Northland news in brief: Nobody injured in SH1 crash; and Bay Walking Weekend back

A car and ute crashed at the intersection of SH1 and Mangapai Rd, south of Whangārei yesterday afternoon. Photo / Tania Whyte

No one was injured in a crash involving a car and ute on State Highway 1, south of Whangārei yesterday. Emergency services were called to the intersection of SH1 and Mangapai Rd about 1.30pm after reports of a collision. A double-cab Mitsubishi ute and a silver four-door sedan had collided. SH1 was blocked for a short period while the crash scene was cleaned up. Police said no one was injured in the crash, which is being investigated.

Weekend of wonderful walks

Bay of Islands Walking Weekend kicks off this Friday with 18 walks ranging from a cultural history tour around Russell to a ramble on Urupukapuka Island and a taster of the Te Araroa trail from Cape Reinga to Bluff. The three-day event will be headquartered at Russell Bowling Club on Church St. Go to boiwalkingweekend.co.nz for more information or to book a walk.

Pecha Kucha night returns

After almost eight years, Pecha Kucha nights are back on again in Whangārei. Originally held at the Old Library, the nights saw 12 local designers, artists and architects present their projects via a 20-slide, six-minute 40-second slide show. This time it's as part of the inaugural Whangārei Fringe Festival and is held at the Riverbank Theatre on Friday, with the first presentation at 7.30pm.

Two new imported Covid cases

There were two new cases of Covid-19 reported from managed isolation in New Zealand yesterday and there are no new cases in the community.
The first imported case arrived on October 7 from Bangladesh, via Brisbane and Doha. The person was taken to a managed isolation facility in Hamilton and tested positive as part of routine day three testing. Following their positive result, they have now been transferred to Auckland's quarantine facility.
The second case arrived on October 9 from London, via Dubai and was taken to a managed isolation facility in Hamilton. They tested positive as part of routine day three testing and have been transferred to Auckland's quarantine facility.
New Zealand's total number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 is 1518.

ShakeOut quake and tsunami drill

Around 665,000 Kiwis have signed up to take part in today's New Zealand ShakeOut, our annual national earthquake drill and tsunami hīkoi.
At 9.30am today, people across New Zealand will join together to practise the correct actions to take during an earthquake and tsunami by participating in the annual ShakeOut drill. The drill will see schools, business and households Drop, Cover and Hold, and practise their tsunami hīkoi evacuation route if in a coastal area.
Director of Civil Defence Emergency Management, Sarah Stuart-Black, says by practising ShakeOut every year, knowing what to do in an earthquake or tsunami will become second nature for people. For more info visit getready.govt.nz/shakeout.