Music fest ends in mud and mayhem

 

BY JULIA WADE

Festival goers at a recent two-day open-air festival, Moon Society, were left marooned after bucketing rains turned a Mangawhai farm into a muddy bog and led to an SOS callout to the surrounding community. 

A group of locals and volunteers as far as Auckland answered the call on November 27 with tractors, coffee and offers to bring water. The rescue was not without its controversy however, with questions regarding the appropriateness of some rescuers asking for an assistance fee, as well as local youth taking off with organisers equipment. 

Mangawhai Facebook users became aware of the groups plight and believed the people had been abandoned by organisers Rural Remix after one stuck French tourist, Marie Suchet, posted a plea for help, saying ‘sorry to ask for help but we are really in a bad situation… and have no solution to get out of here’, ‘the organisation people left… and won't come here to help us’.

Suchet, who also contacted the Focus, says most people were towed out on Sunday night but there were still ten cars trapped in the paddock along Black Swamp Road, leaving up to 20 people stranded with dwindling water and food supplies. 

Rural Remix spokesperson, Peron Munro, who grew up in Mangawhai, say the tourist’s claim was likely a case of being lost-in-translation, ‘a miscommunication due to their English skills’. 

“People were advised to leave on Sunday night as I had a tractor working to get people out. I spent the next two days organising further diggers, tractors, ringing construction companies and talking to people at the big golf course to help,” Munro says. “Had some temporary help from the local four-wheel drive kids but they weren’t happy with the amount of money we gave them so they left and also stole our scaffolding. Lucky my sister was able to track them down within 10 minutes.” 

He says the removal, which cost Rural Remix $2000, was made further complicated from not having permission to use the land on either side of the festival property. 

Munro has been organising outdoor dance parties in the area for a number of years, progressing from arranging school socials to events at Tomarata Lakes and Te Arai Point. The Moon Society was the largest outdoor party he has held in Mangawhai and unfortunately the wet weather was an unforeseen factor he says due to the recent long dry spells. 

“Like to thank the NZ off-roader community who came to help, Jason the farmer who drove from Tara Road and worked till 2am on Sunday, the Kaiwaka Brethren community who saved the day with decent tractors and Wharehine for helping with accessing the site,” he says. “I’d also like to highlight that in a small community how neighbours should come together to help those in need.”

Young helpers Nick Stretton and Karl Lange drove up from Auckland in ‘Karl’s very serious truck’ to lend a hand. Stretton, who has been coming to Mangawhai since a toddler for family holidays, says although the ‘two guys on tractors were definitely the heroes’, was disappointed with some other local response. 

“I couldn’t believe that in a town like Mangawhai with all sorts of farm equipment that they weren’t all out… I was also blown away by everyone asking for payment. There were a lot of locals ripping off people, taking their money and doing nothing… it was actually disgusting to hear,” he says. “These people were mainly backpackers travelling our country on a low budget. We didn’t expect any form of payment, paid our own way up which the organisers seemed to respect and gave us money to cover our travel costs.” 

However the landowner of where the event was held, Shelley Williams, has praised Rural Remix for being organised and defends the locals who were charging $40 a tow due to the circumstances, saying she ‘didn’t even question it’. 

“Considering it was Sunday morning, in the middle of a rainstorm and in a remote area, I thought that was an extremely low fee,” she says. “Like to thank the fleet of local 4x4 guys who mobilised to help… and the friendly helpful locals who came to the event organisers aid including the unknown guy who arrived with a tractor and the coffee cart wagon for supplying hot drinks to those waiting for a tow and staying on until everyone was out… it left a lasting positive impression on the foreign travellers.”

Attended by guests and travellers from around the world, outdoor dance party Moon Society ended on a soggy note with many vehicles having to be towed out of deep mud.  

“I couldn’t believe that in a town like Mangawhai with all sorts of farm equipment that they weren’t all out… I was also blown away by everyone asking for payment.”