City a hive of activity at weekend

Anniversary Weekend in Rotorua is shaping up to be a good one, with great weather and plenty of things to do around the city.

All three days are set to be full of sunshine and motels in the city are nearing capacity.

MetService meteorologist Dan Corbett said a high was creeping in and should be in place today, bringing with it clear skies and lots of sunshine.

"When people see the weather map for the weekend, they will see it's barbecue weather. We haven't seen a large high like this come across for a while, but by the time we get to Monday it's going to be a real nice day. We almost ran out of sunshine symbols on the map."

There was potential for high cloud today and tomorrow but Sunday to Wednesday were all looking bright and sunny.

Rotorua Association of Motels chairwoman Fiona Suurenbroek said bookings were looking full in many motels while others still had rooms available.

"It's a bit of a mixed bag, some properties are full Friday and Saturday nights with a mix of guests including A and P people and family groups having reunions."

Mrs Suurenbroek said she expected many last minute bookings as people liked to be sure of the weather before committing themselves to a booking.

Rotorua's hotels are also on their way to being booked out.

The Daily Post called some of the city's largest hotels yesterday afternoon, including Millennium, Rydges, Sudima and Copthorne, all of whom said they had a small number of rooms available.

Cafes in the city are also hoping for an influx in visitors.

Fat Dog Cafe and Bar manager James Cooney said Auckland Anniversary Weekend was usually a busy time for the cafe.

"It's usually a really good weekend for us, we expect to be busy."

Abracadabra Cafe floor manager Cherrise Karaitiana said she hoped it would be busy as there should be a lot of tourists around to "pack out" the cafes.

She said it had been quite busy lately with people getting ready for work and school.

Capers Epicurean manager Tracey Haxton said how busy they got would depend on the weather.

She said as all the shops were open, Anniversary Weekend was normally a busy one for them.

Skyline Rotorua is expecting a very busy weekend. General manager Bruce Thomasen said it had been a very good summer and Anniversary Weekend was typically the last of the big summer rushes.

"The conditions are perfect, the weather is superb - we're looking forward to a big weekend. The long weekend is the last of the big summer holiday period, it definitely notches up again after our busy period over Christmas and New Year."

On the other hand, the Polynesian Spa could be having a quiet one. Marketing executive Simone Chin said when the weather was warm, people tended to lean more towards outdoor activities and numbers would go down a bit.