EVENTS

Summer is a happening time in Auckland. In January there is the Open Tennis Championships and Opera in the Park, as well as the Auckland Anniversary Day Regatta, commemorating the arrival of Captain Hobson in New Zealand. Come March, the hugely popular Pasifika Festival celebrates Polynesian culture through music and performance at Western Springs. The Waiheke Jazz Festival also tunes up in March and full-size Maori waka (war canoes) take to the Waikato River, Ngaruawahia, for the Turangawaewae Regatta. November blooms with the Ellerslie Flower Show at the Botanic Gardens, and the year is wrapped up in December with the Auckland Cup at Ellerslie Race Course. Various small food, wine and music festivals crop up throughout the year.

26 Dec - Boxing Day
25 Dec - Christmas Day
Oct - Labour Day
1 Jun - Queen's Birthday
25 Apr - Anzac Day
Mar/Apr - Easter
6 Feb - Waitangi day
29 Jan - Auckland Anniversary Day
1 Jan - New Year

When to Go

Auckland's busiest tourist season arrives with the warmer weather between November and April, hitting its peak during summer school holidays (20 December-late January). To a lesser extent the Easter weekend, Labour Day weekend (late October) and the mid-year school holidays are also busy. January and February are the best beach-weather months, and December and March either side are usually warm - even hot at times. November and April are slightly cooler and not so good for hanging around at the beach, but it's noticeably quieter, and accommodation is easier to find.