There has been more than just the feel of spring in the Hawke's Bay air in recent days - the sight and aroma of pesky pollen has also emerged as it does at this time every year.
Which traditionally means trips to the doctors or the local pharmacy for many.
Especially visitors to the Bay who are not accustomed to the pollen clouds.
"We've had people from Wellington come in and they just say 'oh my God what is this?" pharmacist Hannah Ellis at Andrew Spence Pharmacy in Onekawa said.
Many visitors were forced to make a pharmacy visit for advice and medication on the very day they arrive, she said.
"Many have never experienced this before."
The pharmacy, like all others, had been well prepared for the pollen antidote rush however.
"We definitely see a rush about this time of the year so we prepare for it."
The increased stocks of antihistamine, eye drops and nasal sprays started getting called upon about a week ago and the demand would continue despite the pine pollens usually waning toward the end of August.
The annual pollen season, which starts with the sight of yellow dust across cars and outdoor furniture, as well as around the edges of drying puddles, emerges with the arrival of August and is driven mainly by northwesterly winds dragging pine pollen into the region from the forests to the north and west.
But it is not just pine pollen - oaks, elms and birch trees also emit pollens.
Olive trees can also pack something of a pollen punch.
While the pines will wane other pollens would continue - particularly grass pollens which will emerge next month and through October.
One way or the other, the pollen season can last through to March.
"Most people are prepared for it," Ms Ellis said.
As is the car sales industry.
"We wash them and in a couple of hours they are coated with it again," Napier's Evolution Motors co-director Kath McMillan said.
"You get to the end but by then when you go back to the first cars it looks like you haven't started."
She said ideally they like to keep their stock of more then 40 vehicles spotless but the pollen battle could not be won.
"We normally wash up to twice a week but now it's four times a week - ideally we'd do it every day but it's just too frustrating."
It got worse after a slight shower as the pollen turned into a thick mush.
"It just doesn't get any better," Ms McMillan said with a sigh, as she got stuck in yesterday as usual car groomer Ross Taylor had a day off.
"This pollen stuff goes on for six or seven weeks."
People suffering from the effects of pollen are advised to call by their pharmacy to seek the right treatment.
"We can tailor it to their needs," Ms Ellis said, adding that those susceptible to asthma were the worst affected.
NOTHING TO SNEEZE AT
* There are two types of allergic rhinitis (hay fever) - seasonal (spring and summer) and perennial (all year round).
* Up to 40 per cent of Kiwis, adults and children, are affected by either.
* Pollen concentrations are typically lowest at roughly 6am increasing to a peak at 12 noon and decreasing through the afternoon and evening.
* For each type of tree, the flowering period is defined by specific condition and occurs approximately the same time each year, lasting about two weeks.
* Tree pollen is less of an issue compared with grass pollen as the grass allergy season goes from August/September through to March.
Facts: Allergy New Zealand