Some of the walkers who ventured to Omata Estate during the Bay of Islands Walking Weekend 2020.
The Beast Mud Run which was to have taken place in Paihia on August 28 has been cancelled for the second year in a row because of the nationwide Covid-19 alert level 4 lockdown.
Postponed until further notice at the Turner Centre, Kerikeri, are: Vieux Amis from the Aroha Music Society and the Kerikeri Annual Spring Flower Show.
The Bay of Islands Walking Weekend began in 2013 and each year since then the number of entries received has increased. It's spread out over two days in October (13–15). Last year there were 370 entries. This year it's already up to 470 with booking time still to come.
William Fuller, one of the organisers, said some people do two walks over the weekend so the bookings even out.
"We are probably expecting over 250 people but we like to keep our numbers low in groups so it's a more enjoyable experience."
The majority of participants come from Northland (184). Next is Auckland (126), followed by the Bay of Plenty (70).
There are 34 from Wellington and 20 from Waikato with the rest spread evenly between Canterbury, Otago, Taranaki, Nelson, Hawke's Bay and the Manawatū.
New walks have been added. There are three ways to walk to Omata Estate and two ways to enjoy Urupukapuka Island. There are short and long walks to choose from to those destinations.
By popular demand, another Full Circle walk has been introduced. It starts in Paihia School Rd, goes through the Oromahoe Traverse, takes in the Ōpua Kauri Walk and finally goes to the Ōpua to Paihia coastal walkway. At 21km it's one of the longest walks.
One of the shorter walks (6km) includes a sail on the gaff-rigged schooner, the R Tucker Thompson which arrives at Marsden Cross, the site of New Zealand's first planned European settlement and where the first Christmas Day was celebrated in 1814.
That walk includes some of the wetland areas and historical sites of The Landing resort before arriving at The Boathouse for lunch and wine tasting.
According to William Fuller, Bay of Islands Walking Weekend is growing not just because the domestic travel scene has increased but because "so many people come back, they are repeat walkers".
The boutique wine and food festival known as It! is back on this year after being postponed last year. It's held on the village green in Paihia and is in its 11th year.
Headlining the music this year will be White Chapel Jak. They were in the line-up in 2019 with others and are back as the sole performers this year by popular demand.
As well as the music there are competitions such as kina sucking, oyster shucking and eating and pie-eating. It's a family-friendly festival with a kiddie area and entertainment provided.
Mark your calendar: November 6. Visit facebook.com/itbayofislandsfestival for more information.
Members of the Far North Youth Council attended the Festival for the Future summit in Wellington recently.
Ana Mules, Helen Cumming and Vanice Baker took the opportunity to learn about the issues affecting their future and the chance to build leadership skills.
Speakers at the three-day summit included Taaniko Nordstrom, who is reconnecting prisoners to their whakapapa and cultural identity through photography; journalist and TV presenter Miriama Kamo, who spoke of her own journey with health, learning te reo and dealing with 'imposter syndrome'; and Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson.
Ana Mules says connecting with future leaders and Youth Councils across Aotearoa was an opportunity for Youth Council members to establish great networks and think about how they can make a difference in their world.
"I liked interacting with other attendees and being able to ask detailed questions of experts on a variety of subjects," she said.
The Far North Youth Council was established in 2016 to provide the Far North District Council with a youth perspective on issues.
2021 Far North Youth Council members are Charlyse Tansey and Te Owai Clarke (Okaihau College); Hawaiikii Henare and Inverness Cowless (Bay of Islands College); Malindi Reihana-Ruka (Springbank School); Joe Howells (Kerikeri High School); Harmonie Gundry and Hayden Ratu.
The final three kilometre section of footpath linking Waitangi to Haruru has been completed.
The work was carried out by Ventia who started construction of a 200-metre section of footpath on State Highway 11 near Yorke Rd, Haruru, in late June and completed the final section in August.
A historic slip forced Ventia to realign road lanes, relocate a guard rail and build the footpath in the road carriageway.
Ventia have also started a footpath renewal project in Paihia in mid-August. They are building a new footpath, kerb and channel on Kings Rd from State Highway 11 to 33 Kings Rd and expect to take a month to complete this work.
Far North District Council are planning to rehabilitate Kings Rd later in the year. The work will involve rebuilding the pavement and resurfacing the road.
The Bay of Islands Hospital now has a dedicated clinic space for traditional Rongoā healing. The clinics will provide customary healing services which can be accessed parallel to western medicine.
The Northland District Health Board is funding three Rongoā Māori pilot programmes with one clinic each in Kaitaia Hospital, Hokianga Health and Bay of Islands Hospital.
Te Roopu Hohour te Rongoā is delivering the contract for the Mid-North region, providing services from Motatau, Haruru, Otangarei and Kaiwaka.
Local Tohunga Rongoā and practitioner Tohe Ashby said they will specialise in person-specific intervention.
"Rongoā is not one size fits all, we seek to understand what the need is, and from there we apply the appropriate lens," he said.
Tohe was raised by his grandparents in Motatau. Growing up, his grandmother was the Rongoā practitioner for the community and his job was to pick the plants. He said he grew up learning that Rongoā wasn't just the interventions but the continual practices that keep you well.
''Rongoā Māori isn't one or two things like mirimiri or pani but an overall way of life that once was and that we need to normalise again," he said.
"We have lost our connection to each other, to the whenua, to the moana, and our atua. Wellness is about reconnection and Rongoā is part of that process," Tohe said.
Dr Moana Tane, general manager of Māori Health Te Poutokomanawa, said there was a "strong cry" for access to Rongoā Māori services from whānau.
"We listened and we have been working hard to establish a funded model of care that is now available to the local community within their hospital."
Bay of Islands Hospital operation manager Jen Thomas said she knew the service was available within other rural hospitals and was aware of the benefits to patients.
"We set up an initial meeting and I agreed on the spot after meeting the team and despite the space constraints, having easy access to the service within the hospital will provide health benefits to the community," she said.
Rongoā practitioners will be available to visit patients in wards. The clinic is based in the Community Health Building off Hospital Rd, Kawakawa, every Friday from 9am to 4pm.
Appointments are required and can be made through the dedicated clinic phone line, 021 0283 5818. Out of clinic hours appointments are available at any of the four centres via the same contact.
• Email Sandy Myhre at mywordmedia@yahoo.com if you have any news you'd like to see in Bay News.
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