Northland's Wild Kiwi event undeterred by cyclone

Whangarei Head will provide the backdrop for this years Wild Kiwi event. Photo / File

The wild weather from Cyclone Debbie has not stopped organisers of the Wild Kiwi multisport event this weekend.

Wild Kiwi features adventurous New Zealanders participating in a number of off-road events.

The event was created with the intent of getting those wanting to give it a crack on to some of the best terrain and landscapes in the country.

Event manager Mike Davis said the downpours had not affected the course too much and the forecast was looking all right now.

"The weather really has come good at the right time, which we're obviously happy about," he said.

"Our team's been out on the course and weather hasn't really changed things too much.
The mountain bikers might get a bit dirty but they do love it like that.

"We've got similar numbers to last year [700] and will most likely get more over the next two days. Half of our numbers come from outside the region which is a really good thing for Northland."

The event, hosted in the picturesque Whangarei Heads area, offers competitors different options.

They range from the multisport event, which involves a 12km sea kayak, 25km mountain bike and 14km run, to run/walks and a 3km kids dash.

Davis said they did not want to go away from what worked last time.

"We decided to keep the event similar to last year given the terrain," he said.

"It worked really well for us last year so there wasn't any need for drastic changes to the races. Only changes around transport have been made."

The events start at 8:30am tomorrow from the Urquharts Bay carpark.