EDLINES: Weekend shaping up to be fantastic time

Thank goodness for fine long weekends, they help make up for rainy fortnights.

Those first two wet weeks in January have cast a damp squib on some sectors, dairy industry excluded, of the region's economy, but last weekend and the upcoming Waitangi Day long weekend will help make up for it.

Long term, Northland has an opportunity to make a January/February long weekend a "must-do" on our summer recreational calendar. And not just for locals. Auckland's domestic tourism market is a 90-minute cruise down the highway. Put yourself in an Aucklander's shoes. Would you rather drive south 90 minutes to Hamilton or come north to beautiful Northland? Exactly.

This weekend is built around three fantastic events that should make it a compulsory "come and stay in The Rei" weekend..

There's the Super 15 pre-season match between the Blues and Wellington Hurricanes, the Classic Hits Winery Tour on Sunday, headlined by Gin Wigmore and featuring the Mutton Birds and Avalanche City, and the first-ever one-day international in Northland at Cobham Oval.

The Black Caps are taking on Zimbabwe. The recent one-off test might indicate that Zimbabwe are not up to international standard, but it was not that long ago that the Black Caps lost an ODI to Zimbabwe.

With more than half of the tickets gone, it is expected to sell out.

If you're going, take note of some of the international game-day crowd conditions imposed upon the hosts, Northland Cricket.

For one, don't take your beach umbrella, your chillybin and your fold-out standard height beach seat.

Think picnic-style, with hats and sunscreen. Chilly bags are okay, but only the soft variety.

And take home-made lunch as you can't take in any takeaway food, or alcohol for that matter.

Any non-alcoholic drinks must be in a sealed container, or you can take an empty water bottle and fill it at one of the fountains on-site.

Kids, at international matches, you are not allowed on the outfield between innings. These conditions are standard at international matches, and yes, a little stricter than for, say, a domestic Northern Districts match at Cobham Oval.

A small price to pay, though, for what we hope will become a fixture on our summer calendar.

Perhaps next year, we could spice things up further by bringing the Warriors' pre-season match forward, and create a Super 15-Warriors pre-season double-header?