Taupotreeman

First and foremost, my dad. He will always inspire me to be a better person. Second, the man. Sir David Attenborough. I wish I had just a fraction of his passion and knowledge. Third, and off at a bit of tangent here, those who have laid their lives on the line in combat etc so that I can live mine in peace. They inspire me to make good of the time I have as so many of those had so little time.

Yeesh. I wouldn't be admitting to something like that and I'd think yourself lucky you got away with it. It only takes a pin prick hole for the elctricity to be able to pass through. You can't see a pin prick hole all the time so if your back was against the conductor, there did happen to be a hole that you hadn't seen what could the outcome have been? Come on guys, lets be sensible about this. You can't see it, you can't hear it and it seems like some people are just guessing when it comes to working around them. If you want to become another statistic feel free to take chances with your life. Is the money really that important that you feel the need to risk it?

Little bit of geothermal activity.

The insulators thing isn't always correct. Possibly in the UK but here they have a habit of putting telecom on old 230v insulators. They also string 11KV on 33KV insulators. As combined tree said; if you are not experienced then just leave well alone. All the direction in the world on a forum or from books doesn't substitute for field experience and getting it wrong can cost big time.

Kev, that one's an absolute doozy

So true. Looks like something out of some sci fi movie. Awesome pic.

Not much damage involved in this one. Pity you didn't ask a couple of months ago as gale ripped through Taupo knocking down whole blocks of trees. One place, for about 2kms, nearly every tree on the side of the road had gone over at the root.

Not sure if this has already made it on here but I nicked it off the treetools and my mates facebook page so cheers guys.

Turangi has changed somewhat since you were here maybe? It's all holiday homes now with a smallish local community. Anyway, I'll take Turangi over most of the places I lived in the UK anyday Ahhhh, so is it snow boarding today or a dip in the hot pools maybe? Hmmm can see the green rising now

Drew, there's snow on Pihanga, snow on the Kaimanawas so there'll be more than enough snow on the cones for some downhill stuff.

Vanuatu? Since when did it snow in Vanuatu?

Feel free to catch up if you have the time.

Well most of it had gone again after mild conditions and lots of rain but yesterday and last night it hosed down and this morning we have had heavy rain and showers and the wind is pretty fresh in Turangi and Taupo so I'd reckon there's at least 5 to 10cm of fresh powder up there. I'm heading past tomorrow on the way back from work so I'll have a nosey but the forecast is for more of the same over the weekend so I'd break out that snow board.

It's such a hard life. I mean, I live within 30 - 40 minutes drive of the ski fields, 5 minutes from thermal hot pools, 5 minutes from the lake edge. Oh the hardship, THE TORMENT! Jealous yet?

Moved out Feb 1998. Took a while to get residency, about 7 years I think. Immigration made it really difficult so I hired a lawyer who made it really easy (but expensive). We got citizenship about 2 years ago which was relatively simple. Never had an urge to go back to ol blighty until I saw how much snow you fellas had this year. Sometimes the 35 degree christmas days get a bit too much and you would like a white christmas. Then I get over it and go back my BBQ lunch

Sorry, one other bit of info re work to residence. You need to be 55 or under. Just do a google search; NZ immigration work to residence.

If you're looking at staying then I'd definately look into that work to residency unless you meet all the other criteria. And if it makes you feel any better; we just got my old man residency. He has type 2 diabetes, smokes like a chimney and is 68 years old. Still reckon you haven't got a chance?

Treemenders; just sent you a PM but I've just been reading Mark's reply re Asplundh which is also something I suggested. I did forget something that may also work. Not sure if you are just after a holiday or something more permanent. If it is the latter you could look into the work to residency catagory. This is purposely for those who do not meet the normal residency conditions because of something like skills, college ed or age. This is how I got my residency. It takes a couple of years but is a quick way to get through all the immigration BS. You just need to get the job offer and get moving. I'm not sure of your quals or skills but, reading Mark's post, they sound like they are pretty good so the work to residency might be the way to go. Just depends if it is actually just a holiday you are after. Believe me, once you're here you might not want to go home.

There's Darwin's theory in action right there. Shouldn't make light of a serious subject but you have to ask yourself the question........how dumb are some people?

Nice additions wisewood.

You're only as old as the women you feel Same still applies with sufficient funds etc. Most people here if they want to do a swifty head for the orchards. If you want to save a heap of money and just have a holiday you can swap working, for a roof above your head and a feed every night. Heaps of people and places jumping on that band wagon now and it's all legit.

Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on the way you look at it, immigration have had a massive crack down on this sort of operation. Forestry outfits won't do this anymore as most come under the management of oragnisations hired by the forest owners (usually Maori) so everything has to be above board and legal. Also, as I said before, if you get caught flouting the laws you'll get booted out straight away and by that I mean you are marched straight to the cells and then straight to the airport. You are then banned from entering the country for, I believe, 5 years. It will also show up if you try to get in to places like OZ or the States so think long and hard before you try pulling a swifty.

For what it's worth; I can't understand why it can't be removed anyway and better specimen, more suitable for the location, planted as part of the removal consent. To some degree I agree with kjames. Why are we so desperate to save every single tree? OK let the muck slinging begin.

Haha, sorry Mark, was between replying and having a conversation in the office so didn't read your post properly. Thought you meant what drugs do they test for, duh!

I'll second what Goaty said. The immigration dept are useless everywhere. Even when we applied for residency we got different stories from different departments as to the requirements hence the suggestion you get a lawyer if you are really struggling. The visa is generally pretty straight forward to get but again, it takes time. If you work for one of the bigger arb outfits they can usually get you straight on as they have agreements in place with immigration which means they don't have to go through all the BS paperwork. I would, however, suggest that if you want to look into the arb side of it you ring the major players in NZ from the UK before you leave. Don't email, don't wait for a reply, just keep ringing. Most are keen to get guys on and they can probably smooth the process heaps for you. Forestry is a whole different ball game and as I said before, the guys that work in the bush are rough and ready and don't accept fools lightly so you need to be on your game all the time. My suggestion would be to get in with a large arb outfit. It's easier once you have your visa to swap it over to another employer once you are here.