Big red summer festival

As the pohutukawa trees come into bloom, a great way for visitors who plan to fly to New Zealand to enjoy the local culture is to head to the annual Pohutukawa Festival.

Held annually in and around New Zealand's northern coastal region, known as the Comorandel Peninsula, the Pohutukawa Festival will this year run from November 24th to December 10th.

Known as New Zealand's Christmas trees, with its distinctive red flowers which bloom in December, the Pohutukawa is native to the islands and is now protected by a charitable trust, Project Crimson, which helps to organise the festivities, including various walks, to promote its protection.

Both a summer celebration and a pre-Christmas party, the two-week festival offers visitors to New Zealand the opportunity to take-in a whole range of both traditional and more contemporary Kiwi cultural and social activities.

Travellers and holidaymakers alike can enjoy everything from native wildlife safaris to art exhibitions, comedy shows, food and wine events and live music performances.

For more information check out the Pohutukawa Festival website.

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