Man identified
The body of a 29-year-old man found on rocks at Whangarei Heads on Wednesday night has now been identified.
Police will release his name once his next-of-kin have been informed.
Detective Sergeant Dave Wilkinson said police do not believe there are any suspicious circumstances and the matter will be referred to the Coroner.
Police also wanted to thank members of the public for their help following an appeal on Thursday.
Rainy weather
MetService are forecasting rain and wind to hit Northland today , with the eastern side of the region to get the worst of it. Some heavy rain is expected as are possible gales in exposed areas along the eastern coastline. Both should ease in the evening. The high is only forecast to reach 15C. Tomorrow is a better day, with some cloud at times and odd showers forecast, the temperature is expected to reach 18C.
Movie shoot
Filming of a full-length movie called Northland is due to get under way in the Maungakaramea area, southwest of Whangarei, in January.
The movie, which is set on a dairy farm over four seasons, will be shot from January 12-21 and March 1-20 with Film Commission funding.
It is written and directed by Hamish Bennett, who grew up in Tauraroa, and based on an earlier short film he made called Ross and Beth. The film-makers want to accommodate the crew in the Maungakaramea area during filming so they are looking for unused workers' cottages or homes they can rent.
Contact producer Orlando Stewart on 021 1258665 or orlando_stewart@yahoo.co.nz if you can help.
Meet Denby candidates
The Tikipunga Community Trust is hosting a Meet The Candidate meeting for the Denby byelection.
The 6.30pm meeting is at the Trinity Church Hall on Tuesday.
Trust chairman John McGregor said each candidate would speak at the meeting.
Leave seals alone
Seals taking a rest on dry land do not need shifting, rescuing, petting, feeding or to play with dogs.
In fact, all of those things are illegal, warns the Department of Conservation. Recently seals have been seen in and around the Town Basin, Mair Park, Kissing Point, Limestone Island and Whangarei Heads.
DoC wants people to let nature take its course - in the majority of cases the seals need rest, not rescuing. Most are likely to be newly-weaned New Zealand fur seal pups. The seals may look distressed and scrawny, sneeze, cough and have weepy eyes, but this is natural and they do not need human intervention.
Most will return to the water and swim away when they are ready to go. DoC will intervene if a seal is obviously in trouble or in a dangerous place. In that case call the 24-hour hotline 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468).
Walk for MND
Walk 2 D'Feet steps out around the Hatea River Loop walkway tomorrowto raise awareness and research funds for Motor Neurone Disease.
Activities and merchandise sales begin at the Canopy Bridge at 10am and the walk officially started at 11am by Whangarei MP, Dr Shane Reti.
It will go ahead held rain or shine, and anyone on two feet, in wheelchairs, pushchairs, on bikes or scooters is invited to join in.
For more information about the walk, to buy the T-shirt or donate visit mnda.org.nz/walk
Teeks on video
Northland soul-sensation Teeks has released a video for his new single Never Be Apart.
The singer, whose real name is Te Karehana Gardiner-Toi, grew up in Opononi and took the New Zealand music scene by storm when he released his debut album The Grapefruit Skies.
Never Be Apart is the second single from the album.
The release of the video comes after Teeks was nominated in three categories at the 2017 Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards, which is being held on Thursday.
Watch the video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn_QpEsiQqs
Interning in UK
A Northland woman is heading to the United Kingdom this month to complete a year-long internship at the British Geological Survey.
Kelsey Ferris, an ex-Whangarei Girls' High School student, has just completed her third year of a Bachelor of Science (Technology) majoring in biotechnology at the University of Waikato.
Ms Ferris will based in the British Geological Survey's inorganic chemistry labs in Nottingham and will be working on a range of commercial and strategic projects linked to environmental geoscience research.
Ms Ferris plans to take time to travel while she's based in Nottingham, including Anzac Cove on Anzac Day and ballooning in Turkey. She has a 12-month fixed-term contract with the possibility of extending it to two years.