Man stabbed by gatecrashers, tourists assaulted in Kaikohe

A series of incidents in Kaikohe on Saturday night left a local man with a knife wound to the stomach and a German tourist with a broken nose. Photo / file

Police are confident they will track down the offenders behind a stabbing in Kaikohe which left a man in hospital with a knife wound to the stomach.

Detective Senior Sergeant Rhys Johnston said the victim, aged 24, had been admitted to Whangārei Hospital with a non-life-threatening injury after the incident in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Police were following ''strong lines of enquiry'', he said.

''In a small town like Kaikohe, where everybody knows everybody, we'll catch up with them sooner or later.''

Johnston couldn't say whether the stabbing and an assault on German tourists earlier on Saturday night were connected.

However, given the proximity of the two incidents, it would be unusual if they weren't linked.

The incident with the tourists occurred about 10pm at a freedom camping area near Lindvart Park, when Johnston said two or three tourists and a larger group of youths were involved in an altercation.

One of the visitors suffered a broken nose and some property — thought to be a pair of shoes — was taken, though police were not treating it as a robbery.

The stabbing occurred at a private property on the other side of Lindvart Park after 3am, Johnston said.

He urged anyone with information about either incident to call Kaikohe police on (09) 405 2960 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

The stabbing victim was discharged from hospital later on Sunday.

A family member, who did not want to be named, said the wound was large but somehow the knife missed his vital organs.

''He's okay but it could have been pretty horrendous. It's a phone call no one wants to get on a Sunday morning.''

He had been enjoying a few after-work drinks when a group of youths turned up uninvited.

He escorted them off the premises but when he went outside he was attacked by a group of 10 or more who had covered their faces with scarves, she said.

''He's not a fighter. He was just asking them to go.''

Another Kaikohe resident, who didn't want to be named, had no doubt the stabbing and earlier incidents in the same area were connected.

A new group of about 10 youths had been seen on the main street about 6pm on Saturday and again 45 minutes later when they were fighting each other near the New World supermarket.

Later that evening, he said, a large group of youths confronted six German tourists in the Lindvart Park freedom camping area, allegedly stealing shoes, smashing a van windscreen and assaulting at least two of the visitors.