Jane Laugesen caught a 15.5kg kingfish in Whanganui's Easter boat fishing contest. Photo / Miles Johnson
Jane Laugesen caught a 15.5kg kingfish in Whanganui's Easter boat fishing contest. Photo / Miles Johnson
Whanganui was so packed over Easter weekend some visitors had to book accommodation in neighbouring towns.
Basketball and a fishing competition put the squeeze on overnight accommodation while other weekend events included a military vehicle display and rally and the New Zealand Water Ski Nationals at Lake Wiritoa.
HoopNation heldits Junior Showcase across five basketball courts at three venues on the four days of the Easter weekend. There were 70 teams and 720 players, all under 19 and from all over New Zealand, HoopNation co-founder Paul Berridge said.
Accommodation was so short that attendees had to book places outside Whanganui.
"We had people spread through Hāwera, Waverley, Feilding, Palmerston North and Marton. It's a little bit of an issue for us if we continue to stay here," he said.
Berridge and co-founder KJ Allen took HoopNation to Tauranga in 2015. The Junior Showcase is a break-off event, and they wanted to bring it back to Whanganui.
They will be sitting down with Whanganui & Partners and Whanganui District Council to talk about whether this can be done in future.
"We thought it would be good to come home and support the city again, with how much this event and brand has developed."
The action on court 1 was live-streamed, and watched in the US, Europe and Australia.
Seeing it would help coaches recruit promising young players at a time when they can't travel due to Covid-19, Berridge said.
Basketball teams Ball Never Lies and Tu Tangata battle it out at the HoopNation Junior Showcase final. Photo / Lewis Gardner
In central Whanganui, Orange Cafe operations manager Vikrash Kumar traded right across the weekend and said despite the costs of being open on holidays he wanted regular customers to be able to bring their visitors.
"We are open not for money today," he said.
The cafe served 45 customers between 9am and 9.15am on Monday, Kumar said.
It's the changeover season for gardens, and Wanganui Garden Centre was also busy, owner Karen Cvitanovich said.
The Orange Cafe served 45 customers in 15 minutes when it opened at 9am on April 5. Photo / Lewis Gardner
It had to be closed on Good Friday but Saturday made up for that.
"Covid was actually very good for us. We had a record year last year. A lot of people got stuck into their gardens, because they can't travel," Cvitanovich said.
Between HoopNation and the Wanganui Easter Boat Fishing Competition the Riverside Motel was pretty much full up, owner Graeme Prince said.
The Whanganui River Market was also bustling with a two-for-one ride deal on Whanganui's refurbished tram and a double-decker bus.
The two-day Easter fishing competition had 248 people and 70 boats entered, organiser Trevor Bailey said. When the weather was iffy he delayed the boats' departure from the Wharf St slipway until 10am on Saturday.
But by lunchtime the sea had calmed beautifully for everyone. Some good fish were caught and weighed in at the Whanganui-Manawatū Sea Fishing Club.
Trevor Bailey weighs fish at the Whanganui Easter Boat Fishing Contest. Photo / Miles Johnson
Jane Laugesen caught a kingfish that was bigger than her, Bailey said, and Whanganui's Murray Brown caught the biggest snapper - 8.5kg.
On Sunday there was a strong westerly, and Bailey called the boat fishing off.
They gathered for the prizegiving at Club Metro that night, where Craig Sherman won the major spot prize of an outboard motor.
The week-long New Zealand Water Ski nationals wrapped up on Sunday despite 75mm of rain falling on the first three days.
More than 100 people camped near the lake, and conditions got pretty boggy, spokesperson Richard Silver said.
