There's no relief in sight for parts of the country that sweltered in temperatures of over 30C yesterday.
Four-year-old Mac Stephens of Nelson (left) and Tazmin Emsley, 6, also of Nelson, cool off with gelato in a Nelson café. Photo: RNZ/Tracy Neal
Napier and Blenheim jointly took out the top temperature of 34.5C and 34.4C.
Today, Waikato and King Country will be the hottest places to be with a sweltering 34C forecast for Taumarunui and Te Kūiti, and a high of 33C is forecast for Hamilton.
MetService forecaster Andrew James said if things kept tracking as they had there was a chance some parts of the country could be officially declared as being in a heatwave.
"A heatwave is defined by the World Meteorological Organisation as five consecutive days when the temperature is five degrees above the average for that time period.
"So we haven't had that yet but there's a few places where it could happen, so we'll have to wait and see."
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Christchurch has already pushed past 30C this summer and on Monday it got to 28C.
Large crowds headed to beaches such as New Brighton to cool down including Erana Haenga and her family.
"We love it here eh; New Brighton's where it's at ... the water's what cools you down, the kids love it."
Splash pads at the Margaret Mahy Playground in the centre of town were another popular option for those enjoying the last few days of the school holidays.
Georgina McLintoch and her one-year boy were struggling a bit more in the heat.
"It's just when it comes to sleeping; he struggles to sleep so we have to strip him right down."
Eddie Beckett's ice cream shop. Photo: RNZ / Conan Young
But for Australian Geoff King who was here on holiday with his family, the temperature was just right.
"We live in Sydney and the days are very hot and humid at the moment and very warm overnight.
"[In Sydney] 35C degree days are common and in the next few days I think night time temperatures are at least 20 degrees minimum ... we're just glad to escape it for a couple of weeks here."
Down the road at a popular ice cream shop there were queues out the door as people chose something a little sweet to cool themselves down.
Shop manager Eddie Beckett said he did not expect to be this busy.
"Well today's Monday and we have been cranking like any weekend day."
MetService said the high temperatures were likely to stick around until Friday when they should drop off quite noticeably, just in time for the weekend.