CHB goes a little daffy with spring in the air

Holly Sigvertsen, 7, brother Cooper, 5, and Lucy Anderson, 6, at the opening day of Taniwha Daffodils on Saturday. Photo / Clinton Llewellyn

Central Hawke's Bay will be hosting events every weekend from now until the first weekend of November, with the 2018 Spring Fling officially under way.

The Spring Fling - a series of 30 "showcase" events over two months - kicked off on Saturday with the opening of Taniwha Daffodils.

Clear blue skies and warm temperatures made for a stunning first day of spring and a busy opening day, said Taniwha Daffodils event organiser Esther Mabin.

"It was one of our bigger days. Probably not the biggest, but certainly one of our biggest opening Saturdays ever," said Esther, daughter-in-law of event creator Railene Mabin.

By lunchtime on Saturday, there were more than 60 cars parked on the grounds at Taniwha Homestead, just south of Waipukurau on SH2, where families enjoyed picnics in between picking bunches of 30 daffodils for $7.50 to raise funds for Plunket.

Volunteers at the wrapping station and staff at the on-site café had barely a spare moment, but Esther said it was hard to know exactly how many people turned out for opening day.

"I thought about counting the cars at one stage, but there's just too much to do," she said.

Many people took photographs of their children among the sea of daffodils that blanketed the eight hectares of grounds.

"There are a lot of families that come back every year and take photos of their kids in the daffodils and then put them in an album. A lot of people to do that."

It took plenty of hard work by family members and helpers to get the grounds in such good shape, but Esther said it was all worth it.

"It's great to see so many families here - I love it."

Due to the weather and the fact it was Father's Day, Sunday was less busy but still steady, said Esther.

Regardless, the month-long event - which has raised more than $250,000 for Plunket over the last 40 years - was off to a good start, she said.

"We always aim to give no less than $10,000 a season to Plunket."

Taniwha Daffodils is open every day during September, weather permitting.

The next major event in the Spring Fling is The Festival - a four-day hilltop celebration of food, art, wine and crafts starting today at Pukeora Estate and running until Sunday.

CHB Mayor Alex Walker said with the backing of Hawke's Bay Tourism, the Spring Fling was continuing to help attract tourists and visitors to the district.

"HB Tourism has been monitoring tourism spend in the district and it's up 20 per from last year at $37 million."