Stick a fork in this year . . . it’s done
With New Year’s Eve upon us, here’s all you need to know to farewell 2020 and welcome in the new year
What’s on
Auckland: The highlights will be the Skycity fireworks and Vector lights on the Auckland Harbour Bridge. A five-minute fireworks and light show will kick off at midnight. The moment will also be broadcast on TVNZ 1, 2 and Duke. The best places to view the light show are the waterfront, Devonport, Herne Bay, Te Atatu¯ Peninsula, Bastion Point, Northcote and Mt Eden and Bayswater Marina.
Before the fireworks, head to the America’s Cup Village to celebrate with free entertainment from 2pm at Silo Park and from 5pm on Te Wero Island. The Britomart Block Party NYE Festival will also be taking place on Galway St and Britomart Square from 7pm to 4am.
Wellington: Welcome in 2021 with a family-friendly night of live music, a lighting show and fireworks display at Whairepo Lagoon by Frank Kitts Park. The night kicks off at 8pm with Electric Avenue and an hour of kids’ chart-topping favourites until the kids’ countdown at 9pm. This is followed a further hour of songs until Orchestra Wellington takes over from 10pm all the way until midnight.
Christchurch: The Black Seeds will welcome 2021 with a free concert at Christchurch’s Hagley Park. The Edge NYE20 will start with family fun at 6pm and a kids’ countdown around 8pm before a line-up of home-grown talent takes the stage and takes you through to the midnight fireworks display.
Queenstown: The year of 2021 will be brought in on the Queenstown lakefront with a great line-up of live music across two stages, entertainment, food and a spectacular fireworks display lighting up the night sky at midnight. From 7.30pm Haven, Calico and Freefall will perform on the main stage while DJ Pops and DJ Cuz are among the acts on the DJ stage from 9pm.
Gisborne and Wanaka: Bene, Shapeshifter, L.A.B, Fat Freddy’s Drop, Six60 and Broods are among the artists performing at the three-day festivals at Rhythm and Vine at the Waiohika Estate Vineyard in Gisborne and the Rhythm and Alps in Cardrona Valley in Wanaka.
The weather
It’s shaping up to be a dry New Year’s Eve but you’ll need to wrap up warm if you’re planning to ring in the new year outdoors.
The top of the country looks set to be the warmest place to farewell 2020, with a high of 25C and a low of 14C predicted for Whanga¯ rei – although there could be a few showers in the afternoon.
Auckland is not far behind, with a high of 24C and a low of 15C.
Fine weather is expected all day in Wellington, up the west coast and through the central North Island, although the temperatures are likely to sit slightly lower at about 22C.
The West Coast may see some patchy rain later in the day while inland parts of Southland, Otago and South Canterbury could see downpours developing and turning to rain overnight, according to Weatherwatch.
There could be a few patches of drizzle around Gisborne and coastal Hawke’s Bay but it should clear by evening.
Staying safe
“If it’s not tested, don’t take it.” That’s the advice from drug-checking organisation Know Your Stuff.
They said only a small amount of MDMA was available and half the drugs purporting to be MDMA contain dangerous cathinones, also known as bath salts.
Dubbing this the “summer of cathinones”, Know Your Stuff’s Dr Jez Watson revealed a massive uptick in the amount of substances detected.
“The most common cathinone right now is eutylone. We saw small amounts last year and now there’s heaps of it around. This is a big change and bad news,” Watson said.
Watson warned that users were redosing with the drug, which offers a shorter “high” than MDMA, and then found themselves unable to sleep for days.
“Initially, eutylone feels like MDMA — euphoria — but that fades after an hour or so. You may think it is weak MDMA and be tempted to take more. Don’t.”
Police said their advice around illegal drugs was always not to use them.
The police also asked people to drink responsibly: have something substantial to eat first, have a glass of water between each alcoholic drink, plan how you are getting home and have the money to pay for it.
They also urged people to look out for their friends, make sure their phone was fully charged before they headed out, never leave their drinks unattended and stay in groups when walking home.