Guide to Matariki in New Zealand: Where to Go and How to Plan

If you're travelling to New Zealand for ski season or a winter getaway, your trip might coincide with Matariki festivities across the country.

Matariki, the Māori New Year, turns late June and July into a season of dawn ceremonies, shared feasts, light festivals, and stargazing. You can join a sacred hautapu offering before sunrise, fly a traditional kite from a volcanic summit, or eat slow-cooked hāngī by the waterfront in Wellington.

This guide covers what Matariki is, where events run across the country, and how to build a winter trip around it.

Matariki is the Māori name for the Pleiades star cluster. Its full name, Ngā Mata o te Ariki Tāwhirimātea, translates to "the eyes of the god Tāwhirimātea." In Māori tradition, Tāwhirimātea, the god of wind and weather, tore out his own eyes and flung them into the sky. The unpredictability of New Zealand's winds is still attributed to his blindness.

You might know the Pleiades as the "Seven Sisters." Māori astronomy, led by the research of Dr Rangi Matamua, identifies nine visible stars. Each one governs a specific part of the natural world.

• Matariki connects to health and wellbeing
• Pōhutukawa is tied to those who have died. This is why dawn ceremonies begin with remembrance
• Tupuānuku governs food grown in the ground, like kūmara
• Tupuārangi governs food from the sky and trees, like birds and berries
• Waitī connects to freshwater and river creatures
• Waitā connects to the ocean and seafood
• Waipuna-ā-rangi governs rain
• Ururangi governs winds
• Hiwa-i-te-rangi is the wishing star, linked to hopes for the year ahead

Matariki was traditionally used as a weather and harvest forecast. If the stars appeared bright and clear, communities expected a warm, productive year. If they were hazy or shimmering, they prepared for a harder winter and tighter food stores. Matariki is a living environmental calendar that has guided planting, fishing and navigation for centuries.

The Matariki public holiday follows the Maramataka (Māori lunar calendar). It falls on the closest Friday to the Tangaroa lunar period during the month of Pipiri (June). A government-established Matariki Advisory Committee, chaired by Professor Rangi Matamua, confirms each date. Because the lunar year is roughly 11 days shorter than the solar year, the holiday shifts annually between late June and mid-July.

• 2026, Friday 10 July
• 2027, Friday 25 June
• 2028, Friday 14 July

Matariki only became an official public holiday in 2022, making it the first in New Zealand to formally recognise Te Ao Māori (the Māori worldview). Celebration of Matariki had been declining through the 20th century before a revival beginning in the early 1990s, driven largely by the work of Dr Rangi Matamua and community leaders across the country.

There is no single "Matariki capital." Events run from Northland to Southland, and each region celebrates differently. Some host large-scale light festivals. Others centre on intimate dawn ceremonies led by local iwi (tribe).

Auckland runs the most extensive Matariki festival in New Zealand, typically spanning several weeks around the public holiday with dozens of events across the city.

Manu Aute Kite Day is one of the standout experiences. Traditional kites are flown from volcanic summits like Ōwairaka (Mt Albert) and Takaparawhau (Bastion Point). In Māori tradition, kites carry messages between the physical and spiritual worlds, helping the dead reach the stars. Community kite days are free and family-friendly.

Auckland Museum runs dedicated Matariki programming each year, including planetarium shows and hands-on workshops.

Dawn karakia (prayer) take place at the base of maunga (mountains) across the city. You walk to the summit in the dark, guided by lanterns, and reach the top before sunrise for a shared ceremony led by elders. Everyone is welcome.

Wellington adds a layer most visitors do not expect. The city celebrates both Puanga (the star Rigel) and the Matariki cluster (Pleiades) to mark the Māori New Year. Each is acknowledged by a different mana whenua (iwi with ancestral authority over the land): Te Āti Awa acknowledges Puanga, while Ngāti Toa acknowledges Matariki.

Matariki Ahi Kā is a free waterfront walk-through held over several evenings, with fire pits, large-scale projections, live kapa haka (traditional Māori performing arts), and a nightly remembrance ceremony. Kai courts line the route.

Te Papa museum runs Matariki exhibitions, workshops, and a memorial projection on the side of the building honouring people who have died in the previous year. If you are visiting with children, Te Papa is one of the best things to do in Wellington with kids.

Christchurch hosts Tīrama Mai, a light festival built around the Matariki period. In Hawke's Bay and Napier, regional programmes tend to be smaller and community-driven. You experience Matariki at a quieter pace, closer to how local communities mark it.

Check the official Mānawatia a Matariki events listing at matariki.net.nz. Auckland's Matariki Festival has its own site through Auckland Council. For smaller regional events, look for iwi-led programmes on local council pages. These are often free, community-based, and not heavily promoted on tourism platforms.

A Matariki weekend starts before sunrise and the best experiences are the ones that slow you down.

The hautapu is the central Matariki ritual. Food is cooked in an earth oven (umu) and the steam rises into the pre-dawn sky to feed the stars. The ceremony is led by tohunga (experts) and kaumātua (elders), with karakia (prayer), waiata (song), and shared kai (food) afterwards.

You arrive before 6am, dress warmly in layers, and follow the lead of the kaitiaki (guardians). Dawn karakia are open to all visitors. Expect to stand in the cold and dark for a time before the ceremony begins. Bring a torch and a thermos.

Four of the nine stars directly govern food domains. During Matariki, look for seasonal kai connected to the stars:

• Hāngī is slow-cooked in an earth oven with kūmara, lamb, pumpkin and seasonal vegetables
• Rewena bread is a sourdough-style loaf made from a fermented potato starter
• Kaimoana (seafood) platters honour Waitā, the star of the ocean. Pāua, mussels and kina are common
• Pikopiko are young fern fronds, steamed or stir-fried, bringing a native bush flavour to the table

If you are spending time in Wellington, the family guide to dining in Wellington covers restaurants where you can try seasonal New Zealand food with kids in tow.

You can spot Matariki in the pre-dawn sky during the rising period. Find Tautoru (Orion's Belt), look left to the Hyades cluster, then left again. The small cluster of stars just above and to the left is Matariki.

Manu aute (traditional kite flying) connects the earth to the sky. Kites carry messages to those who have passed and are a way of sending prepared food to sustain the stars. Several cities run community kite days during the festival, and you can bring your own.

Accommodation in Auckland and Wellington fills around the public holiday weekend. Book ticketed cultural venues and workshops ahead of time. Flights from Australia see higher demand around the public holiday on Friday, so secure those early too. ALL Accor members can access member rates on hotel stays in New Zealand when booking direct on ALL.com or the ALL App, which helps during peak periods.

New Zealand's winter can be wet and cold, especially before dawn. Bring layers, a waterproof outer layer, and a warm hat for early morning starts. Sunrise sits around 7:30am, but dawn ceremonies begin from 5:30am. Have indoor backup plans for rainy days: museums, galleries, and food markets are all part of the Matariki season.

If you have a few extra days, combine Matariki with a winter trip to Queenstown. Fly from Wellington to Queenstown in under two hours and add snow, mountains, and lake scenery to your itinerary.

Auckland's Matariki festival spreads across the city, but the largest events cluster around the waterfront, Auckland Domain and Auckland Museum. A CBD base keeps you within walking distance of most programming.

Sofitel Auckland Viaduct Harbour sits directly on the waterfront at 21 Viaduct Harbour Avenue, a short walk from the harbour event precinct and Maritime Museum. If you are attending a dawn karakia on a nearby maunga, you can be back at the hotel for breakfast by 8am.

Pullman Auckland Hotel & Apartments is on Princes Street in the CBD, within walking distance of Auckland Domain where Manu Aute Kite Day takes place. The apartment-style rooms suit families or longer stays, and the indoor heated pool is welcome after a cold dawn start.

Wellington's Matariki Ahi Kā runs along the waterfront between Te Papa and Frank Kitts Park. Most cultural venues sit within a 15-minute walk of the CBD, so a central base keeps everything accessible on foot.

Novotel Wellington on The Terrace puts you within walking distance of Te Papa, the Cable Car, and the Matariki waterfront precinct. Lift access takes you directly down to Lambton Quay. After the evening ceremony, Courtenay Place is a short walk south if you want dinner or a drink to close the night.

Christchurch's Tīrama Mai lighting festival centres around the inner city, and most winter events are walkable from Cathedral Square.

Novotel Christchurch Cathedral Square is right on Cathedral Square, adjacent to Te Pae Convention Centre. You are within easy walking distance of Riverside Market, the Central Library, and the laneways where Tīrama Mai installations appear. Executive rooms have views of the Southern Alps.

ibis Christchurch on Hereford Street is a five-minute walk from Cathedral Square and directly opposite the BNZ shopping precinct. Canterbury Museum and the Botanic Gardens are a short stroll if you need a rainy-day backup.