An Aucklander has performed a haka to welcome staff to their first day back at a North Shore McDonald's after the alert level 4 coronavirus lockdown.
Te Rata Boldy and his cousin Ngaroma Maclean set their alarms for 4:50am to make sure they were first in the drive-thru queue on Tuesday morning - a full hour and 10 minutes before the Akoranga Dr McDonald's opened.
Maclean told Newshub they were "overly excited" to make a return to McDonald's, which closed more than a month ago when the Government escalated its COVID-19 response to alert level 4 - a move that saw all non-essential businesses shut up shop.
However it reopened on Tuesday after the lockdown ended and New Zealand entered alert level 3 - and Boldy and Maclean were first in line.
"We were fully dedicated to getting our Maccas fix," she said.
When staff started to arrive just before opening at 6am, they "warmly welcomed" them back from a distance, before Boldy got out of the car and performed a haka. Maclean said this was an attempt to thank staff and show them appreciation.
They then went through the drive-thru and ordered four $20 Mates Hunger Busters.
Anticipation for takeaways was through the roof going into today - and New Zealand's appetite for McDonald's didn't appear to be limited to just Auckland.
At central Wellington's Basin Reserve franchise, drive-thru queues stretched along the street at opening time, with customers telling Newshub they were desperate for chips and nuggets.
"A group of girls, they had been waiting here since 4:30am this morning, and lockdown had been tough on them. All they wanted to do was to get some chicken nuggets," reporter Ashleigh McCaull told The AM Show.
"That's all they wanted. They were so excited for nuggets. I literally heard them screaming on the way out of the car park out of happiness."
At alert level 3, businesses can reopen if they can limit face-to-face interaction with customers and introduce strict health and safety protocols, however dining in is not allowed and contactless payment is encouraged.
