Wellington to Manukau

May 22, 1911
Still attempting to get caught up to the house build .  The trip from Wellington to south Auckland took us to Napier (Art Deco city) for an overnight and then up to Rotorua (hot pots, steam vents, and mineral baths) for another overnight, and then with a slight side trip to the Waitomo Glow Worm caves on up to Manukau on the south side of Auckland where the Habitat build is. 

Richard and also my breakfast of choice - pancakes and eggs.

A stop at the Otorohanga Kiwi Park gave us the opportunity to see a collection of birds.  The most interesting was the Kiwi exhibit where they had three or four brown north island kiwis.  We got there at feeding time.  The feeder said that the one large kiwi thought that she was intruding into his/her territory and started to attack her.  It was incredible as it jumped at her legs and poked it's bill at her.  They're pretty harmless actually but it was so different that any other kiwi display that we have seen.  As usual it was in a darkened room with no photography allowed and you have to speak in quiet voices not to scare the kiwis and here this one is going kinda nutso after the keeper.

KEA - a mountain parrot here in NZ.

Quacker

First day on the build site.  The truck with crane arrived and we started putting up the panels.  The affiliate here builds with panels that are about 2 inches thick and made with very dense particle board type of construction.  They are very heavy and made with special glues giving them high strength.  You can take a sledge hammer to them and it just bounces off.  They come to the site pre-cut to exact dimensions.  The corners are rabbeted and when joined are glued and nailed together.  The are all numbered from the factory according to the engineered drawings and you had better hope that someone who understands the system is there to put the puzzle together.  The time and labor savings come from not having to build up the interior and exterior walls from 2x4's or here with 3x2's.  Also no drywall is required as the panels form the finished wall. I will try to explain this better with pictures as we go along.

Jon, Dwight, and Mark assisting with putting the panels up.

Richard hard at work.

Check the website below to learn more about the Greater Auckland affiliate.  They're a great bunch of hard working people.  The leaders of the construction operation are very well organized with assignment of volunteers to make the most effective use of everyone.  Materials are always at hand and safety is the key point of each morning meeting.  Each day starts with a meeting reviewing what we are going to be doing that day and what the safety issues are with doing that work. For a volunteeer it really helps to know what the expectations are for the day.

The almost finished two family duplex below.  This unit has five bedrooms in both sides.  They are very attractive homes.

Life is Good Down Under!