Any other Okuti Valley folks out there...?

Hi Everyone. I stumbled on this site while researching which log fire to buy. ( The Metro seems to be the recommended one..) We are about to start building on a 5 hectare block that we have had for about 4 years in beautiful Okuti Valley, Banks Peninsula. This site is going to be so helpful.

Hi Kaiser and welcome to lsb

If I was buying a fire (and I am []) I'd buy a Lady Kitchener, not a Metro.

Cheers
Kate

Lady Kitchener/Contessa ALL the way. We've got a Lady Kitchener and I wouldn't even look at a different one. It is brilliant.

We used to camp at the old school there and the old house in Little River in the fork in the road just off the main road on the way to Okuti Valley was my 'Great Aunty Roses' house. That's where I saw my first new born lamb, the afterbirth and didn't touch raspberry jelly for a long time after.

Great fun camping at the old school, a bit scary after dark, HUGE spiders in the creek and some local kids showed me a Taniwha of an eel. It was sooooo big it had sort of long dangly tentacle things coming from just under the corners of it's mouth. I think their may have been some pigs along the road from the school..... I don't know if the school is still there, or even my Great Aunts house, it's been years since I went to Little River and even longer since I was in Okuti Valley.

It was a really nice place, off the beaten track without being too remote.

Welcome to LSB and hope you have a great adventure with your block.

Yakut

We looked at a block in the Okuti Valley. Lovely spot.

One plus with the Metro fires is getting a Direct vent model and setting it up to source the air for combustion from outside. This really is worthwhile. The volume of air that goes through a fireplace is huge, and excluding that draught from the room makes a big difference. To those with the Lady Kitchener, does it have an external air supply? The specs on-line don't say.

The big problem with the LK is that the bricks get very brittle when hot, so great care is needed when stoking the fire, because the internal bricks are darned expensive.

Hawkspur - as far as I know there is no external air supply for the LK we have.

Simkin;305287 wrote: Hawkspur - as far as I know there is no external air supply for the LK we have.

Thanks for that Simkin. It sounds like you are very happy with the LK!
I am always on the lookout for good burners that do have this external air source. Sometimes it is called a balanced flue, and one I can think of brings in the air in the outer sleeve of the flue, so it preheats and provides insulation for the flue from flammable framing which is quite clever, but isn't obvious when looking at the burner.

We put a firenza contessa in abut 6 months ago and it does have the ability to hook up an external air supply.

Thanks Celt,
- and apologies to Kaiser for hijacking the thread []

No problem Hawkspur, it's good to read everyone's imput.

Yakut, the old school is now the community hall and is directly across the creek from our property. As for the eels, they are still there. One bit my toe when I was sitting on a rock cooling off last Christmas and I nearly ran on water!

No problem Hawkspur. It's good to see everyone's imput. We settled for the Metro Tiny Rad in cast iron. ( We needed a small one with wet-back to heat a loft area.)

Yakut, the old schoolhouse is now the community hall and is directly across the creek from our property. As for the eels, they are still there as one bit my foot last Christmas when I was sitting on a rock cooling off. I nearly ran on water!

I have experienced the 'nearly running on water' thing as well at that creek but it wasn't an eel, it was a humungous spider and it really did walk on water! My friends Dad was the Principal of a school in Chch and he was the one responsible for the camping trips there. He caught the spider in a big jar to take back to school.... as far as I was concerned, he could have it! As long as it was in that jar and in HIS caravan!!!!

I worked for an old guy out that way, only lasted a week. His house was miles from Little River right around the other side of the lake and up high. He used to cook poached eggs for breakfast and he dribbled a lot, especially while he was leaning over the eggs while they were poaching... I lasted a week. A 16 -17 year old girl living with an 70 -80 year old who had a reputation for peeking through key holes..... 'shudder' I was useless at the job anyway, didn't have a clue and every night we went back to that old house.... yeah well, it wasn't that pleasant, wind whistling through it and so far away from anyone.

That whole area is so steeped in history. It's such an amazing place, the whole Peninsula I mean.

The school wasn't open and the old building had that wonderful smell to it of history. I don't know how long it had been closed for but everything seemed old, the desks, even the dust.

It's great it's still there and being used..... there used to be tennis courts but even then, they were starting to deteriorate. I'm surprised it wasn't sold and turned into a house!
Fancy you living right opposite. From what I remember, the opposite bank at that time was pretty hard to get up unless you walked down the creek a bit. I seem to remember it being either quite high or covered in scrub, or both...... I could be thinking of another creek though.... I remember the spider vividly... it nearly crawled up my friends arm but she moved when I squealed.... Oh my gosh, I could have saved her life you know!!!! I mean, if a spider that size crawled up my arm, a coronary could easily have followed... and my friend wasn't that fussed on spiders either.... shame it was in the jar in her caravan.... and my Dad was a barber and had no need of a massive spider for show and tell.... in fact, he may have squealed louder than me if he'd seen it.

I wonder if the kids that went to that school were allowed to play in the creek? They wouldn't be allowed these days. But oh it was such fun!!!!

Yakut

I'm hijacking again []
Your "walk on water"stories reminded me of another:

Theres a spot on Otago peninsula called Cape Saunders. There are cliffs (up to 100m high) down to a rocky bay there, seals on the rocks and it's a great fishing and diving spot.
A diver carefully and slowly climbed down this cliff, picking his way right to water level over a slippery wet and slimy cliff face. He eventually got to the bottom away from the seals where the rocks are steep, after slow and cautious climbing, put on his flippers and jumped into the deep water.

He landed *thud*on top of a great white shark.[:0]

The reverse trip took only seconds, and was done wearing his flippers

I'll bet the shark was going "what the?!"

Yakut, the tennis court is still there and still used by locals and visitors for a hit around. Access to our land (which is directly across the water from the school/tennis court) is via a side road and down a long driveway.

It certainly is a great place and I can't wait to live there permanently.

I can't say I have seen any giant spiders yet but there are probably some around as there are plenty of webs. ( I can handle spiders better that mice!)

Kay.