KEY POINTS:
Whether it was the fragrant hangi (which for $8 got you a feed of kumara, potatoes, cabbage, chicken and pork), the king of the hill run for the kids or the Country and Western tunes that nobody seemed to know the words to, there was plenty for the crowd to cheer about at the Opononi Axemen's Carnival.
But the biggest roar of the day came when the chips were flying and the axes flailing as woodchoppers from throughout Northland went to work.
Barbara Ward, who is the treasurer of the Opononi Axemen's Club and has lived in the area since 1971, said woodchopping was the true measure of a man, although she admitted these days women were a big part of the event and most of those competing would probably deal to their firewood with a chainsaw.
"In the old days the boys knew how to chop wood from working in the bush and woodchopping events were their way of competing and showing each other who was best," said Mrs Ward.
The woodchoppers, who came from about a dozen axemen's clubs throughout Northland and ranged in age from the early teens through to men in their 60s, had to test their mettle in a number of disciplines including standing, underhand, the jill single saw and jack double saw events.
Depending on their ability and number of wins, woodchoppers are given a time handicap, with some choppers starting 50 seconds behind the first axeman when choppingthe 23cm or 33cm logs.
Consulting the club record book, Mrs Ward said the fastest chopping-in-half of a 23cm poplar log seen at the 104-year-old event was just over 9 seconds.
"That's pretty fast. Well obviously no one has beaten it for more than 10 years but we do have a lot of young fellas coming through and that could change," said Ms Ward.
Chase Herbert of Pawarenga Axemen's Club was among the singleted axemen who had his own carry case for his prized tool and had an exciting win in one of the team events. The roofing contractor and sometime farmer, who had gorilla-like arms, has been practising the sport for three years.
"It's all about technique and the way you cut but being strong helps," said the 21-year-old. "A good axe is pretty important too."
Gary Hill, a Henderson man holidaying in Opononi, said he had never been to a woodchopping event before and was among the 200 or so holidaymakers in the Hokianga area who mingled with the locals to watch the axemen.
Mr Hill took a day off from fishing, which had been "pretty bloody good", although he was loath to say where he was hauling in his daily catch of snapper.
He said the excitement of the day's event left him "seriously considering" taking up the sport.
"Yeah, mate, it was all on out there with the chips flying all over theplace.
"I don't think there are many places where you can go crazy with an axe like that too."
