Selwyn Times: February 27, 2019

14 Wednesday February 27 2019
Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi
News
FOR NEW Zealand Defence
Force firefighter Lance Corporal
James Nunan, helping fight the
multiple bushfires burning across
Tasmania is a way of giving back.
Lance Corporal Nunan, who
is based at Burnham Military
Camp, is one of five NZDF
firefighters in Tasmania. They
are part of a Fire and Emergency
New Zealand team assisting
about 500 firefighters from the
Tasmania Fire Service and other
parts of Australia.
“The Australians were
among those who came to our
aid following the devastating
earthquake in Christchurch in
2011 and the 2016 earthquake
in Kaikoura,” Lance Corporal
Nunan said.
“We always help each other
out, as good neighbours do. It’s
nice to help other people and the
community.”
NZDF firefighters left for
Tasmania on February 7 and
have been working in a number
of fire-affected areas near
Geeveston, 62km south-west of
Hobart.
Lance Corporal Nunan said
• By Anan Zaki
THE DISTRICT’S first ever
travel expo is on its way next
month.
The helloworld Travel Rolleston
Expo will host 17
travel operators –
including Antarctic
expeditions and
Contiki travel.
Said helloworld
Travel Rolleston
director Paul
Robinson: “It’s a
chance for people to
talk directly with the
suppliers, come and
talk to the guys that
live and breathe that
destination.”
“It’s not intended to be a sales
expo, it’s an information thing,”
Paul Robinson
a typical work day lasts about
12 hours, starting at 7am. After
receiving their tasks for the day,
the NZDF firefighters are flown
to the Hartz Mountains, about
55km south-west of Hobart.
“We’ve worked at several
locations since we arrived.
Last week, we were assigned to
attack hotspots at a eucalyptus
plantation and this week we are
at the Hartz Mountains National
Park. Many trees have been burnt
Mr Robinson said. There will also
be 15 travel-related presentations
at the expo, which will have free
entry.
“It’s a big thing, especially for
us being a small company out in
Selwyn,” Mr Robinson
said.
A popular destination
for Selwyn travellers
is Vietnam, he said.
While Canada and the
United States’ state of
Alaska is also a common
destination.
“But [there are] also
people wanting to do
more than sitting on a
cruise ship. It might be
jumping on an inflatable
and getting up close with polar
bears or walking on ice shelves
in Antarctica, swimming with
and there are trunks that are still
smouldering,” he said.
“The Tasmanian fire crews
specialise in remote area
firefighting – I’ve learnt a lot
working with them.”
The NZDF also deployed
220 personnel recently to fight
bushfires in Nelson and others
to fight fires in Marlborough and
Canterbury.
The deployment to Tasmania
is Lance Corporal Nunan’s first
dolphins or going to a village that
rarely sees civilisation in South
America,” Mr Robinson said.
The South Island’s reach to
Asian destinations has improved
in recent years, due to the
addition of new routes from
Christchurch, he said.
The city currently has daily
flights to Guangzhou, China, and
Singapore. It also has seasonal
flights to Hong Kong.
US destinations are also easier
to access due to flights from
Auckland, Mr Robinson said.
“Certainly our reach into the
globe has changed in the last 10
years,” he said.
•The helloworld Rolleston
Travel Expo will be on
March 30 at the Rolleston
Community Centre from
10am-3.30pm.
overseas operation, but he has
been involved in large-scale local
firefighting operations, such as
the Port Hills fire in 2017.
“We helped out for more than
two weeks (in the Port Hills),
starting at 5am and finishing
about 9pm on most days. It
was hard and fairly dangerous,
especially in the initial phase,”
he said.
Lance Corporal Nunan
enlisted in the New Zealand
Local
News
Now
From Burnham to fighting fires in Tasmania
SERVING
ABROAD:
Lance
Corporal
James Nunan
is one of five
New Zealand
Defence
Force
firefighters
tackling
multiple
bushfires in
Tasmania.
SELWYN TIMES
First ever travel expo on way to Rolleston next month
Fire rages, homes at risk
Army in 2013, a few months after
graduating from Shirley Boys’
High School.
“I was quite familiar with army
life because of our proximity to
Burnham Camp. I also enjoy
being outdoors and running
in the forests, which was why I
chose the army.”
After completing basic
training, he took a gap year to
travel to Europe and Asia with a
high school friend and then spent
a few months doing drainlaying
and construction work in the
Christchurch rebuild.
When he re-enlisted in 2014
his mind was set on becoming a
firefighter. He also has a diploma
in paramedic science from
Auckland University and is a
volunteer ambulance officer for
St John.
“I’ve been in a number of
situations where people have
been seriously injured or ill and
survived because we were able
to treat them and get them to a
hospital quickly,” he said.
“It’s a team effort and everyone
has a role to play, just like in
firefighting.”
HOLIDAY: Antarctic cruises will feature in Selwyn’s first ever
travel expo next month.
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