Northland news in brief: 9kg whopper leads Snapper Bonanza; and Kaipara Truck Show on

Dickson Hohaia, of South Taranaki, hooked a 9.060kg fish on day two of the Ninety Mile Beach Snapper Bonanza. Photo / Louise Strong

A fish caught on day two of the Ninety Mile Beach Snapper Bonanza weighing just over 9kg — heavier than last year's overall winner — will be tough to beat for anyone with eyes on the $30,000 top prize. The 9.060kg beast was landed by Dickson Hohaia of South Taranaki, netting him $2000 for heaviest fish of the day and giving him a substantial lead for the overall prize. Kaitaia fire chief Craig Rogers caught the second heaviest fish on Wednesday (7.38kg) followed by Gary Bennett of Owhata (6.74kg), Chris Spurr of Te Hapara (6.38kg) and Peter Frogatt of Dargaville (6.23kg). The total number of fish landed on day two, 118, was well down on day one's 320.

Trucks in kindy fundraiser

Trucks line up at the inaugural Kaipara Road Show in 2019 to raise money for the Dargaville Kindergarten. The event is on again on Saturday. Photo / Supplied

There's going to be something for all ages at the Kaipara Truck Show, including a chance to get behind the wheel of monster trucks during hours of fun. Face painting, bouncy castles, candy floss, and even little trucks with big rides for all ages will be on offer at the Dargaville Field Days site on 33 Awakino Point Rd East this Saturday. It started as a fundraiser for the Dargaville Kindergarten but got canned last year due to Covid. This year, organiser Marni Stewart said proceeds from the gold coin entry on Saturday would go towards the local emergency services as a way of giving back to a generous cause. All trucks big and small are turning up, we even have the Dargaville Ford Road Show joining us as well, a few other site holders that couldn't do the Field Days are coming along. The show will run from 10am to 2pm.

Waipapa water gets all-clear

Waipapa residents no longer have to boil their tap water after three tests in a row came back clear of E.coli bacteria. A boil water notice was issued on Friday for all Waipapa households and businesses connected to the Far North District Council water supply, after low levels of chlorine and the presence of E.coli were detected. The council flushed the pipes overnight and delivered notices advising residents to boil water for at least one minute. Infrastructure general manager Andy Finch said the cause of the problem had been traced and corrected. Daily tests for E.coli since Friday had come back clear and chlorine levels had returned to normal. "While I am relieved that we have confirmed the water supply is safe, I share the frustration consumers have that a boil water notice was required in the first place. I apologise that this was necessary and for the concern it must have caused." As a precaution a heightened testing regime would continue for the rest of the week.

Roundabout work progresses

Tuesday was the last scheduled day of concreting at the new Puketona roundabout on State Highway 10 after which congestion should ease. Concrete has been poured for the traffic islands on Friday, Monday and, weather permitting, today. A Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency spokesman said it could not be poured at night due to the supplier's timing of concrete manufacture and a dispensation required to operate the concrete batching plant at night. Other ongoing work includes paving the SH11 entry to the new roundabout. Final road sealing and line marking is due to be completed by Easter.

Minis to make national trip

Next Friday 50 Minis will set off on an epic 2350km journey from Paihia to Invercargill in the Pork Pie Charity Run for KidsCan. Over six days they'll roughly retrace the route the Blondini Gang took in the Kiwi classic film "Goodbye Pork Pie", which started in Kaitaia. With Minis from the 1960s and not a lot of leg or headroom it might not be the most comfortable trip, but it's a colourful one with a lot of fun en route. The teams, from around New Zealand, are aiming to raise more than $300,000 for kids in hardship in a particularly tough year.