Sunshine gilds holiday mood

While hundreds of holidaymakers headed home from the Coromandel yesterday, thousands more took advantage of rare sunshine to surf, fish, swim, make sandcastles - or even paint.

At Whitianga, where temperatures reached the mid 20s, Russian English-language student Tatiana Zimima found the weather the perfect inspiration to be artistic.

Seated on the sand, the 22-year-old spent four hours painting the landscape in front of her, which included the Whitianga Harbour, wharf and a blue and red fishing boat.

Mathew Keenan, 8, was looking forward to a ride on the "Banana Boat" inflatable craft, after spending several hours cooped up in the car from Auckland.

"When we arrived we went to my mum's friend's house and we had a little chat and then we went to the beach," he said.

"It's warm and we are going on the Banana Boat to see my cuzzies."

Further down the coast at Sailors Grave, some people kicked a hacky sack around the beach while others fished and children made sandcastles.

At Whangamata, people spent the morning shopping, eating and enjoying the beach. Most cafes were full.

In other parts of the peninsula, people gathered for beauty pageants and craft, gypsy and antique fairs.

Holidaymakers Tim Shields and Deb Hannah spent the day cruising along the coast on their motorbikes.

"We have been pretty lucky," said Mr Shields as the pair stopped at the Coroglen Tavern for a beer.

"We started [our holiday] yesterday and had a bit of drizzle but basically the weather's been kind to us."

Police said many holidaymakers had decided to return home yesterday so the beachside towns were slowly starting to quieten down. Traffic was a problem, especially for those leaving the peninsula. In Tairua, the one-way bridges in and out of town brought traffic to a standstill along the entire main road, and the notorious Kopu bridge created its usual problems.

An accident on SH2 also caused traffic to bank up for 10km.