Simon Williams

Wanaka-based paddleboarder Annabel Anderson was recently named the supreme winner of the Central Otago Sports Awards, recognising a remarkable 2017 sporting year: she was the number one stand up paddleboarder (SUP) in the world – her seventh consecutive year of the title, and the only female to hold the top ranked position.Her 2017 SUP titles also include the ISA Long Distance World Champion, the ISA Long Technical World Champion and the Pacific Paddle Games Long Distance, Technical and Overall Champion.Like other Kiwi athletes who excel in a sport which doesn’t feature large in New Zealand, 36-year old Annabel is probably better known overseas than she is in her homeland. But after eight years of international competition, competing with barely healed injuries and the constant travel on her own, Annabel is enjoying a quieter year spending some time at home in Wanaka to rest mind and body - "I had burned the candle at both ends.”For the uninformed (including this Wanaka App reporter) competitive SUP is a combination of sprint kayaking, surf-lifesaving, outrigger canoe paddling and whitewater kayaking, mixed with the tactics of bike racing, according to Annabel. It’s played out down rivers and rapids, across lakes, over oceans and surf and "it’s a full contact sport, believe it or not”."What people think I do and what I actually do are two very different things,” she said. "I could not have scripted the last 10 years. I have thrived on the thrill of the chase.”Her professional paddleboarding experience started when Annabel was based in England pursuing a career in marketing. In 2010, with her work visa about to expire and nursing a desire to travel, a random adventure presented itself in the guise of a SUP competition in Hamburg, Germany."I turned up to this world cup event in Germany and I managed to wangle an entry. I was super fit but I’d never been on a race board. It was basically a free weekend, all you had to do was turn up, and I walked away with second and 2000 Euros in my pocket.”It was a classic tale of a New Zealander operating on the smell of an oily rag - "I had to turn up and win; that was the challenge”. She used international competitions to travel the globe, from Thailand to Europe, to Hawaii and back, each win paying her way to the next event."I did this crazy zigzag all over the world for the first year - it was like "The Amazing Race”, she said. She saw Paris, Hamburg and New York for the first time - all from the vantage point of a racing paddleboard.At the conclusion of that first year she had won enough "to upset the applecart”. "So I thought this might be the time to take it seriously.” She knew she had strengths and weaknesses she could work on, and her performances brought her to the attention of sponsors, mostly equipment manufacturers.The past two years though have been self-funded without sponsors. "I’ve been a privateer so I could do things my way to my values. It made life harder in some respects but also way easier as I didn’t have the pressure of someone else’s expectations.”She’s never really had a mentor - "all my motivation has come from within” - but there has been one person who’s had her back, a former professional surfer and "the guy who’s always shaped my boards”, Bryan Szymanski.Bryan’s that "uncle figure” who, from the beginning, encouraged her to succeed by "playing it like a game. What if we tried to do this and actually managed to pull it off?” The only expectation he put on her, Annabel said, was "to be a better person”.Having been a competitive athlete for most of her adult life, from skiing and biking to running and triathlons, Annabel knew what it took to succeed. But without a traditional background in surfing or paddling, her rise to the top spot in the world and her ability to stay there for consecutive years was highly unusual, she said.She accords her success to preparation, planning and process. "I don’t have a huge amount of self-confidence. I gain confidence from the execution of the process.”"I can’t control the performance of others, or conditions, or decisions going against me but I can control the process. I get self-belief from nailing the process. When you get curve balls sent at you randomly, my ability to cope is because I know what cards I have to play.”Annabel in open surf drives for the shore.Annabel is also unusual in the international world of SUP in that she has been repeatedly successful over multiple disciplines, from long distance to technical paddleboarding to river boarding to surfing."One of the things that drew me to the sport was it’s variety,” she said, "one discipline complemented another. It’s also kind of the Kiwi mentality to just do everything.”She competed in last year’s Ultimate Mountain Challenge, in Vail Colorado, but decided not to limit herself to just one or two events. Instead she took on all comers, entering all 11 running, biking and whitewater events over the course of two and a half days and came within one point of winning the entire challenge. "It was a comedy show, I even borrowed someone’s dog for the 5km dog race.”She’s also relied heavily on her professional skills as "a pretty decent project manager” to pull off the demanding logistics. "I learned early on that anything that was critical to my success, I had to own it; and then if something goes wrong I have no-one to blame but myself.” She also built a network of friends she could call on for logistical support, such as lending equipment.That’s not to say crucial gear hasn’t gone missing before an event and she’s had to improvise with borrowed gear but "things usually work out and it just makes for a better story to tell.”Annabel has also been a guest presenter for World of Adventure Sports (a US TV show). "When they need a jack of all trades that they can throw into pretty much any situation I get a phone call.” Amongst other things, she’s rafted the Snake River for three days in the Grand Teton National Park and was sent to the Faroe Islands to hike and "jump off a cliff”.But the thing she’s most proud of was leading a push to ensure women competing in SUP would win purses of equal value to the men. It made her angry to realise she would put in the same effort as the guys but win only a fraction of their earnings.A social media campaign led to international media coverage and now women are getting paid the same. "I am more proud of having the courage to ask the questions, and use the responsibility of my position, than any trophy, or award or result.”As for now, she’s not retired and she’s not taking time out. She doesn’t like to share her goals. She says as soon as you do that "life gets in the way and you have to adapt” and then you’re accused of not meeting you goals."I’m still travelling, I’m still surfing, riding bikes and taking the opportunity to do a bunch of things I haven’t had a chance to do in a very long time,” she said. "It’s time to recalibrate and take a breath.”PHOTOS: Supplied

A Wanaka public relations professional has won an award in recognition of her work with the motorsport industry.Kate Gordon-Smith, principal at Relish Communications, won the Motorsport PR Communicator of the Year award at the Motorsport New Zealand media awards, held in Wellington on Saturday May 26.This award, which was created in 2016, recognises specialised publicists who work with competitors, events, championships and sponsors around New Zealand to help generate media coverage of motorsport.Kate won the award for her work with Kiwi rally driver Dave Holder and rally-turned-rallycross driver Sloan Cox.The independent judge, an experienced sports publicist, said: "Sometimes in this industry, the tough jobs are when the story needs to be sold and not automatically grabbed by mainstream. Kate achieved mainstream television cover by offering an exclusive arrangement and followed this with a well-written story. It was well illustrated and achieved good cut-through on social media channels.”Kate moved to Wanaka with her husband Jeff Smith, who is a partner at the Butchers Block and Smokehouse, in 2015. Motorsport is one of her specialities, and her best-known client is New Zealand WRC driver Hayden Paddon, who lives in Wanaka when he’s in New Zealand.Kate has also worked for Motorsport New Zealand as a communications consultant since 2015, and was delighted to win the award."Essentially, it’s been wonderful to have recognition from my peers and colleagues from a sport I’ve been involved in for a long time,” she said.Kate was quick to point out that she is not the first Wanaka local to win this award - Catherine Pattison from Lake Hawea won it in 2017 for her work with rally driver Emma Gilmour.PHOTO: Geoff Ridder

A new club in town wants you to get electric. The Wanaka Electric Vehicle Club, which now has 12 members, is plugging the virtues of electric vehicles, and word is getting around. They’ve even set a goal of ridding Wanaka of 80% of its diesel and petrol cars by the 2020s. It sounds like a lofty ambition, but after sitting down with founding club members Florence Micoud and Morgan Knoesen, I’m just about sold.For one, electric vehicles are not the fringe product they once were. Reports out of Norway suggest that all of the country’s main political parties have, as of yesterday, agreed to ban the sale of fossil fuel-based cars by 2025. The Indian and Dutch governments are considering similar plans.Nonetheless, before meeting with Morgan and Florence, I was a bit skeptical. Electric cars? I immediately thought two things: expensive and slow.There are currently five fully-electric cars in Wanaka (unlike hybrids, which can switch back and forth between electric power and petrol, electric cars do not use fossil fuels at all). Their first advantage, said Morgan, is the lack of emissions. He explained that every 10 kilometres of driving creates emissions equivalent to burning 100 plastic bags. "Imagine chucking 10 plastic bags on a bonfire per kilometre. That goes into our lakes and our lungs,” he said.OK, but aren’t electric cars really expensive? Morgan’s fully-electric 2011 Nissan Leaf cost $20,000, a fair bit more than my second-hand Honda. But he can charge up his vehicle at home for $3.30, which gives him enough power to travel 100 kilometres. A quick calculation tells us if I used his car to get into town every day (I live rurally), I’d save at least $3000 per year in fuel costs, probably more. (According to the New Zealand Household Travel Survey, on average a male driver in New Zealand covers more than 12,500 kilometres per year.)But what about maintenance? Not a problem. Morgan explained that an electric car has 200 moving parts, compared to the several thousand in a petrol vehicle. Fewer things to break, fewer bits to fix.Fair enough, but won’t we need a lot more electricity if we all start plugging in electric vehicles? Again, not really. Refining crude oil into petrol uses a huge amount of electricity. And in New Zealand, because so much electricity generation is hydroelectric and therefore relatively clean, electric-powered cars are easier on the environment. As Florence said, "Why use petrol when you can use water?”There are limiting factors, particularly in rural areas. Range is an issue, with electric vehicles only able to travel 100 to 200 kilometres on a charge, with a full recharge taking at least four hours. This makes for a slow trip to Christchurch. But the Charge Net NZ electric vehicle charging network currently has 100 Fast DC Charger sites, which will charge an electric vehicle in fewer than 30 minutes, around the country, and they are installing more at a rate of about one every two weeks. A Queenstown site is imminent.For now, the Wanaka Electric Vehicle Club club has a petrol-powered carpool car which will be available to club members to use for longer trips.As for speed, I took a drive in Morgan’s car. It goes from zero to 80 more quickly and smoothly than a typical petrol car like my Honda, and, a surprising bonus, it does so almost silently. There’s something Star Trek about it. It feels space age.I like it, though I’m not completely convinced. Any car, even an electric one, is going to be a less sustainable option than, say, a bicycle. Or getting around on foot. And even with fast-charge stations, range will still be a problem in rural regions until battery technology improves.Not perfect, then, but better, something more and more New Zealanders are starting to agree with. As of January this year, there were 1000 fully-electric cars owned in New Zealand, a figure that exceeds automobile industry projections by 50%.And if Norway, one of the world’s top ten oil exporters, is prepared to give the electric avenue a try, maybe we should too. I love my Honda, but I’m starting to think its days are numbered.PHOTO: Laura Williamson

Wanaka resident and prominent health campaigner Bev Clark has been appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) for services to health.Calling herself a "born and bred Southlander”, Bev was born in Winton and farmed in Hokonui with her late husband Boyd Clark. While there, she became a vocal advocate for Winton’s maternity service. She served as chair of the Central Southland Health Trust and the Winton Birthing Unit for eight years, during which time she helped develop the facility, protecting access to maternity care in the region.Bev is also a veteran of the campaign to retain Dunstan Hospital at Clyde. She was chairperson of Central Otago Health Services Ltd, which was set up in 1999 to manage Dunstan Hospital, a role that won her some notoriety. COHSL was famously called "petulant” in 2003 by Labour health minister Annette King when the board threatened a mass resignation to protest the run-down state of the hospital.The board was backed at a public meeting attended by an estimated 1000 people, and the government eventually came to the table with more than $7 million towards a rebuild. Bev received an award at Dunstan’s 150th celebrations in 2013 acknowledging her work as chair of COHSL.As director of the Southern Regional Health Authority she had responsibility for provision of health services in the southern region, then, as director of the Health Funding Authority, for health services across New Zealand. She also chaired the Consumer Liaison Committee for the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners, and was appointed for a term of six years to the New Zealand Psychologists’ Board.Bev moved to Wanaka in 1997, where she worked for nineteen years as a marriage celebrant. She is a founding executive member of the Celebrants’ Association in New Zealand, to which she was awarded an honourary life membership in 2014.A total of 177 New Zealanders (70 women and 107 men) have been named in the Queen's 90th birthday honours this year, including two dames, five knights and 66 new members of the New Zealand Order of Merit.PHOTO: Celebrants' Association of New Zealand

New York born-and-bred, a real estate agent and an engineer move to Lake Hawea to restore old cars and teach yoga. Really? Yes it’s true, and Steve and Jennifer Rumore say life has never been better.They had never thought about living in New Zealand. Steve was working in the family engineering business, designing and building off-road racing cars. Jen had her own real estate business.A man approached Steve about working for him in a business he was setting up designing and building custom vehicles. They worked on the idea for weeks. Then the man mentioned he would like to do it in New Zealand. Would the Rumores like to move too?The suggestion took them completely by surprise, but they did some research, and applied for visas. Then funding for the business fell through and the idea was shelved.If you like to know what's happening then you'll love Events & Places of InterestFour years later, the Rumores received a letter saying their application for New Zealand visas had been approved. They weren’t just offered work visas, they were offered temporary residency."That was in 2009. The US was in severe economic downturn. Real estate and engineering had collapsed. So we thought, why not?” Steve explained."We sold up, packed up, gave away, and shipped a 40-foot container of all our household goods and engineering stuff to New Zealand,” Jen added. "We didn’t know where we were going to live, but Steve had been making biodiesel in America, and we heard that Wanaka Wastebusters was using it, so we thought Wanaka might be a good place. By then we were living in Colorado and Wanaka seemed quite similar with lots of the things we liked; no humidity, a small mountain town with good snow, but no permanent snow in town that needed shovelling every day, and four defined seasons.”They flew into Auckland, bought a car, and drove around the country for six weeks looking for a place they wanted to live. Wanaka still seemed like the best choice, and they now call Lake Hawea home.Initially Steve got a job restoring vintage cars at the Warbirds and Wheels museum. Now he repairs and restores vintage caravans in the winter, and runs his own bobcat business in the summer.He’s also designed and built a prototype teardrop caravan ("basically, it's a bed and kitchen on wheels”) which he launched at the A&P Show this year. It comes in three sizes: a small one which slides onto the back of a ute or truck, the standard model, which you can’t stand-up in, and a bigger one which has a self-contained bathroom.The project he’s currently working on is a new building system for affordable housing. "The majority of the parts will be made in a factory, flat-packed to the site, and assembled in a matter of days. Basically it's made of chiller panels. I'm just working on making it aesthetically pleasing now,” he said.When they first arrived here, Jen started teaching yoga. That soon expanded to include meditation and, more recently, she’s added sessions with crystal healing bowls and metamorphic foot massage. Her latest ventures are a special ‘Golden Years’ yoga class in Wanaka and a regular class with different teachers at the Lake Hawea Community Centre.And when she’s not busy looking after their two children (Nicholas, 14, and Celeste, 8), she’s marketing the caravans."We realised Wanaka’s not the sort of place where you just do one thing to make a living. It suits us very well doing lots of different things. The only problem is, we have too many ideas and we can’t do them all.”For more information on the caravans check out the website www.adventurecaravans.co.nz.To find out more about Jen’s classes call her on 022 097 4596.PHOTO: Caroline Harker

Ever wondered who that woman is who does the huge bubbles around town? The Wanaka App caught up with Wanaka's very own Lily Lightly (AKA Diana Hickey).WA: Where did your bubble journey begin?DIANA: I was fascinated with the colours in puddles as a kid. Then at art school I chose bubbles - I was fascinated with the concept of conception and the magic of the embryonic sac and I wanted to emulate that. I started trying to perfect ice bubbles. I was trying to push the boundaries of what bubbles were and explore the life cycle of ice bubbles. Bubbles were the perfect sphere for me. I started doing performance with them, then got into street theatre with bubbles and working with inner-city kids doing clowning and bubbles. I worked with the Irish National Clown theatre.WA: You were born and bred in Ireland. How did you end up in Wanaka?DIANA: I came to look at the snow as I'd never been on a wave that didn't dump me and snow is like one big beautiful wave.WA: As well as making bubbles what else do you do in Wanaka to make a living?DIANA: I teach [instruments and voice], write and arrange music and vocals, and do the odd visual arts thingumy here and there, as well as mucking in with public events when I can.WA: How long have you been here?DIANA: I've been here in NZ for 17 years and while I'm proud to be a Kiwi citizen, my heart is still Irish. I've bounced between Wanaka, Dunedin, Christchurch and Auckland for study and work, but the Wanaka bubble always lures me back.WA: What kind of work has taken you away?DIANA: Wanaka is partially responsible for the various paths I've skipped down over the last 17 years, including studying art psychotherapy and gaining a Clinical Masters, and then working for the District Health Board at the coalface.WA: What did that involve?DIANA: I was doing art psychotherapy with children and young adults, in oncology and in palliative situations. And working with their parents and caregivers.It was an incredible experience, but in the end I needed to take some time out and get back into creativity, for my own self care, and that’s when I came back to Wanaka. WA: What do you enjoy about living in Wanaka?DIANA: The joys of working for great events like the Rippon music festival and YAMI, Rhythm and Alps, re-igniting my clowning past, peppered with visual arts exhibits and personal musical projects here and there. It's a town where not many of us are nine to fivers. To stay we need to creatively adapt to thrive. Maybe it's the mountains and these stunning pristine lakes and rivers we're surrounded by. I aspire to be more creative by simply being here. The community is hugely supportive of one another too, all manner of colourful expression can be born and I am very grateful to call the place home.WA: Will you share the perfect bubble mixture recipe?DIANA: You will need: the snot of a northern prismic sealion (obviously you have to wait until they get a cold - which doesn't happen often); the dust off the wings of a South American Wobble butterfly (but they are hard to catch) and some mermaid scales (scraping them off can be tricky). Save yourself the trouble and buy some from Lily directly on her Flying Colours Facebook page, or phone 021 400 857.Lily Lightly will be performing at the Matariki celebrations at the Wanaka lakefront on Saturday.PHOTO: Supplied

CAROLINE HARKERThe three little pigs were wrong when it comes to building construction, or so say a local couple who gave a talk on building with straw recently.There’s no way a big bad wolf could blow down one of their straw (bale) houses, in fact they claim they would last longer than many regular homes.Local design and build team Jessica and Ben Eyers (Hiberna Construction and Architecture) are speaking at a Southern Sustainable Building meeting about their work on Tuesday night at Kai Whakapai. The talk will focus on how straw bales can be used to make a durable, affordable, environmentally-friendly, mainstream construction material.The Eyers philosophy of building is based on creating houses "your children’s children will be proud of". "The market is flooded with large mediocre homes and we are trying to reverse that trend,” Jessica said. "We think there is more long-term value in quality buildings, built to last, that don’t break the budget because of their size. For a building to last the centuries it needs to be loved, and our buildings will need to be maintained - but unlike a lot of modern materials, earth, lime and timber can be maintained relatively easily and cheaply.” The straw bales themselves are fully enclosed, so they don’t need any maintenance.Jessica said what they have is "a high performance ultra low carbon insulation technology that is proven to reduce heating costs by 90%.”Jessica is from England and Ben from Wanganui. They met while rock climbing in Wanaka, and found they had a lot in common. One thing led to another and they designed and built their first house in 2008. Located in Wanaka, it was for Ben’s parents and is an energy-efficient passive solar house.Since then they have started their own business, had two children and built their own straw bale house, "where we try out all our building ideas”. They have also designed and built houses in Tekapo and Warkworth.Jessica has previously worked for Sustainable Wanaka (2006-2009) and for QLDC as an eco-design advisor. She has two degrees in architecture. Ben is a licensed builder and natural plasterer. They are currently applying for a research grant to explore the potential for mainstreaming straw bale as a building material.Southern Sustainable Building is a group of people involved in sustainable building projects in Central Otago. Their meeting will be held upstairs at Kai Whakapai on Tuesday June 28 at 7pm. Anyone interested in attending is welcome.For more information contact Clair Higginson on 03 448 6115 or 021 102 2182, [email protected], or Jessica Eyers on 022 013 9062 or [email protected]: www.alpineimages.co.nz

It’s a family affair at Wanaka’s newest eatery, as the "food-obsessed” Lahoods have set up a cafe to serve the kind of food they love to eat.Chrissie, Sharon and Paul Lahood are three siblings from a family of ten, joined in their new venture by Paul’s wife Tasha."We’re used to having lots of people around,” Chrissie said. "And we have plenty of backup,” Paul added. The siblings have teamed up their complementary skills in hospitality (Paul and Tasha are part-owners of Relishes), accountancy (Sharon was an accountant in Perth) and advertising (Chrissie’s Wellington background) for Big Fig.Even the name has a family connection. It comes from the huge fig tree in the Lahood’s childhood backyard in Taranaki. The siblings’ mother, Dorothy, made fig jam from the fruit every year, but the young Lahoods didn’t appreciate it much then.Their mother was "a great cook”, the Lahood siblings said. Dorothy learnt Lebanese food from her mother-in-law, and passed on her "stock standard” Lebanese dishes to her children. Middle-Eastern flavours are therefore a big feature of Big Fig’s menu. The "modern Middle-Eastern” menu is influenced by the east, but "anything goes,” Tasha said.Expect slow-cooked meats, spiced rotisseried chickens, lots of hot vegetarian dishes, big-flavour salads, stuffed pitas, pastries and baking made in Big Fig’s mini bakery and, of course, good coffee."We wanted to make the food we love to eat: tasty, modern, real, good food that’s super accessible.” Chrissie said. "Slow food, served fast.”Big Fig features a pita oven with a baker working full-time to ensure there is always a pile of warm, fresh pitas. All the food is made from scratch, and is free range and locally-sourced where possible, Chrissie said. "You can come in for a bowl of hot, minty, yoghurty lamb meatballs, a roast harissa-spiced salad, a steamy pita just out of the oven, and it’s all ready for you. You can sit in to eat or take out.”The Big Fig homage seems likely to compensate for any lack of appreciation the Lahood children had for their mother’s fig jam.Big Fig, next to the i-SITE Visitor Information Centre on Ardmore Street, opened yesterday (June 24).PHOTO: Pip O’Regan

CAROLINE HARKER A local boy has won the New Zealand Duck Calling Championships for the second year in a row. Luggate apprentice builder Hunter Morrow, 18, quacked his way to success in Tauranga on Saturday (July 9), beating more than 20 other duck callers from all over the country."The best bit of winning is you get a free trip to the US,” Hunter said. He’ll be heading stateside for the World Championships in November where a win would earn him US$10,000 and "heaps of other prizes”. Although he came fifth in the World Championships last year, he hasn’t yet dwelt on the possibility of winning this time - he couldn’t tell the Wanaka App what he would spend the money on if he did win. "Dunno. Maybe some ammunition for next season. Definitely something hunting related,” he said.Duck calling requires a fair bit of skill and a lot of practise. Hunter started calling when he was five years old, and is rumoured to practise for up to four hours a day.Duck callers use a small woodwind instrument which many say requires the same level of skill as any musical instrument. During the competition entrants had 60 seconds to do a "live duck routine”. Hunter said the more time he spends with ducks, the better he can understand what their calls mean. "You can tell just by the attitude of the call what they mean,” he said."I live for duck shooting”, he said. "It’s what I do every weekend. I love it.” The duck shooting season ends in three weeks time, and this past weekend, when he was in Tauranga for the competition, was the only one he’s had off this season.”"I travel all over the South Island to hunt,” he said. "I go wherever the bad weather is. Windy and stormy is best. The ducks love it.” Although, by his own admission "I’m a pretty good shot”, Hunter doesn’t compete as a shooter. "It would take up too much of my hunting time.”He loves to eat duck ("otherwise I wouldn’t hunt them”) and he’s keen on cooking them too. "Duck burritos, stir-fry, you name it, Mum will cook it,” he said. Hunter lives with his parents Tracey and Brett Morrow.The duck shooting season finished at the end of July, but that’s not too drastic for Hunter because he also loves hunting geese, and they can be hunted all year around."Goose hunting is actually more exciting. The goose is a bigger and noisier than a duck and they’re extremely smart.”You can hear Hunter and others duck calling on the NZ Duck Calling Championship facebook page.PHOTO: Supplied

CAROLINE HARKERWanaka’s newest childcare centre is very much a family affair, and the culmination of a lifelong dream.The four directors are husband and wife Sharyn and Murray Thomas, and their two adult children Jordanah and Josh. Originally from Whangarei, the Thomas family moved to Wanaka earlier this year and opened WanaExcel earlier this month (July). The centre caters for up to 60 children aged from babies to six-years-old."We created our first centre over 20 years ago because we wanted to [create a place] where our own children would be provided with opportunities to thrive in inspiring, educational environments,” Sharryn said. "WanaExcel continues our philosophy that a childcare centre should be a place where every single child and family feels important.”Sharyn said staff from most of the other childcare centres around town have already been in to visit them. And what did they think of WanaExcel? "You’ll have to ask them,” she said.Son Josh agrees with his parents’ education philosophy. "Growing up in a family involved in all aspects of education, I have been constantly surrounded by people of all ages, from all walks of life,” he said. "Taking time to interact with people, learning about their lives, listening to their lessons and understanding what they wish to achieve is a concept that has been taught to me from day one and is something that has had a substantial influence on my approach to both education and healthcare.”Josh is a qualified osteopath and plans to run a clinic out of the same location as WanaExcel, in Cliff Wilson St. Daughter Jordanah is equally enthusiastic about the new centre. "Being totally immersed in my family’s style of education since I was 18-months-old has taught me the value of determination, respect for others, a strong work ethic and a love of learning,” she said. "The creation of WanaExcel is made up from the life lessons and learning environment I had the privilege of growing up in, and I can’t wait to extend this unique experience to more children and families.”WanaExcel directors (from left) Josh, Sharyn, Murray and Jordanah Thomas.WanaExcel currently includes WanaExplore for babies to three-year-olds, and WanaDiscover for three to six-year-olds. In the future it will expand to be the WanaExcel Education and Health Hub. This will include WanaExperience for five to 10-year-olds (including a homework help service), a gymnasium and an osteopathy clinic offering treatments for all ages groups.PHOTOS: Supplied

Jamie Urquhart of Hawea’s Nook Nursery hasn’t let the weeds grow under his feet since he retired a few years ago: he has swapped trees for Tai Chi, and plans to spend the next three years studying the martial art in California."It will change my life - it’s already changing it,” Jamie said of his decision to begin a three year course studying White Crane Tai Chi and Qigong. He will leave for the USA in August, leaving the Nook behind for a while, along with his wife, three of his children who live close by, and seven grandchildren.Jamie, 62, said the move will get him out of the garden and off his children’s hands. "No more pulling weeds,” Jamie said. "It’s given me a new energy, a new direction.”His family (children Gabriel, Lochlan, Eli and WIllis) are all "a bit jealous” of his new direction, Jamie said, and Vicki, his partner of more than 40 years, is very supportive. "The easiest way to keep your relationship alive is to live in different houses, towns or countries,” Jamie joked.Jamie spent 30 years developing Nook Nursery, which he closed in 2012. "It was a lot to let go of. It was good to let go of it,” he said. After retiring, he and Vicki travelled around Australia for nine months, but since then he had been searching for something else to do with his time. "I sort of threw it out to the universe and this is what came back,” he said.Jamie has always been interested in the Chinese model. He first studied traditional Chinese massage in the 1980s and had his first taste of Tai Chi 15 years ago, taking lessons from Wanaka’s Sifu Glenn Hight, aka the G Man. "He gave me a really good grounding,” Jamie said.Jamie wanted to immerse himself in Tai Chi and Qigong and thought of going to China, but was put off by the language barrier and the approach to teaching there. He first came across his teacher, Dr Yang Jwing-Ming, in a CNN interview on TV. "I was really impressed about how he dealt with the interviewer, the way he spoke, his ease,” Jamie said.Jamie’s son Eli had hurt his back and Jamie was looking for something that would help. He came across some videos by Dr Yang on easing back pain. He googled Dr Yang and found he has a training centre in Northern California which offered - at that stage - a ten year course. Jamie emailed him to apply for entry to the course and Dr Yang emailed back suggesting he may want to attend a shorter course first to see whether the training and the environment suited him. There were a few courses available over five weeks and Jamie signed up for them all: Tai Chi form, basic Qigong, meditation and massage.He loved the environment. The centre is in Northern California, off-the-grid, with organic gardens, chooks and great food. Jamie enjoyed being part of community learning new skills and interacting with others. One day during training he was standing balanced on bricks: a brick on its end under each foot. "I was totally in the zone. I had a wee afternoon drop-off,” Jamie said. He lost his balance, woke up and stepped back, falling with his weight on his shoulder.The resulting injury - a grade 3 separation of the AC joint - hasn’t put Jamie off. He practices Tai Chi and Qigong for at least an hour and a half most days (he wakes up about 5am and likes to practice early) - and he’s back on the bricks. The tangible feeling of physical energy, or ‘chi’, happens only occasionally, Jamie said. "But when something like that happens it makes you want more.”Tai Chi dates back about 400 years and Qigong dates back about 4000. Dr Yang told Jamie: "I can teach you everything I know in ten years but it will take you 30 years to learn it”. Dr Yang’s personal goal to become enlightened through meditation, Jamie said. "Most of the training is about developing the skill to ‘know without knowing’.”Only six people are accepted for the three-year course, with the selection process taking more than a year. Candidates must be be fit, committed, and be able to get on with people, Jamie said. He’s not concerned about the very structured life he will be living (meditation starts at 6am, and students will have perhaps five hours to themselves each day) as he grew up in a structured environment. He also remembers early morning runs at boarding school (Otago Boys), ”rain, snow, whatever”.These formative experiences have set the scene for Jamie’s early-rising, busy approach to life - one which will be focused on Chinese martial arts and energy practice, rather than tending trees, for the next three years.PHOTO: Vicki Urquhart

Wanaka performer and vocal tutor Jenn Shelton is walking her talk, preparing to wow audiences on stage with the musical State Highway 48.Jenn is currently in rehearsals in Auckland for the rock musical. She is one of a cast of 10, including the well-known leads Shane Cortese (Shortland Street, Outrageous Fortune) and Delia Hannah (a highly acclaimed musical theatre performer) - both of whom have performed on the West End and Broadway."It’s such a privilege and an honour to work with them. They're very talented,” Jenn told the Wanaka App.Jenn was flown to Auckland a few weeks ago for a call-back audition - called while she was in the middle of a concert for her Wanaka Singing students. "It is good for me to walk the talk,” Jenn said. "I currently have 30 private singing students and two vocal groups in Wanaka and it’s good for my students to see me out there 'doing' it.”State Highway 48, first staged in 2014, tracks the life and times of an everyday family as they navigate the road of middle age. Featuring 26 original songs, the musical looks at changes in family, the workplace and friendships, set against the backdrop of the recession and with the lead character dealing with depression. The musical’s publicity describes it as "unique, touching and universally relevant”, with a message for everyone about recognising depression and facing up to it, as well as communication, love, friendship and the strength of the family unit.State Highway 48 will tour the North Island from August 19 to October 29. There are also plans to tour all the main centres of New Zealand early next year and possibly Australia.PHOTO: Supplied

Doug Stalker has been voted the new president of the Upper Clutha A&P Society, as preparations for the 80th Wanaka Show are underway.Doug is a helicopter pilot and fencer who has spent the past two years as senior vice president and the two years before that as junior vice president. He is joined by Grant Ruddenklau as the new senior vice president and Mike Scurr as the new junior vice president. Doug replaces Tarras farmer Robbie Gibson, who has held the president’s role for the past two years."It’s an honour and a privilege to be elected president,” Doug said. "What makes it pleasurable is having a good, solid, enthusiastic team around you – including the show committee, our sponsors and our many volunteers – all of which help put on a hugely popular, major annual event for Wanaka.”Doug has been involved in the Wanaka Show for most of his life, having competed in equestrian events as a child and teenager, and had parents who were heavily involved at committee level. He has also spent more than 10 years in charge of the cattle section of the show.Doug acknowledged Robbie’s contribution over the past two years: "The Wanaka Show has evolved significantly in recent years and Robbie certainly helped move it along. He has been instrumental in securing corporate sponsorship for the show and will continue to help with this. We’re a not-for-profit society so it’s essential that we gain sponsorship to help deliver an event of national significance.”Preparations are underway for the 80th annual show which will be held on March 10 - 11, 2017. Next year will be a busy one for the society, as it will also host the Royal Agricultural Society (RAS) conference in Wanaka and the RAS National Golden Fleece Exhibition on June 23 to 24.PHOTO: Supplied

Whether you enjoyed or just endured the post-natal coffee group, or if you don’t have a clue what coffee groups do, Losing Faith, a new play written by local playwright Liz Breslin, has something for you.Set in the lead character Faith’s lounge, the play invites the audience to watch Faith, a first-time mother, as she hosts coffee groups, meets with the Plunket nurse, spends time with her husband, and time alone.It’s a darkly comic look at life after birth and the issue of post-natal depression (the trigger-warning tag on the play’s poster advises viewers to be aware the play contains "distressing baby cries, post-natal depression and sweary language”). It’s an honest take on a subject - parenthood - that can be both one of life’s best experiences, and one of its most difficult ones."Comedy is such a good vehicle for serious issues,” Liz explained. "Dark humour is a coping strategy in its own right.” And she pointed out that post-natal depression is a timely topic, with the numbers of parents who suffer from it on the increase. "It’s 15 percent of new mothers and 13 percent of new fathers. It’s a lot of us,” she said.The play is directed by Fiona Armstrong, who was one of the lead actors in Liz’s last locally-staged play, the freedom camping farce ‘It’s Your Shit’. The show enjoyed five sold-out performances in the Hawea Flat Hall and a two-night stint in Arrowtown.Losing Faith also features Gilly Pugh, well-known in Wanaka for writing and directing her own pieces and running the Aspiring Children’s Theatre School. Becky Plunkett, who trained formally in London and was a "jobbing actor” for a few years before taking up ski instructing, plays the role of Faith. And Will Cole, the youngest member of the cast, will be familiar to audiences from his role as the Reverend in this year’s Mount Aspiring College musical, ‘Footloose’.None of the new parents in the cast are parents themselves. To this end, they have been researching hard, and director Fiona has been putting them through their physical paces. "They’re an amazing group of actors who have invested so much into their characters. They have done their research, they have improvised key moments in their lives and they have both physically and mentally committed to telling us their story,” Fiona said.‘Losing Faith’ is being performed from September 27-30 at 7.30pm, and on October 1 at 11am, at Edgewater Resort.Cash tickets can be purchased for $20 ($10 concessions) from Pembroke Wines on Dungarvon St.PHOTO: Laura Williamson

Wanaka writer Annabel Wilson has won the inaugural AAWP/UWRF Emerging Writers' Prize, awarded by the Australasian Association of Writing Programs (AAWP) and the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival (UWRF).The 2016 theme was 'Tat Tvam Asi', a Hindu concept meaning 'I am you, you are me'.Annabel won for her prose poem ‘Quire’, which she described as "25 vignettes which 'sing out' to each other.” Quire is an old fashioned book-binding term, but it also means to sing in unison, and is the front part of the church where singers perform together - probably, Annabel said, the basis for the modern term "choir”."They are snapshots based on observations and journal entries centred on time I spent in Bali,” she said, adding the "Quire’ pieces were developed further during a period when she was working towards her Masters In Creative Writing through Massey University.The work is a thoughtful, meditative and humourous mix, some of it beautifully precise: "Two cups on the doorstep. A red-beaked plant drapes like a Christmas bauble above us, velvety to touch. We sit here every morning, sip sweet tea. A sooty butterfly swoops over your shoulder.” And some of it whimsical: "Boys on the beach selling Bintang from chilly bins ask where is your husband? Where you go next? Sunset turns everything copper. I buy a towel that says Toughen Up Princess and a floaty dress.”One of the judges, associate professor Dominique Hecq, gave the following feedback on Annabel’s entry: "‘Quire’ is compelling and haunting. It is also playful and linguistically inventive. With its cool tone and striking imagery, this work seems to me unostentatiously individual and ambitious - fastidious but also marked by unexpected images and turns. ‘Quire’ takes no shortcuts; it works always subtly and with its own particular combination of wryness and lyricism.”Previously an English and Media Studies teacher at Mount Aspiring College, Annabel is spending this year based in Wellington, where she has been writing full time as well as developing a feature-length play entitled 'No Science To Goodbye' with director Anna Shaw, also a former MAC teacher.Annabel’s prize includes a ticket to the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival, accommodation for the duration of the festival and $500 towards economy airfares. Her work will also be published in an upcoming issue of Meniscus Literary Journal, and she has been invited to present her work at the annual AAWP conference in Canberra in November.PHOTO: Supplied

MARK THOMASWanaka man Mark ‘Curly’ Thomas opens up about his experiences with clinical depression and the need to talk about what is a treatable illness.Like a shorter, slower version of the great All Black John Kirwan, I have decided to speak up about depression. My life is fantastic and I get immense pleasure from my love of sport, travel and the amazing people around me. But here’s a simple statement of medical fact – I have experienced major episodes of clinical depression since the age of 18. I don’t know how that works. How the same mind that allows me to drink in life like an intoxicating nectar can also turn dog on me and drag me to the depths of emotional hell, but that is the truth of it.I do know that depression can afflict anyone, regardless of how good or seemingly enviable their life is, just like cancer, heart disease or any other illness can strike anybody regardless of how happy, famous or wealthy they are."I will no longer run from depression or from discussion about it"Until now, I dealt with my illness in secret because I grew up in a pre-John Kirwan era when depression and other mental illnesses were stigmatised, taboo, and definitely not openly discussed. I felt ashamed that I suffered from anxiety and depression, and hid it from the world.I no longer feel that way. In fact I have learned something very important, which is one of the reasons I am piping up now. It feels really good to be honest about this condition. It feels good to discuss it openly and by doing so connect with others who have experienced depression or know someone who has.There is beautiful strength to be had in sharing a heavy load with those close to you. In my experience there is only loneliness, emotional misery and a downward spiral in mood if I try to go it alone.I now view mental illness as just like any other form of illness – something nobody chooses or wishes upon themselves, but which has to be dealt with openly and honestly. As my good friend Jeff Ellis (Joffre) told me: "You can’t treat a secret.” And another good mate of mine, Bill Moore, often and wisely states: "The truth will set us free.”Which is why I have chosen to out myself and to stand proud. I will no longer run from depression or from discussion about it. I will no longer pretend it doesn’t occasionally get its claws into me. I would dearly love to think that by doing so I will help people, even just one person, to find a way through the darkness.Because make no mistake, people are suffering out there. Discussion about depression may be uncommon, but the illness itself is not. It is estimated that one in six people will experience depression in their lifetime and one in four will suffer from significant anxiety. So the chances are that you or someone close to you could really benefit from unburdening themselves.Another thing people need to realise about depression is that at its worst, it is a fatal illness. People kill themselves rather than continue living with what they mistakenly believe is a permanent and inescapable sense of emotional pain and hopelessness. That view of the world is of course flawed, but it becomes frighteningly real for those suffering true clinical depression.I surf and kite-surf all around the world. I ski powder runs with my mates every year. I have an incredibly loving, smart and beautiful wife, wickedly good friends and a freehold home. Yet I have fantasised about death many, many times. That is not a reflection on my life, but rather tells the truth about just how misleading, yet compelling and powerful, the lense of depression can be.More than 500 people a year commit suicide in New Zealand. These aren’t just empty numbers. These are real people, our mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, cousins, friends and work mates.We all know of someone in our community who has taken their own life. My own father, an immensely intelligent, big-hearted and talented man, a man I am incredibly proud of, killed himself aged 49 after a long bout of depression.WE NEED TO STOP OUR PEOPLE DYING FROM A TREATABLE ILLNESS. We need to normalise depression, to get it out there, so those who are suffering don’t think twice about raising the subject with their friends, their family or their doctor.Depression has made a couple of significant runs at me, convincing me it would be better for all concerned if I no longer existed, that I was a burden. The scary thing about depression is that although it passes it fools people into believing it won’t. Many, many people have died when a better day was undoubtedly just around the corner.Depression can be tricky. It can be sneaky and conniving. It has often persuaded me I should stay in bed, stay quiet, keep my thoughts to myself and battle on alone. I say fuck that. Depression thrives in the darkness, in the dead of night, in the depths of my mind. It does not do nearly as well when I talk about it with someone. It does not do nearly as well when I address it as a problem to be solved rather than an insurmountable mountain of gloom in my soul. Depression recoils when exposed to the light and to love.I don’t suffer from depression all of the time, or even most of the time. But it is a part of my medical landscape which I have to accept. The really good news is that accepting it doesn’t mean lying down and letting it run rampant.Depression is a treatable illness. A big part of that treatment is seeking support when you need it. I sincerely thank my wife, Janey, my family and my friends for the love and support given to me. You held me up when I could barely stand alone. A big part of showing my appreciation is to get well, stay well, and be there to help others along the way.I am here today to tell anyone who cares to listen that it doesn’t matter how low you go, how hopeless and desperate things may seem, there is a way forward. There is love out there. There is help out there. There is a path back to the light, I promise you that. And more often than not that way forward will begin with something as simple as a honest conversation with someone you trust. Try it. I did, and it worked.Need help or advice?https://www.beyondblue.org.au/https://depression.org.nz/PHOTO: Supplied