Source: Radio New Zealand
Hundreds of sailors made the most of blazing sunshine and 10-15 knot winds in the Bay of Islands at the 50th annual Tall Ships race. RNZ / Peter de Graaf
With temperatures reaching the high 30s in Napier and Hastings on Sunday, many spent the day finding ways to beat the heat.
Renske Speekenbrink works at the Napier i-site Visitor Centre, where people were popping in to cool off.
“Walking in the streets with no air-con, it’s quite hot, so we’ve been quite welcoming.
“I did see a few people who were super sweaty who said they’d just arrived. We just said to take a minute to catch your breath, we’ve got air-con inside, we can tell you a bit about the area, and give you a map.
“We’ve been recommending going to the museum, which has air-con, or to cool off in the ocean.”
But the intense heat meant popular summer hotspots and activities were not an option for visitors.
“There were people who actually had to cancel their push bike tour, and they’re doing it tomorrow because it’s supposed to be a bit cooler tomorrow,” Speekenbrink said.
Te Mata Peak, a normally busy lookout in Havelock North, had been closed off since because of high fire risk.
Speekenbrink said Hawkes Bay Fire and Emergency would be re-assessing the conditions on Mondaymorning, to determine if Te Mata Peak could re-open to the public.
At Rush Munro’s Ice Cream Parlour in Hastings, owner Vaughan Currie had more customers than usual on Sunday.
He said they typically sell about 320 cones on a hot day, and they had done about 20 percent more than that.
“We’ve had a really strong day, probably one of the strongest Sundays we’ve had for January so far. It’s obviously weather-driven.”
He said some unique flavours had been the parlour’s most popular this summer.
“At the moment we’re selling a lot of feijoa, so I’m struggling to keep up with that, and a close second would be passionfruit.”
Meanwhile, in Kaikōura, which reached 30 degrees on Sunday, there were also gusts of up to 90km/h.
But Sylvia Wong, who works at the Alpine-Pacific Kiwi Holiday Park, said the weather did not put off campers.
“There are still a lot of people camping. All of the people here are jumping into our pools half-naked because it’s just too warm to stay in the tent site, so they either go to the beach or chill out in the pool.
“They told us they couldn’t bear the heat. Sometimes, they walk into reception and ask if we sell ice cream or if we have extra ice. They want to cool down with a cold beer and stuff like that.”
She said a total fire ban in place in Kaikōura was reassuring after a burn pile sparked large fires destroying four homes in the town late last year.
Despite record-breaking temperatures in many places, the sun was not out for everyone.
Several wet weather warnings were in place this past weekend, including in the ranges of the Grey and Buller districts in the South Island.
Flooding on Sunday also caused the closure of the key road link between Canterbury and the West Coast on State Highway 73.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
