From upcoming triathlon, to Art Deco Festival, to HB house prices, to HBRC lawsuits, to Salvation Army State of Nation, to Keirunga historic homes tour, to Havelock streams and dams update, to January’s State of the Environment update, here are some notable items you might have missed.

Napier Triathlon Festival

Napier will play host to some of New Zealand’s and the world’s leading triathletes on February 23^rd with the hosting of the second annual Napier Triathlon Festival, including elite men’s and women’s World Triathlon Cup Napier races over the sprint distance (750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run).

Racing will again be focused on Ahuriri Beach with all events taking place on Sunday February 23^rd, featuring theTri NZ Suzuki Series Sprint Championships on the same course as the elites, and the debut of the Napier Tri-er, a fun event for beginners with options to ‘skip the swim’ and ‘cheat the bike’ if competitors are keen to have a celebrity athlete swim for them, or an electric bike do some of the work for them in a shortened 300m, 10km, 2.5km format.

The highlight of the day’s racing will without question be the elite men’s and women’s World Cup Napier races, featuring strong New Zealand representation as Kiwi triathletes enjoy a rare chance to race at the top level on home soil.

Leading the way are 2024 Paris Olympians Ainsley Thorpe, Nicole Van Der Kaay, and 2018 Commonwealth Games medalist Tayler Reid.

Here’s the event website for more information.

Napier Port Ocean Swim

The Napier Port Ocean Swim is back, inviting swimmers of all ages and abilities to take the plunge on Saturday, February 22, at Perfume Point, Ahuriri Beach. 

Entries are open and organisers are encouraging locals to sign up and be part of this iconic community event – whether as first-time ocean swimmers or seasoned athletes. https://www.napieroceanswim.co.nz/ 

The races range from a 200-meter swim for kids to 500-metre and one kilometre event, ending with the most popular 2.5-kilometre race.   

Art Deco Festival underway

Last two days this Saturday and Sunday.

Here’s the programme.

HB house prices double

Hawke’s Bay is one of nine regions where house prices have doubled over the last 10 years, according to realestate.co.nz. Auckland, Wellington, Bay of Plenty fall short. The national average was 60% up.

HBRC to be sued for flood response?

Two lawsuits are possible, stemming from HBRC’s alleged inadequate response to Wairoa’s June 2024 flooding.

As reported by Newsroom, Australian-owned insurance firm IAG says it’s been meeting with flood-impacted residents from Wairoa. “Insurers are still evaluating the facts of the Wairoa Flooding,” says Blair Williams, the company’s New Zealand general counsel. “We will only start court proceedings if the expert advice justifies such action. That expert assessment is underway.”

A separate class action proceeding has been filed against the regional council in the High Court at Napier, by litigator Grant Shand, with The Limery owner Diane Downey as lead claimant. About 500 properties would have the option to join.

Salvation Army’s 2025 State of the Nation report

Sorry, grim reading … heaps of backsliding.

• About a quarter of all households are going without food ‘sometimes’ or ‘often’
• More than 400,000 people report a need for welfare support
• Violence against children has risen, with the number of children hospitalised from assault and neglect at its highest since 2014
• In four in every 10 communities rental prices are pretty unaffordable, that means they’re over 30% of the median income

Here’s a summary of the report.

Keirunga Historic Homes Tour

Tickets are on sale here for the 1 March summer fundraising tour.

Four homes will be toured, with lunch and refreshments served at the Keirunga Homestead:

Greenhill Lodge – Raukawa
Silverford – Dartmoor
Hawke’s Bay Club – Napier
Farndon House – Clive

The Tour will be guided by Sarah and John Vickers from Marton.

Spaces limited.

Havelock streams and dams update

Appears to be heaps going on.

Of particular interest to those concerned about future flooding …

Stream water level monitoring devices
In January, two monitors were installed as part of a three-month trial on the Herehere and Mangarau streams. Testing will ensure they support emergency response and data gathering to improve stormwater modeling. Following this, subject to the trial results, a further 13 are planned to be installed across the streams.

Dams
In January a CCTV review of culverts to check for blockages or damage was completed on the Herehere, Mangarau, Te Kahika, School, Karituwhenua and Te Awanga lower dams. An inspection of all those dams was also done in January to identify and update maintenance tasks.

Upcoming
Begin a review of erosion (actual and forecast) along the streams, updating 2014 work modelling, considering the Cyclone Gabrielle event, updated modelling, planned maintenance, and more recent information.

Here’s the full update.

HBRC State of the Environment – January

January was unusually cool, with persistent southerly winds and cooler sea surface temperatures keeping air temperatures below average day and night. Daytime temperatures were 2.6°C below the January norm – not exactly ideal for summer holidays! 

Northern Hawke’s Bay was wet again and rainfall late in the month helped bolster low totals on the plains and in the ranges. This resulted in 102% of the average January rainfall falling across the whole region.

River flows were mostly below average except for two sites in the north and groundwater levels have returned to normal. Soil moisture levels at most sites are near normal for the time of year. 

Water quality at the beaches was excellent during January, while some river and estuary sites suffered from the rainfall.

Here’s the full January update.