WHAREKAKA NEWS

It’s hard to believe that we are four weeks away from Christmas. Our family is in for a busy time in the next month. We have the annual Trust Board Resident and Family BBQ, entertainers galore, our Christmas lunch and hopefully a visit from the jolly fella in a red suit, along with our usual activities.

On 30th November Ronnie Hawkins retires from the staff of Wharekaka. We wish Ronnie a relaxing retirement and time to enjoy her grandchildren. I am sure that she will not be sitting still for long!! Ronnie had been at Wharekaka for 28 years. Thankyou Ronnie for your loyal service to Wharekaka we will miss you and your cheerful smile!. … Continue Reading

TWILIGHT HOCKEY COMPETITION

Grab some mates together and get yourself a team of 5 for Featherston’s new Twilight Hockey Competition this summer. Open to everyone, old and new players, fit and not as fit – the competition is for mixed teams and focus will be on fun (although real umpires & rules will be provided). Featherston Hockey Club will run games at the turf in town on Friday nights for 6 weeks starting February 21st 2014 with the finals on March 28th, entry fee just $10 a week per team. Contact Judy (paul.rayner@xtra.co.nz) for more details and to register your team or to be put into a team.

Those famous shoes

By now, possibly everybody in Martinborough (and many beyond) knows Shirley Nightingale, our famous librarian, as much for her charm and skill in the library as for her fabulous footwear. A selection of Shirley’s favourite and most unusual pairs was chosen for an eye-catching display at the local Art & Craft Fair a few weeks ago. The rationale? The fair’s organiser, Glenys Hansen, considered them ‘works of art’ – which indeed they are.

Shirley confesses she doesn’t know how many shoes she owns; but her patient husband is happy to allow seventy pairs to be kept in the family home. The rest are secreted away in their large barn behind the house. Mornings are a bit of a rush in the Nightingale household, so choosing which pair to wear each day requires a quick and determined decision – “difficult, but primarily they have to go with what I’m wearing,” Shirley says. … Continue Reading

Pukemanu Adventure Ride 2014

Some of the organisers after a previous ride.

There might be mud, dust, breakdowns, rain, hail or heat but participants in the Pukemanu Adventure Ride will relish it all.

First run in 1992, the Pukemanu is New Zealand’s second oldest organised adventure ride with a proud history of delivering stunning Wairarapa scenery and old fashioned country hospitality.
This one day non-competitive ride covers approximately 250kms of gravel roads, sandy beach, farm tracks, forestry roads and some tar seal and has proven to be a popular event for anyone with a road legal ‘adventure bike’. It is designed for riders and/or couples seeking to see parts of the country and terrain not ordinarily open to the public and in a relaxed fashion. … Continue Reading