Marcus and Margaret Crossland from Britain enjoying some good old-fashioned Kaipara hospitality from Lynn and Alex Tetzner at Matakohe House

British visitors to the Kaipara, Marcus and Magaret Crossland, were greeted with a hug and ‘a big welcome home’ when they arrived at Matakohe House last week.

“That’s what you do when you greet people who have become great friends after coming back to stay with us six years in a row,” said proprietor, Lynn Tetzner.

The Crosslands, from Yorkshire, have been visiting New Zealand for 16 years. “We just love the country, and particularly the west coast people who are down to earth like us,” said Marcus.

The Northland Field Days have been the annual attraction for their visits to Kaipara. “I was raised and worked on a farm and now I am a contractor,” he added. “The Field Days are a great way for us to holiday and keep up to date with New Zealand agricultural innovations.”

A record number of visitors passed through the Field Days gates last Friday. “It was the highest ever at 8,818 since we started recording gate numbers 10 years ago,” said committee member, Wendy Booten. “We had 9,000 people through on Saturday.

“Saturday morning started off looking promising but by mid morning the skies darkened and we had a thunder storm with torrential rain. Our visitors were kept entertained with More FM and the Joe Carbery Trio who played to a packed out audience in the Foodhall. When the sun returned the Field Days continued, although the wood chopping had to be curtailed.

“Event competition was fierce with events such as the Northland Toyota Dog Trials, Northland Tractor Pull and Northland Logger Sports and the Dargaville Honda Quad Bike competition and the BNZ Junior Tractor Pull. “This year they had a Business House Three-legged-race won by Farmlands and also the Bank Three-legged-race won again by Westpac.

“The overall awards went to the following: Best Indoor Site Award, Eternal Flame; Best Outdoor Site Award, Ponga Dezinz; Best Theme Depiction, Union Car Spares.

The Northland Field days will return next year on March 3, 4 and 5.