When Taniwha come out to prowl, fans join party

Passionate Northland rugby supporter and keen hunter Max Dempster takes note of the moon through the steamy bus window.
"It's a good hunting moon," he muses.
"There's a lot of light around, they should be able to see their prey better. We should slay them."
He is referring to the Northland rugby team playing Taranaki at the North Harbour stadium.
It's a historic game. It is the first time Northland has played a home game out of the province.
The upgrade at Okara Park is behind schedule and the pitch is not ready.
But the fans have come to support the mighty Taniwha in this home-away-from-home home game.
Five hundred people cram on to free buses put on by the rugby union and hundreds more drive. At the front of the  bus queue  is Geoff Crawford.
The former Northland player has seen a number of bus trips in his sporting career and he is eyeing up the back seat. He says the Taniwha are in for a win.
He reckons it's a shame the game had to be held out of Northland and more matches should go to places like Kaikohe, Dargaville and Kaitaia.
However, he is impressed with the turnout of Taniwha fans.
And true to form they have come decked out in Cambridge blue. Some have splashed on the war paint and are ready to go hunting. There are glittering blue wigs and plenty of blue pom-poms.
Some look like they have already been to war and are battle weary. Blair Drinkwater fractured his ankle last week and hops aboard the bus on crutches.

There is a bubble of enthusiasm among the supporters as the bus pulls away from the home turf. The consensus is Taniwha to win - despite the TAB putting their money on the 'Naki.
As the procession of buses trundles south, the fans warm up their vocal chords.
A thundering "Blue, blue, blue" chant is followed by a throaty "Come on Blue".
There's some more singing and, of course, some more drinks consumed, which all adds up to an enthusiastic crowd when the buses pull up at the front gates of North Harbour Stadium.
The blue brigade take over the grandstand seating. Looking up from the sideline there is hardly any black and gold.
As the team bursts out on to the  pitch the crowd erupts. It sets the tone for the next 80 minutes.
"Kia kaha Taniwha" reverberates across the ground, spurring on the players.
Mark and Caroline Karels scream their lungs out and wave their oversized hands. They are serious supporters and will only miss the Invercargill game this season.
There are ooohs and aaahs as the Taniwha fail to burst through the Taranaki defence.
It's followed by boos when the Naki are awarded a shot at goal.
The crowd fire up: "He won't get it, he won't get it". Unfortunately, he does get it and the next one as well.
It's 6-0. The crowd steps up the anti. It works. The Taniwha come back and are only down 12-13 at the half time break.
Sandy Hitchcock, nee Bennett, a former Blackstick, remains a hard-core blue supporter and has worn her blue jersey.
She hasn't come to watch her team lose and adds her vocal weight to the blue mass.
Diehard fan Nick Waihi says it's weird not being at home but is delighted with the support.
He has pulled together a tune he belts out: "We are blue, we are white, we are Taniwha unite. Built like Kauri, yes we are, we are mighty Taniwha."
It's catchy and has the desired effect - the boys in blue charge ahead. The crowd goes wild.
Northland hooker Tim Dow subs off. He says the crowd support is amazing.
"They spur you on. Northland has a great bunch of supporters. You couldn't ask for anything more."
There is plenty for the Taniwha crowd to cheer about and when the fog horn sounds and the score reads 29-16 in favour of blue there is one last cheer.
The Taniwha team salute their fans in the stand.
Water boy Gus Collins reckons it is an outstanding turnout by the fans, even on a school night.
"We knew they would come. Their support definitely makes a difference on the field."
Taranaki coach Adrian Kennedy is reluctant to say much except "it sure makes it harder when there's a crowd like that".
It's back on the bus and time to celebrate. There's more  singing and a lot of back slapping. Most of the talk centres around next weekend's match at Kerikeri.
It seems Taniwha successfully hunted the bulls under the glow of a full moon.
Let's hope they can do it under a new moon next Saturday.