Hunt eggs, dinosaurs, or a bit of sun, as the Easter Weekend wraps up

Herald on Sunday

31 Mar, 2018 05:00 PM4 mins to read

Easter Weekend will finish on a high today with the weather turning golden for summer's last hurrah. So once the eggs have been found and the hot cross buns eaten, it's time to venture out and explore.

Families made the most of the sunny weather yesterday and headed to the Waiake Bay Easter Egg Dig.

Dozens of kids dug furiously through the sand to find tokens they could exchange for Easter eggs. Six-year-old Stella McIntosh took home the big prize of the day after finding the only golden token.

But the fun is set to continue for the last half of the long weekend. There's a bunch of activities on offer around the region starting with the Royal Easter Show at the ASB Showgrounds in Greenlane.

The 175th Auckland A & P Show features a line-up of entertainment, circus acts, carnival rides, sideshows, exhibits and much more. Best of all, entry is free and the show continues through Easter Monday.

At Karaka today and tomorrow you'll find the Giant Easter Egg Hunt at the Amazing Maze 'n Maize where 50,000 Easter eggs have been hidden within the maze.

Session times are from 11am to 2pm but tonight there will be a hunt by torchlight from 7pm to 8pm.

In Christchurch, cricket fans have been making the most of the holiday by heading to Hagley Oval for the Black Caps second five-day test against England which runs through to Tuesday.

Easter Monday brings its own fun with the Kids' Big Day Out where farm animals, bouncy castles, face painting, Easter egg hunting, swimming and live music will entertain the children for hours.

From noon to 6pm at The Backyard Bar in Northcote the free day is aimed at big kids and little kids alike.

The seaside towns of Raglan in the Waikato and Mangawhai in the North play host to excellent markets.

Raglan's Easter Sunday market, held at the Old School Arts Centre from 10am, features organic produce, woven flax ware, fashion, photography, art and freshly baked bread.

At Mangawhai on Easter Monday holidaymakers can wonder the market at the Domain on Moir St from 9am.

Tauranga's The Strand will come alive with multiple stages of jazz today as the Tauranga National Jazz Festival hits the city street with blues, swing and funk. See jazz.org.nz for details.

In Hamilton there's a French film festival not to be missed at Lido Cinema featuring the critically acclaimed Barbara, and running until April 11.

Staying in the city there's also the DinoFest at the Hamilton Lake Domain this Easter Sunday.

Admission is $35 for a family of four and more dinosaurs, roaring and chomping are promised at the event, now in its second year. See Eventfinda for session times.

Back in Auckland Silo Park is clinging to summer with a Car Boot Sale of the Future planned for today, Dog Day Afternoon for canine members of the family, and a series called "World on the Street" offering up international food styles.

In the weather department, a front bringing rain and wind up the south and western parts of the North Island has petered out and a high is set to push through, bringing warm autumn temperatures to the upper half of the North Island.

Metservice meteorologist Angus Hines said the ridge of high pressure was expected to arrive today in time for Easter Sunday and lasting through Easter Monday.

"The remaining part of the Easter Weekend is expected to be pretty nice. It'll be fairly settled. The winds will all ease away," Hines said.

"And we are expecting quite a fair amount of sunshine over the country from tomorrow onwards."

The high temperatures will reach into the low 20s in the North Island including in Auckland and Hamilton but cooler temperatures would be setting in overnight and there would be foggy starts to the day in some areas.