The theme of Splore Festival 2021 was MOTHER. The annual arts & musical festival was postponed a month due to Covid-19 Lockdowns. This year was a much better experience than 2019, mainly due to weather, but also because it was my first festival in over a year!
Arriving first thing Friday morning, Mark and I joined our friends who set up camp on Thursday evening. Once we pitched our tent we went to a breathing workshop which was a great way to decompress and relax.
From there we got ready and headed down for the Powhiri. This is a traditional Maori welcoming ceremony and quite special to have their blessing to start the weekend.
Day 
Night
Getting some drinks we walked along the beach to Crystal Palace to see Clark Gayford. He is the Prime Minister’s partner! He was actually one of my favorite acts of the whole festival.
After Clark’s set it was sundown. We ventured to the main stage for a special guest! Jacinda Ardern came on the screen, mentioning how sad she couldn’t be there with us or to support Clark, but she was happy to announce Bennee.
After Bennee we stopped at Lucky Star and ran into another group of friends. Last year they added a smaller, secret tent behind Lucky Star called ‘Portal.’ It was a step into another dimension, with old dolls and funhouse mirrors all over the place.
We ventured back up the Goat Track and were in bed around 1 am. Although we were in the Family Camping section, we could still hear beats from the stages below.
Saturday morning we woke up around 8 and made breakfast from food we brought in our cooler. We hung around camp until noon and decided to take a shower in the sea.
After our dip we grabbed some food and caught some rays by the main stage. We headed back up to camp around 2pm to get dressed for THE costume party.
Heading back down to Crystal Palace for Mr Big Stuff around sunset, the atmosphere was electric. You can easily spot groups of friends with coordinated outfits and heaps of lights that create a dark space into one of light.
We stuck around for Forest Bump & Dylan C, but the big act of the weekend was Shapeshifter at the main stage at midnight. From there I headed to the DJ stage to catch the end of Aroha’s set and the beginning of Benny Salvador. By 2am I headed back up to camp for my final sleep in my tent.
Splore is such an amazing festival and I recommend everyone go at least once. I feel very lucky to have gone to a full fledged festival in the middle of a pandemic (great job New Zealand)! Most acts were Kiwi and over 70% were female which really solidified the theme MOTHER.
TIP: Bring a camelback so you can dance the night away and not worry about finding water.
