The ultimate Kiwi summer festival bucket list

Summer is prime festival season in New Zealand! There’s no better way to get a close up and personal dose of culture than by rocking up to a local event. You don’t have to look too far to see the Kiwi sensibility behind these celebrations.

Here are our picks of quirky festivals and quintessentially Kiwi events all around the country this summer – can you make it to all of them?! Either way, you’ll have a blast trying.

Burt Munro Challenge

Invercargill-South Island, 26-29 November 2015

For the uninitiated, Burt Munro was a Kiwi and mad motorcyclist who still holds the world land speed record (The World’s Fastest Indian anyone?). Held in his honour, the Burt Munro Challenge is an annual motorsport event hosted in Southland, including road, speedway, hill and beach races. Speed demons rejoice.

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Highland Games

Waipu- North Island, 1 January 2016

Scottish traditions are revived every year at this iconic Northland event, which the Waipu Caledonian Society has run since 1871. Heck, the International Highland Games Association has voted the Waipu Highland Games the best of its kind in the world! Competitors take each other on at fiddling, drumming, dancing, piping and athletics (all dressed in kilts, of course). It’s a New Year celebration of epic proportions.

Wellington Sevens

Wellington-North Island, 30-31 January 2016

The sevens aren’t just a rugby bonanza; they’re also an excuse to dress up and party. The annual tournament is held at Westpac Stadium and invariably sells out in a snap. Supporters turn out in costumes of all kinds – superheroes, animals, you name it – and transform the city streets into a sea of colour. (And of course, it continues well into the night)

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Art Deco Weekend

Napier-North Island, 17-21 February 2016

Love the glitz and glamour of the 20s and 30s? Travel back in time as the New Zealand’s Art Deco capital harks back to its heritage. There’s no better time to revel in the city’s architecturally distinct streets, amid vintage car parades, Gatsby themed picnics, concerts and fashion shows. To really get into the spirit, dress up in period clothing and attend a soiree. You’ll be in a good company – the festival attracts tens of thousands every year.

Hokitika Wildfoods Festival

West Coast-South Island, 12 March 2016

The quaint beachside town of Hokitika belies a wacky underbelly. The annual Wildfoods Festival celebrates local delicacies from huhu grubs to sheep testicles, grasshoppers to worms – all packaged up into slightly more edible forms like fritters and ice cream! If your stomach isn’t that strong, luckily, there are more palate pleasing options such as regular salmon, tuna, game meat and much more.

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Gumboot Day

Taihape-North Island 12 March 2016

Being the gumboot throwing capital of the world, is Taihape’s claim to fame. So it’s not surprising its signature event involves tossing a rubber boot in the hopes of securing the coveted Golden Gumboot trophy. Twenty years on and still going strong, the first-ever Gumboot Day celebrates all things gumboot-related, from gumboot races to Fred Dagg lookalike competitions. And even if you aren’t around for the big day, there’s a special gumboot-throwing lane behind the main shopping centre in town.

90 Mile Beach Run

North Island, 12 March 2016

Test your endurance on a course you’ll never forget. The Te Houtaewa Challenge at 90 Mile Beach includes a short relay and walking race, half, full and ultra marathons. Stick around for another day or two to make the most of the surf, think of sand dunes and sunsets.

Golden Shears

Masterton, North Island

If you can fit in a trip to the Wairarapa, make sure it coincides with the annual Golden Shears event. Billed as the world’s greatest shearing and woolhandling championship, it was born from the vision of a few young farmers back in 1961 and has grown into an elite sporting event (really)! There’s something truly awe-inspiring in witnessing the power and grace of a pro shearing final.

Running of the Sheep
Te Kuiti, North Island
TBC

Forget the running of the bulls – the annual Easter Sheep Run (said to be the largest of its kind anywhere) is where it’s at. Te Kuiti is the sheep shearing capital of the world, with the great sheep muster tying in with a traditional country fair – think shearing competitions, rides, stalls, shows and more. Try to guess how many are in the pack, as hundreds of sheep are let loose along the main street.