Couple's new home 'termite hell'
Luke Concannon woke up on his first morning in his new home and went to scratch an insect crawling over him.
As he squashed it and discarded it, he saw his bed, his floor and his walls were alive with termites - hundreds of them.
He was "completely horrified", he told RNZ, further describing the situation as "termite hell".
The house - a 10-square-metre kitset tiny home in Ligar Bay, Golden Bay - had been completed over Christmas with the help of friends.
It turned out the house had been built next to a pine tree stump.
New Zealand native species are generally non-invasive. However, there have been exceptions.
The Australian termite can be destructive and has been found here before - the most recent outbreak was at Omaha, north of Auckland, in 2014.
(The Nelson Mail, Saturday 20 January 2018)
Park resurfacing under way
Those peering through the gates of Trafalgar Park could be forgiven for thinking the playing surface resembles a speedway track more than Mako HQ.
Days after the Out Of The Blue music festival finished on January 6, tractors and machinery rolled into Nelson’s premier sports stadium for turf remediation work ahead of the winter sports season.
Nelson City Council approved a $260,000 total refurbishment of the two-hectare surface late last year, after drainage concerns following a Tasman Mako game on October 8 prompted a fast-tracking of the project.
A crew from Christchurch-based company Terrafirma Turf has been contracted by the council to undertake the work, with NZ Sports Turf Institute providing technical oversight.
A council spokeswoman said the process would involve the removal of the grass.
The field would be levelled, slit drains and a sand carpet installed, and the new turf sowed on top of that.
Improvements to the irrigation system is also happening while the work is being done.
The grass will be sown on site and this is scheduled to happen in mid-February, weather permitting.
Barring any unexpected delays, a total timeframe of 20 weeks has been set for the project until the ground can be played on again.
(The Nelson Mail, Saturday 20 January 2018)
Thought for the Week
Don't try to figure out what other people want to hear from you;
figure out what you have to say. It's the one and only thing you have to offer.
(Barbara Kingsolver)