Bushtown Waimate hosted the Veteran Australian and New Zealand Woodchopping Test Series at its annual Steam Up Days.
The event, which celebrates the Waimate district’s association with the timber industry, brought the Kiwis and Aussies together in a three-test series across Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Australia won all three races.
The test series was a great occasion from all involved, New Zealand captain Andrew Cox said.
"It’s fantastic to get the Aussies here at any stage. They’re very, very competitive people."
Despite the 0-3 scoreline, the Kiwis improved a lot across the three tests.
"Our first race on Friday — we were nearly half a block behind. We changed one man and the last two races have been very, very close. We could’ve been there but we weren’t.
"I still think we’ve had almost two wins — I’m happy.
With a handful of new axemen in the team, they were only going to get better, he said.
"We’ve got a few new boys in the team and that lower age does give a bit of a boost."
The Australians were happy to avenge their loss from the last time the team visited New Zealand, captain Phil Campbell said.
"Last time we were here, which was probably about four years go, we got beaten, so, we were hoping to turn the tides here ... It was great to win three-nil."
They always enjoyed a good trip over the Ditch and this time was no different.
"We always love coming over here. It’s a beautiful country and the people always look after us immensely. I’ve been over here quite a few times with different teams and never had a bad trip yet."
The visitors had to do a bit of Googling to find out where exactly they were going.
"I had never heard of [Waimate] and I don’t think anybody else had but it’s always good to go to different places and there’s nothing wrong with this place."
