Hotels are full, chocolate eggs are being hidden and events are expected to bring thousands of people to Rotorua this Easter weekend.
Easter event organisers are inviting people to celebrate community, culture and faith as accommodation providers welcome the first Easter without restrictions in years, with plentiful international bookings.
But a wet weather outlook may dampen some of the festivities, with the best of the sunshine expected to be over before the long weekend begins.
According to Booking.com, Rotorua is the fifth-most-in-demand city in New Zealand over Easter. Auckland, Queenstown, and Christchurch took the top three spots for check-in times between April 7 and 10.
Prince’s Gate Hotel staff have a busy weekend ahead, with guests from “all over”.
Douglas said it was settling to know things were starting to return to normal as domestic travel picked up and the city welcomed back international travellers.
“It brings great confidence. We’re ready to give that level of manaakitanga [hospitality] Rotorua is well-known for. It is a great feeling.”
Egg hunts
Eastwood Café restaurant is hosting its annual Easter Rock Hunt from Friday to Sunday.
Restaurant manager Dorene Purdie said about 300 orange-stickered rocks were hidden along the Mokopuna Track in the Redwoods for families to find and exchange for an Easter treat. Eastwood Café has hosted the hunt since it opened about three years ago.
“It is just something fun for the community.”
Purdie said they were hoping for a busy weekend.
“We are stoked. We do this in the hope it brings people in.”
Hundreds of dollars of chocolate Easter eggs have been purchased for the annual children’s egg hunt at aMazeme in Paradise Valley.
Maze owner Peer Jensen said hunts would be held on Sunday at 11am and 2pm for the usual cost of admission.
He said children would hunt for eggs outside the maze, in the park and in ‘MacGregor’s Garden’.
The hunt would be supervised to ensure fairness.
”We’ll let the little ones [children] go through first.”
Celebrating culture
Sikh Sangat NZ Trust secretary Sukhpreet Singh said it was expecting more than 100 people for its first Sikh Parade in Rotorua on Saturday.
Starting at 10am at the Sikh temple - Gurdwara Sri Guru Amardas Sahib Ji - on Ward Avenue, the parade will wind through the streets of Rotorua, ending at Rose Park Ward Ave, opposite the temple.
Singh said the parade will be “a celebration of community, culture and faith” and everyone was invited.
“Everyone is welcome to join us as we march in solidarity and honour the teachings of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the founder of Sikhism. We will be dressed in traditional attire and carrying colourful flags, spreading messages of peace, love and unity.”
He encouraged people to experience the community’s “rich heritage and spiritual values” - with delicious free food and drinks also on offer.
Saturday will also see a celebration of the Sri Lankan New Year, held at Westbrook School.
It will include Sri Lankan food and a cup of tea, cultural performances, games and showcases of cultural dress.
Co-organiser Harendra Bandara said Sri Lanka’s calendar starts in April. He said the New Year Festival was all about prosperity, aspirations and goals for the coming year, and a lot of cultural practices and customs are part of the festival.
”To showcase this to the younger generation and the community is the purpose of having this festival.”
Bandara said everyone was welcome, with Sri Lanka’s culture shaped by Buddhist philosophies, including “sharing and caring”.
He said about 60 Sri Lankan families live in Rotorua.
”For many reasons, we are here in New Zealand, and we think our values and culture have a lot we can share to the wider community.”
Rotorua Christians will also mark Easter. A Good Friday service from combined churches will take place under the sails in the Redwoods tomorrow.
The procession of the cross starts at 9am at the end of Titokorangi Drive, with the service starting at 10am.
Crowds from churches throughout Rotorua meet for a combined Good Friday service in 2019. Photo / Stephen Parker
Easter weather
MetService meteorologist Dan Corrigan said there was a high-pressure system over the North Island “keeping skies nice and sunny and winds nice and light”.
But that was looking to change for Easter Friday and into the weekend as a low-pressure system arrived from the North, he said. It was uncertain, however, how much rain was expected.
“Some parts of the [Bay of Plenty] region could get heavy rain on Saturday.”
There was low confidence of heavy rain predicted for Rotorua on Sunday, he said.
“For the latter half of Friday to Saturday, it is going to be wet and windy. The best days are going to be before the long weekend, unfortunately.”
Traffic hotspots
Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency director of land transport Kane Patena urged people to plan ahead for a safe journey and drive carefully over Easter, especially in areas that have been hit by severe weather.
“Our teams have put in a huge effort over the past six weeks to repair flood and slip damage and re-open most highways in Northland, the Coromandel, Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay. We’re thrilled that these roads are ready for people to travel.
“There are still many damaged sites with restrictions in place on several routes, and we’re urging people to allow plenty of time for their journeys, share the driving to avoid fatigue and be patient when traffic is heavy and there are delays.”
Bay of Plenty traffic hotspots included State Highway 2 (SH2) between Paeroa and Waihī eastbound on Thursday afternoon, with heavy traffic expected on Friday from 11.30am until 4pm.
SH2 between Tauranga and Katikati was likely to be busy, as well as State Highway 29 over the Kaimai range west of Tauranga from late morning on Friday.
Bay of Plenty district acting road policing manager Inspector Stuart Nightingale said extra resources would be deployed to state highways, including dedicated policing teams and its mobile safety camera operators.
He said Easter weekend was usually “high risk” in the region, with significant travel flows.
”We will be focused on the main behaviours which contribute to death and injury on our roads: driving too fast for the conditions; driving while impaired by alcohol, drugs, or fatigue; driving while distracted – including using a cellphone; and not being properly restrained.
”Following too close, poor overtaking and impeding the flow of traffic contributes towards crashes too, so keep your distance and stay focused, and let’s ensure an incident-free weekend in the Bay of Plenty.”
