All Access. All in one subscription. From $2 per week
Subscribe now

All Access Weekly

From $2 per week
Pay just
$15.75
$2
per week ongoing
Subscribe now
BEST VALUE

All Access Annual

Pay just
$449
$49
per year ongoing
Subscribe now
Learn more
30
Rotorua Daily Post
  • Rotorua Daily Post home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Residential property listings
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Rural
  • Sport

Locations

  • Tauranga
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales

Weather

  • Rotorua
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Rotorua Daily Post

Letters to the editor: Whaka 100 decision 'another nail in Rotorua's coffin'

Rotorua Daily Post
1 Feb, 2022 07:07 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌

Subscriber benefit

The ability to gift paywall-free articles is a subscriber only benefit. See more offers by clicking the button below.

Already a subscriber?  Sign in here
Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

The NDuro Whaka 100 start in 2016. Photo / Stephen Parker
The NDuro Whaka 100 start in 2016. Photo / Stephen Parker

The NDuro Whaka 100 start in 2016. Photo / Stephen Parker

On Sunday afternoon, the day of the cancelled Emmerson Whaka 100, we drove past the Blue Lake.

I don't think I've ever seen so many cars. Carparks overflowing, cars wherever there was a space around the lake perimeter, up Okareka Loop Rd and occupying about half of the grassed reserve area.

No vaccine passes required, presumably, and I didn't see any social distancing, masks or other MoH guidelines being enforced, just people enjoying a hot Sunday afternoon.

Yet minutes before registration packs could be collected last Thursday the council cancelled the Whaka 100, an event that, in my opinion, had been planned with military precision to accommodate ministry's Covid guidelines and then some.

Competitors were to be sent off in waves, no spectators, finishers to collect their own medals and exit immediately through the chute to hop in their cars to leave the area.

I can't help but compare that process to what I saw at the Blue Lake and think that cancellation decision is another nail in Rotorua's coffin.

Open up the latest news from Rotorua

Get daily headlines from the Rotorua region straight to your inbox.
Please email me competitions, offers and other updates. You can stop these at any time.
By signing up for this newsletter, you agree to NZME’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
All Access. All in one subscription. From $2 per week
Subscribe now

All Access Weekly

From $2 per week
Pay just
$15.75
$2
per week ongoing
Subscribe now
BEST VALUE

All Access Annual

Pay just
$449
$49
per year ongoing
Subscribe now
Learn more
30
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

It will be remembered, and not just by the mountain biking fraternity.

Paddi Hodgkiss
Rotorua

Shade a priority

Regarding shade for the fabulous new Lakefront playground (Letters, January 27).

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

We seriously need to avoid being exposed to the harmful rays of our beneficent star, especially our children.

The Cancer Society publicly stated in 2018 it would like to see:
• Government provide designated funding for shade in schools
• Local government provide quality shade options in public spaces, such as in playgrounds and parks, or at events.

Research has found that we do not have enough shade in public spaces, such as schools and playgrounds.

It has also found that most people expect their local council to provide shade in public areas.

In my view, for many councils, shade is not viewed as a priority and maintenance is considered costly.

Let's not quibble over the cost of providing protection to our most vulnerable, it is our children's future after all.

Peter Jones
Glenholme

WHAT DO YOU THINK? SEND A LETTER TO THE EDITOR

The Rotorua Daily Post welcomes letters from readers. Please note the following:

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

• Letters should not exceed 200 words.

• They should be opinion based on facts or current events.

• If possible, please email.

• No noms-de-plume.

• Letters will be published with names and suburb/city.

• Please include full name, address and contact details for our records only.

• Local letter writers given preference.

• Rejected letters are not normally acknowledged.

• Letters may be edited, abridged, or rejected at the Editor's discretion.

• The Editor's decision on publication is final. No correspondence will be entered into.

Email editor@dailypost.co.nz

Subscriber benefit

The ability to gift paywall-free articles is a subscriber only benefit. See more offers by clicking the button below.

Already a subscriber?  Sign in here
Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Rotorua Daily Post

Why a 'cute' pet is now included in a pest management plan

19 Jun 10:00 PM
Rotorua Daily Post

'Serious family harm': Emergency response to incident in Tūrangi - police

19 Jun 09:04 PM
Premium
Opinion

Elliott Smith: McMillan's record adds pressure to Chiefs' big game

19 Jun 06:01 PM

Jono and Ben brew up a tea-fuelled adventure in Sri Lanka

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Recommended for you
Why a journalist roleplayed a rescue victim with Bay of Plenty’s Civil Defence team
Bay of Plenty Times

Why a journalist roleplayed a rescue victim with Bay of Plenty’s Civil Defence team

20 Jun 12:00 AM
Beer, tonics, sauces: Why is does Japanese citrus yuzu seem to be everywhere right now?
Lifestyle

Beer, tonics, sauces: Why is does Japanese citrus yuzu seem to be everywhere right now?

19 Jun 11:59 PM
Smoke from plane at Christchurch Airport, fluid leak suspected
New Zealand

Smoke from plane at Christchurch Airport, fluid leak suspected

19 Jun 11:45 PM
One 'critical' after assault in suburban Auckland, as police hunt suspect
New Zealand

One 'critical' after assault in suburban Auckland, as police hunt suspect

19 Jun 11:23 PM
Trump confirms timeline for US strike on Iran decision
World

Trump confirms timeline for US strike on Iran decision

19 Jun 11:09 PM

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Why a 'cute' pet is now included in a pest management plan

Why a 'cute' pet is now included in a pest management plan

19 Jun 10:00 PM

Hint: They are more likely to degrade waterways than mutate into a crime-fighting team.

'Serious family harm': Emergency response to incident in Tūrangi - police

'Serious family harm': Emergency response to incident in Tūrangi - police

19 Jun 09:04 PM
Premium
Elliott Smith: McMillan's record adds pressure to Chiefs' big game

Elliott Smith: McMillan's record adds pressure to Chiefs' big game

19 Jun 06:01 PM
From the ashes: New golf clubhouse unveiled five years after devastating fire

From the ashes: New golf clubhouse unveiled five years after devastating fire

19 Jun 06:00 PM
Help for those helping hardest-hit
sponsored

Help for those helping hardest-hit

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Rotorua Daily Post e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Rotorua Daily Post
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
All Access. All in one subscription. From $2 per week
Subscribe now

All Access Weekly

From $2 per week
Pay just
$15.75
$2
per week ongoing
Subscribe now
BEST VALUE

All Access Annual

Pay just
$449
$49
per year ongoing
Subscribe now
Learn more
30
TOP
search by queryly Advanced Search