Taupotreeman

Awesome pics. Reckon we should have a matador appreciation thread.

Couple of the trees at Taupo Erupt Festival. Light installation by Drewb

You were right first time David, it's just called National Park. You'll have to excuse Adam, he's spent too long in the south island

So you liked the kiwi in National Park then David? You should have seen the Moa on the back of a truck heading through Taupo a few weeks ago. Had heads turnning for sure.

Heck, there's a job going in the Queenstown Wanaka region. Man, what an opportunity that is. Anyone wanting to sample a big chunk of paradise should consider applying for that one.

Anyone got one and fancy sharing a few photos on here? Haven't seen one in donkeys but always wanted one.

To be honest, funnel webs live in burrows in the ground generally and the poisonous ones are only in the NSW area. Redbacks pack a fair punch but are quite small and innocuous. We found them mainly under logs and in dark corners of the house. They don't tend to spin massive webs that attach to your face or anything like that. The huntsman, as far as I know, don't spin webs. They are actually quite docile and can be handled relatively safely but they certainly look the part. You're probably more likely to scare them the hell away if you're thundering through the undergrowth. Just don't go sticking your fingers into holes in the ground. If it's any consolation; I don't think anyone has been killed by any spider for a long time due to the anti venin they have in Oz. A good tip though is to learn PROPERLY how to apply a compression bandage and what to do if you do get bitten by a snake or spider. This info has saved a fair few lives.

I looked at one of these when we were setting up the council unit. Fortunately I had a mate that was operating one for another contractor. He too couldn't stand the fact that the emergency nudge bar was at the bottom of the infeed tray and would constantly get caught by branches going through. This would stop the feed rollers but because of the rubber curtain he could never tell it was stopped. Then he had to walk around, push the button and go through the whole process again. We decided on getting the Bandit 12inch drum and it's an awesome machine. Can't fault it, haven't clogged it and it chews everything we throw at it. Plus the auto feed is really good. Chuck in a big bit and it sorts itself out. No having to hang on to the feed control just let it do its thing.

Only saw one funnelweb when I was there and that was in a zoo. Plenty of redbacks but unlikely that they'll bother you. Huntsman spiders are the ones that you'll see most of more than likely and if you don't like spiders they'll be pretty scary but they're actually harmless. Personally I loved the fauna of Oz and the fact that most of it was poisonous was a bonus. Maybe try hypnotherapy cos you're going to meet a heap of creepy crawlies out there.

Yeesh haven't seen one of those for years. I think they made an 011 aswell. Did the job for a long while until we got an 020 with the old metal casing.

succinct but sums it up nicely I think.

Those meals are nothing short of pathetic. I still remember both primary school food (70's) and my college dinners. Both were a fairly healthy plate full of good nosh. Not sure what the excuse is for those efforts.

Two women one man sail across. None of them go back for the other man cos they have other ideas between the three of them

Mother nature threw this on for me as welcome hope prezzie after three weeks of looking at concrete jungles in the states. I drive over the hill 50kms from home and this greets me. New Zealand is a wonderful place.

Now that picture makes sense. On your FB page it looks like a mast protruding from half way up the stem. Hope you left the needle clean up for the minions

I used to work on my own around 95% of the time. I actually enjoy working on my own sometimes, earphones in, music on and nobody to pester. If I need to converse I just put sports talk on and chat to myself or swear at the idiotic callers. Now I work with someone pretty much all the time and funnily enough that's just as good as we have good banter most of the days. Someone to grizzle and bitch at, laugh with and at. Eye up the female of the species with and generally have good time. Makes the day go faster too.

I'm not into competition climbing and very rarely get along to any of the comps due to time/work constraints but it never ceases to amaze me that a country with a population of just over 4 million keeps churning these guys out (ladies included) and if you allow for all the other top climbers NZ has that either don't make the finals or don't even compete; we box way above our weight. I agree with Drew; NZ rocks big time..............................................................and that doesn't inlclude last night's little richter wake me up.

Just to keep you quiet Adam I'll put some pictures up of the bracing and the pretty pretty lights once Drew has done it. Happy?

Haven't used the stuff before so not sure Drew but bring a roll down (only if you have time) anyway. We have a couple more trees need doing so we can use the extra. Rich should have an open order number. Sorry about the derail guys.

Drew, bring some cobra down with you, you might as well re brace it while you're up there and charge us for the pleasure bro. Pretty sure it needs doing again. Happy to assist.

Ha, funny. Just got off the phone with a good customer of mine. Big bad old man Pine with a heap of broken branches in it. Yummy

Majestic, in Taupo we need consent to do any work on any tree on the notable tree register unless it's something that poses immediate danger to the public (storm damage). Consent is $900 (even for Council) but it stops a lot of people even bothering to ask for the most mundane of trimming. I haven't made up my mind yet as to whether the rule is archaic or actually benefits us and the trees. Colemanjessenz; don't you just hate working on those old man Pines? Rope tangled in old Pine cones and the bark is like sand paper on your gear. Push em over with a big ass forestry skidder and leave em in the paddock to rot.

That's pretty much what the whole of Turangi wants

A quite splendid Red Oak. Drewb is coming down to put some lights throughout the tree for the Lake Taupo Erupt Festival (I think I got that correct). Has a few braces in it that need checking and is showing a few signs of wear and tear. Protected tree so can't even be deadwooded without consent. Drew, I hope you realise if you don't have consent to climb this thing I'm gonna hit you with a $20K fine

Just Google search for arborist jobs in Manhattan. That's all I did and it was the first one that popped up. There were several more around the Long Island area too. Adam, was a little tempted myself when I got back from NYC but I think I prefer my green and quiet land. Back there next year though.