- St Arnaud Adventure - 

6th March 2020 - St Arnaud, Nelson Lakes

It was a fresh morning, and we all met at the yard and travelled to St Arnaud to begin our adventure.  

Our hosts were Ed and Nicky Shaw from Bullock Road Bows.  Ed makes amazing hand made long bows and they have a field archery course set up on their property just on the outskirts of St Arnaud Village.

There is a shelter set up with targets for everybody to learn how to hone their skills with the bows that are provided (and thankfully arm guards also).  Two people can take instruction at a time and shoot with the assistance of Ed and Nicky.  There is ample room for all to spectate and support.  We split into two teams and ended up with a shoot out between the teams.  We all had so much fun that I don't recall who actually won .... but I do recall thinking that if we ever needed to defend our office with bows and arrows I would be happy for any one of my colleagues to be on my side.

The course was brilliant fun - set up so that you feel like you are adventuring through the manuka on a quest, and although only one is able to shoot at a time its so engrossing that the time passes easily and you are at your turn before you know it.  Points are kept, and tallied at the end.  The moving targets proved a little more of a challenge for some us, but the video will show that it wasn't that way for everyone.

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As always, we were treated to amazing food, with home made baking for morning tea, and freshly smoked salmon for lunch at the lake edge.

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It was a fortuitous time to be at Lake Rotoiti, as being a Friday on the weekend of the classic boats there were some beautiful boats that had already arrived and were cruising the lake for all to see.

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After lunch we boarded the Lake Rotoiti Water Taxi, and took a tour with Hamish to Whiskey Falls.  He gave us the local history and dropped us at Whiskey Falls Jetty so that we could explore, and walk to Cold Water Hut.  This allowed us time to climb up to the falls and enjoy the wonder and then take a brisk walk to the other end of the lake.  

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Another amazing time with the team, and wonderful refresher from the daily office and plumbing routine. 

- Cable Bay Adventure - 

1st March 2019 - Cable Bay, Nelson

It was another beautiful sunny day and the ocean was picture perfect.

From Cable Bay - a small settlement 18km north of Nelson - the team at Plumbing Services took the 'Cable Bay Explorer' guided kayak trip. We paddled our way (some more competently than others of us) around the coastline of Pepin Island in 5 double kayaks and guided by 2 wonderful guides. Having opportunity to explore caves, get up close to seals, seabirds and other sea creatures.  Then moving on into to a little bay for a break from our kayaks with the chance to do a little swimming and snorkelling and have a snack before the return journey back to Cable Bay.

After a relaxed substantial lunch on the beach where the wind was now picking up we moved back up the Cable Bay Valley and discovered the next part of the adventure – 'Cable Bay Shooting Adventures'.

The safety briefing complete we all took our turn individually firing shots at paper targets with the .22 rifles.

Once we had all done our warm up target shots we were then able to shoot against each other …. Taking 2 people at a time and competing for speed and accuracy – 20 shots per person which seemed to take no time at all for some and a lifetime for others.

Then the big guns came out and we each had a turn at the clay birds.  A little more challenging when the targets are moving!

To finish the day there was then the “real big guns” to fire at the long distance targets set high on the hill.  The resounding “ting” of the metal when the shots hit the target was very rewarding and the frustration of the visual cloud of dust that was seen when the target was just missed … was a good motivator to have another shot at the more difficult smaller target.  Did I mention that the wind had increased by this time and this was a good excuse for the cloud of dust?

A awesome team day out, away from the usual tasks and demands of every day work.  

- Farewell Spit Tour - 

25th May 2018 - Collingwood, Golden Bay

Another awesome day that Plumbing Services provided for its team, this time to the South Islands northernmost point - Farewell Spit – 35km long, one of the worlds longest natural sandspits. With open sea on one side and sheltered waters on the other, this massive sandspit has two entirely different faces.

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Departing from Collingwood in a robust but comfortable 4WD bus we experienced a fascinating journey into sand country. Travelling the length of the spit with many stops along the way, Fossil Point, up beyond the lighthouse reserve, sighting basking seals and many different bird species.

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A stop at the lighthouse keeper’s cottage for lunch, giving us some time to explore the area and soak up the atmosphere of this truly amazing environment.

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The highlight of our Farewell Spit trip was having the opportunity to stop and climb one of the wind sculptured sand dunes that run down the spine of the spit. From the top of these dues we had a panoramic view - from the mountains of Golden Bay, the Abel Tasman National Park, Cook Strait seaway, the spit itself and around to the wild ocean on the west coast side.

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Our final stop before heading back to Collingwood was Cape Farewell, windy and cold yet interesting to see the formation of this landmark and watch the seals slipping through the waves that hammer this coast below the lookout.

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A very scenic outing and enjoyed by all our team.

- McCashins Brewery Tour - 

15th September 2017 - Stoke, Nelson

An afternoon off work for a tour around McCashins Brewery was a bonus for the team and enjoyed by all. A professional and knowledgeable tour guide took us through the fascinating history of the brewery and history of the brewing industry in New Zealand. Also all about the process used in making the Stoke Beer & Rochdale Cider products, the unique nature of the products and the special features of the brewery itself.

The tour was followed by an opportunity to taste some of their products and learn about the characteristics of each one. It was an awesome chance to learn about a locally made product.

- Paddle Hike Lunch Sail - 

25th May 2017 - Abel Tasman

The team at Plumbing Services enjoyed a Team Day out paddling, hiking and sailing around some of the bays in New Zealand smallest but busiest National Park, famous for its golden beaches, sparkling clear waters, sheltered bays and forested granite headlands.

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Working as a team we paddled in a Waka from Kaiteriteri around to Observation Beach with a stop at Fishermans Island for a team problem solving activity. This team activity involved co-operation from every team member, working together, supporting each other and building our skills and relationships. The positive vibes of solving this problem together was awesome. 

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From Observation Beach we hiked over to Anchorage, which allowed for time to relax and enjoy each others company, talking of subjects other than work, and at the same time getting a bit of exercise and being together as a team which doesn't often happen in the workplace. With an extra few kms to hike than expected we didn't get much time at Anchorage before we boarded the 'Sabatayn' where we had a buffet lunch. 

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The yacht 'Sabatayn' was a special bonus, it was her first small voyage since its $1million refit, so we were very spoilt! She has been around the world 2.5 times and was about to go on another one of her big adventures for the winter. It is a fully fitted out and furnished yacht with two cabins, shower rooms, a kitchen and small laundry, two dinning areas inside with a covered outside eating area. 

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After lunch, we had a very calm and pleasant sailing trip back to Kaiteriteri, watching the sun set behind the hills, seeing seals and little blue penguins, along with late fishing gulls and other sea birds. 

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This day was an awesome time, a very big success and we would definitely recommend a day out like this!   While having fun and enjoying the day out we learnt a great amount as a team, learning key elements and skills essential to creating a dynamic business.