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Had enough of this weather

Started by Ianab, September 22, 2010, 03:00:16 AM

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Ianab

Todays Weather...  :(

Have had 2 days in the last month without rain.. had enough.


Fridays Weather.   ;D
http://www.ck/sunhaven/index.htm

Jeff, dont be concerned if you see me posting from a .ck domain, I've not been hacked or kidnapped.  ;)

Ian


Weekend warrior, Peterson JP test pilot, Dolmar 7900 and Stihl MS310 saws and  the usual collection of power tools :)

Ianab

Todays weather  ;D



Taken a couple of hours ago from in front of our unit - Aorangi - Rarotonga

Ian
Weekend warrior, Peterson JP test pilot, Dolmar 7900 and Stihl MS310 saws and  the usual collection of power tools :)

Bro. Noble

I'll bet there's a lot of tension wood in those trees ;)

Jealous Noble
milking and logging and sawing and milking

Ianab

Yeah, but no tension in the guy laying on the beach lounger underneath them  :D

Thought I'd write a few thoughts now we have been here a couple of days.

For those that dont know, Rarotonga is a little tropical island about 1800 miles NE of NZ.  It's technically an independant nation, but it's largest city is Auckland, back in NZ. Well 2/3 of the population live there anyway. Main economy is tourism, and money sent back from NZ.

But what we have noticed is that it's the Friendliest place I have EVER been. Like when we arrive at the airport at 1am local time, get out of customs and a couple of locals are on the door. Ask where we are staying, we tell them, "oh, you must be Ian and M-J, Eddie is over there with the sign to pick you up". I'm thinking What, some random greeter at the airport knows my name? Eddie is the local gopher for the little place we are staying at, probably nephew of the lady doing the greetings?. He gives us some Leis and we pile in the van for the 10min ride back to the Villas.

Next day we go out to the road - there is only one main road - and wait for a bus to go into "town". Catch the anti-clockwise so we see the other 3/4 of the island, $4. There are 2 buses, one goes clockwise, one goes anti-clockwise, every hour. Thats all they need. Get into town and hire a 125cc Scooter, 6 days @ $16 a day +gas. Police Station is next door, because I don't have a NZ bike license, I have to do the practical test. Thats riding to the back of the police stn and back a couple of times. The local police lady is chatting to MJ and doesn't see me hit some cones. "Dodgy clutch on the scooter". Anyway I go around again and manage to miss them all. MJ has a run and the lady says don't worry about the zigzags, that scooters a bit dodgy. Back inside and we get nice photo drivers licences, $20 for a year, and please smile for your photo ;D

Now the open road speed limit is 50kph (30mph), but the main road is only 32km long. Speed limit on a scooter with no helmet is 40kph, and with the stray dogs, chickens, coconuts and tourists on the road, thats plenty!!! So the average speed is about 40kph, between the scooters and the bus. Luckily no one is in a hurry.

Last night we went to a local cultural show and meal. Pure tourist stuff, but the meal and show were good, they had about a 2 hour cultural tour first, then a nice meal and show, drumming, local dancing, fire dancing etc. We had called and booked for a pickup, and went out to the gate to wait. Sure enough, here comes this native thatch hut replica on wheels and we pile on.  A Toyota truck in disguise  ;D A couple of extra benchs are in the back for the busy nights, so we have to pull them out at the main resort for the crowd.

A few other road rules...
Only the driver need sit in the vehicle. Any one else may sit on the outside. A ute goes past with a stack of timber, and a guy sitting on top. Only the driver in the cab. A truck and low-loader with a 16ton excavator on the back.. 2 guys sitting on the digger. A BIG mobile crane, one driver, and anther guy sits on the front of the crane operators cab. This is in the middle of town, outside the police station   :D

We did think about hiring a BMW Z3 roadster, but with a 50k speed limit, hmmm.. We got a scooter for a week for the Z3 daily price.

Another thing I have noticed, the place is CLEAN, well maybe if you look in some out the way place you might find some junk. But downtown and the main road, some coconuts and squashed fruit maybe, but thats about it. It's not some 3rd world dive, maybe a warmer, cleaner, slower paced version of NZ...

Now I have always said NZ is the BEST place to live, but now I'm not so sure.

Ian
Weekend warrior, Peterson JP test pilot, Dolmar 7900 and Stihl MS310 saws and  the usual collection of power tools :)

Ernie

Thanks Ian, I needed your post. 

Cattle up to their bellies in mud, river way too dirty for whitebaiting.  Even the little 4 wheeler leaves deep ruts in the paddocks, I don't dare take the tractor out, It would disappear.  I haven't seen it this wet for over 30 years.  At least we didn't get the snow that you had.

If this is global warming, I am starting to think that maybe Al Gore got it rather wrong.

I'll post when it's safe for you to return ;D
A very wise man once told me . Grand children are great, we should have had them first

WDH

Jealous WDH  :).  Keep it coming and make me more jealous!
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

pigman

I would like to fly down there and punch you for posting that picture. I am sure that when I got there that I would just forget the punching part. ;)
Things turn out best for people who make the best of how things turn out.

Ianab

We went on the Glass Bottom Boat today, and did some more Snorkeling out in a marine reserve part of the lagoon

Moray Eel.


Random fish under the boat


Giant Clam



And another of the Eel to give some sort of size. That thing was longer than I am tall, and at least a foot tall. One of the boat captains is hand feeding it. They have had the same Eel there for six years, it's name is Charlie... or Roger is you go on the other companies tour  :D



Only 2 more nights on the Island though  :(

Ian
Weekend warrior, Peterson JP test pilot, Dolmar 7900 and Stihl MS310 saws and  the usual collection of power tools :)

SwampDonkey

Quote from: Ianab on September 27, 2010, 03:51:36 AM
Speed limit on a scooter with no helmet is 40kph, and with the stray dogs, chickens, coconuts and tourists on the road, thats plenty!!!  Luckily no one is in a hurry.

went out to the gate to wait. Sure enough, here comes this native thatch hut replica on wheels and we pile on.  A Toyota truck in disguise  ;D

A few other road rules...
Only the driver need sit in the vehicle. :D

the place is CLEAN, some coconuts and squashed fruit maybe, but thats about it.

Now I have always said NZ is the BEST place to live, but now I'm not so sure.

Ian

Quote from: pigman on September 27, 2010, 10:46:44 PM
I would like to fly down there and punch you .... ;)

:D :D :D
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

terrifictimbersllc

Here's how to find Ianab if anyone else wants to go punch him too. (point B upper right) :D :D
DJ Hoover, Terrific Timbers LLC,  Mystic CT Woodmizer Million Board Foot Club member. 2019 LT70 Super Wide 55 Yanmar,  LogRite fetching arch, WM BMS250 sharpener/BMT250 setter.  2001 F350 7.3L PSD 6 spd manual ZF 4x4 Crew Cab Long Bed

Ernie

Ian, were I you, I wouldn't come back home just yet.  
We have a severe weather warning farmers are urged to shift their stock to higher ground.
The NP airport was closed yesterday due to inclement weather.
GST goes up to 15% tomorrow.
Petrol goes up 7 cents a litre tomorrow.  
Everything is really sodden and where you are right now looks like the place to stay for at least another week.

But, who knows, it might be really nice in Stratford :D
A very wise man once told me . Grand children are great, we should have had them first

Ianab

Back home  ::)

Was a nice balmy 26C when we got on the plane in Rarotonga (a cool day for them), was 6C when we got home to Stratford  :(

Will post some more pics once we get unpacked and back to normal gain.

Ian

Weekend warrior, Peterson JP test pilot, Dolmar 7900 and Stihl MS310 saws and  the usual collection of power tools :)

Ianab

OK, this is a walk I took up this hill (baby mountain) above our villa. Finding it was a bit tricky, the locals are not big on signs.



But I find the track and walk uphill though some big acacia trees. These are 3-4ft dbh trees.



Once you get up on the ridge things are smaller, and just ferns as a ground cover.



Looking down from the ridge, over the canopy of big Acacias



The guidebook did something about the track being a bit steep at the top. Can't remember if the words vertical were mentioned or not.



Looking down on the steep bit, but at least they had hammered some steel "U"s into the rock to climb up.



View from the top, airport is on the right.



Looking North, the really tall and steep stuff is there.



Looking West, down to the beach and our Villa



Zoomed in



Another big buttressed root system of one of those acacias.



Looking back up from the carpark at the beach.



Close-up of steep bit at the top.



Ian
Weekend warrior, Peterson JP test pilot, Dolmar 7900 and Stihl MS310 saws and  the usual collection of power tools :)

Meadows Miller

Gday

Thanks for sharing Ian Looks like you and Mj had a nice trip a good unwind in a great little part of the world  Mate  ;) ;D ;D ;D 8) 8) 8)

Regards Chris


4TH Generation Timbergetter

Warbird

Looks amazing, Ian.  Thank you for sharing!

Magicman

That "get unpacked and back to normal gain", thing is the toughest part.  Looks like you had a wonderful trip.  Thanks for taking us along.   ;)
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

Ianab

A few more pics from the last day.
We had to return our scooter at 10am, but didn't fly out to 4pm.
So we went for a scenic flight  :)

Guy on the airline counter was like "are you sure you really wanna do this?"
Pilot went out back to check the weather and says "could be a bit rough"
Us "No worries, if you are happy top fly, we are happy to go"
Guy at the counter "You guys are braver than me"    :-\



And away we go  8)
Rarotonga International Airport. Yes, that's the whole airport



Downtown Avarua



Zoomed in.
This is the "roundabout". There is only one traffic island on the Island.
The white building by the sea is "Trader Jacks" which is a bar / resturant. The red roof building beside that is RFC (Raro Fried Chicken) And the big blue building is the Courthouse.



Looking back from over downtown, past the harbour, to the airport.



Around to the Sth East corner, Muri Lagoon, one of the original natural harbours. This is where the first Polynesian settlers left from to colonise NZ about 800 years OK.



Flying along the Sth coast, past the "Rarotongan" which is one of the bigger resorts.



Up the west coast past where we stayed. It did get a bit bumpy here as we were downwind of the mountains. Not as rough as the offroad buggy rides we had been on though  ;)



Looking back down the West coast. The flat hill under the wing tip is the one I walked in the previous pics.



And back to the airport



Then we walked back into town for beer and pizza at Trader Jacks.





And wandered back to the airport to wait for the plane.



And yes the field is rated for anything up to a 747, although the 777 is the biggest that they routinely bring in there now.

Ian
Weekend warrior, Peterson JP test pilot, Dolmar 7900 and Stihl MS310 saws and  the usual collection of power tools :)

sprucebunny

Thanks for all the pictures, Ian !

Looks like a great trip  8)
MS193, MS192 and an 026  Weeding and Thinning. Gilbert Champion sawmill

SwampDonkey

Sure looks like a great place to unwind. ;D  :)

Those are great pictures.
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Magicman

It's easy to understand why it was your vacation destination.   :)
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

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