IronMaori Toa competitors were welcomed onto the Houngarea Marae on Wednesday. Photo / Paul Taylor
IronMaori Toa competitors were welcomed onto the Houngarea Marae on Wednesday. Photo / Paul Taylor
IronMāori Toa will create a bit of cultural and sporting history on Saturday.
Dubbed the world’s first indigenous full-distance triathlon, it marks the culmination of 14 years of planning and development.
As many as 250 athletes - aged between 26 and 76 - are expected to dive into the water off Ahuriri when the 3.8-kilometre ocean swim starts at 6.30am, followed by a 180km cycle and 42.2km run which will finish at the Napier Soundshell.
Competitors have 17 hours to complete the gruelling course in the heart of Ngāti Kahungunu.
The event is very much a whānau affair, deliberately avoiding the formality that can come with official triathlon competitions.
Everyone got something of a trial run with the recent staging of the IronMaori Quarter in Napier, and now athletes have the gut-busting full distance event to look forward to.
While IronMāori Toa will be creating history on Saturday, an iconic Hawke’s Bay event is also back for its 23rd iteration.
Preparations are under way for the 23rd Christmas at the Park. Photo / Paul Taylor
Headlined by the legendary Dave Dobbyn, Christmas at the Park is back and as big as ever.
Crowds of up to 20,000 are expected to flock to Mitre 10 Park to lap up the music, food and excitement for the festive season from 3pm to 10.45pm.
The alcohol-free Christmas celebration has long been a highlight of the Hawke’s Bay social calendar, and organisers are predicting an action-packed afternoon and evening of entertainment.
Christmas at the Park producer David Trim said there was plenty for the whānau to get stuck into, including various options of food vendors, a children’s arena run by cadets which will include face painting and a ‘boot camp’, and a variety of special acts.
Then there’s the fireworks show put on by the Kaisen Charitable Trust, which has the support of both Napier and Hastings councils along with prominent businesses in Hawke’s Bay.
“The complex display combines a narrative story, overlaid with music and reinforced by a creatively visual pyrotechnic show,” Trim said.
If that’s not your thing, then the Wonder Christmas Market might be.
Being staged in the Waikoko Gardens at the Hawke’s Bay Showgrounds, this promises to get you into the yuletide spirit.
Entry is $5 but, once inside the grounds, attendees can expect to find artisan vendors selling all manner of Christmas goodies, as well as cocktails and tasty treats.
One hundred stallholders will be on-site, with live music and a fully-licenced bar helping to enhance the relaxed, summery mood.
Don’t miss the Harcourts Christmas Parade 2022 in on starting at the Memorial Square Marquee, 5 Clive Square East, Napier South, at 1pm followed by a Christmas Fiesta held in Clive Memorial Square where you can catch up with Santa in his grotto.
Check out all of the Parade action from Emerson St and Tennyson Streets in Napier City.
