Uretiti Campsite is a place you go to escape the stress of ordinary life. But campers have learned there is no escape.
It began two days before Christmas when the driver of a 4WD turned into the path of a fully laden logging truck on State Highway 1 a kilometre south of the camp.
The result was catastrophic. Two Auckland dads, Andy Li, 43, and Xingwu Bian, known as Brian, 47, died with their daughters Catherine Li, 10, and 8-year-old Ximeng Bian, known to her schoolmates as Xixi.
Li's 8-year-old son survived, along with the stunned truck driver. The boy is understood to have been discharged from Starship Hospital.
There is speculation the families had missed the Uretiti Beach Rd turnoff and were returning to it when the crash happened. Tipene Kaka, 18, is camping at Uretiti for New Year and has been thinking about what happened.
Flowers at the scene of the crash that killed four people two days before Christmas. Photo / Doug Sherring
He has just left Huanui College and is working in suicide prevention initiatives at Ngati Hine Health Trust until he starts at Victoria University.
He had "a little korero" with his mum and dad about the crash before he left Whangarei.
"They said to take note of what happened and be extra cautious. When I was coming here ... it was running through my mind."
Kaka is also reflecting on another tragedy at the holiday spot 30km south of Whangarei.
On Christmas Day, Auckland student Heng Li, 25, drowned while setting crab pots with friends at the unpatrolled beach. "I had a swim this morning and I was thinking about it ... how beautiful the ocean is and how deceptive it is."
Li isn't the first to drown fishing for paddle crabs at Uretiti.
He isn't even the first lost on Christmas Day. Cafe owner Hui Jin, 47, met the same fate in 2011. They'll likely not be the last. Up to 20 others were rescued at Uretiti between Christmas Eve and December 27.
Friends Gayle Watson, of Auckland, and Sandy Rickards, of Thames, watched the desperate search for Li.
"We were just having our Christmas Day, but you could tell something had happened. It was incredibly rough and you could see the IRBs going up and down," Rickards said. They were also at the camp when news filtered through of the road tragedy, she says.
"It feels a little bit strange ... seeing where the accident happened. In the blink of an eye four people are dead."
Uretiti campers Mike Olsen and Vanessa Oliver. Photo / Doug Sherring
On the beach the ocean rushes in and sucks out. You can feel the power of the current. A lifejacket-clad child splashes nearby, struggling with his boogie board.
Auckland construction worker Eduardo Da Silva is fishing for kahawai but catching only crabs. He arrived the day before.
"I feel sad because we lost some lives. [They were in] the same situation as me, enjoying the holidays, and then something bad happened." The 30-year-old honours their memory by living.
"I think in life you're meant to enjoy it as much as you can. You feel bad for the people but you can't stop your life."
Camp regular Mike Olsen is so disturbed by the Christmas Day drowning he takes his Christmas present, a VHF radio, with him every time he goes to the beach.
Northland Regional Council member Craig Brown a life-long Bream Bay resident, can't think of a more tragic few days in the area.
A man also died of a heart attack in front of his grandkids at nearby Ruakaka Beach the same day as the Uretiti smash, he says.
"It hits home when everybody's looking forward to the holidays and being happy."
Colin Turner from Ruakaka Volunteer Fire Brigade. Photo / Doug Sherring
At the crash site, Ruakaka Volunteer Fire Brigade Station Officer Colin Turner points to where the logging truck gouged the roadside as it buckled and slid, but he won't go to where the other vehicle stopped a few metres away.
The aftermath was so ghastly the 21-year firefighting veteran kept his youngest firefighter, aged 16, back from the worst. "We see some gruesome things.
"I just feel sorry for my team. They go through a lot."
