Everything you need to know about Splore Festival 2019

14 February 2019

By Fashion Quarterly

You nabbed your ticket before it sold out… now start prepping for this year’s Splore festivities – and the 20th anniversary of this much-loved event.

Another year, another Splore Festival is right on the horizon—and as with any festival, the key to getting the most out of your time there is preparation and planning.

Situated at the lush Tapapakanga Regional Park in Orere Point, a creative community of musicians, artists, food trucks and wellness practitioners will gather for the three-day celebration, with literally something there for every festival-goer.

This year’s theme is ‘Celebration’, quite appropriate given the festival’s 20th birthday celebrations. And as the anticipation builds, we’re becoming more and more aware that making the most of this festival’s jam-packed lineup will take some serious strategic planning. So in order to make this year’s Splore the best ever, we’ve compiled everything you need to know in order to help you and your friends relax, be stress-free and make the most of the festivities, all while enjoying the beautiful natural surroundings.

So pack your bags, get out your Splore sequins and get ready to celebrate…

Everything you need to know pre-Splore

Travel:
First and foremost getting there is key but before you rush ahead and fill your car up with petrol, there’s a couple of things you need to know about getting to Splore:

We’re all about reducing emissions and so is Splore. Join the Splore Carpool Club and help the environment by taking a car load of people with you to the festival. As an added benefit you’ll be given a discount on your parking pass on arrival.
Alternatively, if you’d prefer not to do the driving, why not catch a ride to Splore via the Splore Express? Tickets are $15 each way and buses depart from Auckland CBD.
Splore welcomes boaties. So if you’d prefer to turn up to this beach-side festival on a boat all you need to do is pre-register. Mooring is free but everyone on board must have a Splore ticket.

Accommodation:
Arranging your accommodation is a must as your home base will set the scene for your entire weekend. Stay on site at the free camping zones – but get in quick as it’s a case of first in first served. The gates are opening the day before at 2pm on Thursday 21 February.

Unfortunately if you were thinking of booking a camper van spot or reserving a camping area, they’re all booked out (you have to move fast to grab those!) However, if you’re looking to stay somewhere a little more upmarket, there are some Wildernest glamping options still left – let someone else handle all the admin (they even include hotel slippers and cotton linen) so you can spend more time enjoying the actual festival.

What to wear:
Take note people: Splore is not called New Zealand’s greatest dress up party for nothing! So be inspired and dress to the ‘Celebration’ theme or just think festival, beach vibes and just general wackiness – the more out-of-the-box the better – it’s a festival after all! If you’re still struggling for inspiration, check out our gallery of favourite outfits from previous Splores to spark that creativity.

What to bring:

Ticket
Festival map and schedule (see below)
Camping gear
Sun protection ie. hat, sunglasses, sunscreen
Friends
A positive attitude and an open mind 🙂
Water bottle
A small rubbish bag or two for collecting rubbish (Splore is all about enjoying and celebrating the local environment so don’t leave anything behind!)
A spare mobile charger to keep your phone battery on full.

What NOT to bring:

Glass is not allowed in accordance to Auckland Council park regulations. Please bring any necessary items in plastic containers.
Bringing alcohol is prohibited, but can be purchased at bars on site.
Cash is not king. Splore is a cash-free festival and you’ll be provided with a AWOP wrist band to pay with instead.

Here’s how to plan Splore

Festival planning can be tricky – especially when there’s seven music and performance zones, and a wellness centre and visual art installations on top of that. Timing when to see which act while making sure you and your friends get to see everything on the wish list is going to take skill and compromise – but when carefully planned, Splore can easily fulfill everyone’s needs.

So grab your festival friends, get the schedule (coming soon!) in front of you and write down your ultimate festival to-see list. And just in case your phone dies, don’t forget to bring a printed copy along with you (hint: right click the schedule below to open the image in a new tab).

Everything to do at Splore

Music:

Once again Splore brings a plethora of musical acts to the festival ranging from international superstars to local home-grown bands.

The international line-up boasts acts like Rudimental (pictured above), the London-based drum and bass act whose debut album was nominated for the Mercury Prize; the legends that are Orbital (brothers Phil and Paul Hartnoll) will be making their first ever trip to New Zealand, despite being a major electronic music force since 1989; and dancehall and reggae icon David Rodigan. You also won’t want to miss Brazilian drum and bass DJ Marky, the highly-revered Dub Pistols, hip hop group The Jungle Brothers, and a DJ and AV set by Fleetmac Wood, who reframe the music of Fleetwood Mac to a dance beat.

Local acts that are worthy of a look include Hollie Smith, King Kapisi, Jess B and Tali.

Food:

Food equals fuel and so is a must at any festival to ensure you and your friends are at peak performance. No one wants to be too hungry or lacking energy to the point that they miss out on all the fun or their favourite performing acts.

And while you may be eating as a means to an end, make it all the more enjoyable by hitting up one of the delicious food vendors found at Splore. There are plenty of options (dozens, in fact) but here’s just a small selection of some of our all-time faves:

Art and culture:

Once again Splore takes the overarching festival vibe even further by promoting various art installations, pop-ups and workshops throughout the weekend.

Saturday night is the night Splore turns into New Zealand’s biggest (and greatest) costume party. You’ll see all sorts of weird, wonderful and wacky outfits, with many Splorers going to great lengths to transform themselves to the theme. Splore asks festival-goers to be aware of sustainable practice when sourcing and making your costume, to ‘leave no trace’ of rubbish behind and to be conscious of cultural appreciation. There’s also plenty of costume options on site if you have been unorganised – Paper Bag Princess is renowned for having lots of last minute loot, BodyFX will be there to add bio-glitter razzle dazzle and Sew Love down on the beach can help you sew your own!

Saturday is also the time Club Hedonista takes raving to the next level in the Living Lounge – enjoy a full cabaret program, see in midnight like it’s New Year Eve’s and party all night long!

Wendy’s Wellness is set to return again this year providing relaxation and nourishment for the soul. Participate in workshops like acro-yoga, take part in a cacao ceremony, learn new massage techniques, pick up a skill such as mindful drumming, or book a one-on-one treatment with a specialist.

Tickets to Splore Festival 2019 are sadly sold out. But stay tuned for 2020 tickets, which usually go on sale in April.