Category: Local events

This year was the first year that Matariki (Māori New Year) was celebrated as a public holiday. It is related to the lunar calendar and the rising of the Pleiades star cluster. This usually happens late June/ Early July.

This is a 35 second short video of the Matariki light displays in Queens Park. Friday 24/6 was Matariki this year and this was the day that the light show opened. It runs for 4 days. 

I ran into two issues with this as a disabled person.

1. The roads close to the park gates were closed. So I had to park a long way away – not ideal when I can’t walk far. When I got to the traffic control to complain they said oh, you should have driven up to here, we would have let you through. Well a road sign would have been nice, I’m not a mind reader.
2. There was a one way system over a small bridge at the duck pond. This was not made obvious to me till I had walked a long way in the other direction to be turned back saying the bridge was one way the other way. The arrow I was meant to see was on the floor, in the dark under the masses of feet of the crowds around me. Not helpful.

Simple little things can ruin your experience when you’re disabled.