Change of car to beat the bug

Waitakere City Mayor Bob Harvey is taking no chances with potential Y2K problems by ditching his modern car in favour of a 1966 VW.

Mr Harvey is concerned the computer chip in his car may leave him stranded if he has to move around the city.

However, it may be a long drive for the old car as Mr Harvey expects to be with his family at his favourite place, Karekare, on December 31.

"Karekare is simply my favourite place in the world. I first set eyes on the place when I was 14, and fell in love with it then. I guess I've been in love with it ever since."

Mr Harvey will watch the sun go down in the west with his family and in the early hours of the new millennium they will climb Pukematekeo mountain, the highest peak in the Waitakere Ranges, to watch the sunrise.

"It won't be a holiday," he said. "I'll be keeping in contact with our emergency mangament team by the hour as the clock counts down, and on my way to work if anything goes wrong after midnight."