Welcome

WAIKATO RIVER

Better Late Than Never - Leprechaun Lore: The History Behind the Famed Green Mischief-Makers - Link Here.

Welcome to WWW - Wilderness Wally's World - A place where one can read a story about Americana or discover information on the many people and places of interest in beautiful New Zealand.

Click here to read more at Wally's Front Porch - Say it isn't so! Apes Eat Grapes!

Click Here for Pot Luck - Oh, Get a Room!

Lord, please keep Your arm around my shoulders and Your hand over my mouth.

Floods expected in Fargo - Link Here

FARGO, N.D. - Students Race to Help Save Fargo From Flood
Thousands of volunteers are lending a hand this week to fill and stack sandbags to place along the river and near endangered homes as Fargo faces the threat of a severe flood.

Some children lugged sandbags that weighed more than they did. Determined teens showed up just after dawn with groups of friends, ready and willing to shovel. New groups of kids arrived by the bus loads, all ready to join the race to protect their city from the rising Red River.

Yankiwi - Writes to the General Store:- Before I lost it!
We found New York style pizza in Auckland -the closest yet to the real thing! try Sals at 44 Commerce St in Auckland's CBD.

An 83-year-old West Midlands man thought he had arthritis only to discover a German bullet had been lodged in his hip for the last 66 years.
War veteran Fred Gough was told by doctors he had been unwittingly been carrying the memento since the Second World War, reports the Daily Telegraph. Mr Gough, from Darlaston, had been referred to hospital for an x-ray after suffering from an ache in his right leg.

"I didn't know it was there - it hasn't caused me any trouble for the last 65 years - it's only been in the last three months that it's given me problems.

"I only joined in 1944, when I was 18, so it was towards the end of the war. I remember we were moving forward and we would have been on the front line, but I wouldn't know where.

"We were only kids and we didn't really know what was going on. All I can remember is getting this thump in my thigh, but it didn't knock me off my feet or anything. "It must have been a German soldier. Someone slapped a plaster on my leg and sent me back down the line. They just sent you to the back and off you went again."

Mr Gough has still got the bullet lodged inside him and it will remain there for as long as it causes him no more discomfort.

Dog checks himself in at hospital!
The patient was only slightly injured when he limped into a hospital in the northwest New Mexico city of Farmington. The only problem was, he was a dog.
When the automatic doors at San Juan Regional Medical Centre's emergency room slid open Saturday night, the pooch walked in, blood on his nose and paw, and a puncture hole in one leg, according to The Daily Times newspaper.

Animal control officer Robin Loev responded to a call from the hospital and suspects the puncture wound was from the bite of another dog. Loev says the German shepherd mix appeared to be intelligent and calm - and knew enough to go to the right place.

The animal was taken to the Farmington Animal Shelter and claimed by its owner.

Vote for the dog breed you like best - Link here to USA Today Paw Prints.

Dog adrift on ice saved from Baltic Sea - Link to story of Dog's Best Friend coming to the rescue

In the US, 'everyone' is up in arms over the price of Chicken wings! That's right, you might say chicken wings are flying sky-high! I wouldn't but you might.
Never-the-less, The primary factor driving up wing prices is the growing number of restaurants, including many national chains, that are adding wings to their offerings, says Richard Lobb, spokesman for the Washington-based chicken industry trade group the National Chicken Council. (I'm not kidding!)

According to the Agriculture Department, the average wholesale price of wings in 2009 was $1.47 a pound, up 39% from 2008 and the highest it has been, adjusted for inflation, since the mid-1970s.
By the way, here in New Zealand we're paying around NZ$3.50 a pound at the retail level.

Jeff Foxworthy on Illinois - Internal Link Here

Why do we drive on different sides of the road - Internal Link Here

Seats on a Plane, How to Score The Best Ones-Link Here

A while back we made one of our regular pilgrimages to Martha's Backyard in Mt Wellington to stock up on things American. I suppose those who live outside the Auckland area would just laugh at our description of 'challenging long treks' in the quest for root beer, Libby's pumpkin pie mix, wheat thins, Triscuits and Cheez-Its.

You must remember, we are out here in the wop-wops of Whangaparaoa and we must navigate our way across the 'big smoke' of Auckland.

Never the less, it is a matter of priorities, our stash of Kool-Aid, Wish Bone chunky blue cheese dressing, Jell-O, Bisquick and Jack Daniels hickory brown sugar barbecue sauce was getting dangerously low. Mrs Wilderness found something new on the shelf, a single serve mini bag of Orville Redenbacher's pop corn!

If, somehow, you have not heard of Martha's Backyard oasis, it is located at
114 Lunn Ave, Mt Wellington, Auckland – Tel:09 570 7976
Shop hours:
Mon-Fri 10am-5pm
Sat & Sun 10am-4pm

PS - No, we don't make anything out of this. I just know there are times when a root beer float is soooo important.

Click on 'Miscellaneous' in the Table of Contents to expand and find US Contacts In New Zealand and other items.

Click to view some of our photos of New Zealand As usual, a work in progress.

Come back often, have fun, keep in touch...
Mr and Mrs W-W