Splore is an annual music and arts festival that takes place in Tapapakanga Regional Park. About an hour East of Auckland, this is a large reserve alongside a beach.
Every year there is a theme, and for the 20th anniversary, it was “Celebrate!” Unlike most festivals, there are family friendly activities throughout the entire weekend. Children under age 12 get in free!
Leading up to Splore 2019 was the scare of a cyclone hitting the area. The event goes on rain or shine so it was just a matter of how much it was, or wasn’t, going to rain. The festival runs from Friday to Sunday, with some people arriving Thursday night.
I went with some friends and we had reserved camping. This meant we were closer to the main area of food, drinks and events on the top of the hill, and we could park closer to our camp site. I would highly recommend splurging the extra $50 for reserved camping! On the Friday morning it was raining really hard, however it stopped when we arrived. We hurried to put up our tent and as soon as we were done it started raining again. We got lucky.
From there we got dressed and walked around to see the art. I got pasties custom made and put an empty liter of Coke-A-Cola in my hair. We walked around to see all the stages, what food and drink options were available and people watch. I was the talk of Friday with this ensemble!
We went back to camp to eat and prepare for Friday night. I did a quick outfit change and packed a bag as all the main stages were at the bottom of a very steep hill. You could go the long way down a dirt road, or climb down steep muddy stairs. I always chose the stairs.
Friday night was pretty messy as it was basically raining from 3pm onward. As soon as the sun set it got really cold, so I chose to go back to camp for the night after Rudimental performed.
Saturday was one of the best days I have ever had at a festival. The weather was better, still a little muddy, but the perfect amount of sun and not too hot. We hung out on the beach and just relaxed listening to some jams at Crystal Palace (on the the stages).
Saturday night is the big costume party and my friends and I went as butterflies. When we went back down to the main area the sunset on the water was unreal. You could see the mountains on the other side, the waves were calmer and the sky was blue, pink and yellow.
Best shows of the night were Haiku Hands and Fleetmac Wood.
The vibe at Splore is hard to explain. It is love. It is self expression. It is freedom. It is community. Some of the things I loved about it was the openness about re-using things, lowering our impact on the environment and cleaning up after yourself. I thought having camping included in the ticket was awesome, and the fact that if you carpooled with 3 people you got your parking pass refunded. If you own a boat, you would buy a boat pass and arrive on shore! Before the main events start on Friday afternoon there is even a spiritual ceremony with the natives who own the land; it is very special to see and experience and sets the good vibes for the weekend.
Some things I did not like was there was no maps nor line up anywhere at the festival. There was no app and my paper lineup got ruined in the rain. Showers were also $10 a pop with super long lines.
I would definitely do Splore again, and I would recommend everyone go at least once. So far, it is the best festival in New Zealand I have been to!
What is the best festival you have been to?