The Heavy Rain Warning, Severe Thunderstorm Watch and Strong Wind Watch in place for the Coromandel Peninsula and particularly the eastern seaboard between Whitianga and Whangamata is likely to see impacts occur over Thursday, 25th June.

TCDC Emergency Operations Centre was activated from 1.30 pm today, 24 June, to monitor the weather and the impact in the district. The EOC will remain open until late tomorrow afternoon.

Business owners in the Whitianga area are invited to join free online business workshops hosted by the Te Waka Business Growth team.

Its easy to sign up for workshops which cover a variety of topics led by industry experts and tailored specifically for businesses. Te Waka’s Business Growth Team are contracted by Government to deliver free support to local businesses in the Coromandel and the wider Waikato area and use local business experts to do this. 

With the move to COVID-19 Alert Level 2 the Thames Coromandel District Council will resume full Kerbside rubbish and recycling collections on the 18 May, with one major change.

When regular collections resume  Council will accept blue Council bags, recycling in wheelie bins and glass in crates. However, Council will only take plastic types 1 and 2 in kerbside wheelie bins and at Council Refuse Transfer Stations for recycling. Any plastic types numbered 3-7 in a recycling triangle will now need to go into the blue rubbish bag.

Get ready to tune in this Thursday 14th May for the next instalment of "Bubble Bites" which includes four talented Mercury Bay Artists bringing you everything from Shakespeare, the Blues to Indie Pop. 

Creative Mercury Bay have established a YouTube Channel where you can enjoy the latest weekly episode of 'Bubble Bites". This weeks session starts at 5.30pm and includes a great local line up of stage artists, singers and songwriters. 

For the first time in history, Anzac Day Services across New Zealand have been cancelled due to COVID-19. While public Anzac Services are unable to go ahead New Zealanders are invited to continue the tradition of remembering and commemorating our veterans and service personnel from the safety of our lockdown bubbles. 

Mercury Bay performance artists and audiences stay connected online.

Creative Mercury Bay launches innovative online video series ‘Bubble Bites’ to help local Coromandel Peninsula performance artists and their audiences stay connected during the Covid 19 coronavirus lockdown and bubble restrictions. Bubble Bites is a weekly series of 30 minute pre-recorded shows, featuring three artists each performing ten minute bites of their creative practice.

Photo: Dmitri Kotelevski

Here at All About Whitianga we're 'all about local'. And a great way to 'support local' and help promote our business and community organisations, is by sharing local profiles on major social media platforms.

With our share buttons you can show your support toward local businesses and organisations, and help promote them by increasing their social media presence – here's how ...

The Government has announced a suite of new measures and plans to provide relief for SMEs affected by COVID-19 coronavirus. Initiatives include flexibility around tax deadlines and support in the areas of tax loss, commercial leases and consultancy.

Government have put a $4 million regional support package in place for SMEs in response to COVID-19 which is being delivered using the Regional Business Partners Network. 

As part of this package Te Waka’s Business Growth Team are contracted by Government to deliver free support to local businesses in the Coromandel and the wider Waikato area and use local business experts to do this. Business owners in the Whitianga area can get free advice from business advisors, join online workshops and have access to resources. 

Not sure what you can and can't do during the Covid 19 coronavirus lockdown period?

New Zealand is currently at Alert Level 4. Some of the Governments key messages to the public are to stay at home and keep a physical distance when you are outside of your home. So how do we apply this to how we go about everyday lockdown lives? Below is a summary of Government guidelines to some of those frequently asked questions covering the topics of staying home, stopping movement, exercising, public spaces, self isolation and using your car.

The Thames Coromandel District Council have made some changes to how some of their services are operating during the Covid 9 coronavirus Level 4 lockdown. 

This applies to kerbside rubbish and recycling, council meetings and governance, excercising dogs, public toilets, building inspections and consents, playgrounds, parks and reserves, road works and water restrictions.

The Mercury Bay Community Radiology Trust, situated at 18 Coghill Street, Whitianga, have announced a temporary closure as at 25th March 2020. The closure is due to the COVID-19 pandemic and will mean there will be no 'walk in' access to their rooms.

Restrictions have eased to help with the COVID-19 Alert Level 4 lockdown period. Please continue to conserve water and only use what is necessary e.g. vegetable gardens, personal household sanitary, drinking and cooking needs.

Do you think your Whitianga business will suffer financially due to COVID-19? If you are a small business in Whitianga, then you may be eligible for assistance through the recently announced New Zealand Government economic response package.

Due to a serious family illness George Thorogood & The Destroyers will no longer be able to perform at next year's Summer Concert Tour. Greenstone Entertainment, promoters of the upcoming sold out Summer Concert Tour, have today confirmed two new artists as part of the annual Whitianga Summer Concert Tour for Sunday 28th January 2018.

In a statement from George Thorogood & The Destroyers management, “Due to a family illness, George Thorogood and The Destroyers will be unable to perform at the upcoming Summer Concert Tour. The Summer Concert Tour will proceed as planned. We sincerely appreciate the support of our loyal fans during this difficult time.”

Greenstone Entertainment are pleased to announce that taking the place of George Thorogood & The Destroyers will be The Orchestra starring former members of Electric Light Orchestra (ELO).

This cocktail is the perfect summer treat. Tropical cocktail recipes don’t get any better than this Piña Tini, trust us!

A tasty dish served with poached eggs and delicious honey balsamic grilled Ciabatta bread.

This dish is a great breakfast or brunch dish served during the colder mornings.

This is a fresh light meal to be eaten over the warm summer period.

Government announced they will provide loans of up to $100,000 to help small to medium sized businesses, including contractors and self-employed.

The scheme provides a one-off government loan for businesses and organisations impacted by COVID-19 to help with cash flow. Applications are open until the 12 June 2020. Small to medium sized businesses with 50 or fewer full-time employee equivalents can apply. The scheme is also open to sole traders and self-employed businesses. 

Are you interested in the Coromandel Peninsula coastal environment and keen to see how solutions can be found to help our communities adapt to coastal hazards and risks? 

Thames Coromandel District Council are seeking expressions of interest from local volunteers to join local Council Coastal panels. Establishing coastal panels is part of the Council's major coastal management project. The project defines flooding and erosion risks to people,  and the social, cultural, economic and natural environment across all parts of the Coromandel Penisula coastline over the next century and beyond.

The free breast screening mobile clinic has been rescheduled to visit Whitianga, Coromandel, Whangamata and Thames during May, June and July.

The BreastScreen Aotearoa programme offers a free mammogram for any women aged 45-69 who are eligible for free healthcare in New Zealand. The programme advocates that early detection is your best protection.

The All About Whitianga website has created a special takeaways section to make it easy for you to view menus and delivery options available from local businesses during Alert Level 3.  If you need a takeaway or coffee fix in your lockdown bubble we have you covered!

The New Zealand Government has stated that most, but not all businesses can start to open under Alert Level 3 and that they must take health measures to keep their workers safe.

Te Waka's Business Growth team has announced that Whitianga businesses will benefit from a new phone-based support centre servicing the Waikato. The centre will target small to medium sized firms and will provide free advice and assistance to organisations affected by the COVID-19 crisis.

Having to stay at home has brought about cool lockdown hacks – using apps to connect, work out and learn from home. 

Houseparty, for example is the face-to-face social network that some Mercury Bay Area School students are using to connect with their friends while still at home in their family bubble. The app makes connecting face to face easy, alerting you when your friends are “in the house” and ready to chat so you can jump right into the conversation. Your friends will know you’re in the app and ready to chat, so they can join you for the next best thing to hanging out in person. The app has games built in that you can play with up to eight people.

From April 2nd, the criteria for testing of Covid-19 coronavirus has been expanded nationwide. Anyone with respiratory symptoms consistent with Covid-19 coronavirus will be considered for testing regardless of travel history or contact with a confirmed case.

From 1st April 2020 the Mercury Bay Medical Centre will become a Covid-19 coronavirus testing site for the community of Whitianga and surrounds including Matarangi, Tairua and Pauanui. Criteria for testing and prior authorisation for testing will be required. 

Photo: Chelsea Winter

Kat from the All About Whitianga team is a Chelsea Winter fan. She even attended Chelsea's masterclass at Mercury Bay Area School a few years ago (but that's another story), so when Chelsea posted 'Lockdown Bread' on her social media 'story' in the weekend Kat was in the kitchen in a flash.

Starting from next week, Monday 30 March, your Kerbside refuse collection will need to be placed in your recycling wheelie bin and will be collected fortnightly. 

Because we’re in a National State of Emergency due to the COVID-19 Alert Level 4, TCDC is now following directives from central government and Civil Defence that radically change the way they deliver services to Mercury Bay residents.

Do you need to understand which businesses are considered an essential service during the COVID-19 Level 4 shutdown? 

The New Zealand Government has stated that only businesses that are essential to the provision of the necessities of life may remain open during the Level 4 Alert period. The New Zealand Government has provided a list of essential businesses that can operate over this period.

Greenstone Entertainment Ltd. has announced its exciting artist line-up for the annual Whitianga Summer Concert Tour for Sunday 28th January 2018.

The concerts will feature George Thorogood & The Destroyers, Alanis Morissette and Colin Hay of Men At Work fame. All of the artists will be bringing all their unmistakable hits as part of their Whitianga concert!

At the Whitianga concert you will be able to enjoy the hard driving powerful rock and blues of George Thorogood & The Destroyers, the multi-talented and one of the most influential singer-songwriter-musicians in contemporary music- Alanis Morissette, along with the unmistakable voice and lead singer of one of the most successful Australian Bands - Colin Hay of Men At Work.

This is a fantastic dish served with a garden salad, roasted rosemary potatoes, and accompanied by Castle Rock Café chilli peach chutney.

This burger has a kick to it but is very tasty with the apple blue cheese slaw.

This is a great brunch dish that is easy to make for a group of friends.

This dish is a favourite of our former Castle Rock Cafe chef Dyon, and is a great light dish for the warmer months.