Northern Advocate
  • Northern Advocate home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei
  • Kaipara
  • Mangawhai
  • Dargaville

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Northern Advocate

Jonny Wilkinson: Did someone say cyclone?

Jonny Wilkinson
By Jonny Wilkinson
Northern Advocate columnist·Northern Advocate·
23 Feb, 2019 09:00 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
Ruakaka Surf Lifesaving volunteers Danielle Lunn, left, and Hanna Turner keep a watch at last year's disabled people's surfing day.

Ruakaka Surf Lifesaving volunteers Danielle Lunn, left, and Hanna Turner keep a watch at last year's disabled people's surfing day.

A DIFFERENT LIGHT

When writing a column it is helpful to be topical and relevant. Sometimes that can be a challenge when you're writing it days in advance.

Today's news is indeed tomorrow's fish and chip paper in a Northland summer.
And like a Northland summer, things are hard to predict.

Yes, I'm talking weather. As I write this, weather forecasters are vacillating over tropical Cyclone Oma. The meteorological gurus don't know whether a cyclone will hit Northland on Saturday.

Read more: Jonny Wilkinson: Would you like sugar with that?
Jonny Wilkinson: The fun season - swings and roundabouts, yin and yang

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

It just so happens that we (Tiaho Trust) are holding our annual Ruakaka Surf Day. This is a day where people with disabilities get to have a go at surfing. Get to catch a wave. Get to feel like a million bucks as water rushes towards them, as they skim forward towards the beach.

This is the sixth time we've held the event and it's always a great day. It's a luau. Everyone has a smile on their face, participants and volunteers alike.

Vintage surfer, Gary Butt, who is the key person behind these surf days, travels down from the Far North in his own time and expense to give young folks with disabilities a chance to share in his favourite sport.

Gary, who has run these events all over New Zealand, is philosophical about the weather.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Well people are going to get wet anyway," he says. "If it's really bad, people can have a sausage. It's still a good day out".

Gary is very positive, but this year the forecast is particularly grim.

Disability surf day hero Gary Butt celebrates with Joshua Lilburn after that lad's ride.
Disability surf day hero Gary Butt celebrates with Joshua Lilburn after that lad's ride.

I'm still fretting. Even though we have never yet cancelled a Surf Day, despite holding one only days after an ex-tropical cyclone, this could be different. This could be intense.

A gem from recent weather forecasts include: "If Tropical Cyclone Oma collides with New Zealand the destruction will be devastating and similar to that of Cyclones Fehi and Gita."

Discover more

It's hard to be bad when everyone knows you...

26 Jan 01:00 AM

Would you like sugar with that?

09 Feb 08:00 PM

Gunson's 200 adds to Northland legacy

21 Feb 06:30 PM

Rain in Northland will be welcome relief for many

22 Feb 04:27 AM

Crikey, that does not sound good!

And: "However, predictions are still unclear as to where the slow-moving system is tracking, and it will be another two days until forecasters can say with some certainty what will happen".

What is clear at this stage is that it's really unclear.

Oma (which means "run" in te Reo) might hover around Aussie and do a u-turn and run back to where it came from. Or it might run straight bang into Northland, connecting with another system and unleashing its fury.

So when you are reading this, think of us and take note of the weather. Will we be having our usual fabulous day with disabled people having a total blast in the water? Or will we be hunkered down taking shelter from Mother Nature at the Ruakaka Surf Clubrooms, huddled over sausages. Or will Oma have had made us cancel the whole enchilada - for the first time in six years.

Time - and quite possibly tide - will tell.


Jonny Wilkinson is the CEO of Tiaho Trust - Disability A Matter of Perception, a Whangarei based disability advocacy organisation

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save
    Share this article

Latest from Northern Advocate

Northern Advocate

The inspiring lives behind this year's Civic Honours recipients

Northern Advocate

'My children were washed away, one by one': Captain of the Capitaine Bougainville recalls the tragedy 50 years on

Opinion

Opinion: Gambling with the future of sport and recreation clubs


Sponsored

NZ’s convenience icon turns 35

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Northern Advocate

The inspiring lives behind this year's Civic Honours recipients
Northern Advocate

The inspiring lives behind this year's Civic Honours recipients

Alan Bayly, Harry Carter, Bett Harvey and Darrell Trigg are this year's recipients.

05 Sep 11:00 PM
'My children were washed away, one by one': Captain of the Capitaine Bougainville recalls the tragedy 50 years on
Northern Advocate

'My children were washed away, one by one': Captain of the Capitaine Bougainville recalls the tragedy 50 years on

05 Sep 05:00 PM
Opinion: Gambling with the future of sport and recreation clubs
Opinion

Opinion: Gambling with the future of sport and recreation clubs

05 Sep 04:50 PM


NZ’s convenience icon turns 35
Sponsored

NZ’s convenience icon turns 35

02 Sep 09:23 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • The Northern Advocate e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Northern Advocate
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northern Advocate
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP