Northland news in brief: Playground closed; child hit by car in hospital; and adventure race on Saturday

Whangārei’s Pohe Island Destination Playground is closed until the start of the Easter school holidays for planting work.

Adventure playground closed until school holidays

Whangārei’s Pohe Island Destination Playground, which opened in December, is closed until the start of the Easter school holidays while planting and other work is carried out.

Whangārei District Council will be planting nīkau palms, tītoki, pōhutukawa and other trees and greenery at the site. The closure needs to last about four weeks to allow for the planting, and the council will use the opportunity to make a few tweaks and repairs to the play equipment at the popular adventure playground.

Maintenance, repairs and improvements will also take place in some areas, including slides and barky slopes. The council also hopes to complete toilets at the site later this year.

Youth hit by car

A young person has been airlifted to hospital in critical condition after being hit by a car in Whangārei Heads. Emergency services responded to reports of a crash between a car and a pedestrian at 7.30am on Wednesday near the intersection of Whangārei Heads Rd and May Grove Lane. Hato Hone St John responded and transported the male youth to the airport for a helicopter transfer to Auckland Hospital.

House destroyed in blaze

A house in Awanui was destroyed by fire in the early hours of Wednesday morning. The Kaitāia Fire Brigade was called to the blaze on Far North Rd around 1am. Kaitāia fire chief Craig Rogers said there was little firefighters could do to save the property.

“It was definitely well-involved, burning from end to end when we got there. There was not a hell of a lot we could do,” he said.

The fire burned for around three hours, Rogers said, before being extinguished. Fire investigators were at the scene on Wednesday. Although the house was occupied, there was no one home at the time of the fire.

Maunga Mayhem returns

Maunga Mayhem - an obstacle adventure race like no other on stunning farmland beside Maungatapere Mountain - is on again on Saturday.

This year’s course will have participants navigate their way through courses over rolling countryside, with many man-made and natural obstacles along the way. Participants will be clambering up hay bale hills, through culvert pipe tunnels, under scramble nets, down an enormous slippery slide, swinging over monkey bars, trudging through mud pits, over tyre stacks, through the bush, swinging over pits and much more.

It promises to be a challenging, action-packed, fun day out with three races to cater for all ages, the whole family, teams and workmates - something for everyone. Maunga Mayhem is on Saturday at Duffy Farm off Snook Rd in Maungatapere, with the first race starting at 10.15am.

For more details, email info@maungamayhem.co.nz or go to maungamayhem.co.nz.

Gun presented during dispute

Police were called after a gun was allegedly presented during a disagreement in Mangamuka on Tuesday. A police spokesperson said the incident related to an ongoing dispute. Police are “making ongoing inquiries” and speaking to both parties involved.