Work will soon be under way to make Cape Wanbrow more environmentally and community friendly.Over the next few months the Waitaki District Council is carrying out a variety of work on the land around the cape to improve the natural environment as well as community access.The work will happen in three stages, council Parks and Recreation manager Lindsay Hyde says.Rabbit control will be the first stage, and is to be carried out in the area this month, on instruction from the Otago Regional Council. The Ōamaru Blue Penguin Colony and a section of Waterfront Road will also be covered.Rabbits are a major problem for new plantings on Cape Wanbrow, especially as pines are replaced with natives – which is part of the third stage planned, Lindsay says.Pindone poison has been determined as the most-effective option, and it will be deposited in the most populated areas, and night shooting will be also used to reduce the number of the prolific pests.Signage will clearly indicate when poison has been set, along with the dates and time of night shooting, with the council providing updates on social media ahead of both.“During this time we recommend dogs are kept on a lead at all times,” Lindsay says.The Pindone will be administered via diced carrot, coloured green or blue. An average-sized dog (9kg) can tolerate about 26 pieces of Pindone bait (based on a seven-day daily dose) before it has a negative effect. It does not affect birds.The second stage of improvements is upgrading signage and parking facilities at the Test Street entrance to the cape. This work is taking place this month and will be running into August, he says.There is currently no official parking at this location, and the council will be adding marked spaces for community use.The third stage will take place in September and involves the removal of an ageing stand of ponderosa pines on the cape between Tamar and Selwyn streets. “The trees in this block are beginning to drop branches and, once removed, will be replaced, in time, with native planting – as has occurred elsewhere on the cape when other areas have been removed,” Lindsay says.

A new, free programme for parents on how to navigate the tricky teenage years with their children, is coming to Ōamaru.The Y-Whānau parenting programme offers one two-hour session per week, over six weeks, starting next Wednesday (July 31).The Y Central South Island community development team leader Jo Skudder says it’s the first time the programme has been offered in Ōamaru, but it has been offered once a term over the past three years in Timaru, as well as Temuka and Fairlie, by The Y, and other organisations prior to that.The course is aimed at parents of 10 to 16 year-olds, “so we can give them tools before they hit those teenage years”.“But we also don’t say no to parents, you know, if their kid’s five or their kid’s seventeen . . . it’s a very open space,” Jo says.The sessions cover adolescent brain development and stages; parental styles and roles, support systems, boundaries and self-care; effective communication tips and tools; how to actively parent and feel good about your role; consequences and choices, and tools to help your teen learn from both; and how to have difficult conversations about sex and drugs.“But we do try to get the participants to own that space,” Jo says. “So if there's something really pressing, we will focus on that.“And we never shut down conversations, if we start talking about school or something, and it went off down another path. We would carry that on if they were getting something out of it. “It's very much led by them.”The Y Central South Island (formerly the YMCA) is based in Timaru, where it is busiest and has the most resources.In Ōamaru, there is an education and a learn-to-drive site, and there are also bases in Ashburton and Christchurch. “So it's just about expanding our mahi out into our other sites,” Jo says. The course is being made possible by funding from the Waitaki District Council, and has been strongly supported by Ōamaru Public Health nurse Lesley Simpson and St Kevin’s College attendance officer Lesley Henderson.“I think a lot of parents feel like that once their kid hits 10, 12 that they're on their own, you know, that they should know everything,” Jo says.“I think the realisation is that they need to be actively parented more as young teenagers than they do even as preschoolers, and stuff really hits home. And how different the world that our young people live in now is, to when we were that age.”Jo describes herself as a “great advocate” for teenagers and says the programme is a judgement-free space.“We're advocating for the young people, and getting the parents to see what they need to do to get the most out of their young people . . . because teenage years can be real yuck for some kids.”Jo brings years of training, experience running the course, and also her own experience with raising her children.She says the course is “mana-enhancing” and strengths-based.“And listening to our young people, working with our young people all the time . . .  and the youth are always at the centre of everything we do.”To make the parenting course as accessible as possible to everyone, there will be kai provided and an onsite babysitting service in the community space next to the Y rooms. Transportation to and from the course is also available for those who would find that helpful, she says.To get the most benefit, Jo wants people to attend all six classes if they can, in order to help foster relationships and trust with the others there.  Everything shared in the classes is completely confidential.“So the only thing I would ever share is if they were going to hurt someone or themselves. Otherwise it stays with me.”If a parent is really struggling with their teen’s behaviour, this course is a great starting place, Jo says.“Whether it's a parenting thing where, whether the child needs more help or [the situation] needs a wraparound, that would all come from that course.”The first night is always a bit awkward, she says. People don’t know what to expect, even Jo herself, and she wants to reassure parents she is not there to judge them on their parenting. “In fact, we applaud that they've come to do something about it.“It's very, very relaxed, even though we can touch on some real yuck stuff . . . I really want it to be a place that they want to come back to, and they feel like they can chat and even bond with some other people in the community.” The course runs in two-hour sessions from 6-8pm, over six weeks. It will be held at The Y, Ara Campus at 44 Humber Street.Registrations can be made by calling Jo on 027 619 8379 or by emailing [email protected], or by phoning Lesley Simpson on 027 430 2002, or Lesley Henderson on 027 488 6521.

A chilly polar blast is set to hit the country after an unusually warm week.Cold southerlies could bring snow to low levels - 400-500m - in the South Island on Monday and Tuesday.MetService forecaster John Law told Morning Report temperatures would return to normal winter levels.LIsten: Temperatures to plunge as polar blast heads towards NZ"We're not out of winter just yet, we may be lulled into a false sense of security with some of those high temperatures we'll see over the next couple of days."Anyone planning to travel around the mountain passes in the South Island next week should watch the forecast, Law said.By the middle of next week there may be some snow in the central North Island as well, he said."Definitely the time of the year to take extra care and extra time on the roads."

While Ōamaru is spoilt for choice when it comes to decent lunch offerings, there have been murmerings on the street about a lack of a decent takeaway sandwich or salad. Enter Housekeepers Pantry. Just around the corner from Housekeepers Design, but in the same building, Housekeepers Pantry opened on Harbour Street on Monday (July 22), and is the realisation of a long-time dream for Sally-Ann Donnelly.“It's always been a stupid dream of mine to go and open a wee deli sandwich shop.”Sally-Ann has a love of cooking and producing good food, and since selling Fat Sally’s Pub and Restaurant, the Ōamaru business owner has missed being in the hospitality industry. Once she made the decision to go ahead, it only took a couple of months to make the dream a reality, Sally-Ann says.“I thought, we've got this space that we just fill up with stuff that we don't need, so we'll go in there.”The aim is to keep things simple. Good sandwiches and good salads.“Real basic, real good, tasty food,” she says.Club sandwiches, or a slow-cooked beef and salad on Harbour St Bakery focaccia were on offer at Housekeepers Pantry on Monday, along with some tasty looking salad options. But there’s definitely something for those that love a bit of fancy too, with delicious cookies - Monday’s were “loaded” raspberry cheesecake, or coffee and caramel - and flat croissants (Google it).Sally-Ann is “so lucky” to be reunited with chef Chloe Kyles, who cooked for her when she owned Portside Restaurant (now Del Mar Eatery and Beach Bar), while longtime staff member Anna Beveridge is the main friendly face greeting people in-store.As the name suggests, Housekeepers Pantry also has a selection of deli and pantry goods that can't be found elsewhere in town, such as dried pastas, sauces, a selection of oils and vinegars, The Caker cake mixes, and house-made offerings such as mini meringues, puffed quinoa, and crostini.   “There's something for everybody that comes in,” Sally-Ann says. “Eventually, down the track, I really want to get into platter stuff for Fridays. You can come in and buy your nibbles for your platter for the weekend.”So far the support from locals has been great, she says.“We’re very, very lucky. We live in such a great little town, really, don't we?” Housekeepers Pantry is open Monday to Friday, from 10.30am to 3.30pm. There will be a phone pre-ordering system put in place and the salads and sandwiches on offer will be posted on the Housekeepers Pantry Facebook page daily.Some of the pantry items available instore.

They were cynical, disaffected, and cooler than everyone else. Now they're married with children and probably your boss.There's a moment in the Gen X classic Reality Bites when Ethan Hawke's character Troy Dyer - a coffee-swilling, cigarette-smoking, floppy-haired, guitar-playing man-child who's disenchanted with everything and everyone except Winona Ryder - declares: "There's no point to any of this.""It's just a random lottery of meaningless tragedy and a series of near escapes. So I take pleasure in the details," he says. "I sit back and smoke my Camel Straights and I ride my own melt."A child of divorce, refusing to kowtow to The Man by getting a job, Troy encapsulated a generation's worth of tropes.Here in New Zealand, the details may have differed, but Gen X experienced many of the same cultural touchstones as Reality Bites' fictional band of slackers, including the bruising economic realities of a newly free market.Thirty years later though, Troy and co would be middle-aged, and the oldest Gen X-ers are staring down the barrel of the big 6-0.So what does the real Gen X look like in New Zealand now?Using census and other data, RNZ has attempted to get a handle on how life has unfolded for this generation.The statistics bear bad news for Gen X-ers clinging to a cooler-than-thou image: turns out they went straight after all.'I think they're the forgotten generation'Compared to the generations they're sandwiched between, Gen X have had little attention from demographers, Massey University sociologist Professor Paul Spoonley says."I think they're the forgotten generation. Nobody talks about them - they don't stand out."That's down to Gen X's status as a "transitional generation", he says."There's such stark differences between the generations either side of them."There are also fewer of them.Typically defined as born between 1965 and 1980, Gen X has a smaller generational window than both Baby Boomers, who were born between 1946 and 1964, and Millennials/Gen Y, who were born between the early 1981 and the late 1990s (RNZ has used Stats NZ's definition of 1981-2000).It's tricky to get a handle on the definitive size of each generation using current numbers, because migration and death means the populations ebb and flow.But using just the number of live births for the relevant years, there were 935,000 Gen X babies born in New Zealand, compared to 1,065,000 Baby Boomers and 1,060,000 Millennials.Photo: RNZ / UnsplashStats NZ senior insights analyst Kim Dunstan says the boundaries of where Gen X begins and ends are blurrier than the Boomer generation, which has a proper demographic definition."We're able to define [Baby Boomers] on the basis of New Zealand's total fertility rate, which was 3.5 or higher for each of those years."For Gen X and subsequent generations there's no such definition, and the lines are more arbitrary.Nowadays, Gen X makes up about a quarter of the population, and don't stick out as being more numerous in one area versus another.Ethnically, they look very similar to the population as a whole: 69 percent identify as Pākehā, 14 percent as Māori, 7 percent as Pasifika and 16 percent as Asian.But there are differences when you zoom out.They're more urban than Boomers, with about two-thirds of them choosing to make cities their homes, but less so than the Millennials who followed them.It's hard to pinpoint how many Gen X-ers left New Zealand on OEs and never returned, but of those who returned or remained, they're now well settled.In 2018, 77 percent said their usual residence was either the same as five years ago or they had moved there from somewhere else in New Zealand, and more than half lived in a house they or a family trust owned.And rather than drastically departing from their predecessors, the majority of Gen X-ers live in family units similar to the ones many were brought up in: a couple with children."As they've proceeded through life they've tended to look much more like Baby Boomers than they do Millennials and Gen Z," Paul Spoonley says.Dunstan says there are subtle differences when you dig deeper, though.Between the years Gen X were born and the years they hit the average marriage age, marriage rates in New Zealand halved."There's no indication that [Gen X is] less likely to get partnered, but the nature of those partnerships is quite different with de facto relationships much more common than they would have been for the Baby Boomers," Dunstan says.That could also explain the lower divorce rate, which has declined to levels not seen since the 1970s, when legally it was much more difficult to obtain one."That might be evidence that those who choose to get legally married in more recent times have a lower risk of divorce."Gen X's relative financial stability further cements them in their mid-life status.One of the most drastic generational breaks that leaps out from census data is their level of further education - more than 60 percent got some kind of additional qualification after leaving school, compared to less than half of Boomers.That's flowed into the types of careers they've pursued: not only are they working for the Man, nowadays they're also likely to be the Man.One in five (21 per cent) are managers, and another quarter (26 per cent) hold other professional jobs - and that's reflected in higher salaries. They're the least likely of the working-age generations to be labourers or other unskilled workers.Gen X's formative years coincided with the huge economic reforms of the 1980s, Spoonley says."But some of them got caught by that and some of them didn't - the generation divides up into the lucky ones that got through without incurring a lot of student debt and those born [closer to 1980]."What the entire generation managed to dodge (though there are always exceptions) was coming of age in an economic downturn."They were sufficiently through their career cycles that they missed the big events like the [Global Financial Crisis] - they would have been quite settled," Spoonley says."During the GFC, the labour market churn went way, way down and that was likely because Boomers and Gen X were staying put."Unemployment rates went up across the board during the GFC, but the shift for Gen X was relatively small compared to the rates seen among Millennials just starting out in the workforce.That's not to say it's always been smooth sailing.Stats NZ's Kim Dunstan - himself a Gen X-er - says the sheer size of the Baby Boomer cohort that preceded his generation has carried a lot of economic and political heft."There's an argument that they've dominated political decisions right from when they were born and the state was building lots of school and hospitals to support their needs," he says.It's also presented what he calls "some interesting labour market implications"."For a long time, the ranks of many private and public organisations were filled with Baby Boomers at the managerial levels." It's only in the past decade that they've begun to make way for Gen X behind them.What's hard to capture in the data is how Gen X's formative experiences have shaped their outlook on life, now the financial and cultural clout has finally shifted in their favour.Gen X is a big fan of one of these Photo: RNZ / UnsplashThere are glimpses in the Census data: Gen X is the first generation to start to abandon religion in large numbers, with a majority saying they have no such beliefs.More than that, Spoonley says - they're less likely to have had any experience of religion."[Whereas] Baby Boomers were brought up in households that were much more religious in their beliefs and practices. Even when they become more secular in their practices they tend to have a background of participating in religion."Some tropes die hard, though - while only 16 percent are current smokers, Gen X's 'ever smoked' rates are far higher than Millennials, who did not grow up with the same fervent cultural belief - a growing body of scientific evidence be damned - that smoking made you cooler.Gen X seems to be less certain about inhaling these days though. A Vote Compass post-election survey found a slim majority of 40- to 49-year-olds (Gen X) voted in favour of legalising cannabis in the unsuccessful 2020 referendum, versus 68 percent of 30- to 39-year-olds (Millennials).Pew Research Center, a long-standing US think-tank specialising in generational research, states: "When we see that younger adults have different views than their older counterparts, it may be driven by their demographic traits rather than the fact that they belong to a particular generation." In other words, it seems the drift towards conservatism is inexorable, no matter how oppositional your generation starts out.Now we are 60The really good news for older Gen X-ers is that - together with Boomers - "they will prove to be the healthiest and wealthiest generations we see arriving in their 60s and 70s," Spoonley says.Within the cohort though, there will always be differences.The world-renowned longitudinal Dunedin Study has tracked more than 1000 people born in Dunedin in 1972 and 1973 - placing the cohort smack-bang in the middle of Gen X.The study began its latest survey wave in April this year and is beginning to focus on the process and experience of ageing for its participants, who are now turning 52, study director Professor Moana Theodore says.As part of the assessments in each survey wave, researchers thoroughly assess participants' physical health, including their heart, kidney, lung, dental and cognitive function."The chronological age of the study members is 52, but what we've been able to look at over time is their biological age," Theodore says."We found that some study members had biological ages that were much younger than other members."Deprivation in their younger years was hugely important to how healthy these Gen X-ers have grown up to be, she says."Those of our study members who grew up with more poverty … were more likely to have worse health outcomes by the time they reached mid-life."That difference persisted even when study members grew up to be economically better off. "Their health was still not as good compared to children who did not start off from impoverished backgrounds."Theodore says another really fascinating finding from the study is that over time, 86 percent of the participants have experienced a diagnosable mental health issue at some stage. For some, it's been temporary, while others have experienced it throughout their teen and adult lives.The Dunedin Study isn't comparative, so it doesn't show whether its Gen X cohort have had more or less experience with mental health issues with other generations. But it still reveals something important about human experience, Theodore says."When you think about what's normal and what's not normal, it reverses that stigma I think we still have … if we know that nearly all people have had experience of this."For Theodore - a Gen X-er herself - the trajectory of how the Dunedin Study members' lives have unfolded is as far from Troy Dyer's nihilistic take as it's possible to get."People come in from all walks of life [for each survey wave] with the understanding that what they're doing is improving the lives of others but also the next generation."[ https://citygallery.org.nz/exhibitions/generation-x-50-artworks-from-the-chartwell-collection/ Generation X: 50 Artworks from the Chartwell Collection], opens at Te Papa on Saturday 27 July and runs until 20 October.

The New Zealand team for the 2024 Paris Olympics at a glance:195 athletes98 males, 97 females17.4 percent of the team is MāoriLuuka Jones (canoe slalom), Ali Riley (football) and Emma Twigg (rowing) all attending their fifth Olympic GamesYoungest athlete: 18-year-old footballer Milly CleggOldest athlete: 45-year-old equestrian athlete Tim PriceNew Zealand will compete across more sports than ever before at the 2024 Olympic Games, with athletes to contest 23 sports, including NZ's Olympic debut in kiteboarding and speed climbing.The team is close to gender equal, made up of 98 males and 97 females. Auckland has produced the largest number of athletes, with 58 team members hailing from the region. Canterbury is next with 24, Wellington 18, the Waikato 17, and Bay of Plenty 14.The team members come from a wide range of cultural backgrounds, including athletes with Samoan, Tongan, French, Australian, Fijian, Chinese, Korean, Dutch, Indian, South African and American heritage. Māori athletes make up 17.4 percent of the team (34 athletes).Listen: Countdown on for Olympic games kick off duration 3′45″ from Morning ReportMilly Clegg is New Zealand's youngest Olympian at Paris 2024. Photo: PHOTOSPORT via RNZNew Zealand's youngest athlete is footballer Milly Clegg who is just 18 years old, while equestrian athlete Tim Price is the oldest team member at 45.Attending their first Olympic Games, will be 101 athletes, while the other 94 have already competed at one or more Games. Luuka Jones (canoe slalom), Ali Riley (football) and Emma Twigg (rowing) are the most capped team members, attending their fifth Olympic Games.Emma Twigg will be at Olympics number five. Photo: PHOTOSPORT via RNZNew Zealand team Chef de Mission Nigel Avery said New Zealand's athletes are looking forward to arriving in Paris and performing at the Games."I've spoken to a lot of our athletes recently and the overwhelming feeling is that they are prepared and ready for this challenge," Avery said."Paris is also ready, there's a real buzz in the city and the venues are looking amazing. We're expecting a fantastic Games in one of the most beautiful cities in the world."Giant rings installed on the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, on 14 June, 2024. Photo: Telmo Pinto / NurPhoto / NurPhoto via AFP/RNZAvery and the advance team have been in the Olympic Village, preparing for athlete arrivals."We've been working hard behind the scenes to create an environment which allows our athletes to perform to the best of their abilities."We've been busy unloading two shipping containers of equipment and are turning our village space into a high-performance environment. We've brought over everything from gym equipment to ice baths, snack packs and slushie machines, and all the gear we need for preparation, recovery, and strength and conditioning.Tim Price is the oldest athlete in the New Zealand team in Paris. Photo: Libby Law via RNZ"We have our first arrivals to the village later this week and we're looking forward to supporting our athletes as they wear the fern and represent New Zealand on the world's biggest sporting stage."The majority of New Zealand's athletes are already in France or Europe ahead of the Games. The canoe slalom team will be the first athletes welcomed into the village, arriving on 18 July. The first athletes in competition are the men's rugby sevens team and the men's football team on 24 July.The full list of New Zealand athletes for Paris 2024 can be viewed here.

The mystery surrounding The Vault has been unlocked.Young Ōamaru business owner Monique Lewis, who opened MK Beauty and Boutique 14 months ago on Harbour Street, is moving to a new premises, and is bringing some other small businesses along for the ride.Monique had out-grown her space, and had been searching with no luck for about six months, before the former Ōamaru iSite building was suggested, on the corner of Lower Thames and Itchen streets.She had no use for the whole building, so put together a proposal to lease the ground floor, and the rest has “kind of just evolved”, she says.As well as Monique’s business, which includes a retail aspect, The Vault will also house a number of other female-owned businesses.“We've got a couple different local brands who are coming in . . . and they can stock what they want to stock and see what does well.”Ōamaru’s Abby Sangster and Sari Robins-Laughton will have retail spaces for their respective businesses Lover Lover and Candle Cup Co., along with Maniototo-based Lucy Girvan and her wool fashion label Eweburn Creek. Local brand Lover Lover will have its own retail space in The Vault. Photo: Lover Lover Facebook.“Abby said she'd like to come in, and have her earrings here, and I was like, ‘it'd be quite cool to not be so much of a stockist, but actually give them a space’,” Monique says.Then it was decided the space needed its own name.“It was the old colonial bank and we've got this big beautiful vault here. So there was a bunch of names, but The Vault just kind of stuck. “So it's a bit of an experiment, The Vault, everyone keeps asking me what it is and I'm like, ‘I actually have no idea’. It's like a little bit of everything really,” she says. While the building offers room for MK Beauty and Boutique to grow, it also allows the other businesses to feel like they’re “not just coming into someone else’s store”, Monique says. “Which is quite cool.”Abby says since her previous local stockist Design Federation closed about 18 months ago, she has mostly sold her products online, and she was excited to be part of The Vault.“As a local brand designed and produced here in Ōamaru, we have a fabulous local following… we jumped at the chance, as we are asked weekly, ‘where can we buy Lover Lover in town’,” she says.“The Vault will be a space where we will be trialling different styles, colour-ways and one-offs not yet available in our other stockists, so that’s exciting for our locals.”Candle Cup Co. is something Sari describes as a “passion project” which she does on the side of her full-time photography business, as well as working weekends at Soul, Surf and Skate. She has been making the hand-poured beeswax candles for about a year and a half, and sells them through Brydone Wholefoods at Totara.She likes using beeswax because it provides a “totally non-toxic, renewable burn”.Sari is excited to be a part of the collaboration, which she describes as “such a cool space and idea”.Candle Cup Co., another local company, will also be in The Vault. Photo: Candle Cup Co. FacebookMonique says The Vault offers the smaller businesses the opportunity to have their own space, without taking sole responsibility of a lease.“When you’re little, you don’t have that opportunity to go in somewhere… I feel like this gives them that.”Another not-so-secret addition to The Vault will be an infrared sauna. Which will be in the actual vault, inside The Vault.“So, that’s very exciting,” Monique says.“You'll be able to book an appointment online, and just walk in and say, ‘I'm here for the sauna’, and you're just left alone, and it's so quiet in there.“It's an hour where you have your own space and your own time.”An infrared sauna doesn’t use steam, and can have health benefits such as improving skin, increasing circulation, aiding in wound healing, pain relief, and helping with chronic fatigue.“Literally, you can't name them all because the list just goes on and on,” she says. There will also be an LED face mask available for people to use either instead of or at the same time as they sauna, for a lower cost than usual, because it won’t be part of a full facial treatment.“We'll supply you with cleansers and the LED masks. So you can also go and sit in there and use that, which is quite nice.“Not everyone can afford to come in for a facial, but you're still getting to use good quality products and get good results at a cheaper cost, because you get to do it yourself.” The Vault is opening on August 4, which is a Sunday, from 3pm to 8pm. There will be drinks and nibbles and a “bunch of giveaways”, and the later opening time means people can choose whether they want to bring their children, or come once they’re in bed, Monique says.Fitting the premises out has been a team effort - Monique’s partner Josh Bryant and friend Luke Heyman have been building all her joinery from scratch. Dave Galloway is in charge of plumbing and is “absolutely incredible”.“And then I have an amazing dad. He’s an electrician, so he’s doing my electrical work.”The process has been “awesome”, Monique says.“I say I've been stressed, but I haven't really, because I've got such awesome people behind me. You think, 'holy crap, this isn't going to get done', and they go ‘don’t worry about it’. "I'm okay. I can sleep at night.”  The Vault will be open Monday to Friday 10am-5.30pm, and on Saturdays from 10am-2pm.

Dozens of Chinese tourists involved in two separate bus crashes will be taken to Christchurch on Friday after a frightening ordeal on an icy stretch of rural highway.Two buses in a three-coach convoy rolled within a hundred metres of each other along State Highway 8's Tekapo-Twizel Highway shortly after 8.30am on Thursday. Fifteen people were rushed to hospital, two seriously injured.Other drivers on the road say conditions were treacherous and the highway should have been closed.Tony McClelland was driving south to Omarama on State Highway 8 and called police after his van hit black ice."I just said, 'You guys have got to close this road - I almost just lost the van, almost ended up down the ditch, and next thing out of the fog coming towards me are these two white buses. No signage on the coaches."And they were flying."Listen: Tourists taken to Christchurch after bus crashes duration3′23″ from Morning ReportHe drove this stretch of road several times a month, and said the conditions were the worst he had ever seen, and there were not enough warnings."There's only a sign up by the airfield, the Mount Cook airfield on the left hand side as you're heading south, just saying 'winter conditions, caution - black ice' or something along those lines. Some people - it's not big, mate - people can't read that in fog. It's just got me mindblown, really. Should have been closed."Grace, a traveller from Australia, was driving north and pulled up to help injured passengers.A bus crash involved tourists on State Highway 8 in the Mackenzie District on 18 July, 2024. Photo: Supplied / Grace Duggin"We immediately jump out and start providing first aid to the people, and they don't speak much English - however, the ones that do can let us know that the bus just slipped."There was no fatalities, thank god, but the children were quite lacerated from the glass, I believe. We were super-scared on the road because of the black ice and just really poor conditions."Local civil defence controller Chris Clark was also relieved the crashes were not a lot worse. About 30 passengers were on each of the buses. Clark said both volunteers and officials got cracking sorting out help for the shocked tourists.Ice has made tiles in Twizel's town centre a slip'n'slide. Photo: Niva Chittock / RNZ"They opened up our event centre as an emergency civil defence centre, very grateful to have assistance from iwi, local rūnanga, who rustled up lunch for the people that were there."We also were very fortunate to have some staff from the Dark Sky Project in Twizel, who offered some of their Chinese staff to come down and help with interpreting."Part of the touring party included one of the choirs that had competed at this week's World Choir games in Auckland.Clark said passengers will be bussed to Christchurch on Friday, but on Thursday night were staying in a Twizel hotel."I think they collectively made a wise decision that they didn't want to be on the road in dark and possibly icy conditions again, so they were all holed up in a hotel."A frozen tussock in Twizel's town centre, July 2024. Photo: Niva Chittock / RNZBlack ice warningsNew Zealand Transport Agency / Waka Kotahi had been warning about those icy conditions since Wednesday morning, saying drivers should also be aware of fog and possibly snow driving.Instructor Mark Rivel Johnson said if drivers did hit ice, they should not brake."Any inputs in terms of speed reduction or steering [should be] gradual and gentle. You're generally better if you have the space available to decelerate and potentially come down the gears gradually rather than trying to brake."Up until Thursday, there had been 11 fatal or serious crashes on the Tekapo-Twizel road. In the past five years, six people have been killed and 18 seriously injured.'It's just almost invisibleNew Zealand Institute of Driver Educators president Mark Revill-Johnson told Morning Report "black ice" was "probably a little bit of a misleading term" for it."All it is, is that you can see the road quite clearly through the ice, and it's just almost invisible. It usually forms around freezing point, although you can get ground frost from 3C. But when you get light rain onto a freezing road surface it freezes very quickly, and it'simpossible to tell. You can't see it at all. So, it looks black because it's just showing the road surface."Listen: NZTA warns drivers to take care due to black ice duration 4′ 53″ from Morning Report He said "see-through ice" was perhaps a better term."Once your vehicle's lost traction then you have very little control over braking or steering. If your tyres have no grip on the road, you're essentially going in a straight line until it runs out of momentum. It's very difficult [to drive safely]. You have to try and anticipate wherethose conditions might exist… black ice looks quite shiny, and it's almost like a wet road looks, when you see the shiny patches on a wet road. It looks very similar to that."Witness accounts put the buses at upwards of 100km/h. Revill-Johnson said even just 10km/h can be too fast on black ice - especially if it was foggy."You should always be able to stop in the amount of road you can see, and be able to do that on the correct side of the road. So if there's fog around, you can't out drive your view because you're not going to see stuff that matters."There was an ice warning out on Friday morning again - including State Highway 94, Mossburn to Milford Sound; State Highway 6, Makarora to Kingston; State Highway 8, Roxburgh to Omarama; State Highway 85, Kyeburn to Alexandra; State Highway 87, Kyeburn to Outram; and State Highway 8, Lake Tekapo to Omarama.And in Wellington, officials warned drivers to take care due to fog causing low visibility.Unfamiliar roadsIt was still foggy in Twizel on Friday morning. RNZ reporter Niva Chittock told Morning Report visibility was probably about 100m - not quite as bad as Thursday."It's hard to see where the water starts and the fog ends, even so it'd be quite hard to see where you're going, especially if you don't know the roads," she said.Listen: Warnings remain on SH8 after bus crashes in icy conditions duration 4′ 55″ from Morning Report She said locals knew the stretch of road was dangerous, and can take visitors by surprise."The shrubbery on the side of the road had icicles hanging off it and you were driving in sort of one or two degrees - it's not going to be conditions that a lot of people might be used to, or might be prepared for. Because maybe one or two minutes further up the road, you'd be driving perfectly clear, sunny conditions, no ice on the road - and then you turn a corner into fog and into shade where the ice would be even at two, three o'clock in the afternoon."Mackenzie District Mayor Anne Munro was yet to personally speak to anyone involved in the accidents.Listen: Mackenzie District Mayor on bus crashes duration 3′28″ from Morning Report "It's winter time, and when driving on the inland roads in Canterbury, Otago or Southland during the winter, you know, from time to time you experience these dreadful driving conditions, these challenging driving conditions that were experienced… I am assured that all the visitors that were involved in this accident have been well cared-for."Mackenzie District Mayor Anne Munro. Photo: RNZ / Nathan MckinnonShe said NZTA had signs and billboards up warning people to drive to the conditions. It would be up to the agency to decide whether to close the road, she said."From every situation comes learnings… I just encourage people to think about the fact that it is winter time and to be mindful and to drive to the conditions."

Ōamaru’s newest signage business can create signs (almost) as big as the imagination.ExAxis, owned and run by Tyler Melton, is a computer numerical control (CNC) router cutting business specialising in custom-made signs and products.The $200,000 router is an automated machine, with 10 different tools, designed to cut a variety of materialsDue to its massive size Tyler’s machine has the ability to do all sorts of projects and create very large signage, limited only by the size of the 6.5m by 1.9m table.“There is huge potential there,” he says.That size also means he can cut aluminium for jet boats.Tyler grew up in Ōamaru, went to Waitaki Boys’ High School, and completed a joiner apprenticeship before moving to Australia aged 25. He has recently returned after 13 years.He lived in Brisbane, Kalgoorlie and finally Perth doing joinery and installation in mostly hospitals, high-rise buildings and schools.A large portion of the projects he was installing were cut on a CNC router, and this piqued his curiosity.He planned to start his business in Australia but wanted to be closer to family - including his brother Matthew Melton who runs his own water-jet and laser cutting business, AcuCut, in Ōamaru’s north end business park.“I was going to stay in Aussie and buy a small [machine] and run it from home, but Matt was like, ‘Nah, you want this size machine, you want to be able to do this and that’.”Matt offered Tyler his own space at the back of AcuCut for Tyler to operate from.“I thought, ‘why not? I'll have to give it a go.’ “I was always interested in this sort of thing and just, and just being creative.”Tyler and his family moved back to New Zealand in January last year, with his new machine expected to be installed a few months later in June, however it wasn’t ready until November.Tyler spent about a month learning the systems and testing the equipment before starting his business earlier this year.Tyler sees the building industry leaning towards automation, but did not get first-hand experience with technology until he had his own router.“Everything's sort of going computer-controlled these days so, I just thought I'll just give it a go, but my main thing is more custom sort of cutting. So I'm not just focused towards joinery, it's like for everything.”Tyler and Matt’s businesses are separate but they feed off each other since they can achieve different results based on their equipment.Tyler’s business name, ExAxis, is based on the way the router moves along different axes.“ExAxis stands for exact axis. The reason being is on a CNC router, each way the machine turns is an axis. It cuts exactly to what you want.”For the time being, ExAxis is a one-man operation with Tyler being the machinist and director.The router can cut aluminium and aluminium composite, plywood, MDF, and also be used for slab surfacing and different types of engraving.“When people have got a big massive timber slab, I can just put it on here and I'll just go up and down and get it perfectly flat, ready for sanding,” he says.Unlike laser cutting and water-jet cutting, the routers make it possible to set the desired depth of the engraving and cut part-way through the materials.His main focus is supplying custom pieces to businesses and individuals while selling pre-made pieces - like egg holders and bike stands - on the side.“I like this whole range, it keeps it interesting.”He says there is the option of doing commercialised projects like cutting out kitchens, but this is not his focus at the moment.Designing and programming of the machine often takes longer than the cutting itself, and jobs can take anywhere between 10 minutes and a couple of hours.Despite only being in business for six months, Tyler has completed work in Dunedin, Timaru, Ashburton, Christchurch and Alexandra.He can be contacted through his website, through social media, or by email: [email protected].

“Once you see results from doing just one thing, you can’t wait to find a way to do just one more thing. It really is highly satisfying.”Just One Thing (JOT) Waitaki founders Ruth Davison and Ann Brown launched their sustainability initiative a year ago, with the goal of helping people to see that even small changes can make a difference.Reflecting on the past 12 months, Ruth says it “seems incredible” it has only been a year.“So much seems to have happened and we have met so many amazing people in that time.“As we launched our idea . . . we envisaged talking with people about how we can all make decisions in our lives that mean we can live more sustainably,” she says. “We didn't want to be preachy, but wanted to show we can all make a difference in quite simple ways.”The pair choose a different theme each meeting - such as food waste, slow fashion, and waste-free gift giving - to appeal to different audiences.They also organised a Green Gardens Tour, which has been a highlight for the pair.“We got funding from the Waste Minimisation Fund for a coach and we toured round five quite different and inspiring gardens in Weston, Kakanui and Oamaru,” Ann says.  The goal was to share a central message of “rethink, reduce, reuse, repurpose and recycle” effectively within garden spaces.“We had 33 participants and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive,” she says. The JOT women are now focused on the Plastic Free July Expo being held at the Waitaki Recreation Centre this Sunday (July 21).The event will be interactive and family friendly, and offers solutions to people about how to be more plastic-free, Ruth says.“The idea came from chatting to Miriama from Para Kore when we were all involved in the first Repair Cafe in March.“We thought it would be wonderful to showcase some alternatives to plastic and celebrate the international movement of Plastic Free July,” she says. “Lucianne White from Waste Free Waitaki has been amazing at bringing this all together and we are hoping that many people will come and join in the fun.” People can learn to make cheese, crackers, or kombucha and explore the stores to find out about all things sustainability, including alternatives to plastic products. There is a full programme of events on the Just One Thing Waitaki and Waste Free Waitaki Facebook pages. Workshops need to be booked in advance, Ruth says. When Ruth and Ann started Jot in July last year, their first goal was to have people turn up to their meetings. And although the numbers haven’t been massive - the feedback has been “incredibly positive”. “Ann is absolutely brilliant at PowerPoint presentations so these have worked really well, especially as people can look at the information afterwards if they want to,” Ruth says.They have also managed to share their messages with a wider audience through being invited to speak to various community groups.“These were all made possible through Ruth’s amazing ability to make social connections,” Ann says. Through their teaching journey - the pair have also learnt a lot, and been inspired by other people.  “If JOT can help share these ideas and stories, then we will be very pleased,” Ruth says.“For example, we were able to share the wonderful world of Crop Swap with the Garden Club when we spoke to them. Crop Swap is becoming extremely popular as it's such a great idea. “It is about working together, sharing our knowledge and skills, connecting the various groups together and encouraging one another.” Along with the wins, there has also been challenges, and finding funding to cover venues has been the biggest one.“We have very few outlays, as we are obviously doing this voluntarily, but we do need money occasionally for room hire. “No funding streams seem to cater for this and if we want to run an event we need to bid for the funding months in advance,” Ruth says. Going forward, the two would like to see JOT continue to evolve, and reach a wider audience.“Encouraging everyone that we can to make a difference by living more sustainably, one step at a time,” Ann says. One of the next areas they plan to move into will be advocacy, “where we encourage both local and national governments as well as big businesses to implement laws and strategies to lessen the impact of climate change”. “This seems a very big task at the moment but we are optimistic realists who feel that if we all push for these changes, it will come. It needs to, for the good of the planet and our future generations,” Ruth says.“In the meantime, we will just keep plodding on, doing just one thing at a time, and encouraging everyone that they can do the same.”

'Multiple people' are injured after two separate bus crashes on a South Island highway.Police said the single-vehicle crashes occurred 100 metres apart on State Highway 8 - the Tekapo-Twizel Highway - about 8.40am on Thursday."There are multiple injuries, the extent of which is still being confirmed."Hato Hone St John said it was notified of the incidents about 8.38am and multiple units are responding to the scene.The road is closed between Tekapo and the intersection with State Highway 30.The New Zealand Transport Agency currently has a black ice and winter driving conditions warning out for that stretch of road.

Public feedback is wanted on potential changes to the Waitaki district’s dog laws.Now is the chance for Waitakians to have their say on the district’s draft Dog Bylaw and Dog Control Policy which includes allowing dogs in Ōamaru’s town centre and at council-owned sportsgrounds.The Waitaki District Council’s “Let’s Talk Dogs” internet page ran a survey about the existing bylaw and policy, receiving almost 200 responses, between December and February. The information was used by the council to update and make potential changes to the rules, and now people can offer their thoughts on those changes, and indicate if they wish to make a verbal submission to councillors about them, a council statement said.Some key changes include:• Under the current bylaw, dogs are prohibited from Ōamaru’s commercial areas, including Thames Street, Harbour Street and the North End Shops. These areas will potentially change from prohibited, to on-lead, with new leashing and tethering requirements.• Dogs are currently prohibited from all council sportsgrounds. It is being proposed that dogs on-lead and under continuous control may enter any part of a sportsground where pitches are not physically marked on the ground, and when those marked pitches are not being used for sports activities - whether organised or informal.• Dogs are currently prohibited within 10m of children’s play equipment. It is being proposed there be an exemption for on-lead dogs, only when passing the playground on a formed track or path.• Some coastal areas in Kakanui and the beach reserve along Beach Road are being proposed as off-lead exercise areasFull details of all the proposed changes in the draft Dog Control Policy and bylaw can be found online, and feedback is wanted before August 12.

Some of North Otago’s best-known artists have stepped up to support Ōamaru’s Forrester Gallery upgrade.The Uplifting Art Auction opened on July 6, with more than 20 artworks up for sale, and runs until September 1.The auction is being run by the Friends of the Forrester Gallery, and has already garnered more than $3000 worth of bids.Original works from artists such as Watts Davies, Donna Demente, Peter Cleverley and Sarka Cibulcova are up for sale, as well as some prints, ceramics and sculptures.Forrester Gallery director Chloe Searle says the extension planned for the 1884 former Bank of New South Wales building includes adding a public lift, a purpose-built collection storage space, a loading dock, a new space for touring exhibitions and an education and events space.While some of the upgrade costs came under the Waitaki District Council-approved Cultural Facilities Development Project, up to $8 million needed to be raised externally.In September last year, a $6.5m grant from the Regional Culture and Heritage Fund was a massive boost to the fundraising efforts, ensuring the project could go ahead.“The Friends are now in the final stages of raising the money needed to make this project a reality,” Chloe says.The works available in the auction are being exhibited on the top floor of the Forrester, and most are for sale via silent auction, while others can be purchased directly.Friends of the Forrester chair Heather Machin says there is “something for everyone”.“With artworks for different ages, styles and values. “I would like to thank everyone who has so generously donated works. While many donations have come from locals, Wētā Workshop have also got on board with a donation of a Dr Grordbort's sculpture,” Heather says.Many of the works are for sale with no reserve. Bidders need to contact the Forrester Gallery to register as a bidder and then place their bids. The art works can be viewed in the exhibition and also online.Building work on the extension is expected to start in early 2025 with completion projected for 2026.

About 30 fearless people put on their best bloomers and jester outfits and braved the icy waters today (July 14) for More FM's Mid-Winter Swim.Waitaki App roving reporter Arrow Koehler watched them exploring the cold waters, while staying dry.The jester, winner of the kid's best dressed section, waits for the swim to begin.John Palethorpe emerges from the water.The jester and Melanie Tavendale leave the harbour, cold and wet.The 'scrabble cats' get out of the cold.A large crowd gathered to watch the annual mid-winter swim.Joanne Rose, who was awarded best dressed, warms up after her plunge.A pair tests their endurance in the cold waters.

~ Opinion ~Wordle - that addictive word game that took the world by storm back in 2022 now requires a New York Times' games subscription to access WordleBot's analysis of a player's game and the internet is divided.If you're not a Wordler, you might want to look away now. As one non-Wordler put it, "stop trying to make Wordle sound interesting". But it is interesting. It’s a (maybe) salutary lesson about news and paywalls at a time where NZ news media is crumbling. It’s definitely interesting to the millions of people who play the game daily and want to see how they stack up against each other, the bot… and the world!Admittedly players are fewer than in Wordle’s heyday of 2022 but they are nothing short of committed – you definitely know an addict or two whether you’re aware of them or not.If you are a Wordler, you'll likely already have a view on that paywall and your missing analysis… and I'm guessing you’re conflicted; torn between coughing up, outright quitting and holding out.For those of you who don’t know Wordle, the game gives players a chance to guess one five-letter word within six tries.There’s just one word per day.Every player is competing to guess that same word in the fewest possible attempts.Its compelling social aspect is that players can share and compare their results with friends, without ‘giving the game away’ (pun intended - couldn’t resist) by revealing what the day's winning word actually is.It's this competitive element that has led to the formation of millions of groups around the world within which Wordlers share their results, discuss their inevitable moments of triumph and despair, debate over the best starting words and compare strategies.Lots of people do this. Every day. You may scoff, but this daily kind of commitment has saved at least one life... possibly. In February 2022, Chicago woman Denyse Holt failed to share her daily Wordle score. Her worried daughter convinced Chicago police to do a welfare check on the 80-year-old and it turned out that Denyse was being held hostage by a naked home intruder armed with a pair of scissors.I say, “possibly” because by all accounts, the intruder wasn’t very well mentally and wanted a bath more than to murder (disturbing nonetheless). Google it. You really couldn't make this up.Anyways, it's not just the daily sharing that makes it addictive. Once a player completes the game, the ‘WordleBot’ gives you the option of analysing your performance against itself and (wait for it) … every other player in the world that's played the game that day.It's this addictive competitive assessment that now sits behind the NYT paywall which has some players up in arms, stalking away from years-long streaks and cursing the paper.One X (formerly Twitter) user wrote, “putting my wordle stats behind a paywall is nothing short of demonic behaviour and make no mistake you WILL pay for it someday @NYTGames”.There are many even stronger messages on X but I think that gives you the gist. Does the paywall mean you can't play Wordle anymore? No.It doesn't even mean that you can't play and share your result with your friends.You can still see your stats (how many games you’ve played, won and your current winning streak).It only means that you can’t compare yourself against the bot, or that ‘little black book’ database where you can see your own performance stack up against the world’s.The cost of the paywall? US $1.50 / month for your first year. Not even $20 US a year.It’s a tiny amount. It’s also a deal-breaker.Quality news is expensive. We know that. When The New York Times Company bought Wordle, by their own account they gained an unprecedented tens-of-millions of new users.Players immediately feared the game would be altered or lost to them via a paywall but until recently, NYT had maintained the spirit of its social contract in entirety.And now that’s changing. It’s changing not just there, but everywhere. As another commentator put it, “they bought it, they own it, they can charge for it”. So, where does that leave us? What price a free press?Because if the most ardent Wordlers, the people who have steadfastly given their loyalty to the game and (de facto) to NYT on the daily, over years, have taken such umbrage, publicly decried this betrayal and en masse abandoned their passion… paywalls may not be a halcyon cure for what ails news media providers here and everywhere.My question to you is what would you rather? Advertising? Paying for games? Paying for news? Or should it always be both unencumbered and free?Let us know what you think - email [email protected] or head to our Facebook page and send us a message.As for the grieving Wordlers out there… we’ve loaded some new games for you. You might want to check out Antiwordle (Antiwordle - avoid the secret word daily game).There’s no AntiwordleBot but it could be a new but different love you can play and share for free.

Ōamaru’s water supply will be fluoridated from next week.Following certification of the plant equipment, and in line with the statutory duty of mandatory compliance under the Health (Fluoridation of Drinking Water) Amendment Act 2021, the Oamaru water supply will be fluoridated starting next week.The supply will be fluoridated in line with Water Services (Drinking Water Standards for New Zealand) Regulations 2022 and section 116I of the Health (Fluoridation of Drinking Water Amendment Act 2021) as directed by the Director-General of Health at between 0.7 to 1 parts per million.In July 2022, the Director-General of Health directed the Waitaki District Council, under section 116E the Health Act, to add fluoride to the Ōamaru water supply.Waitaki is one of 14 local authorities who were directed to fluoridate their water supplies.The cost of fluoridating the water supply is more than $500,000, including construction of a building to house the necessary equipment.This cost is being fully funded by Manatū Hauora (Ministry of Health), following an application made by the council.The ongoing cost of adding fluoride to the supply will be around $40,000 and is included in the Water Treatment Plant operating budgets.The Oamaru water supply (consisting of Oamaru, Ardgowan, Weston, Enfield, Kakanui, Maheno, Herbert, Hampden and Moeraki) will be fluoridated.This will not affect private water schemes such as Corriedale Water Management Ltd, the Lower Waitaki scheme or supplies in the Waitaki Valley. South of Moeraki (Palmerston, Dunback, Stoneburn) will not be fluoridated.The Waitaki District Council will not be offering a fluoride-free water source in Ōamaru.More information is available on the Waitaki District Council page on the Fluoridation Requirement and the Ministry of Health page regarding fluoridating water supplies.

A broken-down car could provide life-saving training for Ōamaru firefighters.The Ōamaru Volunteer Fire Brigade is looking for donations of scrap cars, with glass, so they can practice motor vehicle rescues, senior firefighter Taylor Banks says.“We just need scrap cars with the glass intact, preferably all of it, because we train how to break that all safely. And that's mainly what we do, get someone out of the car, get the glass out of the way safely.”The cars would be used to train both new recruits and experienced firefighters, he says.“It's just for everyone to practice with every now and again, when we can, and just to keep updated and keep fresh with everything.”A new recruit will usually be used as the pretend patient, Taylor says."So we work around cutting them out. It's a lot easier when you can visualise you have someone in the car.”Taylor has cut apart a car before and says it's good to be able to practice so you don't "stress out and you can act under pressure”.“The longer they're trapped in there, stuck in there, the worse they can get, so if we all know how to do it quickly and safely we can work a lot faster to get them out in a quick and safe manner.”Some of the tools the Ōamaru Volunteer Fire Brigade has for rescue calls. Photo: Arrow KoehlerIn 2023 the Ōamaru brigade attended 327 calls, 50 of which were car crashes.Taylor estimates about 90% of those required some sort of tool to get them out. “Even if it's just to break a window or something to get into the car."People wanting to donate a car to the brigade can contact the Ōamaru Volunteer Fire Brigade on Facebook or leave a message on the station phone (03 434 8408) and the car can be picked up.The brigade has two cars so far, but is hoping for more, so members can practice with the jaws of life, spreaders and other rescue tools.

A man who allegedly used a knife to rob an Ōamaru store, was quickly arrested this afternoon.The 42-year-old suspect was apprehended by police on Usk Street, shortly before 12.30pm, after police responded to a call out at a Thames Street store at about 12 noon.The man allegedly wielded a knife while demanding items from the store, before fleeing on foot, Waitaki Area Senior Sergeant Jason McCoy said. “Police units were quickly mobilised in the Ōamaru area,” Snr Sgt McCoy said.“Thanks to information from members of the public and good tracking work, the alleged offender was located and arrested,” he said.The man is facing a charge of aggravated robbery and is due to appear in the Ōamaru District Court, sitting at Timaru District Court tomorrow (Friday, 12 July).Snr Sgt McCoy commended his staff for responding so quickly to a “potentially dangerous incident”.“There is no place for this violent behaviour in our community, a message I hope we made clear this afternoon.“I would like to thank members of the public who remained calm in the situation and provided information which ultimately led to a charge being laid,” he said.Witnesses of suspicious or unlawful activity are urged to contact police on 111 if it's in progress, or 105 if it's after the fact. Alternatively visit the local community police station, he said.

Police have named the woman who died after getting hit by a car in Ōamaru on Sunday evening.She was Frances Paula Rangi, 75, of Ōamaru.Emergency services responded to the crash involving a vehicle and pedestrian at 5.55pm on Sunday, July 7, between Fernbrook Rd and Redcastle Rd.Police extend their sympathies to her family and friends during this difficult time.Enquiries into the circumstances of the crash are ongoing.