Northland news in brief: Medieval Madness returns and surf lifeguards busy

Medieval Madness is back at Kiwi North, in Whangārei, later this month.

It's time for latent ladies, knights, serfs and jesters to dust off their glorious garb in preparation for this year's Medieval Madness. The annual event at Kiwi North in Whangārei is back again with a day of medieval activities, food and fun. Punters will be able to fight a knight, and enjoy mounted medieval displays and Celtic drumming band Clan Celtica. There will also be train and tractor rides, face painting, a bouncy castle, and more. The event is on January 31 from 10am to 3pm.

Mangamuka Gorge road closed

SH1 through the Mangamuka Gorge has closed to vehicles to allow work to fix the road to continue. The gorge was opened as a single lane for light vehicles for three weeks over the Christmas holidays. The road was damaged by a big slip last July. Current plans by Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) are to complete the road's restoration to two lanes by mid-2021. Good weather and work progress could see it finished sooner, a NZTA spokesperson said. The recommended detour to the Far North around the closed stretched of SH1 through the Mangamuka Gorge is SH10 - which add around 30 minutes to the journey.

Packed but not too busy

Northland surf lifeguards saw packed beaches, but few major issues over the weekend.
On Saturday lifeguards at Mangawhai Heads had one major first aid incident and one minor. Waipū Cove lifeguards had an assist which required no help from Surfcom. And Sunday was a fairly busy day throughout the region with high numbers of beach-goers, with Ruakākā Beach having a peak head count of 940 people. Mangawhai had a major incident after a young male had fallen on the rocks and taken on water while unconscious. They responded with first aid-gear and assisted the rescue helicopter by setting up a landing zone.

Extravaganza coming to town

A fair is coming to Whangārei - and it's bringing the circus with it. The Ashton Family Circus & Dylan Daisy's Magic Show is at William Fraser Memorial Park, Riverside Drive, this weekend as part of The Extravaganza Fair. The Ashton Family Circus will bring grassroots entertainment for everyone to enjoy, free, at The Extravaganza Fair. Comprised of a wannabe strong man, a pole-dancer extraordinaire, a princess aerialists and 5-year-old twin tigers, the family travel with The Extravaganza Fair performing their unique show every weekend. The fair and circus will perform on Saturday and Sunday from 9am.

Four cases in isolation

There were four new cases of Covid-19 reported in managed isolation in New Zealand since Sunday. There are no new cases in the community.