WAIOURU IS a micro climate, exceptionally cold in winter due to high altitude and proximity to Ruapehu. The township exists mainly because of the army base and now museum. Travelers heading north across the Desert Road pause for petrol and pies, have a pee, and sometimes stay longer due to snow.

A CORKILL Dairy Systems lobe pump installed early February already has a Norsewood, Hawke’s Bay, dairy farm noting a 6% increase in milk solids, says the supplier’s New Zealand sales manager, Vern Coxhead.

The trick to driving a Kawasaki Mule down a near vertical slope is to hold your nerve and keep one foot tickling the brake pedal, while the other foot keeps enough throttle on to engage the CVT transmission.

The Euro zone crisis, New Zealand dollar and Chinese New Year have been hitting wool prices, which before last week’s auctions had dropped about 12% since October.