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OPENING HOURS, HOLIDAYS AND
FESTIVALS |
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Opening hours have changed in New Zealand in the last few years, and
there's now a marked trend towards Sunday opening in large towns and
cities. However, the further out into the wilds you go the more
conservative the opening times become, with many small towns being shut
up tight from Saturday lunchtime until Monday morning. Holidays result
in amiable mayhem, as Kiwis hit the roads en masse
Opening hours
Banks open Monday to Friday, 9.30am to 4.30pm, with some city branches
opening on Saturday mornings (until 12.30pm). Shops are usually open
Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, and until noon on Saturday. Late-night
shopping until 8 or 9pm on Thursday and Friday nights is becoming more
common, and many tourist-orientated shops are open daily until 8pm as a
matter of course. In larger towns and cities, many shops stay open on
Saturday afternoons and Sundays .
An ever-increasing number of supermarkets (at least one in or near each
major city) now open seven days a week, 24 hours a day and small "
dairies " (corner shops or convenience stores) also keep long hours and
open on Sundays. Museums and sights usually open around 9am, although
small-town museums often open only in the afternoons and/or only on
specific days.
Holidays
Christmas falls in the middle of summer in the southern hemisphere,
during the school summer holidays , which run from mid-December until
the end of January. The knock-on effects of this are that there are more
people out and about, prices go up, and accommodation and travel can be
difficult to book. To help you chart a path through the chaos, visitor
centres are open for longer hours, as are some museums and many other
tourist attractions. Other school holidays hit for a week in the middle
of April, the second week in July and the first two weeks of October,
though these have a less pronounced effect than the main bout of summer
madness. Public holidays are big news in New Zealand and it can feel
like the entire country has taken to the roads, so it's worth
considering staying put rather than trying to travel on these days.
There are a number of regional festivals which celebrate characteristics
of the area and are usually treated as a showcase for local businesses
and artistic talent . Cities, towns and villages also take one day a
year to celebrate the anniversary of the founding of their community.
Although this isn't a good time to actually arrive in town, if you're
there already, you can join in the shenanigans. Festivities usually
consist of an agricultural show, horse jumping, sheep shearing, cake
baking and best-vegetable contests, plus a novelty event like wellington
boot throwing - all in the salubrious surroundings of the local A&P
Showground and accompanied by the acrid smell of fried onions and the
excessive consumption of alcohol.
Holidays and festivals
Public holidays are in bold.
JANUARY
New Year's Day (January 1).
The Gathering, Golden Bay (three days to 1Jan), is a happening or rave
fuelled by peace, loving, chemicals and booze, or so we're told.
Whaleboat Racing Regatta, Kawhia (January 1).
Public Holiday (January 2).
Mountain Rock Festival, Manawatu Gorge, between Palmerston North and
Napier (second weekend).
Wellington anniversary day (January 22).
Wellington Summer Festival (January-February).
Anniversary day for Auckland, Northland, Waikato, Coromandel, Taupo and
the Bay of Plenty, celebrated with a massive regatta on Auckland's
Waitemata Harbour (fifth Monday in January or first Monday in February).
FEBRUARY
Nelson anniversary day (February 1).
Taste Nelson food and wine festival (first Saturday).
Garden City Festival, Christchurch (February 3-14).
Waitangi Day (February 6).
Hawke's Bay Harvest food and wine festival (Waitangi holiday weekend).
Marlborough Food and Wine Festival, Blenheim (second weekend).
Art Deco Weekend, Napier (third weekend).
Devonport Food and Wine Festival (third weekend).
International Festival of the Arts, Wellington, in even-numbered years
only; roughly coinciding with this, the month-long Wellington Fringe
Festival is held every year, and draws acts from all over the world
(late February to early March).
MARCH
Golden Shears sheep-shearing competition in Masterton (first week).
Wildfoods Festival, Hokitika (second Saturday).
Auckland Round-the-Bays fun run (early March).
New Plymouth Festival of the Arts (throughout March).
Ngaruawahia Maori Regatta, near Hamilton (closest Saturday to March 17).
Public holiday in Dunedin, Otago and Southland, including Fiordland (third
Monday).
23rd Otago and Southland anniversary day (March 23).
Taranaki Anniversary Day (March 31).
APRIL
Arrowtown Autumn Festival (week before Easter).
Good Friday and Easter Sunday (late March to late April).
Waiheke Jazz Festival; Royal New Zealand Easter Show, Auckland; Highland
Games, Hastings (Easter week).
Gumboot day, Taihape (Easter Tuesday).
ANZAC Day (April 25).
JUNE
Queen's Birthday (first Monday).
JULY
Auckland International Film Festival (early July).
OCTOBER
Labour Day (fourth Monday).
Public holiday in Hawke's Bay, Gisborne, Marlborough, Nelson (one week
after Labour Day).
NOVEMBER
Hawke's Bay and Marlborough anniversary day (November 1).
Guy Fawkes' Night fireworks (November 5).
Canterbury Show week (second week).
Toast Martinborough food and wine festival (third Sunday).
DECEMBER
Westland anniversary day (December 1).
16th Canterbury anniversary day (December 16).
Christmas Day (December 25).
Boxing Day (December 26).
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