OPOTIKI district councillor and coast resident Louis Rapihana says Easter was peaceful on the coast and at the iwi’s roadblock.
“The number of vehicles turned around was not that high, which is a great thing,” he said.
“We did not have any incidents during the Easter period.”
Set up to protect about 200 kaumatua on the coast, and the same amount of children, the roadblock at Hawai is Te Whanau A Apanui’s implementation of a “level five” Covid-19 lockdown.
Mr Rapihana said the roadblock was not only to prevent outsiders with no business in the area from entering, but to hinder residents from making needless trips to where the virus could be contracted.
The most challenging aspect of the roadblock had been to convince Apanui folks living outside their area about the necessity for it.
A local shopping system has also been set up to reduce the new for trips out of the area.