KEY POINTS:
Splore is more than just a music festival. Ever since it started back in 1999 the philosophy behind the three-day event has been as much about celebrating creativity in both music and art as it is about partying all weekend.
Starting from midday tomorrow, punters will be getting down to top local acts including Kora, Shapeshifter and Tiki, and international guests like Birmingham reggae crew Overproof Soundsystem and Swedish mash-up maestro Freddie Cruger, across three music zones.
Plus, in typical Splore style, there will be visual art displays and performances around the site and at the Butterfly Zoo, as well as workshops and film screenings at the Living Lounge.
And if you want to get away from it all you can curl up in your tent for a lie-down or nip off for a dip, because the beautiful pohutukawa-lined coast of the Firth of Thames is close by.
The festival, which is now a two-yearly event, was first held in 1999 at Waiuku's Kariotahi Beach. In 2002 it moved to the Firth of Thames because a bigger site was needed.
It started out as a dance music festival, with dedicated areas for everything from trance to drum'n'bass, but more recently the line-ups have got more diverse. This year noisy guitar pop outfit Surf City and the Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra play alongside New York hip-hop artist Pharoahe Monch and German genre bashers Mo' Horizons.
So throw your tent in the car and get on down.
Lowdown
What: Splore
Where & when: Tapapakanga Regional Park, Orere Point, Firth of Thames. From midday tomorrow until Sunday.
How to get there: Take Manukau or Manurewa exits, head to Clevedon, take Pacific Coast Highway to Kawakawa Bay, then follow sign posts to Orere Point.
Tickets: $175 from iTicket. Gates sales $190.
Also: A cashless system called AWOP will be operating onsite, so you don't have to carry cash
More information: www.splore.net
