GOLDRUSH RALLY 16 - 18th August 2019
The Coromandel Peninsula will play host to a round of the 2019 New Zealand Rally Championship on the 17th August 2019, with the organisational team behind Rally New Zealand linking with the Thames-Coromandel District council to base an event from the seaside township of Whitianga. The rally will be based at the Mercury Bay Sports Multi-Sport Park, which will host Rally HQ and the Service Park. Competition will take place over 135 kilometres of special stage on forestry and public roads around the Mercury Bay region. The event will feature gravel roads in the area, some of which were last used for rallying on the 1979 International Motogard Rally of NZ. The event will provide a stunning and backdrop for round 5 of the 2019 NZ Rally Championship.
Friday 16 August will see the return of the Rally street party, car show and autograph session at 5pm on Albert Street, Whitianga. Get up close and personal to the cars and all the drivers! More FM will be there broadcasting too, so bring the family along and check it out!
The rally will run from the Mercury Bay Sports Park on Saturday 17 August, beginning at 7am. Stages will be Port Charles, Coroglen-Tapu and the 309 Road. At approx 16:49 the new Super Special Stage will be run in a loop around Dakota Drive, located at the airport, Whitianga.
Sunday 18 August will see a new initiative – a ‘Beach Clean-up’. The meeting point will be Whitianga Ferry Wharf, the Esplanade, Whitianga at 1000hrs – 1100hrs. Teams and the public are encouraged to come along and help clean up the area.
Whitianga Scallop Festival
20 - 22nd September 2019
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The Whitianga Scallop Festival is a celebration of Whitianga seafood and marine heritage, held annually in September.
21 September 2019
Now in its fourteenth year, the event has grown into one of New Zealand’s iconic seafood celebrations. The concept of the event is simple – Scallops cooked in a myriad of different ways by talented national chefs, restaurants and community groups and matched with quality entertainment including live bands, seafood cooking classes and demonstrations.
The festival is nestled alongside the Whitianga marina and the stunning harbour entrance is the backdrop to this seafood extravaganza!