Chocolate popsicles
**You’ll need a popsicle moulds for this recipe**
Ingredients
• 1 cup full cream milk
• 1/3 cup Nutella
Method
1) Place the milk and Nutella in a blender and blend until thoroughly combined.
2) Pour the mixture into the popsicle moulds
3) Freeze and serve
A very special visit
Back in February, New Zealand was hit with some severe weather, including flooding and Cyclone Gabrielle, a tropical storm. Many parts of the country were affected, but especially the Hawke’s Bay, Coromandel, and Auckland in the North Island.
The significant weather events caused lots of damage to homes and businesses. One of the worst-hit areas in Auckland was in the west, Waitakere City, with lots of people unable to return to their homes around Muriwai, Bethells and Piha beaches, which got cut off from the rest of the city.
Trucks played a vital role in evacuations during the storms, moving debris and dirt from the roads and helping many families get to safety.
Some of the kids and teachers at nearby Waimauku School lost their homes and loved ones. As a special surprise, our friends at Burnett’s Transport & Earthmoving paid a special surprise visit to the school, with driver Mike van Ravenstein parking up the cool Kenworth in the playground! The kids got to climb inside and check out all the features – they even got to blast the airhorns!
Down the Coast
Hey Little Truckers, recently I joined Dad on a trip to the West Coast from Motueka to deliver some dolomite (a type of fertiliser used to keep the soil healthy) to a farm north of Westport.
We rolled out of Motueka shortly after 5am and headed down the Motueka Valley towards State Highway 6 at Kohatu in darkness.
As we crested the Hope Saddle, I was treated to a spectacular sun rise, which we managed to get a photograph of, out the rear-view mirror.
In Murchison, Dad topped the truck up with fuel and I was dispatched down the road to get us a hot drink each from the tea rooms.
When I arrived back a Centaland DAF CF was also at the service station, and we followed him south to O’Sullivans Bridge where the road to the West Coast begins.
The Buller River was at our side as we travelled through the Upper and Lower Buller Gorges towards Westport.
Once through Westport, it was onto Waimangaroa (a small town about 16 kilometres north) where we turned down a side road just north of the town.
We met the farmer who was getting our load and he led us to his fertiliser bin where the trailer load was tipped off.
After unhooking the trailer, we took the truck load to a different bin a couple of kilometres further north of the first one.
When we returned to hook up the trailer, with Dad’s help I hooked up the air, electric and hydraulic lines making sure everything was connected properly before we drove off.
Reefton was our next stop, both bins were given a hose out to ensure they were clean before we pulled up alongside the loader.
Just over 38 tons of coal was loaded, we drove across the weighbridge to check the load weight was correct before having our half-hour break.
Once all the paperwork was sorted, we re-traced our steps back up the Upper Buller Gorge and onto Murchison, over the Hope Saddle and along the Motueka Valley to home.
TMC Trailers Trucking Industry Show
Hey Little Truckers, I hope you have all had an awesome holiday. Late last year with the New Zealand Trucking magazine team I was lucky enough to be able to head down to the TMC Trucking Industry Show in Christchurch at the Canterbury Agricultural Park. There were over 400 trucks from many transport companies from all over New Zealand there to see.
On the first day of the show there were trade stands set up by com- panies associated with road transport. At these, you could find anything from a new truck or trailer, to truck seats, tyres and other parts.
This day is also where local schools and trade programmes were invited to come and see the wide variety of jobs the road transport industry has to offer.
Day two of the event was the Show n Shine, where so many amazing trucks were put on display to the public. Arriving nice and early along with the rest of the New Zealand Trucking magazine team, I took the opportunity to scout out the show before it got too busy. I discovered transport companies from all over New Zealand had travelled to Christchurch for the show. I recognised trucks from way up in Nelson where I live; Solly’s Contractors and Waimea Heavy Haulage Limited were among some of the fleets I spotted that had made the long journey down. I also spotted several other trucks that caught my eye including a fleet of NZ Express Container trucks, an Orbit Heavy Haulage Scania with a CAT loader on the back and a fleet of Protranz classic Macks.
As well as the vast range of trucks from transport companies, there were also major truck manufacturers, such as Southpac Trucks with the Kenworth and DAF brands; and Scania and Fuso, who had stalls of their own, displaying new vehicles and selling merchandise.
My duties at the show included manning the New Zealand Trucking stall, promoting Little Trucker Down Under and assisting with the sales of merchandise like T-shirts and caps.
The show was also a chance for me to connect with people involved in road transport as well as catch up with Little Trucker readers, like you!
I also took the opportunity to film some of the action and compile it into a video for you guys to view (this is on the New Zealand Trucking YouTube channel for anyone to watch).
As this fabulous event drew to a close I was able to reflect on the amazing time I had down in Christchurch seeing all that was on show and meeting some pretty amazing people.
The TMC Trucking industry show is held every second year and I am keen to attend it next in 2024 and hope to meet more of you there.
Happy Birthday Conroy
When your birthday comes around you hope and pray for awesome presents. So when Conroy Removals turned 50 they were absolutely blown away with the incredible gift they received from one of their longstanding employees.
Conroy Remov- als as we see it today dates back to 1972, where a 21-year-old David Conroy was looking for an opportuni- ty to start out in the transport industry. David approached a local Napier-based furni- ture removal contractor. A little negotiation and some financial support from his mother, and David purchased the business complete with one petrol-powered D Series Ford.
Eighteen months later a second truck was purchased, a TK Bedford. At this time, David’s brother Gary joined the business as a partner and started driving the TK. These early days for the business had the brothers driving country-wide, moving families and businesses, all the while Mum was back at home base manning the phone and looking after administration. Fifty years on, Conroy Removals now employs nearly 350 team members across twelve branches throughout New Zealand and Australia. A true Kiwi business success story that has been built on strong family values by both David and Gary.
One of those team members is our friend Doug Elliott. Some readers will remember Doug from the story we featured in the February 2022 issue of New Zealand Trucking magazine. In that story, we featured the Alf Walling Mack replicas that Doug had scratch built. Well we are treated once again, as this month we look at three of Doug’s latest builds. Chatting with Doug we learn that he has been with Conroy’s for the best part of 34 years. He has loved every minute of working for the family. “They are an awesome company to work for, you definitely feel that you are a part of the family, and not just another cog in the gearbox,” says Doug. So for Doug, when the idea of a 50th birthday celebration was discussed, there was only one thing for it – head to the workshop and replicate some of those great Conroy memories as a lasting gift to the family.
Wonderful Watermelon
This quick and easy recipe makes fresh and delicious watermelon juice at home with just one fresh ingredient — watermelon!
Ingredients
Watermelon – that’s it!
Method
Cube the watermelon and discard the peel.
Put the cut up watermelon into a blender and blend on low speed.
Strain through a fine- mesh sieve and serve cold.
Berry Infused Water
Sometimes water can be a bit boring. Try adding some flavour to your water with some delicious fruit. You can use any fruit, but today we’re trying berries!
Ingredients:
Handful strawberries
Handful raspberries
Handful blueberries
One lemon, sliced
Method:
Gently wash the raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries.
Slice up the strawberries.
Drop the fruit into a glass bottle or jug a few pieces at a time, alternating between fruits so that they are well mixed.
Fill the bottle to the top with cold water.
Leave to infuse for 10 minutes then serve over ice and enjoy!
Once the water has all been drunk, you can continue to fill and refill the fruit-filled jug all day long.
Keep it in the fridge to keep it chilled.
Egg Salad
This egg salad tastes wonderful in a sandwich. It’s really good on nice brown bread.
Ingredients
• Two slices of fresh, brown bread
• Two hard boiled eggs, chopped (ask Mum or Dad to help)
• One tablespoons mayonnaise
• One gherkin or pickle, finely chopped
• Half a teaspoon fresh dill
• Salt and pepper to taste
Method
1) In a bowl, combine your hard boiled eggs, mayonnaise, gherkin and dill in a bowl.
2) Season with salt and pepper
3) Place the filling on the first slice of bread, topping with the second slice.
4) Cut in half and enjoy with some sliced cucumbers, celery and carrot sticks
Tomato and Avo Bagels
Bagels are a delicious option for a sandwich, enjoyed toasted in slices or pressed together.
Ingredients
- One bagel, sliced
- Two tablespoons hummus
- Half avocado, sliced
- One tomato, sliced
- Salt and pepper to taste
Method
- Toast each slice of bagel until golden brown
- Spread each slice with humus
- Top with slice avocado and tomato
- Salt and pepper to taste
PB & J
Peanut butter and jam sammies are a sweet, savoury delight, perfect for a quick bite and loved by children and adults alike.
Ingredients
- Two slices of fresh, white bread
- One tablespoon peanut butter, or alternative nut butter of your choosing
- One tablespoon of your favourite jam – try strawberry, grape or raspberry
Method
- Place your two slices of bread on a chopping board or plate
- Spread one slice with peanut butter
- Spread jam on the other slice
- Place the two slices together
- Cut in half or in squares *top tip* Try adding slices of banana or strawberry in your sandwich!