27 Jan 2026

Oakura adjusting to new reality as main road blocked for months

From Checkpoint, 5:27 pm on 27 January 2026

In the Northland town of Oakura, locals are adjusting to a new reality - no proper road south to Whangarei for as long as the next three months. The road north reopened on Saturday but it is a long detour, and the emergency route south is narrow, steep and, frankly, frightening. Peter de Graaf reports from a town picking up the pieces after last week's storm.