Gidday Wānaka and surrounds, hope you’ve all been well.

Great spot of rain we’ve had. A stark contrast to the great day on Thursday (November 18). I saw many people enjoying a meal with a brew outside Lake Bar etc as I drove past on my evening shift and thought lucky

individuals, that’s what I’d rather be doing!

Compulsory weather chat done, here’s what has been keeping us busy this week.

On Monday two drivers lost their license for excess demerits. These add up quickly from a range of bad driving so best to stick to the rules and be safe.

Dayshift got together for a bit of a shindig and focused on some road policing. Stay off your phones and buckle up.

Some work was done outside Mount Aspiring College in the morning. I know it can be tricky, but please don’t stop on the yellow lines because it causes lanes to become two abreast with cars and that’s when accidents can happen.

On Tuesday there was a report taken of decking timber stolen from a property. Unfortunately, we do have those types of people in Wānaka who take things from others, so please do what you can to minimize the risk of theft. An enquiry was done at an address and while at the door the officer saw in the glasshouse some interesting looking “tomato plants”. The plants were confiscated and destroyed.

Wednesday saw a driver operating a vehicle they weren’t supposed to, and another individual caused a fracas at a pub. If pubs ask you to leave then please oblige.

On Thursday two family harm incidents were attended to and a pub got caught not abiding to the COVID rules around bar service. We know it gets on a lot of licensed premises owner’s nerves when they see others not complying, so a line of encouragement, it is the same rules for all.

There was also a checkpoint done in the evening and thankfully no drunk drivers. Cheers to all for enjoying a drink responsibly. A word of advice though, don’t do a u-turn when you see the checkpoint because we will catch up with you.

Friday revealed an early morning callout to an address that was left unlocked. The whole debacle could have been avoided if the owners just locked their place up when they left.

The evening kicked off with a civil dispute, a house fire, a drink driver, a mountain bike crash, more patrons refusing to leave a pub and another drunk driver who crashed their vehicle through a fence.

Saturday was a quiet enough day and then in the evening a burglary was attended and another drunk driver was caught.

There is still a steady stream of facebook frauds being reported. Some are even getting creative and sending buyers to an address for pickup that is fictitious, or a holiday home.

Take care everyone and have a great week. Thanks for being a great community to serve.