Govt steps in at Tarras School Aspects of Tarras School are to be overseen by a Ministry of Education-appointed manager. page 2
Health award for AB’s The Aspiring Beginnings Early Learning Centre has won an award from the Heart Foundation for promoting healthy eating and physical activity. Page 9 Thur 26.03.15 - wed 01.04.15
wanaka’s independent newspaper
inside:
Wild about weed…Cromwell boaties Andrew Burton (left) and RJ Wilson are campaigning for better control of lagarosiphon on Lake Dunstan. Read more on page 3.
Permaculture talk page7
New track strategy page 11
photo: Supplied
Long, cold swim to shore for fishermen Aimee Wilson + Jessica Maddock
sunviews page 13
Wells wins page 16
Wanaka Sun Two local men swam about half-akilometre to shore on Monday after their dinghy sank in freezing Lake Hawea. The men, who do not want to be named, were fishing from a three to four metre aluminium dinghy on the western side of the lake when the wind got up. One of them told the Wanaka Sun the dinghy was “turned by a wave and swamped” before sinking. It took the men, who were wearing lifejackets, an hour to swim to shore.
They made their way to Leap Hut, where two trampers – from Wellington and Golden Bay – were staying. One of the trampers walked about 16km to Hunter Valley Station to raise the alarm and the men, who are in their forties, were collected in a four-wheel-drive vehicle, exhausted but uninjured. They were now reflecting on a frighteningly close call, he said. Queenstown Lakes District harbourmaster, Marty Black, said the men’s experience was a good example of the life-saving capabilities of life-jackets. “They are safe. That’s the main thing.” Mr Black said this summer had been
one of the harbourmasters’ busiest seasons to date, but “touch wood, we haven’t had any major incidents.” The team of harbourmasters has spent 450 hours patrolling the district’s lakes and rivers on jetskis and boats this summer, with Glendhu Bay the most popular boating area. The Queenstown Lakes District Council was the only local authority in the country to issue offence notices to water users, as opposed to just warnings, and Mr Black said this had caught out many people from other areas. The district’s harbourmasters had attended 70 callouts and issued 50 offence notices since December.
“That’s quite a lot – that’s right up there.” Mr Black said, in comparison, Environment Canterbury told this week’s Maritime New Zealand meeting it had issued 400 verbal warnings and eight written warnings. “I told them ‘we’re cleaning up your guys’ mess’. These guys come down from Canterbury over the holidays…” In the Queenstown Lakes District and some, but not all, other parts of the country, anyone in a watercraft which is 6m long or less – including kayaks, paddleboards and jetskis - must wear a lifejacket at all times.