A wild pig running amok? In Kerikeri?
Yep, you read correctly - the usually genteel Far North town was the scene of an urban pig hunt on Wednesday evening, with the porker leading a band of would-be pig hunters on a half-hour chase around the streets.
The pig was first reported hoofing it past Kerikeri police station - proving pigs do have a sense of humour - then past Posh Nosh on Homestead Rd.
It ran at least two laps of the centre of town, albeit the wrong way around the one-way system, colliding with a ute and a surprised boy racer in a modified car.
At one stage the porker led pursuers to the bottom of Butler Rd, but instead of diving into the safety of the bush, it doubled back into town.
There it was spotted sniffing around the John Butler Centre carpark by 19-year-old soft drink merchandiser Basil Clark.
Basil assumed the pig had escaped from Richard Fladgate and his son Pierre, who were giving chase in a ute, and joined the fray.
"I thought it was the bro's pig, and it had fallen off the back of his truck or something - but it was just a random pig."
Basil pursued the pig around the building and across Kerikeri Rd, finally tackling it on the forecourt of the Caltex service station about 6.30pm.
"It was fast as, bro. I was going full tit," Basil said.
Mr Fladgate hogtied the pig and took it to a Kerikeri resident who'd had a pet porker escape, but it wasn't his - besides, it was "definitely a hard-core little wild pig".
He gave it an hour to calm down, then released it at dusk in the Waitangi Forest.
"It took a couple of steps like it couldn't believe its good luck, then looked around at us, took another couple of steps, and took off."
Mr Fladgate said bite marks on the pig's chest suggested a dog may have flushed it out of the bush near the Heritage Bypass.
While this hunt had a happy ending, pigs are advised to avoid urban areas. Even in Kerikeri.
Northern Advocate
