Northland police had to deal with some stupid and dangerous drivers at the weekend, including one who led them on a high-speed chase with a hitch-hiker in the car.
The 20-minute police chase in Paihia on Saturday reached speeds of 150km/h after police attempted to stop the vehicle for speeding.
During the chase, police said, the driver pulled over to the side of the road to drop off what appeared to be a male hitch-hiker. Sergeant Steve Dawson said the vehicle then caught fire and crashed into shrubs on Paihia Rd near Opua at around 4.45pm.
The driver, who was believed to be previously wanted by police, fled on foot but was later apprehended.
The two from the car were to appear in court today.
Despite more than 2000 people attending the Bay of Islands Food and Wine Festival on Saturday and more than 100 entries in the Coastal Classic yacht race on Friday, police reported no incidents at either event.
However, police were investigating reports of a person standing on the front of a fast-moving van in Whangarei.
After receiving at least five calls from concerned members of the public at around 4pm on Saturday, police at Whangarei Heads did not find the van that reportedly had a person standing on the front bullbar.
Apart from those two incidents, Sergeant Dawson said police had a relatively quiet weekend.
Fire units had work to do during the weekend though. Yesterday fire units attended three small shrub fires near Mangonui after a controlled burnout of old logs got away from the owner of the property.
The fires in Marchant Rd were reported at 12.36pm and brought under control soon after by firefighters.
A scrub fire covering about .4ha in Whananaki South Rd threatened a nearby house at 1.40pm on Saturday.
Three fire engines from Hikurangi attended and spent an hour-and-a-half getting the blaze under control. It is unclear what started the fire but it was not believed to be suspicious.
Principal rural fire officer for Whangarei, Kevin Ihaka, warned people to be careful when doing burn-offs, especially as the region became drier.
"People that are having the trouble are people who are not experienced with fires and who are grossly underestimating them," Mr Ihaka said.
People needed to clear a large area around any burn-off, make sure they had water on hand and closely monitored the fire, he said.
This weekend also marked the beginning of the Surf Lifesaving season at many Northland beaches, though the lack of surf meant no rescues reported.
President of Whangarei Heads Surf Club Lindsay Hill said the beach there was busy with holidaymakers but the ocean was almost flat. "There [have] been no actual rescues," he said. "We're not complaining about that."
There were no fatalities on Northland roads at the weekend either.
NZ Transport Agency advised drivers to plan their journeys home after the weekend break to avoid delays, especially those heading back to Auckland.
The Transport Agency's highway manager, Brett Gliddon, said traffic volumes would increase this morning and peak in the afternoon.
For people driving to Auckland, Mr Gliddon said rural SH16 between Auckland and Wellsford was a less-congested alternative route to SH1.