CLUB REPORTS

• Published date: 17 February 2022
• Publication title: Taupo Weekender

Saturday’s weather once again put paid to any club championship play at the Harcourts Taupō Bowling Club

A clearance on Sunday enabled some play to take the greens in the men’s and women’s club championship triples where the round robin system applied.

Liz Witton (sk)/Annie Judge/Urshla Croft and Caro McLeod (sk)/Marlene Jordan/Val Wilson emerged each with two wins to advance to the championship final.

There are still two rounds to play in the men’s section at the end of Sunday’s play with Joe Rowen (sk)/Ron Bailey/Rusty Petterson holding three wins, Steve Lee (sk)/Jim Fitzsimons/ Rick Whittaker and Dave Jones (sk)/Mike Wooldridge/Jack Giddy each with two.

By complete contrast Thursday’s club competition was played in searing heat and high humidity and attracted a very healthy field of 24 for a 2x4x2 open mixed pairs where overall success went to Jim Fitzsimons and Winston Gurnell.

That pair was unbeaten with their two wins coming from 12 winning ends and an impressive 34 points.

‘Jovial’ Janice Collier/’witty’ Steve Dickens combined for second prize returning 1/12/20. The experienced Caro McLeod/dedicated new bowler Robbie Dymock secured third 0/7/18. Val Mikkelson/Bill Thomson won the drawn prize.

Wednesday Walkers

Last Wednesday, we spent our two hours walking through the woods that lie to the west of Wairakei Drive. This small forest is around four square kilometre in area and consists mostly of Radiata Pine trees but there are also areas of gum trees and some natives.

The area has been thinned recently and the ground is clear except for pine straw. The timber is about halfway to the size required before the timber is harvested.

It was a perfect walking day, with no rain and not too hot. Walking through the woods is always a treat and never the same two days running.

The low cloud last week gave a sombre colouring to the tracks, in some areas, where the canopy was thick, it was so gloomy as to give an underwater effect.

Within the woods there are many steep climbs and baffling curves, it would be very easy to get lost but we had our trusty leader to show us the way which she does infallibly without resorting to GPS or any other gadgets.

One of our number explained how when the forests are being developed people actually climb the trees to get cones to provide seed for further planting. As always with forestry work, it is amazing how people can deal with the sheer scale of the job in hand, even for a small wood like this let alone the massive...