Waitangi wandering: How to celebrate our day

Not quite a long weekend, but a bonus day off early in the week as we commemorate our national day. If you're not at Waitangi to mark the occasion, you might like to check out these events:

• Waitangi Ki Manukau, Hayman Park: In the days before the super city, Manukau City was known and noted for - among other things - its family-friendly Waitangi celebrations. These continue with the southside's annual Waitangi Day get-together offering local culture and live music from Maisey Rika, Rootz Konekt, Sweet Echo, R&R Music and more. There's also a Waitangi village to taste Maori and Pacific kai, shop at the arts and crafts stalls and learn about the Treaty of Waitangi through interactive, all-ages activities. Suitable for all ages.

• Waitangi Waititi, Hoani Waititi Marae: If you're out West, this Waipareira Trust event will tick all the boxes for a laidback day out. There's kai and kids' rides but the big attraction is the music with some of the biggest names in the business scheduled to perform: Stan Walker, House of Shem, Marvin Priest and Rik-E-Ragga (UK/AUS) Maimoa Music, Sid Diamond, Ardijah, Southside of Bombay, Maisey Rika, Annie Crummer, Howie Morrison Jnr, Beau Monga, Maaka, Abbie, Riqi Harawira, Kiko and DJ Poroufessor.

• Waitangi Day, Orakei Domain: Ngati Whatua might just have the perfect place to commemorate the 178th signing of the Treaty of Waitangi - in a park overlooking Okahu Bay. The whole whanau is invited to the free community event, which features music, interactive games, an arts and crafts lane and, of course, great kai. An added bonus? The mobile Treaty exhibition from Auckland War Memorial Museum, where you'll be able to learn more about our national day.

• Under the Mountain: This doesn't open until Wednesday, but in a nod to Auckland Theatre Company's first production for 2018, how about exploring some of the locations featured in Maurice Gee's book? A day trip to Rangitoto (pictured above) or climbing Mangawhau Mt Eden could be a plan, especially given the fabulous views they offer of the Auckland isthmus.

The Takapuna Reef Fossil Forest. Photo / File

Depending on the tides, Takapuna Beach's famous fossil forest is an intriguing glance back in time. Around 100,000 years ago, the sea level was much lower and what is now Takapuna was forest packed with kauri, pohutukawa and other native trees. Then the Pupuke volcano blew, covering the forest in lava and ash and forming Lake Pupuke. The trees either burned or rotted inside a basalt crust which, when it cooled, turned into a hard shell. Given that Lake Pupuke features prominently in Under the Mountain, maybe a lakeside picnic there, too.