A who’s who of Northland tourism turned out in Kerikeri on Tuesday night for the world premiere of Air New Zealand’s latest safety video featuring Rachel Hunter and actors Joe Naufaha from Game of Thrones and Jayden Daniels from Shortland Street — but the real stars are the landscapes and people of the Bay of Islands. The video is expected to bring a huge boost to Northland tourism, which has just cracked the $1 billion per year mark, and came about after the airline approached local businesses under the banner of the Bay of Islands Marketing Group. The LA-based Kiwi singer Ladyhawke, who also features in the video, played a surprise set after the launch at Cafe Cinema and Cathay Cinemas. Photos by Peter de Graaf.

About 800 “corporates” in 75 teams took part in the Ray White Hatea Loop Challenge last Thursday evening. Although the 4.5km run/walk event was designed for workplaces to have fun, it was an officially timed event to allow for an element of competition. Northern Advocate photographer John Stone went along and took the photos.

The Whangarei Christmas Festival at Toll Stadium attracted a crowd that were entertained for more than four hours on Saturday evening. Northern Advocate photographer John Stone was there too to sing along to the Christmas carols and take photos.

Traffic on State Highway 1 had to make way for the Garden of Eden, Santa’s workshop and a group of riders who looked like they’d just galloped in from the Wild West when Kawakawa held its Christmas parade on Saturday. Following Kawakawa tradition the parade was led by the vintage steam locomotive Gabriel, while the volunteers of Kawakawa Fire Brigade only just made it on time after being called out to a car crash at Matawaia. The rain kindly held off until Santa and his many helpers had finished their loop of the main street. The winners, as judged by Far North District councillor Willow-Jean Prime and Kawakawa GP Ian Hoffer, were: Schools: 1 Bay of Islands College, 2 Kawakawa Primary School, 3 Te Mirumiru Early Childhood Education Centre. Community: 1 Te Huarahi Church, 2 Kawakawa Team Roping (horses), 3 Kawakawa Fire Brigade. Business: 1 DDF Dance Studio, 2 Ngati Hine FM. Photos by Peter de Graaf.

Paihia’s streets were invaded by hundreds of fish, crabs, sharks, mermaids and a few octopus’ gardens on Friday afternoon. The Bay of Islands town further sealed its reputation for putting on Northland’s most creative Christmas parade with this year’s event notable for intense competition for the title of best float. Long-time winner Paihia School managed to hang onto the coveted trophy for best float overall — thanks to a coral reef swarming with sea creatures, capped by principal Jane Lindsay as a giant octopus — but faced stiff challenges from Opua School and Paihia-Waitangi Kindergarten. This year’s theme was Under the Sea. Reporter Peter de Graaf donned his mask and snorkel to get these photos.

For the 42nd year in a row students of Kerikeri High School have celebrated the last full week of the school year by racing around the Kerikeri Basin in a fleet of home-made rafts. More than two dozen Year 7 and 8 teams, along with two staff rafts, took up the challenge with volunteers from the Kerikeri Fire Brigade making sure no one got to the finish line entirely dry. This year’s entries were cobbled together with everything from bamboo and paint buckets to old baths welded together, with the race won convincingly by a Christmas-themed entry called Turbo made from wood and halved plastic drums. A few barely made it past the start line before disintegrating. The honour of starting this year’s race went to former deputy principal Neil Sorensen who has been to every raft race since 1980. The organisers, a team of Year 10 students, will present the prizes at Thursday’s end-of-year school assembly. Photos by Peter de Graaf.

A group of hairy-legged Christmas fairies of advanced age helped Oakridge Villas, a Kerikeri retirement complex, take out the title of best float in this year’s Kerikeri Christmas parade. Other entries in Saturday’s well-attended event featured dancers, a Dalek, dinosaurs, a cockatoo and truckload of mini firefighters, to name just a few. Second place went to Nurture by Nature early childhood learning centre and third to the Northland Stingrays inline hockey team. The annual parade, organised by the Kerikeri Lions Club, makes a circuit of the town’s one-way system then ends with a lolly scramble and kids entertainment at the Domain. Photos by Peter de Graaf.

The Northern Advocate’s John Stone went along on Saturday to capture the fun during the annual Kamo Christmas Parade.

Northern Advocate photographer John Stone went along to the Whangarei Group Calf Club’s annual Central Day at Barge Showgrounds. The November 3 event attracted about 18 schools and 130 children showing off their calves, lambs and goats.

It was a busy weekend in Northland with plenty of things to do and see. Northern Advocate photographer John Stone checked out Northland Autos Home and Leisure Show at Kensington Stadium on Friday and later that day headed to the opening of the Papermill’s “Our Amazing Spaces” exhibition at Forum North, which runs until Friday.

Official opening of the new Helicopter Pad at McLeod's Bay, Whangarei Heads, Northland rescue Helicopter landing for the first time on the new pad caught on camera.

Kaeo fire chief Lindsay Murray was honoured last Saturday for a remarkable 50 years service to his community. Friends, family and Fire Service personnel descended on Kaeo Rugby Club from as far away as Otago to see Mr Murray – a primary school teacher, fire educator and investigator, community stalwart and notorious prankster – receive a rarely awarded 50-year Gold Star for five decades of service with the Kaeo Volunteer Fire Brigade, most of them as chief. Photos by Peter de Graaf.

Every dog had its day in Opua on Saturday when the highlight of the town’s annual regatta was a series of canine swimming races. The event is the main fundraiser of the year for Opua School and featured, apart from swimming dogs and humans, a kids’ fishing contest, kai, children’s activities, mini ambulance rides and market stalls while the cruising club hosted kayak and sailing races. The event has been running since the 1980s and was held for the second year at Opua Wharf instead of the former venue at the beach in front of the community hall. Money raised will go towards a set of exercise stations for school and public use. This year’s champion swimmer in the small dog category was Rosie (a jack russell owned by Hunter Kay, 8, of Opua); medium dog: Abby (chocolate lab, owner Jackson Brittain, 11, Haruru Falls); and big dog: InkOH (German shepherd, owner Paitangi Ostick, Waitangi). Photos by Peter de Graaf.

Almost 500 kids from 23 schools - from Wellsford in the south to Paparore in the north - competed in the Northland Rugby Union Rippa Rugby Championships in Kerikeri on March 31. Here's a little taste of the action from a few of the primary schools taking part. Photos by Peter de Graaf.

The Mid North was invaded by elves, princesses, genies, sword-wielding kings and even a dragon on Saturday as Oromahoe Kindergarten held its annual fairytale fair. The event, off State Highway 10 south of Kerikeri, was a fundraiser for a future Rudolf Steiner school which could be built at Waimate North. Photos by Peter de Graaf.

Even a downpour just as racing started wasn’t enough to dampen the spirits of kids competing in the Great Whangaroa Kiwi Can Raft Race on Saturday. The annual event sees school and community teams build rafts using inner tubes, bamboo, plastic drums and the odd bathtub, then race them from the Clansman’s Wharf to Whangaroa Marina. Just in case anyone wasn’t already soaked Coastguard Hokianga brought out a firehose and gave the competitors an extra dousing. Eight rafts from six schools took part this year; another five teams — representing the local health trust, whanau and Matauri Bay School staff — competed in the community division.Photos by Peter de Graaf.

Opera in the Garden again delighted music lovers and celebrated 20 years on the Northland musical calender on Saturday. Set in the beautiful garden surroundings of the Kennaway’s Operacado Orchard, Glenbervie, the concert delighted hundreds in the audience who turned up with blankets, deck chairs and chilly-bins filled with food. Photographer Tania Whyte mingled with the crowd and got these shots.

THE ChillTech Beach 2 Basin Fun Run in Whangarei attracted a record number of participants on Saturday. Organisers accepted 2440 entries from all ages in both the 10km and 6.8km categories for the two-and-a-half hour event that started on the Onerahi foreshore and the Onerahi Tavern respectively. Northern Advocate photographer Tania Whyte was on the sidelines snapping the competitors.

Horse riders from around the Far North descended on Rawene and its recently revived racetrack on Saturday for the annual Brumby Race Day fundraiser. Events included a 2.5km gallop, horse high jump, a kids’ race, a stockman’s challenge, trots and a kid’s race; every kind of brumby, farm hack and nag was welcome, but no thoroughbreds were allowed. A few thousand people enjoyed the sunshine, spectacle, live music and kai, placing bets using a raffle system that (just) kept the fundraising legal. All money raised goes to Hokianga Treks 4 Kids, a charity run by Rawene school bus driver Rob Pink to teach disadvantaged kids to ride and take them on multi-day horse treks. Photos by Peter de Graaf.

Punters cruising around Whangarei’s CBD on Friday evening were enticed to stick around for longer thanks to live entertainment on the laneway. The event was organised in the hope of drawing people back in to the CBD. Photographer John Stone went along to capture the action.

Waimamaku was once again invaded by cowboys, highway robbers, country dancers and fake cheeses as the South Hokianga settlement hosted its annual Wild West Fest on Saturday. One of Northland’s most unusual festivals, this year’s event featured a wearable arts parade, keg-throwing and firefighting challenges, food stalls, lots of horses, cheese-rolling contests with yellow tyres standing in for the real thing, and a deafening shoot-out staged by the South Hokianga Riders, with much of the action taking place on State Highway 12. Donations were extracted from passing motorists by gun-toting bandits with the proceeds going to Hokianga Health. The event started 14 years ago as a Northland version of Hokitika’s Wild Food Festival but somehow morphed into a cowboy-themed festival. Photos by Peter de Graaf.

More than 110 classic cars, hot rods, rally cars and muscle cars — along with the odd vintage motorbike and caravan — packed central Kerikeri on Saturday for the Kurbside Rodders’ annual street meet. As well as admiring prized vehciles dating back as far as the 1930s, show visitors could take part in a 1950s-themed best-dressed competition, a tyre-changing challenge and rock ‘n roll dance demonstration, or be deafened in the mass rev-up. In the afternoon entrants took part in a mystery run which ended with a prizegiving in Waitangi. Photos by Peter de Graaf.

A new night market on Kaikohe’s Marino Court, also known as Library Square, was set up to make the town more self-sufficient in fresh produce and create a fun destination for families one evening a week. The market includes locally-grown fruit and vegetables from Kaikohe’s Kai Co-op, crafts, Cook Islands food, second-hand goods, fundraising stalls selling hangi and chowder, and live music. Now in its fifth week the market is held every Thursday starting at the new time of 5pm and running until 8pm. Photos by Peter de Graaf.

There was plenty of cheering and excitement as Whangarei Boys’ High School held its annual swimming sports day, at the school yesterday. Northern Advocate photographer John Stone went along capture the action.

A crowd of hundreds braved the beating sun on Saturday and made their way up Mount Parihaka, to witness the official unveiling of a piece of public architecture which is more than a platform for taking in the views. Photographer Michael Cunningham and reporter Alexandra Newlove went along to capture the stirring ceremony.

An estimated 25,000 people marked New Zealand's national day at Waitangi on Saturday with a day of music, good food, waka, a mass haka on the beach, debate, kids' fun, catching up with old friends and traditions like the hikoi to the Treaty Grounds and jumping from Waitangi Bridge. Photos by John Stone and Peter de Graaf.

New Zealand’s biggest tribe celebrated all things Ngapuhi with a two-day festival in Kaikohe which wrapped up on Sunday night with a mass haka and a performance by X-Factor winner Beau Monga. The crowd was well down on previous festivals in 2012 and 2014, which drew an estimated 40,000 people, but there was no faulting the kai or entertainment ranging from rock to opera. Saturday’s acts included ‘‘Maori cowboy’’ Dennis Marsh, reggae band Rootz Kinekt, home-grown opera singer Kauwiti Selwyn, X-Factor finalists Brendon T and the Vibes, and singer-songwriter Troy Kingi; but the highlight was a production by 72 young Ngapuhi telling the tribe’s history — from Pacific origins to present-day concerns about the TPPA — through dance, drama, song and kapa haka. The young performers created the show in a series of intensive workshops run by Tu Ake Productions. Conditions ranged from searing 30C heat, making the Kaikohe police water slide popular with the kids, to light rain on Saturday and Sunday evenings. An exhibition of work by top New Zealand artists of Ngapuhi heritage, Toi Ngapuhi, featured a section dedicated to renowned ceramic artists Manos Nathan and Colleen Waata-Urlich, both of whom passed away last year. This year’s Ngapuhi Festival was the first to be live-streamed so the tribe’s worldwide diaspora could follow the action in Kaikohe via the internet. Photos by Peter de Graaf.

The Bay of Islands is playing host to some of the world’s biggest and most expensive yachts, many of which sailed to New Zealand just to take part in the Southern Hemisphere’s top superyacht race — the Millennium Cup, part of Bay of Islands Sailing Week on January 27-29. Competing yachts included the 40-metre sloop Janice of Wyoming and the maxi ketch Steinlager II, made famous by Sir Peter Blake during the Whitbread around the world race, but in Thursday’s six-hour race it was the New Zealand-owned Tawera that claimed victory. Steinlager II won the Pacific Cup division for yachts not quite big or luxurious enough to meet superyacht criteria. Photos by Peter de Graaf.

New Zealand’s biggest keel-boat regatta, Bay of Islands Sailing Week, wrapped up on Friday night after three days of racing by more than 90 boats ranging from tiny sports boats to monster superyachts and super-fast foiling catamarans. Almost as important as the action on the water is the chance to catch up with old sailing buddies at the post-race celebrations at event headquarters in Opua. Peter de Graaf checked out Thursday night’s knees-up, which drew a who’s who of New Zealand sailing.

A three-day festival which wrapped up with a night of drumming and dancing at Matauri Bay on Sunday aimed to bring people together from all over Northland with common interests in creativity and the environment. The fourth annual Unite Festival, held at the ‘‘Peace of Paradise’’ property of Liz and Jonathan Russell, featured music from medieval to modern, African drumming, belly dancing, creative workshops for kids, shared meals, healing sessions, discussions on food forests and Northland’s threatened native forests, and cooling off in the creek when the heat got too much. Dargaville’s Circus Kumarani, at the festival for the first time, ran workshops on acrobatics, juggling and aerial silk. Organiser Liz Russell aims to use the event as the seed for an upcoming dance/theatre production on the theme of Northland in the year 2116. Photos by Peter de Graaf.