If a bloke's shed is a refuge from a curious affliction called 'underfoot syndrome”, how come the most valuable resource in Ray Zander's man cave is a woman, who just happens to be his wife Paulette?

Ray's straight up.

'She's by far the best guy I have had working in my shed.” Wouldn't that make your girl purr with pride?

We should point out that Ray has been in timber all his life, as a cabinet maker, a joiner and a logging contractor. With 87 annual growth rings, he could be likened to that chunk of swamp kauri in his shed. And they're not wrinkles, they're wood grain.

He still tinkers with timber in his shed, making stuff for up to four hours a day as his dicky legs permit – think cutting boards, folding tables and various shapes and sizes of tray all from native timber collected over his years.

He says he's trying to use it all up before he uses himself up, before he wears out.

'I have had retired builders and God knows what helping me in my shed, but Paulette's the best,” says Ray. 'What we make is peculiar to us, and she understands what people look for and what people want.”

Ray Zander's shed, with its special female dynamic, will be part of Katikati's Blokes in Sheds Ramble tomorrow, featuring a dozen special sanctuaries or spaces that local blokes retreat to. But in Ray's case, shouldn't it be a Blokes' and Babes' Shed Ramble?

'Unfortunately, Paulette is down at the end of the production line and has set herself up as quality control,” he says. 'So things don't always go smoothly, as you can imagine.” She does a lot of the finishing, the polishing and the oiling.

She probably deserves her own shed because she's very handy on sewing machine, making her 'own stuff” to sell alongside the woodware at craft markets.

Ray and Paulette's blokes' and babes' shed is functional rather than flash - an old pack house that was never used as a pack house. ”It's a wonderful wooden shed,” says the man who knows a bit about wood. 'It's very functional and very, very tidy.”

Six kilometers down the road in Katikati proper, another shed is being thrown open for the Blokes in Sheds Ramble. It has a bar, a dart board, a pool table, a big screen TV a kitchen and a ladies room.

'Nah! There's none of that stuff in my shed. But we do have a toilet and it'll be clean for the ramble,” assures Ray Zander. There's more loud laughter. Ray Zander laughs a lot and it's probably kept him healthy.

He also has a yard full of bulldozers if chisels and saws don't spin your wheels. You get the sense they are up there with Paulette on the scale of things. 'They're beautiful things, bulldozers,” says Ray. Beautiful? 'Yes, just wonderful old machines. And they helped shape and develop this country after World War II.”

He has spent a lot of time on bulldozers, and even sold a thriving Taupo joinery business employing 20 people to go and drive bulldozers as a logging contractor.

The blurb promoting the Blokes in Sheds Ramble says when Ray's not fiddling with timber, he starts up an old bulldozer and blows smoke rings in the air.

Information on the Ramble is available from Katikati Information Centre. Events coordinator, Nicky Austin, thinks everyone needs a shed or a bolt hole. 'Women end up with their bolt holes in the house, and get that relaxation with all their stuff around them,” says Nicky.

Aren't sheds a sign of selfishness? Wouldn't men do better to share their spare time with their wives and partners rather than hiding away in a shed? 'Are you married?” asks Nicky.

Admittedly, relationships aren't one of this reporter's strong suits. 'Then perhaps you need a man cave, it might be the answer.

'It's a place where a man can go and surround himself with things important to him and things he loves. They are often things that probably aren't appropriate to have in a house.”

Nicky, like Paulette, is a seamstress. 'And the idea of having a shed with all my sewing stiff in it would be a dream come true,” she says. 'One day! One day!”

Ray Zander's shed/workshop/man cave is one of 12 sheds available to check out on the Blokes In Sheds Ramble on Saturday (March 30).

It's an opportunity to ramble through some of the most interesting sheds in the district.

This year, some tiny homes and tiny home factories have been added to the schedule because of the huge interest in what these spaces look like from the inside and how they're made.

The Ramble runs from 9am-4pm, and tickets cost $15 for adults and $10 for five-to-10 year olds. Under-fives are free. Tickets are available at Katikati Information Centre and are also available on the day.

This year, half of the proceeds from the Blokes in Sheds Ramble will be donated to the Katikati Hockey Club to help with fundraising for replacement hockey turf.