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Do YOU want to Make A Difference to the Youth and our Community? Are you committed to making positive changes in our community and the world while having a bit of fun at the same time? Our club members are dedicated people who share a passion for community service and friendship.

Becoming a Rotarian connects you with a diverse group who share your drive to give back while having fun.

Fishing Competition 2026

The 32^nd Annual Lake Dunstan Fishing Classic!

A Serious Fishing Competition with a Family Flavour

Great prizes including spot prizes.

When: Sunday November 15th 2026

Where: Lake Dunstan

Costs:
Adult is $20
Junior is $6
Child is Free
Note an Adult is 18 years or over; Junior is between 12 and 17 inclusive, and a Child is under 12 years of age as at the 1st October 2026.

Online registrations are now closed - but you can still register on the day from 6am at the Lowburn Hall.

Weigh-in starts at 2pm at the Lowburn Hall.

Prize giving starts at 4pm at the Lowburn Hall.

All participants must hold a valid, current sports fishing license and be aware of, and comply with, the Sports Fishing Regulations for the Otago Region.

To download a copy of the current rules for the competition - Click here

For further information please contact the organiser:

Phil Henderson

Phil_Henderson@xtra.co.nz

Warbirds over Wanaka - Easter Weekend

A huge thank you to Fin and his team for contributing to the Wanaka Airshow - from photos viewed on social media all the visiting planes were nicely lined up looking very smart

Scottland - Vocational visit

On Monday 30th March we visited Scottland at Bannockburn to visit Jenny and Bill Scott's Camping Ground - what a view looking over Cromwell and the Lake.

We had a BBQ of sausages and onions on bread, a little beverage and some fruit and Easter eggs to finish, we also listened to an informative talk from Jenny about Scotland - Jenny was Cromwell Rotary President in 1998.

We then went down to the Chinese caves for a look to see how the early gold miners mined and lived in the 1800's

It was a great night and the weather played its part too.

RYDA at Highlands Motor Park

On the 18th of March around 80 senior students from Mt Aspiring College and Cromwell College attended RYDA (Rotary Youth Driver Awareness) at Highlands Motor Park.

The students were taught not just road rules but real-life decisions when getting behind the wheel of a car. There were 6 workshops that the students attended, Speed and Stopping distances, Distractions, Alcohol and Drugs, Fatigue, Peer Pressure and Risk Awareness and Consequences.

RYDA teaches students to become safer drivers and passengers, to make better choices behind the wheel and to understand how quickly things can go wrong and hopefully reducing road accidents and fatalities.

The workshops that I attended I found students to be engaging asking a lot of relevant questions. A lot of the students already have either their learner’s licence or their restricted licence. So hopefully they came away more informed before getting into a car.

Thanks to Rotarians Sue, Jan, Fin and Lyall for helping on the day.

Carrick Vocational Visit

On a glorious late summer evening a group of us, with some visitors from the Wanaka Rotary Club, enjoyed a delightful occasion at Carrick Winery.

Whilst we sat and enjoyed a glass (or two) of Carrick wine, accompanied by delicious pizza, fries and salad Tony and Ali Cleland kept us amused, informed and entertained with the story of their journey from, in Tony's case, a school dropout to the very successful business couple they are today.

A journey that took them from Share Milking in the Waikato to owning their first farm in Southland 35 years ago. The couple now have several farms in northern Southland, based around Mossburn, but these days are resident in Bannockburn.

Fairly early on in his career Tony realised that, he would both prefer and, be more successful, working with people rather than going it alone. Tony is passionate about making a difference and working together with people to achieve positive outcomes - starting from nothing and building a business. With this in mind he started Farm Right, an asset management company. This has been a huge success and now has $1.4 billion in assets throughout NZ, beef, dairy, orchards (mainly apples) and viticulture. The company has recently expanded into Australia, and now have substantial assets there.

Regular visitors to Central Otago, with a house in Wanaka, a favourite stop of their journey was Carrick Vineyard. In one of those serendipity moments Tony and Ali bought Carrick Vineyard/Winery in the summer of 2021/22, they put in the offer on a Monday just before Christmas, it was accepted on Wednesday which was Christmas Eve....not ideal timing.

The offer was accepted as they wanted the complete package, houses, vineyard restaurant other potential purchasers wanted some but not all.... and the rest is history.

When Tony and Ali were married (age 21) they had three goals - firstly to buy their first farm by the time they were 30, secondly by the time they were 40 to have enough financial freedom to do what they wanted and thirdly to be in a position to do business with their kids, if that is what they wanted. These have all been achieved.

On the drawing board they want to continue to develop Carrick, doing up the two houses on the property and developing luxury accommodation for the bike trails.

So watch this space - listening to Tony and Ali you come away with the impression that if they set a goal they achieve it.