Rotorua swelters in summer sunshine

Holidaymakers dot the shores of Tikitapu (Blue Lake).

The weather is heating up with Rotorua experiencing its hottest day of the summer yesterday.

Rotorua weatherman Brian Holden recorded a maximum temperature of 29C at his weather station in Springfield yesterday afternoon.

That followed a scorching weekend, with the mercury hitting 28C in the city on Saturday and Sunday.

Mr Holden said January had been hot and a little dry so far, with 15mm of rain falling in the new year.

"It's not a lot, but it's something. It's not as good as it could be for farmers, but the holiday makers aren't complaining."

Federated Farmers Rotorua Taupo president Alan Wills said although farmers were hoping for more rain soon they were still in a fairly good position.

"Most of the area got a good amount of rain, about 100mm, over the last couple of months of 2014 which set us up pretty well. The land is starting to dry out a little, but it's not crisis time yet."

Holidaymakers and locals took advantage of the sunshine, flocking to lakes, parks, and barbecue areas.

It had been an exceptionally busy weekend, with particularly heavy use of the playground and facilities at the Lakefront, according to Rotorua Lakes Council parks operations officers. All this activity seems to have been good for many local businesses.

A Mana Adventure staff member said the Lakefront company had been "flat out" with their pedal boats and kayaks proving very popular.

"People are just going the full hog on our boats, with the weather so clear everyone's just looking to get out on the water."

Lady Jane's Ice Cream Parlour's manager said they'd also been going a roaring trade.

"There've been a lot of locals and tourists through looking to cool down. I'm not even sure what's been selling best, we've been that flat out."

The Warehouse spokeswoman Julia Bell said its Rotorua store had seen a spike in sales over the past couple of weeks of summer-related products, from pools and beach furniture, to sun protection and fans, in high demand.

There may be some relief in sight for those that don't like the heat. According to MetService things are set to cool a fraction with temperatures settling around 25C for the rest of the week with increasingly frequent showers from today.