Temperatures could climb to 27 degrees by Sunday until rain starts to fall for a colder and wet end to the break.
MetService meteorologist Mmathapelo Makgabutlane said Canterbury will be the hot zone for the country.
She said the northerly conditions willalso bring warm weather to the rest of the country.
"Especially by Sunday, starting from the Kaikoura coast southwards into canterbury and maybe a little bit into the northern parts of Otago we can see that area being the warmest spot in the country."
The red colours in the animation below indicate a more humid/warm airmass while the blues show drier/cooler air. You can see over the next few days a warming over the North Island with muggy conditions intermingled with bouts of rain forecast. For more https://t.co/hnwmGxU1gR ^AC pic.twitter.com/jvyFnirWQp
Makgabutlane said the exception is the upper part of the North Island with a sub-tropical system bringing some rain and showers from tomorrow and into the the first part of the weekend.
Last year on Labour weekend, Christchurch was a modest 21 degrees.
