Book "The River is my Highway"
A book is a great Xmas gift. Kerikeri author adventurer Ross Lockyer's third book, "The River is my Highway" is about his adventures and people he has met in Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo and has engendered some great reviews.
Cost is $30 + postage
You can get a copy off TradeMe by clicking on the following link: www.trademe.co.nz...
The River is my Highway
A New Zealand Forest Ranger in the Jungles of Borneo
Living and working in the remote Southern Highlands of Papua New Guinea (PNG), Ross Lockyer had never heard about Indonesia. Yet in 1973, he was offered a forestry supervisor’s job based in Samarinda, Indonesian Borneo, and fell in love with the place on his first day.
Ross worked on the rivers and in the remote jungles of Indonesian Borneo for the next five years, quickly learning local languages, immersing himself in the Indonesian way of life, and learning the ways of the mighty Mahakam River and the Makassar Straits on which he spent most of each working day.
Compared to pre-independence PNG, living in isolated Samarinda seemed like the height of luxury to Ross, although coming from sparsely populated PNG, Ross’s first experience of Samarinda was a true assault on the senses with its crowds of people, dozens of mosques, crazy drivers, and myriad overpowering smells. Yet overlooking the city was the new and illustrious Lamin Indah Hotel, which boasted a classy bar and restaurant and attractive and sophisticated female staff from Java, in particular the beautiful Lestari—surely a Java Princess!
The third book in the adventurous series about Ross’s life, The River is my Highway brings to life a whole new series of exploits, including provoking and then assuaging a local war, single-handedly destroying village ablution facilities with a speed-boat and facing a barrage of nasty consequences, hunting local wild-life in the most committed way imaginable, loading log-ships at sea, smuggling hi-fi gear, searching for log pirates, and fronting up to the Dayak Queen. Between escapades, Ross somehow finds time to get married and start a family.
This book includes some 75 photographs from Ross’s vast collection which richly illustrate his writing.
Get ready for more colourful, laugh-aloud yarns from the master story-teller who brought you An Accidental Bushman and Cannibals, Crocodiles and Cassowaries. Once you start reading, you won’t want to put this book down!
For more information go to the author’s website: www.rosslockyer.co.nz...
Poll: Should we ditch daylight saving? 🕰️
First introduced in New Zealand in 1927 with the passing of the Summer Time Act, it's what we know as 'Daylight Saving' and this year it ends on the first Sunday in April.
While we do get to sleep in this time around, some people would like to scrap the clock tinkering for good.
And why? Some evidence suggests the time changes are bad for our health as they mess with sleep patterns leading to short-term fatigue and affecting mood. Meanwhile the hour change is frustrating for farmers and a nightmare for getting the littlies to sleep. But what's your take?
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39.7% Yes - get rid of the clock changes
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58.5% No, I enjoy it
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1.8% Other - I'll share below
Alan and Hazel Kerr share Senior New Zealander of the Year Award 2026
Dr Alan and Hazel Kerr describe themselves as ‘just ordinary old Kiwis’, despite being named as the 2026 Ryman Healthcare Senior New Zealanders of the Year Te Mātāpuputu o te Tau.
The amazing couple prompted a standing ovation at a star-studded Auckland event which recognised their tireless efforts, with Alan travelling to and from Gaza and the West Bank 40 times to help children over 20 years, and Hazel travelling 20 times.
Click read more to find out more.
Be careful out there...
If you can, stay home today, and if you are travelling, please drive to the conditions. While we've had consistent rainfall overnight, the forecast is still likely to bring: dangerous river conditions, flooding, slips and landslides, hazardous driving conditions, and road closures in some areas. Northland Regional Council have shared some important updates this morning.
🚩 The Red and Orange Heavy Rain Warnings, as well as the Strong Wind Warning issued by MetService New Zealand, remain in place until the early hours of tomorrow morning. The key period of concern is still today through to Friday morning.
🚩 Many rivers in the Far North are running at high levels, with some still rising. (High tide on the east coast is early this afternoon.) The Kaeo River has reached a level where flooding on SH10 is possible. So if you’re travelling through Kaeo or Waimate North this morning, please take extra care.
🚩 There are already a number of State Highway closures and there are likely to be more, as well as local road closures. Crews will work to clear these as quickly as possible, but there may be delays. If you come across any local roading issues or storm related damage on public property, please report it through to your local council:
Whangarei District Council: www.wdc.govt.nz...
Kaipara District Council www.kaipara.govt.nz...
Kaipara District Council www.fndc.govt.nz...
🚩 There are a number of isolated power outages around the region. Northpower and Top Energy NZ crews will be out today working to resolve these issues as soon as they can, but this may take some time.
Check the latest outages here:
Northpower: northpower.nz...
Top Energy NZ: outages.topenergy.co.nz...
🚩 Northland Civil Defence works across the councils to provide local welfare support. If centres or marae are open to provide support, they will be published on the district council websites.
If you need welfare support, please ring your local district council.
Whangarei District Council
Phone: 0800 932 463
Far North District Council
Phone: 0800 920 029
Kaipara District Council
Phone: 0800 727 059
Finally, some key reminders for today:
- Do not enter floodwaters: it only takes a small amount of moving water to knock you off your feet or sweep a vehicle away.
- Avoid unnecessary travel over this period. Conditions may deteriorate quickly, and roads may close with little warning.
- Be prepared to self evacuate if you see rising water, feel unsafe, or notice conditions worsening.
- Be aware of landslide risks, and keep well away from areas that have recently been affected by slips or landslides. If you notice cracks in the ground, tilting trees or power poles, unusual noises, or rapid changes in stream levels, leave immediately.
If at any time you feel you, your whānau, or your property are at immediate risk, please call emergency services on 111
Civil Defence will continue to monitor the situation closely and provide updates here as more information becomes available.
This remains an evolving situation, so please continue to keep up to date with the latest information from MetService, NZTA and your local and regional councils.
If there's anything else you think we should all know, feel free to share it in the comments below.
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