Outlook for January is rain and yet more rain

It may be a new year, but it looks like holidaymakers face much of the same unseasonable weather that dampened festive spirits in 2004.

The sun made an appearance in Auckland as New Year's revellers built up to the midnight countdown, but the rain soon returned with heavy falls in many areas.

And forecasters are predicting more grey and wet skies over the next few days.

MetService forecaster Andy Downs said a front was expected to cross over this weekend, bringing unsettled weather to much of the country but sparing the North Island, with late today and tomorrow looking good for the north.

But take the chance to bust out the barbecues and beach umbrellas quickly - another front late tomorrow bringing more patchy weather might last until the end of the week, said Mr Downs.

And the weather is not all that's down. Holidaymakers hitting the beach may notice the water is chillier than usual as the national water temperature in December was one degree cooler than average, said NIWA principal climate scientist Dr Jim Salinger.

The gauge hovered around 17 degrees in Auckland and Northland, with west coast waters slightly warmer. With sunbathing out, holidaymakers have been finding other forms of entertainment.

Retailers report swimming pools, usually big sellers in December, had halved, while inside pursuits like board games and books were proving popular.

In the Coromandel, where holidaymakers were drenched with more than 100mm of rain on Thursday, pharmacist Neville Cameron said sales of suntan lotion and sunglasses were "really, really, really down", but other products were selling well.

"People are stuck in tents so they buy hair colour, nail polish and a lot of fake tan. We've had a lot of cases of cystitis, the honeymoon disease too," he said.

But further down the country in holiday hotspot Mt Maunganui, it was 22 degrees and climbing even before lunchtime on New Year's Eve, and campers breathed a collective sigh of relief as they finally got the chance to dry their damp washing. The night before, they were digging trenches and packing sand around their sites to soak up the downpour.

The heat was already pooling above the road where cars inched towards the only place to be - the beach, where bare chests followed string bikinis and the smell of waffle-cones tangled with coconut tanning oil.

With a family-oriented celebration for New Year's, the Mount has shaken off its tag as a seasonal trouble spot, which a few years ago saw drunken youths rioting and smashing beer bottles until the foreshore looked as if it was covered in glitter.

The council and the community has been working hard to ensure a safe, alcohol, drug and glass-free party, and police reported far fewer arrests than in past years.

However, crowds were also well down on last year. With the cooler temperatures being blamed, it seems the weather was the one causing the biggest headaches as the first day of 2005 dawned.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY