1

Community Contact is compiled from the contribu�ons of the people of South Westland. Ar�cles, items,

news, recipes, stories, etc. from everyone are most welcome. All personal opinions should be signed and

publica�on is at the discre�on of the Community Contact team. The views expressed in Community Contact

are not necessarily the views of the CC board. Send your ar�cles or adverts to your contact or e-mail to

lisa.reinhardt@outlook.com by 15TH March to be included in the April issue.

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Community Contact 12 3166 0042300 02 with your name & what the deposit is for. Please do not send

cash.

MARCH 2015

ROSS

Lynley Hargraves ph. 03 755 4227 HARI HARI

Nick or Karyn at SWAS karyn@swas.ac.nz ph. 03 753 3160 WHATAROA

Karla Maisey karla.garth@xtra.co.nz ph. 03 753 4028 Stephanie Bowater sdbowater@xtra.co.nz ph. 03 753 4031 OKARITO

Paula Sheridan okaritoboattours@gmail.com ph. 03 753 4223 FRANZ JOSEF

franzjosefcdo@xtra.co.nz FOX GLACIER

Fiona Anderson icyfi@hotmail.com ph. 03 751 0750 SOUTH

Brenda Monk paringamonk@farmside.co.nz Home ph. 03 751 0892 Work ph. 03 751 0837 HAAST

Liz Hawker lizhawker@farmside.co.nz ph. 03 750 0845 NEWSLETTER COMPILER

Lisa Reinhardt lisa.reinhardt@outlook.com ph. 03 751 0170

receipt

Are you reading Community

Contact at your

neighbour’s place yet

again? You can receive

Community Contact by

email! Just send an email to the

compiler to get your email address

added to the list!

Thank you Fiona for all your

fantastic articles for Fox! Thanks

Marlayna for taking over, and also

welcome aboard Helen Lash for

Franz!

Don’t forget the new calendar

feature on the back page! Make

sure to get your events for next

month in!

2

Haast MARCH 2015

Haast Community Library

Open Saturdays 1pm – 4pm

at the Hall in the Haast

township.

Books are issued out on a three weekly basis,

And we are lucky enough to get 100 books

changed over every 3 months

from the Hoki�ka Library.

Haast Playgroup

Monday 10:30am to 12:30pm

Wednesday 11:30am to 1:30pm pre-school

for the big kids with Karyn

Thursday 10:30am

Wear your high visibility vests when on the road.

Worst times to see you are early morning and late evening. Be seen!!!

Haast Happenings February

February has brought many tourists to South Westland and our accommoda�on is full to burs�ng. The wonderful weather,

coupled with an open path through the Haast Pass, means that we have many visitors in our region.

It was unusual to see so much snow on the hills for the first week of February but the weather has warmed again.

The children have seCled back into school aDer exci�ng holidays. They were able to show friends and family their art

exhibi�on at the Haast Visitor Centre during the holidays.

In 2014 Haast School developed a rela�onship with the children of Inver School in Ireland. We exchanged leCers and also

made art works.

The exhibi�on Between Places showed the art of the Irish children and

the children of Haast. The Haast children made prints of their houses

and then

transformed into

sculptures. The

exhibi�on opened

in mid-December

and will close at

the end of

February.

Rachel Norton from the Department of Conserva�on, spoke at the opening.

Penguin News

The West Coast Penguin Trust will be visi�ng Haast on 6th March and, aDer catching up with Haast school children, will present

illustrated talks at the Heartland World Heritage Hotel at 7.00pm.

Following an introduc�on to the Trust and its work, the focus of the presenta�on will be Fiordland crested penguins and the two

research projects that started during the recent breeding season, both sponsored and encouraged by local businessman, Geoff

Robson.

The first, being undertaken by the Trust with support from DOC’s

community conserva�on fund, is to establish which, if any, predators are

contribu�ng to the decline of our precious Fiordland crested penguins, or

tawaki. In 2013, the threat status of these penguins was raised to

Na�onally Endangered, the second highest level below Na�onally Cri�cal,

and above that of our local kiwi, the Haast tokoeka, (Na�onally Vulnerable).

Penguin scien�sts from Otago University, Thomas MaCern and Ursula

Ellenberg, have been looking at the foraging ecology of the penguins during

the recent breeding season. Their findings have added a lot to the fairly

sparse knowledge of tawaki, which are one of the rarest penguins in the

world.

Both projects used cameras, the first using mo�on sensors and the second

�me lapse and each has generated vast amounts of data that is being

reviewed. Updates on both projects and videos from Thomas will be presented during the evening, to which all are welcome. Refreshments will be supplied, courtesy of the Heartland World Heritage Hotel and the Trust invites you to come along.

3

Fox Glacier MARCH 2015

Permanent &

Casual

Commercial &

Household

HARI HARI TO

FOX GLACIER

(03) 753 4151

South

Westland

Rubbish

FOX GLACIER NEWS

Here we are, into March already, as the year slips by at an

alarming rate!! Last month delivered some cracker hot sunny

days and then just to remind us of where we live, it threw in a

few good cold, snowy, and even wet, days... Good ol Fox

weather J

First up- correc+ng the wrong!!... In last month’s issue, I said

it was Bailey who was off to boarding school when in fact it

was Josef!! Sorry about that Josef and I do hope you, Josef,

are seCling in well and geKng the hang of life away from

home. Dont ya just hate it when people mix you up with your

brothers! J

Put It on Your calendar –

* FOX BIG DAY OUT! - Saturday 4th

April (Easter Saturday)The

day when our community and surrounding towns get

together for a fun, energe�c, duck racing, filled day. See the

aCached poster for more details.

*SCHOOL SWIMMING SPORTS – Thursday 5th

March. Fox

are once again hos�ng the inter-schools swimming sports.

Aside from the swimming, there will also be a bar-b-q put on

by the school. Anyone in the community is welcome to swing

by and support the kids swimming, as well as purchasing

some fine bbq cuisine.

Big Thank You, from the “Central Finance South Island

Charity Cycle Ride” Mid Feb, 25 riders rode 1125kms from

Picton to Bluff. Their goal is to raise awareness about the

impact depression and suicide has on family, friends and

communi�es. They arrived here in Fox aDer a huge day riding

from Hoki�ka. Thanks to Lisa Bron who managed to get some

helpers on board and come up with a much appreciated,

great looking dinner/dessert and breakfast. The group then

headed to Haast, with full bellies, and very grateful for the

excellent Fox hospitality they received.

Farewell – Julian Tovey has decided its �me to move on, and

is working in a partnership with DOC at Whakapapa. Julian

has been a very ac�ve member of the community taking on

the role of Fox INC chairperson and a valued member of the

SAR team.

Mark Le Livre has also headed off on worldly adventures.

Thanks Mark for being a great supporter of community

events and being involved in the FFH Woodham shield team

(Current Shield Holders J)

What-ever happened to the long drop?? How did it come to

be that the best long drop in town, had a fatally looong

drop!!??? It was either to be doomed to a shameful

dismantling, or go out in style by hurtling itself over that

edge. I guess we’ll never really know the truth of

that last long drop that the long drop took but the fact of the

ma&er is, is that its now taking the long way out! RIP

long drop. You can NEVER be replaced.

Marlayna our CDO, is taking over Fox’s input for the

Community Contact. So bye from me, it’s been fun. J Fiona.

I would just like to thank everyone that got involved with the

Jacob's river school reunion. It was great to see everyone

pitching in and helping out.

The weekend was a success as everyone seemed to enjoy the

relaxed feel of the weekend. I would personally like to thank

the local Runanga for supplying us with the school facili�es to

use and also for puKng on a great spread at the Marae the

hangi was a highlight of the weekend. Also I'd like to thank the

Monk boys for supplying the spit roasted muCon on the

Saturday which was also a hit with the crowd.

All in all I think everything ran preCy smoothly and everyone

had a great �me, we had a fairly good turnout from a wide

range, people came all the way from the eastern states of

Australia, as far north as Kaitaia and as far south as Bluff. There

were some speeches on the Saturday evening which added a

bit of humour to the night. Ray Perkins, a teacher from the late

50's, had a fairly good sense of humour, opening his speech

with "I learnt a lot of things while living in South Westland ...

most of them illegal of course". And you could imagine the

whole hall erupted with laughter the hilarity con�nued when

another ex-teacher from the mid 70's Graham Smith who

announced that his son that was born while he was teaching

here has grown up now and has a striking resemblance to

Graham Monk.

So as you can see there were plenty of laughs to be had over

the weekend. I'd also like to thank TK for the entertainment

which he took on very short no�ce. And also last but not least

I’d like to thank my mum for doing a great job researching

history of the school and organising a lot of the food and prep.

O yea and I may as well give myself a pat on the back as well.

If anyone would like some reunion glasses as a memento I am

going to make another order as we sold out. If you would like

more info email me on wjwilson_56@hotmail.com Thanks

again to everyone that helped out! —Will Wilson

Bruce Bay MARCH 2015

4

Inland Revenue

Inland Revenue will be resuming monthly

visits to Franz Josef and Fox Glacier in

the summer on the following dates:

Franz Josef : 7th Oct, 4rd Nov, 2nd Dec, 6th

Jan, 3rd Feb, 3rd Mar, 7th April, St Johns

Rooms

Fox Glacier: 20th Oct, 18th Nov, 15th Dec,

20th Jan, 17th Feb, 17th March, 21st April,

Fire Station

Appointments can be made by ringing Juliette

on 03 906 0317 or Tina on 03 906 0307.

GLACIER

CONCRETE

For all your concrete

needs in Westland

Call Tim Gibb on 0211584043 to

discuss your requirements.

Driveways, dairy sheds, lime bins,

foundations, pole sheds, animals

shelters, standoff areas, farm race

ways etc.

Now might be the time to add a concrete

patio or pathway.

Glacier Contracting can also provide

gravel , sand, large stones for soak holes

etc and can do your site preparation

work. Call Tim for a free no

obligation quote. Email

glacierenterprises@xtra.co.nz

For all your electrical

and heat pump needs.

• Servicing of heat pumps

• Freeview TV

• Installing heat pumps

• General electrical work

• Fujitsu accredited Installer

DAVE DELORE

027 291 6699

Email: david_delore@hotmail.co.nz

Licensed Building Practitioner

New Homes, Additions, Renovations,

Concrete Work, Gib Stopping, Tiling

and Finishing Work a Specialty

Phone: 751 0170 Cell: 0272 751017

Email: deancaldwell@getrheel.co.nz

*Need a painter?

*Need a Gib Stopper?

Kevin Hansen Painters

Whataroa 0275 753405

5

What’s happening at DOC?

Rowi have reached another milestone: more than 50 chicks

have been hatched this year, and successfully raised at the pre

-release pens. That’s more than ever before! There are

another 7 eggs wai�ng their turn at the West Coast Wildlife

Centre, so we are looking forward to a very sa�sfying year for

Rowi recovery.

Cau+on: Kiwi crossing

With glorious summer days temp�ng us outdoors, now is a

good �me to remind ourselves that Rowi are also enjoying the

outdoors. Please drive carefully in the Okarito Forest. There

are only 400 of these birds in the en�re world.

High 50: 50 peaks in 50 days!

Walking is a very simple way to improve your health and

wellbeing – it is free and can be done almost anywhere,

any�me. Increasing physical ac�vity through walking is

associated many health benefits including: lowering high

cholesterol, blood pressure, and the risk of some cancers; it

reduces body fat and increases bone density; and it enhances

your mental wellbeing.

Here at DOC we are big on walking! We provide walks to cater

for all ranges of fitness and abili�es – from tracks which are

fully wheelchair and pram accessible to those which are rough,

tough and only for those with the right level of experience and

equipment. We are also big on wellbeing and love seeing the

health benefits people get while out exploring our natural

environment on our tracks!

Have you heard about the High Five-0? Mal Law is puKng

himself through the wringer, running 50 marathons with 50

peaks in 50 days for mental health awareness!

Since geKng out and into nature is one of the best things you

can do for your well being, we thought it was fiKng to sign on

and sponsor day 10, where Mal tackled Alex Knob in Franz

Josef. Have a look at what he is up to and support the cause if

you can! hCp://www.high50.org.nz/

Roberts Point Track reopened

A stunning 111m bridge has been built re-

establishing access aDer floods wiped-out a

staircase in 2013. This popular walking track

presents another opportunity to stretch your

legs, and remind ourselves of why we choose to live on the

West Coast. Pack a picnic and head outdoors. You’ll be glad

you did. Visit hCp://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recrea�on/

tracks-and-walks/west-coast/glaciers/roberts-point-track for

more informa�on.

If you’d like a more sedate walk, or prefer to ride your bike,

try Neil’s Creek track, accessed from Waiho Flats Road. Call

into the visitor centre for more informa�on. And of course,

there are many other niDy tracks along the West Coast for

you to explore.

Aerial weed control is underway around Franz Josef,

Whataroa and Harihari. Willow and gorse control will be

undertaken at Docherty Creek, Lake Wahapo, Lake Rotokino,

Poerua River and Wanganui Valley. This will protect fragile and

endangered ecosystems from weed encroachment.

Lagarosiphon

Weeds are found in the water as well as on land. This pest is

increasing in density on Lake Ianthe. How can we stop it? Ask

Myles, and check hCp://www.doc.govt.nz/conserva�on/

threats-and-impacts/weeds/common-weeds-in-new-zealand/

lagarosiphon

Kea An+cs

Aren’t we lucky to

have these clever

birds, found nowhere

else in the world,

sharing the rainforest

with us? Adapted to

living in alpine

conditions long before

we humans arrived,

they are curious and

playful animals. Kea

will investigate anything new and interesting, such as

kids’ toys, bikes, outdoor gear. Once they have

learned that your property is a good source of fun,

kea will take a while (up to two weeks) to move on

after the entertaining rubbish or debris has been

removed. In this case, prevention is certainly more

effective than cure!

Franz Josef Visitor Centre numbers for the period Jul – Dec

2014 were 23% higher than the previous year. That’s a lot of

people, and a lot of ques�ons about how to find the glaciers.

And we answer them - it’s what we do.

6

Hari Hari MARCH 2015

7

Hari Hari MARCH 2015

8

Hari Hari MARCH 2015

9

Hari Hari MARCH 2015

10

11

Ross MARCH 2015

Ross Ramblings

Local swimming spots are being well used around Ross with

the con�nued good weather. There has been a sailing day on

the lake, the pool is delighZully warm, the school held a

picnic by the Totara River swimming hole, and there's a well

worn path to a swimming hole from the south side of the

Mikonui River bridge.

The school swimming sports will likely have happened by the

�me you read this – it is going to be a big day, with Kumara

and Kokatahi-Kowhi�rangi school coming along again.

Another event is being planned for mid March that (at least

this year) is only for Ross School children. Local constable Jon

Woodward is organising a trialathon for 18 March, with

prizes that include a girls and boys bike!

The non-spor�ng school year has also been off to a good

start, with the kids happy and seCled in their work, and

pleased to receive summer reading challenge book prizes at

an entertaining presenta�on from the 'library lady'.

About half the children at Ross School travel by bus to get to

school; please remember to be careful around any school

buses. The road rule – which most of us have forgoCen – is

to pass a sta�onary bus at 20km/hour, whichever side of the

road it is on. Almost no drivers do this, it is �me to change

our behaviour!

The group organising the 150th

anniversary events for Labour

Weekend this year are holding their next mee�ng 7.30pm on

Thursday 12 March at the Ross Hall. There is apparently a

draD programme now so you can come along and find out

what might be happening.

Our community development officer Mike Keenan is also

planning an evening in April when groups from the

community will introduce themselves, so we can all get an

idea of who is doing what – playgroup, the school, the fishing

club, the community society, the squash club, the pool

commiCee, the cherry tree pruners and more.

On the news and informa�on front there is also a new

Facebook page for the Ross Memorial Plan�ngs. You can

'like' that to get news updates.

You can also follow the adventures of Josh MarcoCe on

Facebook – as Josh James Kiwi Bushman – who is just back to

Ross from three weeks of filming in Mexico for a Discovery

Channel show.

One more link – local glaciologist Brian Anderson has just

started pos�ng �melapse videos of Westland glaciers in

retreat. First up has been the past year for Fox Glacier

hCps://vimeo.com/glacier

Other dates that should be men�oned are Housie at the

Empire – 6 and 20 March. Finally, the toilets on the corner

have been reopened, in addi�on to the ones at the

Informa�on Centre.

12

Okarito MARCH 2015

13

Franz Josef MARCH 2015

FRANZ JOSEF NEWS

High Five-O Challenge

Franz has been blessed with some fantas�c weather this

season which makes it so much easier to showcase this

beau�ful part of the coast. The fine weather also helps when

holding epic events such as the High Five-O Challenge which is

on as I type. Mal Law and 6 local runners leD DOC Franz this

morning at 7.30am and are expected back into town around

4.30-5pm this evening aDer traversing local tracks including

Roberts Point and Alex Knob. Mal’s challenge is to climb 50

peaks and run 50 off-road marathons over 50 days for the

Mental Health Founda�on of NZ – today is day 10 of this very

epic challenge. The

inten�on is to raise

$400,000 for this

great cause; as at

this morning, the

total raised was

$325,000 – an

incredible

achievement.

Mal, Steve, John, Cheryl,

Graham, Iain & Richard mid- way on their run.

Lunch�me in Franz today has seen a sausage sizzle and name

a Kiwi chick (DOC) run as fundraisers in support of this event –

many thanks to the locals and many tourists that supported

us so well!!

Franz Josef School Uniforms

Franz Josef School have received their new school t-shirts and

are rejoicing in having the whole school in the same tops.

33 Franztas�c kids at Franz School would like to say thank-you

to the community for providing the funding for these tops –

greatly appreciated and worn with pride!

Chinese New Year

Lots of fes�vi�es around the township coming up – keep your

eye out for all the no�ces on business windows or have a look

around for them to find out what’s on!! Great celebra�ons

and fireworks coming up!!

Farewells:

On 7th

March we farewell Bernie & Tim Asquith from Franz

Josef. In their one year of living here, they have been heavily

involved in all things Franz – Tim is Sta�on Manager for St.

Johns, is a member of Franz Inc and does guiding for Ecotours

while Bernie has been opera�ng Punga Grove Motels. They

are off to Hawkes Bay and we wish them all the very best in

their future endeavours.

Jo Hutchison will be taking over at Punga Grove Motels and

arrives in Franz on the 1st

March for a few days of change

over.

Punga Grove has a small bbq for hire – all proceeds from this

hireage go to the Franz Josef Community Council Fund to

which we are very grateful.

In late March we also farewell the Parker family – Bill is

transferring to Amberley. Bill and Megan will be sorely

missed in the community with the wonderful way in which

they have par�cipated within and the great deal of work they

have contributed. We wish the Parker family all the very best

for their future in North Canterbury. Megan and young Billy

have already moved to allow Billy to start his school year in

one place but they will be travelling between in the interim.

& an introduc+on to your new CDO!

Hi All – I’m Helen Lash, your new CDO to the Franz Josef

Community. This is the start of my third week and it’s been

wonderful catching up with many old friends and

acquaintances, mee�ng many new faces and the very warm

welcome has been wonderful too! I absolutely love being

here and the role already has me busy with lots more to get

my teeth into!

For those of you who don’t know me, I hail from Whataroa –

have lived there for 22 years although have spent the last 4

years working out of Christchurch and Greymouth, returning

to Whataroa for weekends. Married to Alistair and mother of

4 sons and Nana to 4 grandchildren with a varied background

of farming, programme delivery, communica�ons and

business management so I hope with all that I can serve you

all well and as someone reminded me today – co-ordinator of

80+ rugby players to

Saturday rugby for the

SWRFC junior rugby for

many years!

My office is at the

Community Hall and is

open to the public

Monday, Wednesday &

Friday 10am to 2pm

but I will be in the

office from 9.30am to

4pm daily. Look

forward to catching up

with everyone!

14

15

CHURCH SERVICES—March 2015

Catholic 1st 8th 15th 22nd

Ross 10.30am 10.30am

Hari Hari

Whataroa

Franz Josef

Fox Glacier

Haast

South Westland Catholic Parish: Contact Fr. Michael Mahoney, 0210333746 or 037534140

Note: This mass is the normal parish schedule. It is wise to check that a mass has not been changed for some special reason.

Anglican

Ross

Hari Hari

Whataroa

Franz Josef

Jacobs Riv-

er

Haast

Anglican Contact: Rev’d Vivien Harber (03) 755 5125

March‘15

1 First day of autumn

2

3

4

5 Fox Swimming Sports

6 Penguin Evening Haast

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17 St Patrick’s Day

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28 Okarito Market Day

29

30

31

South Westland Area Prac+ce

Providing Healthcare from Hari Hari to Haast

For all appointments, enquiries, and repeat

prescrip�ons please phone the Prac�ce

Recep�onist (based at Franz Josef):

0800 SW Health / 0800 79 432584

For urgent aDer hours care please phone your

local clinic to obtain the correct phone

number for the person on call (this may

change daily)

Hari Hari: 03 753 3008

Whataroa: 03 756 1080

Franz Josef: 03 752 0700

Fox Glacier: 03 751 0836

Haast: 03 750 0800

Please note that the individual clinic phones may not be

a&ended daily

FOR EMERGENCIES DIAL 111

SUPPORT, HELP, ADVICE?

West Coast contact numbers are:

Westland Victim Support – ask for Victim Support

(03) 755 8088

Arthritis Foundation (03) 768 7254

Women’s Refuge (9am – 3pm) (03) 7898025

AH 0800 208 339

Child Support Agency – queries re child support

0800 221 221

Disability Information Service 0800 100 946

West Coast Rural Support—

Dianne Milne 0800 787 254

Lifeline – West Coast Toll Free 0800 353 353

Kidsline – 4pm – 6pm every school day

0800 543 754

AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) (03) 7534005

HEALTHLINE – FREE 24 HR

HEALTH ADVICE 0800 611 116