Have you spent a day in a shearing shed?
Feature writer Richard Walker recently stopped in to see how shearers are faring this year.
Lachlan Foote stretches out on the wooden floor, right where he was standing. It’s 11.30, the end of a morning in the shearing shed and it’s time to recover. The fingers on his left hand are covered in plasters; his back’s giving him gyp. His day started at ten to 6 with a 45 minute drive from Whatawhata to Te Akau; he will make the return trip when he and the three other shearers hang up their combs at 5pm, and when he’s home he’ll clean up his gear before doing it all again tomorrow.
Poll: Do you set New Year’s resolutions?
🎉 2026 is almost here!
We’re curious ... how do you welcome it?
Do you set resolutions, follow special traditions, or just go with the flow?
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10.5% Yes! New Year, New Me
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20.7% Yes - but I rarely stick to them
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68.8% Nah - not for me
From rugged campsite to 7.5ha resort
Grant Kilby has always loved camping. His mum was director of health at the YMCA, and he would attend YMCA camps in the school holidays. “I think it was mandatory that I was there,” he jokes.
He went on camping holidays with his parents, and later, took his own kids.
“Camping’s been in my blood.”
Poll: Is it ok to regift something that you have been given?
🎁 Holiday Gift Chat!
Do you ever regift?
What’s your take on asking for a receipt if a gift doesn’t fit?
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78.8% Yes! It's better to regift what I don't need
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21.2% No. It's the thought and effort that matters
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