Beach car meet noisy gathering

One of New Zealand’s largest automotive car culture and event organisers, Rotationals, hosted a meetup at Piha Beach on Sunday, with hundreds gathering at the seaside west Auckland village.

But Piha residents ended up stuck in their homes with roads in and out of the settlement jammed with cars.

A police spokesperson said there had been no arrests or no reports of disorder at the event, despite public upset.

“It was quite the nightmare, unfortunately,” a Piha resident said.

“The noise was incredible. I’d call that disturbance. But on the bright side, they were all out in a wellbehaved fashion by 10pm so at least there was no night-long rowdy party, which was good.”

The resident, who did not want to be named, lives next to the domain where the cars parked.

“The road in and out of Piha was blocked for hours. I would not have been able to drive anywhere.

“I was lucky I didn’t have to work or that anyone did not have an accident or anything because that would have required a speedy exit.”

“The noise was absolutely unreal. They are all very proud of their extra loud cars, and everyone is allowed their fun, but I don’t see why they have to flood a small beach community like that.

“Personally I think that’s super rude. There are plenty of beaches with car parks where no one lives and there they can be as loud as they please.”

Traffic was blocked and the entire seaside village was consumed by car enthusiasts, she said. Some kind of heads up would have been helpful.

Another resident said the crowds seemed to behave themselves.

“But if you were closer to the noise, it would be a problem.”

The organisers of the summer car event have been approached for comment.

Auckland police on Sunday said they were aware of a large group of vehicles gathered in the Piha area.

“Police are monitoring the group and are prepared to take enforcement action if the law is broken.

“If you have any information, video or photographs of incidents of anti-social road use – including number plates and descriptions, that could assist police in identifying those involved, please contact police on 105, or you can give information anonymously through Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.

“Please only record activity if it is safe to do so. These inquiries can and do result in enforcement action.”