Car enthusiasts have descended on Piha blocking roads and creating an 'unreal amount of noise according to a resident. Video / Supplied
A large gathering of car enthusiasts flooded a small Auckland beach community upsetting some residents with roadblocks and loud noise.
One of New Zealand’s largest automotive car culture and event organisers, Rotationals, hosted a meetup at Piha Beach yesterday with hundreds gathering at the seaside village.
Nearby residents ended up stuck in their homes with roads in and out of the settlement swamped by cars.
Last night police said they were monitoring the gathering and were prepared to take action if necessary.
A spokesperson said there had been no arrests or no reports of disorder at the event.
Piha was flooded by car enthusiasts yesterday evening. Photo / Paul Brown
“It was quite the nightmare, unfortunately,” a Piha resident told the Herald.
“The noise was incredible. I’d call that disturbance. But on the bright side, they were all out in a well-behaved fashion by 10pm so at least there was no night-long rowdy party which was good.”
The resident, who did not want to be named, lives right by the grassed domain where the cars parked.
“The road in and out of Piha was blocked for hours. I would not have been able to drive anywhere.
“I was lucky I didn’t have to work or that anyone did not have an accident or anything because that would have required a speedy exit.
“The noise was absolutely unreal. They are all very proud of their extra loud cars, and everyone is allowed their fun, but I don’t see why they have to flood a small beach community like that and flood everyone with their noise.
“Personally I think that’s super rude. There are plenty of beaches with car parks where no one lives and there they can be as loud as they please.”
Traffic was blocked and the entire seaside village was consumed by car enthusiasts, she said.
Some kind of heads-up would have been helpful.
Another resident said the attendees seemed to behave themselves.
“But if you were closer to the noise, it would be a problem.”
Rotationals’ organisers Isaac and Deven said the group understood Piha community’s perspective, “having hundreds of cars arrive over the course of two hours would be a shock.
“And the fact that some cars are quite loud wouldn’t help either.
“So, Rotationals would like to sincerely apologise for the noise, the traffic, and the surprise. This is your home suburb after all.”
The organisers said if they ever revisit the stunning beach, they would make sure to give some “clearer notice through community Facebook groups - during the month’s leadup to an event”.
“We always try our best to run these events at undisturbing times, hence it being from 7 to 9 on a Sunday evening. It’s less busy, nobody is sleeping yet, and the sun is still up. But of course, people still have places to be. Our mission isn’t ever to cause a scene, or disturb locals.”
The group had worked hard to make behaving well at such gatherings a part of their event culture but like “anything, sometimes there’s a minority of people that lack respect”, they said.
“In the future, we will be working much more actively with the police to ensure the noise is kept to a reasonable level for locals, and are actively looking into traffic management, and other ways to reduce traffic.
“On a positive note, since there were ‘no reports of disorder at the event’, and it was far from being dangerous or destructive, it seems like we’re well on the right track.”
Auckland Police last night said they were aware of a large group of vehicles gathered in the Piha area.
“Police are monitoring the group and are prepared to take enforcement action if the law is broken.
“If you have any information, video or photographs of incidents of anti-social road use – including number plates and descriptions, that could assist police in identifying those involved, please contact Police on 105, or you can give information anonymously through Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.
“Please only record activity if it is safe to do so. These enquiries can and do result in enforcement action. If you witness antisocial driving behaviour, call 111 if it is happening now, or 105 if it is later.”
