Taupotreeman

There are a heap of different outfits crying out for climbers at the moment all over the country. Any time of year is good. Check out http://www.seek.co.nz or http://www.trademe.co.nz and look under jobs/arborists. Look at coming for at least 12 months so you can work and have a bit of time to see the country. Personally, 2 years is a better bet but if you get a year visa and like it you should be able to extend. With regard to rent; again, check trademe and it should give you an idea of what rentals are costing, on average, in your preferred destination. Auckland ain't cheap so renting a room may be a better option until you find your feet. Send Max Lawless a pm. He's just got a job in Auckland and should be able to give you a few pointers. If you want more info just PM me. Or check out the above sites for a start. Personally I always recommend getting in with one of the bigger outfits until you get your bearings and find your feet. It's easier to hit the ground running as they sort most things out for you. Sent using Arbtalk Mobile App

Should be able to "pair" your ipad to the phone using the Bluetooth function on both. Check to make sure your Nokia has blue tooth, sit the phone next to the ipad and switch both on and then switch blue tooth on on both devices. If it's possible the Nokia should find the ipad and vice versa. Then you can use the Nokia wifi or 3G connection for your ipad. Just not sure if it works for anything other than an iPhone though. Sent using Arbtalk Mobile App

We've gone with full yellow with a flash of range down the side, just as a fashion statement. Transit NZ requires full orange with reflective stripes for working on the road and green/yellow for STMS. We found the yellow was slightly more visible than the orange when working.

As an after thought; I rinse every couple of days with boiled water with baking soda and salt in it. I use a system by Neilmed which uses a bottle to squirt the solution up my nose. It helps rinse all the crap out and moisturise the nasal passages. They also sell a moisturiser that can be sprayed up your nose when you get a dry nose (think Aircon etc) and it's non addictive. I've found both really helpful for allergies and after dusty or dirty jobs. It's amazing what washes out of your nose that you can't blow out. The moisturiser is awesome for after to help prevent that dry crusty feeling. Definitely worth looking in to if you suffer regularly with allergies or general sinus problems. Sent using Arbtalk Mobile App

I was addicted to Otrivine for nigh on ten years. Evil stuff. If you don't have to take it, don't. Pseudo ephedrine is a better substitute (although still addictive) and still available in some states in the US without prescription. Those nasal decongestants also burn the inside of your nose out, so I've found out to my detriment. The only way to fix it is to have a rebuild of the tissue. Similar kind of result as snorting too much cocaine I believe. There are operations that involve trimming and cauterising tissue inside the nose. I've had two turbinectomies, rhinoplasty, septoplasty and finally, two silicone implants to hold my nostrils open after having all the other work done because my nose collapsed. Mild turbinectomies can help with the blocked nose thing but do your research first. If you have too much removed it can leave you worse than before. On the plus side, your nose never blocks up, even when you have a cold. Sent using Arbtalk Mobile App

Glad it's not just me Stephen. I've had several operations on my nose and have put much of it down to hay fever with all the Pine pollen in NZ. It's worst in the morning or at night when I'm lying down. Blocked dry nose followed by constant coughing in the morning and a runny nose. It clears after about an hour or two. It only improves when I haven't been working with saws for a few days, like now. Once I'm back on the saws it's a constant issue. Sent using Arbtalk Mobile App

Awesome thread. Managed to speak to a few old guys who's property we worked on before I left the UK. When you could get them talking they had some Great War stories. Just like this thread; all very personal. I'm forever sorry that I really wasn't interested or didn't fully understand the wars when I had the chance to talk more with my relatives. It is too late now and even my dad and his siblings are only just founding out the real stories about their father. Sent using Arbtalk Mobile App

My maternal grandfather was a royal marine on HMS Birmingham. My paternal grandfather was invalided out of the First World War due to mustard gas poisoning so never made it to the second. Found out a couple of years ago that my German aunty's family helped smuggle German citizens from east to west under The Russian/communist occupation. Sent using Arbtalk Mobile App

Been bone dry for a while here mate but we're due a bit of rain over Christmas apparently. And on that note; have a good Christmas Jon.

Don't know why but I love this photo Mario.

Got to agree with Mario and Stephen. We're heading back 2015 and intend to do Vancouver after Seattle. I wouldn't personally bother with LA after San Francisco. I'd spend more time doing the route South from Seattle. There is so much we missed that I want to do on our next trip such as Olympia National Park, Mt Ranier, Crater Lake etc. We drove from Seattle to SF over the course of 7 days and it wasn't really long enough. I would possibly drive further south to Big Sur but my advise would be to try not to cram too much in or you'll end up missing heaps and regretting it.

Far out. How did we get from second jobs to striking firemen? I'm with Gnome on this one. And maybe some more drilling bling or whatever it was from Mac. First job is supervising arborist for the local district council. That means everything from paper work, H&S through to pick up sticks. Weekend work is, well, supervising arborist for my own company. Usually a six and half day week. I'd love to do something else but don't know what. in an ideal world I'd love to do Landscape photography full time and get paid for the pleasure of my hobby.

I'm the same. Bit of The Jam, Town called malice is good along with Erasure and a few others.

Several ways to stay alive. Take note of all the small incidents, discuss them with the crew and take stock. Slow down. Don't take shorts cuts, don't try and be a hero; all the obvious stuff. This is pretty close to home this week after a colleague in Auckland lost his leg after trying to feed stuff through the chipper by kicking it in. Another guy in Wellington got a massive belt of the 220KVA lines and is lucky to be alive and we had our tenth forestry death this year, this week. I know this is not quite what the OP was asking but it was worth raising anyway. Most, if not all of those injured or killed had been doing the job for a good while and were experienced. Sometimes we think we are the man because we can do stuff bigger and better than someone else but sometimes we need to be able to know our limits and not try and push to hard. For some, it will be a sad Christmas. Stay safe.

Can burn like hell if you get Gum splinters. Anti histamines should work for the blotches. Sent using Arbtalk Mobile App

Thunder head over Taupo Sent using Arbtalk Mobile App

Mark, I can't even get it to run full throttle never mind for five minutes. This saw has been out on demo with several different crews so I don't know why just us. Apparently though we are the first to get it after it was sent back so maybe the original problem wasn't actually fixed. Sent using Arbtalk Mobile App

First time we left it with them. They didn't seem that interested in looking at it there and then for us but just kinda shrugged and said leave it with us.They sent it back to HO in Auckland as it was a trial saw being given a run through a couple of different outfits. That was about three months ago. Just got it back for the second shot. We asked what was wrong first time and the local place just said it was dodgy fuel. They wouldn't or couldn't expand any further. I hate to be picky but this is exactly why we choose Stihl over husky in NZ ( generally speaking). The service we get from the Stihl rep is top notch. Not so much from husky. Sent using Arbtalk Mobile App

Oh well, back to the shop with it. That 150t looks better every day. Sent using Arbtalk Mobile App

Done all of that stubby. Can't even get it to rev flat knacker after choke. Try it with choke, without choke etc and nothing. I started out with it up a tree yesterday. The first ten minutes, running 95, it ran well but then it started to play up so I changed over to a 192t. Filled up the husky this morning, fired it up and after about 15 attempts to get it going, gave up and went back to a 200t. We had exactly the same problem last time. Sent using Arbtalk Mobile App

We've just got one back for the second time to trial and yet again it farts and splutters and bogs down after start up. Last time we took it back apparently someone had put the wrong fuel in it. We run 95 octane premium unleaded in all of our gear including our other Husky with no issues. Is the 540 different? Should we be running 91 Octane and if so, why would it make such a difference to the running. Sorry if it's a dumb question but we are at a loss as to why it won't run. Sent using Arbtalk Mobile App

Beautiful photo Mr Humphries Sent using Arbtalk Mobile App

Learnt to drive in something similar. Asplundh Ford Louisville V8 with a chip box on the back. Beast of a machine. Took up the whole road on some of the back roads here in NZ. Sent using Arbtalk Mobile App

I just find them a right royal pain in the proverbial. Prefer to use my pole saw (AUS) if I can't reach for some reason. Trying to use a powered pole saw in tree just ends up tying me in knots plus the strain in my shoulders not only lifting it but untangling it and feeding it through gaps etc. just not worth the hassle for me so far. Sent using Arbtalk Mobile App

Nice, very nice. Sent using Arbtalk Mobile App