Splore Suffers Heavy Rain, Fallen Power Lines, Traffic

Organisers of New Zealand’s Splore Festival (Feb. 17-19) took to Facebook to apologise for traffic chaos that plagued patrons throughout the weekend.

– Splore Festival

Heavy torrential rainfall caused waist-high flooding in the area and turned the Tapapakanga Park festival site, south of Auckland, into a mud bath. Electricity lines on the road after a car crashed into a power pole cut power to 370 homes.

It did not affect the festival, which ran on its own generator. But the mishap added to patron complaints that the 90-mnute trip took four hours. More delays followed, as rain and a traffic accident on the main exit road caused similar delays to those leaving.

Promoters said: “Although we had contingencies in place, these were obviously not enough. Our apologies also go out to locals who got caught in traffic as well.”

According to social media postings, some attendees were angered when showers were stopped because of grey waters. But most adapted, enjoying the acts and workshops, and congratulated the Splore crew for doing the best they could.

“It’s not an easy task when Mother Nature is calling the shots,” one said. Acts included Fat Freddy’s Drop, Skye & Ross, and Beardyman.