Set to welcome 10,000 people to its Cardrona Valley location, the annual event has become a cherished end-of-year tradition — even more so than promising to finally stick to your resolutions in 2024 — so, what will this year bring? Even more stars, even more fireworks and, most hilarious of all, absolutely no “bad vibes”, according to the festival’s website.
With a performance from one of New Zealand’s biggest country music stars, Kaylee Bell, to the one and only Benee, Fat Freddy’s Drop, Synthony and all the bars and food trucks in between, it’s set to be a pretty impressive experience — especially if the weather holds up.
Here’s everything you need to know before the festival:
When does it start?
The festivities officially kick off on December 29, with check-in for campers available from noon and closing at 10pm. If you’re one of the lucky ones who scored an Airbnb in Wānaka, Queenstown or Lake Hāwea, though, the music festival will have acts from 4pm running all the way to midnight.
If you’re a medium-level party-goer choosing a two-day stay in the valley, check-in for campers opens at 10am on December 30 and shuts at 11pm. As for day trippers, you can head along to the festival from noon.
The same for those heading along on December 31.
Stars of the show
It’s going to be three days of singing, dancing a good times — especially because Kaylee Bell, Benee, Sachi and Sythony are coming in hot so you can come into the new year even hotter.
Parking and transport
If you’re planning a roadie with your mates before camping at the festival, it’s good news. Unlike the parking battle in Central Otago, the campers carpark is a short 2 or 3-minute walk from the campsite — and if you’ve got a campervan you can even drive into the campsite (after purchasing a campervan upgrade).
As for anyone staying other than for R&A and you’re drinking, don’t drive. There are plenty of options to get home safely including having a sober mate drive, getting mum to come pick you up or booking your transport with Yello, the local bus and taxi companies, or private transport.
How your wristband works
R&A is a fully cashless festival, which is an ideal situation for the one friend who always loses their Eftpos card but bad news for that one friend who deals in only cash. Fortunately or unfortunately, you have no choice but to live, laugh, and wristband your way through the bars and food trucks.
To make sure you aren’t the one friend who promises to get your mate a drink, waits in line for 30 minutes then realises you have to pay with the electronic chip on your wristband — which you are given at check-in — top up here.
What to bring
No one likes to arrive at a festival and realise they’ve left an essential item at home — especially when said festival is a 40-minute drive from Wānaka, so to save any meltdowns, here is everything you need to bring, according to the festival organisers themselves.
•Must bring valid photo ID — by law the only forms of ID that R&A can and will accept are valid NZ driver’s licences, Hanz 18+ ID cards, Kiwi Access cards, and overseas or NZ passports.
•Have your ticket on you, either a printed copy or on your phone.
•Cash or Eftpos to top up your wristband
•An empty plastic water bottle to reuse and top up at our free water refill stations
•Warm clothes for when the sun goes down
•If you’re a camper, be sure to bring all your necessary camping supplies, a sturdy tent you can reuse and will stand up to the Cardrona elements, sleeping bags, the works
What not to bring
•The much-loved festival once again has a no-BYO policy this year, with any alcohol brought in set to be confiscated — and that’s not the only rule. The website also states a series of items you aren’t allowed to bring in, including:
•Weapons of any sort
•Drugs or any drug paraphernalia
•Gas cookers, BBQs (any form of cooking facilities)
•Fireworks
•Gang insignia
•Glass (including non-alcoholic drinks)
•Tent mallets and hammers (bring rubber mallets instead)
•Drones
•Laser lights
•And last but undoubtedly the most hilarious, absolutely no “bad vibes”.
Weather
It’s tough to find the exact weather forecast for Cardrona Valley so we’ve gone with Wānaka’s weather outlook to give you an idea of what to expect this New Year’s.
According to MetService, it’s not looking too shabby for R&A punters with sun, warm temperatures and potentially a bit of rain. December 29 is forecast to be mostly cloudy, with a low of 15C and a high of 25C. December 30 is looking slightly worse with a low of 10C and a high of 23C and rain in the evening.
As for December 31, it’s forecast to be a low of 10C and a maximum of 20C with rain in the morning before clearing later in the day. So, if you’re packing anything, make sure it’s your jersey and a waterproof poncho.
While we’ve tried to cover everything in this article, we are only human so if you’ve still got unanswered questions, head to the R&A website here.
