Shoppers take your cards, and your chances

By PHOEBE FALCONER

Anyone planning a little remedial shopping this Easter should first bone up on their local shop opening hours.

Retailers can choose their own hours for every day of the year, except for three and a half: Christmas Day, Good Friday, Easter Sunday and until 1pm on Anzac Day.

But there are some exemptions to the rule for trading on Good Friday and Easter Sunday, and they create an eclectic group.

Shops in Parnell Rd in Auckland may open between 10am and 6pm on Sunday, but not in Newmarket.

You won't be able to buy from craftspeople selling their own work at Richmond Court in Thames this year, because they open only if Easter Sunday falls in March.

If you want industrial goods, head to the Harbour Market in Napier tomorrow or Sunday, where you can also buy food and second-hand goods - but nothing else.

Further south, the exemptions become even more bewildering.

Marriners Mall in Picton will be open only if a cruise ship is in port. Crafts are on sale in Nelson during Founders Park opening hours, with no indication whether you can buy them at the park itself.

Children's books and toys may be bought at the Carnegie Centre in Moray Place in Dunedin on Sunday, but only during performances on the mezzanine floor. The type of performance is not specified.

Retailers in some tourist destinations have also gained exemptions from the former Shop Trading Hours Commission, so if you're heading to Paihia, Queenstown or Taupo (on Sunday), take the credit cards.

The following weekend, shops in Tairua, Whitianga and Whangamata will be open from 8am on Anzac Day, but only because it falls on a Friday. The same law applies if it falls on a Monday.

These exemptions are all courtesy of old orders issued before the Shop Trading Hours Repeal Act 1990. To the chagrin of Taupo's neighbours in Rotorua, procedures to apply for such exemptions no longer exist. After a long well-publicised campaign, garden centres may now open on Easter Sunday.

Other types of shop - such as those selling food, drink, household items, personal items, fuel, parts and accessories, souvenirs, duty-free goods and ready-to-eat food - can also open on restricted days. You can buy a book at passenger transport terminals, shop at the Royal Easter Show, or have a prescription filled at the pharmacist.

* In the main centres, such as Auckland's CBD, shops will open Saturday 10am to 5pm and Monday 10am to 4pm.

* Westfield malls, including Chartwell in Hamilton and Queensgate in Wellington, open 9am to 5.30pm both days, but some major retailers may trade differently.