A pod of pilot whales have successfully steered themselves away from the dangerous shallow waters of Northland's coastline after four of them perished on Ruakākā on Wednesday. Conservation staff made four sweeps of the beach yesterday and were relieved to find no more of the majestic animals. Dr Cat Peters said the pod had been seen heading for Little Barrier Island at sunset on Wednesday. The four whales that died had been taken to an area close to where they beached and over the next few days a digger would be used to bury them in the sand dunes by local iwi Patuharekeke. The iwi decided the whales would not be flensed and instead be buried whole.
Wall repairs start
Repairs to a retaining wall on the southern side of the Brynderwyn Hills will start this Sunday night. Temporary steel barriers will be installed over four consecutive nights from Sunday, September 22, to ensure the road workers' safety. During the night works, SH1 traffic will be down to a single lane with stop-and-go traffic control between 7pm-6am. A temporary speed limit of 30km/h will be in place on the southern side of the hills for the next 10 weeks. The northbound passing lane will remain closed for that time.
Man on the run
A man who sparked armed police callouts in Kaikohe and rural Kerikeri is still on the run. The incident started on Wednesday afternoon on Bisset Rd in Kaikohe, where the occupant of a house said a man had turned up and made threats involving a firearm. Acting Sergeant Matt Cotching said the suspect had left when police arrived but a similar incident took place in the Lodore Rd area west of Kerikeri shortly afterwards. Police set up armed cordons but the suspect had already left the area. The investigation is continuing. No firearm was seen during the incidents.
