NZH Holiday Magazine - December 2020 by NZME.

WEDNESDAY 30 DECEMBER 2020

Holiday

LANGS BEACH, BY DAN ROBERTS

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Artwork: Star Gossage, I have sung my way through the world, 2018. Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki

KIA ORA

WELCOME

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We’ve made it to the end of 2020. Many of us have dealt with more than we expected this time last year. When we launched Holiday in 2019, we highlighted our excitement with wide-eyed optimism at the prospects of a fresh decade.

he year began with the Australian bushfires in January, when the worst wildlife disaster in modern history threatened the lives of 1.25 billion animals, and thousands of homes. Little did we realise B.C. (before Covid) the reality our lives would encounter come March as we learned to adjust to life at home as lockdown memes and #Stayhome distractions took hold while we did our best to avoid the virus. The effect lockdown had on businesses and people’s livelihoods was tremendous, but we also learned a lot about our capacity for resilience in the process. It felt as if though the world might combust at one point, as news of racial tensions in the U.S. and the groundswell of support for #BlackLivesMatter gained worldwide attention after footage of the murder of Minnesota man George Floyd at the hands of police officers beamed on news channels. Protests against police brutality took place around the world, with an overwhelming response from New Zealanders who walked in solidarity across the country. Election season also compounded in October and November in both New Zealand and the U.S. Along the way we lost bastions of moral decency to pancreatic cancer — Civil Rights pioneer John Lewis in August, and US Supreme Court judge and liberal icon Ruth Bader Ginsberg in September. We said R.I.P to cultural figures like actor Chadwick Boseman, basketball legend Kobe Bryant, and actors Dianna Rigg and Sean Connery. Our talented team of writers and editors from The New Zealand Herald’s suite of premium, award-winning magazines — Be Well, Travel, Viva, Timeout and Canvas — have documented and been there with you every step of the way. Comforting lockdown baking, the significance of Zoom-ready jewels and trackpants, online shopping, take-out reviews. What we did to be kinder, tidier, patient, mindful citizens amidst a world in limbo. Untouched parts of Aotearoa we could escape to safely while borders remained shut. Our voices provided you with support, comfort, advice, laughter, sadness and everything in between, and we continue to do so each week. It may be as a subscriber to our premium section at nzherald.co.nz or as a visitor to eatwell.co.nz and viva.co.nz; or perhaps Viva’s new quarterly glossy newsstand magazine conceived during lockdown 2.0. or Travel’s popular podcast Trip Notes. We’ve written so much this year, so it made sense to pick the best and compile it into one easy holiday read for your pleasure. Our friends from Grab One have also offered their great summer deals to help everyone make the most of summer and alleviate some of the financial pressure many of us have faced this year. So take a deep breath and enjoy your summer holiday. Happy New Year. Dan Ahwa, Editor

MY SUMMER PICK: This month, the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki opened the largest exhibition in its 132-year history (yes, the gallery opened in 1888!) featuring 300 artworks by 110 Māori artists. Toi Tū Toi Ora is framed by a Māori creation narrative which “speaks of our celestial origins, understood as the realm of the gods or Ira Atua. This then connects to the terrestrial realm of humankind, Ira Tangata.” Within the expansive collection you’ll find works by well-known artists like Michael Parekowhai, Ralph Hotere, Merata Mita and even Taika Waititi, along with many contemporary artists whose names may be less familiar but whose work is no less important. Daily until May 9, 2021, 10am-5pm. Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, cnr Kitchener St and Wellesley St, Auckland CBD. Free entry. FROM THE COVER: Melbourne-based New Zealand photographer Dan Roberts has worked with a wide variety of clients over the years including Vogue US, GQ US, Net-A-Porter, Marks & Spencer, Chloé and Deveaux New York, and our very own Viva magazine. His landscape work is special, and Dan shares his reflections of this year’s Holiday cover image. “This image is really special to me because it’s taken where my family used to holiday every summer when we were kids growing up. It’s taken from the point at Langs Beach where we used to climb out to watch the sunset, from being young kids going out there with our parents, then growing up and starting to go out there with friends and sneaking a beer and a little joint as we used to. And then it’s where my family finally said goodbye to my Dad after he passed away from cancer two years ago. I think this image evokes a real sense of calm and tranquility and, to me, the connection to water really means summer in Aotearoa. I can probably edit it a little to feel a bit warmer. (This image was shot on medium format 6x7 film).” Danrobertsstudio.com

Editor: Dan Ahwa Advertising enquiries: Samantha Glasswell Design: Nadine Hollows and Sydney Plested Sub-editor: Julia Gessler

Contributors: Greg Bruce, Angela Casley, Stephanie Holmes, Kim Knight, Amanda Linnell, Karl Puschmann, Dan Roberts, Juliette Sivertsen, Johanna Thornton, Zoe Walker Ahwa, Simon Wilson, Megan Wood

TRAVEL

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HOME & AWAY

SHELLY BEACHES, ENDLESS SUNSHINE, FAMILY AND FAMILIARITY — OUR WRITERS SHARE THEIR BEST HOLIDAY MEMORIES

“Go not by the most common road but the smaller paths," said Pythagoras. The smaller path however, is not necessarily shorter or easier, as we discover on the Pou Herenga Tai Twin Coast Cycle Trail. We five — two adults, three children then aged between 10 and 12 — cycle 90km over two days — about six hours each day — starting in the Northland town of Kaikohe and ending, eventually, in Horeke in Hokianga. Our spirits are high, the track is groomed, and I feel about 7 years old again on my brand-new bike. We each choose a set of wheels from the excellent hire shop. “Head that way for Opua,” says Rob, turning back to the hire shop and waving his hand in a vague way that could be interpreted as either north, east, west or south. But we soon discover that while the road may be long, it’s easy to follow and it’s almost impossible to get lost. We fly past forest and farmland and are blissfully alone for miles. At Otira, we bring out the scroggin and marvel at the swing bridge and waterfall. Two hours later, we make it to Kawakawa for lunch and on to Opua. Day two is the final leg to Horeke. You simply must go to the pub there, a colleague had told me before we left. So with that buoying prospect in mind we set off after breakfast. This leg is desperately beautiful. We weave through forest, alongside a river and farmland, arriving in Horeke at about 3pm. Euphoria overwhelms any weariness and so does cold tap beer and lemonade at the Horeke Tavern. This is a fantastic family adventure. Cycling is like having a pan shot of the world you are in. The people, the small towns, the lime milkshakes and the landscape. twincoastcycletrail.kiwi.nz Sarah Daniell When I was little, my family would go to the same place for our holidays every year. Te Puru, a small town on the Coromandel coast, where we’d hire the same bach every summer. We’d sleep in the same beds, and play the same board games that were stacked on top of the wardrobes. As soon as we arrived, we’d fall into the same routines. Mum would prepare lunch, Dad was on dinner. My brother was on washing up, and I was in charge of drying. I remember putting away the discoloured ivory-handled butter knives into a flower paper-lined kitchen drawer that got stuck every time, and rattled as you slammed it shut. We’d collect pipi off the beach and Dad would turn them into fritters. Mum would open a big bag of salt and vinegar crisps every day — a huge treat — and sometimes the kids would be given a weak shandy made from a splosh of the lager that my parents allowed themselves at lunchtime. We’d buy second-hand comics from the store in Thames, then sell them

back the following week in return for new ones. We’d go on family walks up Te Puru stream, still one of my favourite places to visit. Day in, day out, for three weeks every summer. Years ago l aspired to taking my son to Chicago, to Pompeii, to the Galapagos Islands, to London where he was born. But my own childhood experience suggests that there is adventure to be had in the smallest of journeys, and the happiest memories can come from family and familiarity. Maggie ggie Wicks

Top: Amanda Linnell and her cousin Lucy Meek (left) at Matapouri. Photo / Supplied Maggie Wicks with her mother and brother at Te Puru, 1980. Photo / Supplied

Our annual camping trip was a mission. We weren’t one of those families who had all the gear. We weren’t really campers, but every summer our parents rounded us up from running barefoot and wild on the farm and took us to run barefoot and wild at the beach. They’d borrow a neighbour’s old caravan, load it, and every spare inch of space in the old station wagon, with supplies — tents, tarpaulins, the old table and chairs from the shearer’s cottage, a spade to dig the long drop, lamps from the wool shed, a leg of ham, weeks of Mum’s baking — and we’d head north. Winding, winding, winding — or so it felt from the back seat where me, my two sisters and our friends were squeezed in, bare brown leg to bare brown leg, singing, arguing, giggling annoyingly — along metal roads until we landed in a large, rough paddock at Matapouri. Again, it belonged to friends. The grass was brown and crispdry underfoot as we’d stumble out of the car and sprint the few hundred metres over the grassy dunes to be blinded by the sparkling blue water and swooshing sound of the beckoning waves. Before setting up camp, before lunch, before anything... we’d dive into the water. Ah, the joy. That first beach swim of summer that washed away the sweat, dust, and sticky ice cream fingers of the journey and enveloped us in the cleansing, exhilarating arms of holiday freedom, and filled us with anticipation for all the adventures that lay ahead.

Amanda Linnell

Julliette Sivertsen and nephew Finn on holiday at Charteris Bay 2010 Photo / Supplied

Juliette Sivertsen

Greg Bruce

be walking on mudﬂats rather than swimming. But it’s the beach of my most joyful childhood memories. Every day brought a new sibling challenge to see how many swims we could squeeze into one long summer day. We’d sunbathe for hours on the boatshed ramps. And we had a canoe – a bright orange canoe that became the staple of every family holiday snap through the summers of the 80s and 90s. It wasn’t a perfect beach. If it was a house, I’d call it “rustic”. But as a child, it was the only place I ever wanted to be.

Charteris Bay was just a 45-minute drive from Christchurch in our big old yellow van — the affordable, sensible vehicle of choice for a family of seven in the late 80s. The beach at Charteris Bay never rates in the top 10 beaches in Canterbury. It’s a locals’ beach — small and secluded. Driving past, you wouldn’t even know it existed, as you ﬁrst must scramble down dozens of dodgy steps carved into the earth, snaking around giant eucalyptus trees. The beach has shells instead of sand, which toughened the soles of our feet. It’s tidal, so if you timed it wrong you’d

The four-to-ﬁve-hour drive up to Ahipara from Auckland is one that I remember and I have great memories of visiting as a kid and into my teens. I hope to make it a tradition as I get older — the chance to escape the city and head to a place that has a sense of sweeping spirituality about it; and an untouched, rugged beauty too. One of my favourite things to do on the drive up was to keep a tally of all the Ratana churches we passed along the way. There are vivid memories of the 4x4 tracks and feeling like I was on some space expedition to the moon while riding on quad bikes; along with the golden potato fritters and fresh snapper from Bidz Takeaways that we looked forward to after a day of swimming. Sometimes I’d get my pencils out and sketch the landscape. My ﬁrst time atop a horse was as a spotty teen along Ninety Mile Beach, riding past the crashing waves at Shipwreck Bay, breathing in the air, and realising at that moment how happy and free I felt. If there was ever a moment I wanted to badly revisit this year, it was this.

TRAVEL

“Every day brought a new sibling challenge to see how many swims we could squeeze into one long summer day. We’d sunbathe for hours on the boatshed ramps. And we had a canoe — a bright orange canoe that became the staple of every family holiday snap through the summers of the 80s and 90s.”

My favourite family holiday is always my most recent. Part of the reason for that is my poor memory, but mostly I think it’s because each passing year of my children’s development makes it more likely I’ll get five minutes alone with a book before someone yells at me that they want to play a horsey game. Our last holiday was to Kerikeri, where we stayed in an astonishing Airbnb with an outdoor spa, indoor games room and kitchen that opened along its full length to an outdoor bench and dining area. The enormous lawn flowed down to a swimmable stream set among walkable bush. There was no need to leave the house, so we didn’t. On our second day there, sitting outside in the warm morning sun with coffee and a scone, surrounded by the people I love most in the world, I was filled with contentment at the realisation I was one step closer to never again having a holiday like this one, where one child is lying on the ground screaming because another has just stolen her drink bottle.

Dan Ahwa

West Coast Wilderness Trail

Grab yourself a West Coast holiday this Summer The West Coast is chock-full of world-class natural wonders, famous cycle and walking tracks, untamed nature, and one-of-akind spots. And there’s never been a better summer to visit. This summer there are loads of great deals on adventure activities, luxury getaways, unique food and drink, boutique accommodation and loads more.

Find great deals and book your trip to the West Coast:

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LIFE

ENDLESS SUMMER

GROWING UP IN A MOTOR CAMP What’s it like on the edge of other people’s holidays? Kim Knight reflects on the eight years her family lived at the Punakaiki Seaside Motor Camp

alfway to the camping ground, the car stopped. We were moving forward but the U-Haul trailer containing our every possession wanted to go backwards. On a steep section of the Buller Gorge, gravity took over. My dad unhooked the overheated Vauxhall Cresta and left our every possession on the side of State Highway 6. “Dad went back to town!” I wrote in my red, hard-backed diary. We’d lived in, or near, Blenheim my entire short childhood. It didn’t occur to me it was ceasing to be “town” even as we completed the 302km journey to Punakaiki. When I was 9 years old, my family moved to a motor camp. We left Marlborough for the West Coast and, for the next eight years, other people’s holidays came to us. Friends imagine this time in the halcyon tones of a perpetual summer. It’s true West Coast sunsets are pretty but, when asked to imagine the colour pink, the first image in my head is always shower scum. Technically, we lived across the road from the Punakaiki Seaside Motor Camp.

It was 1979 and Dad was a ranger for Lands and Survey. His job came with the house and a bonus job for the missus — $100 a month for looking after one kitchen, two ablution blocks, a drying room and assorted tent and powered caravan sites. Mum managed the bookings and did the cleaning. Dad and a rotating team of people from various compulsory work-forthe-dole schemes did the rubbish runs, mowed the lawns and changed the light bulbs in the toilet blocks with the very high ceilings. It is the stuff of family legend that Dad once climbed a ladder to discover dozens of cannabis seedlings flourishing in the dormer window space metres above the women’s hand basins. Our house across the road from the motor camp had two bedrooms, scuzzy mustard-yellow carpet tiles and an office with a sliding glass door and a buzzer. There were no computers. Other people’s holidays were mapped on a giant piece of cardboard that Mum ruled up annually — 365 days across, 68 campsites down. That buzzer rang in the middle of every evening meal, because other people can be rude and demanding. I am sure that’s why my family eats quickly, even now.

“TWICE A YEAR, THE MOTOR CAMP GOT REALLY BUSY. IN THE WHITEBAIT SEASON, THE TRACK BESIDE THE PORORARI RIVER SMELLED LIKE PLAIN BISCUITS AND A THERMOS FLASK OF TEA”.

When we answered the phone, we had to say “Barrytown 894” because maybe someone was actually after the tearooms or the souvenir shop, which were on the same shared phone line. A “party” line they called it, like one day a bunch of disembodied voices might get together to listen to each other drink Marque Vue. We went on just one family holiday in those eight years. It was the dead of winter, when the camping ground (and also every camping ground we stayed in on the drive around the bottom of the South Island) was empty. I thought I would probably die of cold in Dunedin, but I also had my first ever restaurant dinner (Cobb & Co). In 1979, it did not seem strange or sad to me that there was another little kid who really did live in the motor camp, possibly in the awning of his mother’s caravan. He caught our bus and went to our school and our gang, which was called The Smurfs, went to war against his gang, which was called The Stormtroopers. Then one day he and his mum didn’t live there anymore. Everything was transitory. For so many years, nothing was fixed except my family. Those strangers who gave us their name-address-car registration and cash (50c for a tent site; $3 for a caravan power point) existed for one night or two nights or sometimes an entire summer, as a shaded square on Mum’s giant booking chart. Then they left. Well, most of them. In 1979, it did not seem strange or scary to me that very occasionally total strangers would end up sleeping on our scuzzy mustard-yellow floor tiles. Maybe it was raining an d the motor camp was full and it was too late to hitch a ride to town (Greymouth, now). Maybe, back then, we feared less and cared more. My mum has always cooked like she expected more people for dinner.

Lindi was a floor-tile guest. In her lifetime she had slept on a beach in India, a ski lodge in Canada and many other places I had yet to even imagine. She wore silver and turquoise jewellery and gave me my first driving lesson around and around the camping ground in a column-shift car called Big Al. She introduced me to garlic bread and Bruce Springsteen. Every child should make friends with one of their parents’ friends. You become a teenager and catch the bus to Christchurch and sleep in their spare room under the Indonesian batik wall hangings they actually brought in Indonesia. They teach you to read tarot cards. The day before you go to journalism school, they give you a metal box full of ancient buttons that have been unearthed from the floorboards of a house they’ve done the new kitchen design for. (Much later, you meet a man with a penchant for op shop suits and, when he loses a button, you have just the thing.) In my late 30s, when Lindi’s children were older than I was when she first met me, she picked me up from my flat in Christchurch for a road trip to Kaikōura. I was so hungover, I asked her to stop in a small North Canterbury town. I needed to vomit. Lindi said, “Oh, I’m such an idiot — I’ve got cancer.” “I know,” I replied. “I’m so sorry.” “No,” she said. “Anti-nausea tablets!” Less than hour later, we were drinking white wine and eating good cheese. The next day, we sat on the beach and Lindi talked about transitions and the lost world of Atlantis and two dolphins leapt out of the water in poster-perfect unison. We all just need somewhere safe and warm and dry to sleep. Twice a year, the motor camp got really busy. In the whitebait season, the track

LIFE · 7

Summer, circa 1982. Kim Knight at Punakaiki. Photo / Supplied

“I AM DREDGING MY MEMORY BANKS FOR THE KUMBAYA MOMENTS, WHEN MY SMALL PART IN THIS BIG MASS OF HUMANNESS MADE MY HEART SWELL WHOLE. BUT YOU GROW UP IN A MOTOR CAMP AND ALL YOU’RE REALLY DOING IS GROWING UP.” beside the Pororari River smelled like plain biscuits and a thermos flask of tea. I remember the old men and women with a capacity for stillness. They’d sit on small folded stools for days on end; human herons stalking translucent wriggles in the water. A fat, silvery trout swam right into my dad’s whitebait net. We were tremendously excited. “Be quiet,” said the ranger who didn’t have a trout-catching licence. He threw it back. Or he took it home and Mum stuffed it with lemon, onion and bay leaves. I forget which. In December and January, there were tents everywhere. Small, nylon spaces with gauzy light. Our lawn sprouted its own spare room. The tent in our front yard was standard-issue green and white canvas that was always almost dry from the last time it rained. We lay on sleeping bags on stretchers that had raw potatoes jammed onto the metal pointy bits so no-one gouged an ankle in the dark. We read Trixie Belden and Nancy Drew and decided the mail order Sea Monkeys on the back of the comics were probably not worth it. The top half of the camping ground

turned caravan-brown and blue. A sunbleached paint-by-numbers of regulars who parked in the same spot, year after year, unpacking leftover Christmas cake from Tupperware boxes and mixing gin and tonics at that hour when the sun gave everything a gilt-edge. Suburbia with awnings and plaques that read “Seldom Inn” or “Roam Sweet Roam”. In the beginning, the kids from those summer caravans were just kids. We played Spy in the giant pine trees that stood sentry around the camp’s perimeter, though I had no idea what the rules or goals were. Eventually those kids became teenage boys and I still had no idea what the rules or goals were but there was definitely more at stake. Growing up is that weird feeling you get when the boy you built bonfires with every summer arrives from Christchurch with a friend who wears mascara and has a jacket from Thornton Hall. Punakaiki, where the boom of the Tasman Sea against the limestone cliffs is so loud you can’t hear your 1980s mixtape. I never really understood why people from Christchurch wanted to get away from

the cinemas, shops and U2 concerts. The city was sparkly, and the motor camp was dusty-hot with nothing but a boring beach that was too wild to swim in. At night the boom of the ocean against the giant limestone cliffs was so loud you had to turn your Walkman up if you wanted to dance to Midnight Oil in your head. Tour buses stopped at the pancake rocks and blowholes, which were geologically interesting but it’s not like you could get KFC or a Filet-O-Fish afterwards. Now, of course, I crave the salve of green and blue spaces. Unfettered. Anything could happen here. Motor camps are democratisers. Facilities are communal and the early birds get the hottest showers. At the Punakaiki Seaside Motor Camp it cost 20c for three minutes of hot water in the cubicles with the walls that didn’t meet the floor. Once, when half my school had head lice, it was the scene of a mass decontamination: cold water. Lather. Slide the nit shampoo along to the next cubicle. Insert coin. Rinse with hot water. Repeat. Caravan folk trekked to the bathrooms in their jandals, carrying giant floral toilet bags. They emerged washed and coiffed, but behind the “closed for cleaning” signs I knew about their flaky skin and straggly pubic hairs. I grew up judging people who do not properly scrub the bit where the

bathroom tap meets the basin. If you are one of those holidaymakers who routinely says things like, “Oh, don’t worry, the cleaners will take care of it,” then I hope it rains very hard on the last three days of your vacation. I am dredging my memory banks for the Kumbaya moments, when my small part in this big mass of humanness made my heart swell whole. But you grow up in a motor camp and all you’re really doing is growing up. Any kid lucky enough to be fed, clothed and treated decently by people who love them, doesn’t think about the big picture until it’s only pictures. Scenes from the time when your feet were tanned the colour of dirt and you didn’t know that one day, you’d pay for a product that made your hair look like you’d been river-swimming. For the longest and most formative time, the Punakaiki Seaside Motor Camp was the centre of my universe. In 1987, I went to Canada on a Rotary student exchange and, when I came home, my family had moved to a cottage on the other side of the state highway. The powers-that-be had decided the motor camp would become a more commercial entity. My parents were free from the 24/7 tyranny of other people’s holidays and they were building a new house with a stained glass front door that did not have a buzzer. ORIGNALLY PUBLISHED IN CANVAS

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After a year like that we all deserve a few nights off to get out there and par-tae. There’s a lot going on so here are our top 5 festival picks happening over January and February to kickstart your year in ﬁne fashion. And as Kiwis like to migrate over the holidays we’ve included a range of locations. Happy holidays and rock on! By Karl Puschmann Sounds Like Summer Festival

The Summer Concert Tour 2021

Six60 Saturdays

Where: Everywhere Where: Matakana What: New Zealand’s most What: Hey, what’s that popular band slide into their sound? Everybody look traditional summer tour, playing what’s going down in six different locations over six Matakana at the end of consecutive Saturdays across Jan. Sounds Like Summer Jan/Feb. Each stop sees them is a new day-long festival playing with different supports, that sounds like a great including Broods, Troy Kingi, way to spend a sunny Ladi6 and the dude Dave The Beths. Photo / Supplied Sunday arvo. They’re Dobbyn. calling themselves a With no Auckland show yet announced — they’re currently ‘boutique festival’ but they’ve snagged Wellington’s dub-pop heroes The Black Bay Dreams fighting to play Eden Park — Where: Six60 stans will need to slip, slop, Seeds and Auckland’s pop-punk proponents Mt Maunganui slap out of town to see them. The Beths to headline. It’ll be worth the cruisy 60-minute drive from the city. What: Boasting the biggest international line-up and a hefty local bill Bay When: 16 Jan, Waitangi. 23 Jan, Dreams is a super-sized music festival extravaganza. If you’re holidaying Hastings. 30 Jan, New Plymouth. When: 31 Jan. in the BOP this summer then you’ve 6 Feb, Christchurch, 13 Feb, probably already got your tickets. Wellington and 27 Feb, Hamilton. If not, a quick scroll through the line-up One Love Festival should convince. Quarantining for the Where: Tauranga event are cats like Peking What: If you’re feeling irie this summer — Duk, Sub Focus and Alix and on a gorgeous sunny afternoon during Perez, while locals Mitch the holidays, that’s most of us — then James, Katchafire, Home unhurriedly make your way to the annual One Love Festival Brew, Robinson, Paige and for its patented brand of chillaxed reggae and dub sonic Concord Dawn, amongst stylings. Fat Freddy’s Drop lead the line-up that is bursting many, many others, will be with summery vibes including L.A.B, Ardijah, Cornerstone performing. Roots, Kora, Sean Kingston and Stan Walker amongst others. Six60. Photo / Supplied When: 3 Jan. When: 6-7 Feb.

Where: Queenstown, Taupo and Whitianga What: The annual Summer Concert Tour rock and rolls its way up the country with another star-studded line-up of class acts. NZ’s own wild blues rocker Gin Wigmore is headlining the tour this year and she’s joined by legacy bands The Angels, Dragon, Mi-Sex and the phenomenally awesome live act Pseudo Echo. With its relaxed vibe and terrific hit-filled music, these shows always sell out, so if you’re keen as a bean you’ll want to snap up some tickets now. When: Queenstown 23 Jan, Taupo 30 Jan, Whitianga 31 Jan.

MUSIC

ON TOUR

Congratulations, you made it to the end of 2020.

MUSIC

Dance Stamina

Photo / James K Lowe

Finn family protégé Harper Finn's new breakthrough song is the feel-good anthem we need right now, writes Karl Puschmann

he opening piano chords of Harper Finn's new single, Dance Away These Days, sound claustrophobic and heavy. Like the sound of someone watching the walls close in around them. Like a funeral procession, it marches determinedly forward, augmented by sparse claps, distant synth pads and jarring electronic percussion, until everything except that plodding piano falls away as Harper reassures you that "someday the dark side of the moon will see the light". As he sings, an urgent beat rushes in, crashing through the malaise to whisk you up and carry you out. But to where? Space, crowded rooms and the twilight zone are just some of the places his lyrics suggest. Anywhere but that room, that headspace. Anywhere you can dance. "I had those moments where you're stuck inside your room and the scenery's stayed the same for months and months. You just really feel like kicking through the walls, smashing a window. "For me, Dance Away These Days has been a significant release in terms of getting on the radio here. I've done a few small shows since it's been out and it's one of the first times I've really noticed people singing the words and doing the dances back to me. It's been pretty crazy in that respect. That kind of recognition of sorts." The Devonport local released his first single back in 2018, but it was the pop-

drama of last year's Conversation with the Moon and the arty quirk of Teenage Queen that attracted people's attention. It's Dance Away These Days that is very much proving itself to be a song for these days, this moment of anxiousness and frustration tempered by that glimmer of optimism and hope that the worst is now behind us. "Everybody's been talking about cabin fever," he says, referring to the lockdowns. "I stopped listening to music in my headphones and started playing music through my loud speakers because I wanted to fill the space I was in. I wanted the environment to change. If you spend so much time in your head ... it was driving me crazy. I wanted to be outside, windows down, playing music. Just trying to feel as present in a space as possible as opposed to being trapped inside my own head."

But, despite that he's quick to add it wasn't all bad. He spent it at home with his family, going on walks with his mum, making art with his sister and jamming with his dad, the exSplit Enz frontman, Crowded House ringer and all-round local music legend, Tim Finn. "I enjoyed a lot of lockdown. It was the first time where I wasn't thinking ahead. It was very much about what was happening today; we'll go for a walk, then we'll make some bread when we get home and maybe we'll have a family sing-along around the piano. It was small, very simple things. Which was good," he says. "I've since moved out of home, I'm living in a flat with some other people, so it almost felt like a last hurrah of me being at home. It felt like my childhood again in a way. Being thrown together with the rest of my family for such an extended period of time."

I think people are going to realise how they have some of the best music in the world under their nose. I really believe that.

It sounds like he wanted to feel alive again. "Absolutely," he agrees. "Feeling alive. Feeling present." Harper says that he, like most of us, found the lockdown affecting and difficult dealing with the enforced restrictions and not being able to see friends, do anything or get out and live.

That quiet existence is why he needed to write a dancefloor filler. And while it's different to his earlier material he says it's just another section of the sonic painting that he's gradually revealing of himself as a songwriter and producer. "I don't ever want to feel bound to one sound or style. I approach every song like a

new challenge," he explains. "I was excited to get this out because I'm still relatively new on the scene so there's still a lot for me to share and for people to know about me. For the next few songs every song might feel a little bit different, a little bit further away from each other but as time progresses and people look back they'll see how they all fit together. Because I see it that way." Unusually, Dance Away These Days is not a lead single, although he does say more music is coming, most likely in the form of an EP early next year. It really was something he just needed to get out. "I wanted it to be a release of energy. I wanted people to be able to scream the words, shout the words, sing the words. I wanted it to be however you felt, whatever energy you had built up inside of you, you could shoot that out." With the song connecting so hard it's obvious a lot of people are also feeling that need to sing, shout and let it all out. "The line in the song that a lot of people do point to is the, 'If you feel the same, put the phone away.' But that wasn't me so much saying 'put the phone away and stop being on social media'," he explains. "It was more, 'disconnect from another reality and be in the reality that we all experience together; life'." New Zealand is incredibly fortunate that we now have a reality we can all share. Finn has just been announced as playing the new Outerfields Festival in March with acts like Benee, Aldous Harding and Fat Freddy's Drop. "It reminds us how lucky we are," he says as gigs and festivals begin being announced again. "We could be seeing a renaissance of New Zealand music over the summer. I think people are going to realise how they have some of the best music in the world under their nose. I really believe that."

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN VIVA

EASY LISTENING We ask some of our favourite local musicians about the songs that provided them with some respite in an otherwise extraordinary year. From comforting gospel to Kiwi classics, add these recommendations to your holiday playlist now. Compiled by Sarah Downs

MUSIC

ELIZABETH STOKES, THE BETHS

The music I’m turning to. . . I haven’t been listening to that much music, I’m not sure why. Sometimes when things are stressful it’s hard to begin. I loved Phoebe Bridgers’ new song Garden Song though. I love her lyrics and songwriting, and there is something about her vocal tone and phrasing that just short circuits the whole of my thinking brain and cuts directly into my emotional lizard brain. I wouldn’t call it comforting (it makes me feel deeply sad) but it’s full distraction, which I appreciate.

MARLON WILLIAMS

The music I’m turning to. . . My current favourites are The Maniapoto Voices and the Mauriora Entertainers (both available on Spotify etc.). At times the idea that there’s “nothing new under the sun” can be comforting. Many of these are old songs of yearning; there is a deep sense of loss. It’s nice to feel part of the continuum of history sometimes, forever at the mercy of the human condition.

A song that puts me in a good headspace right now is. . . Chelsea Jade’s new song Superfan. Chelsea is such an incredible songwriter. Every lyric is a zinger and when I listen to this song I hear another piece of wit so sharp I don’t know how she can fit so many in one song without it bursting open. I’ve known Chelsea since we were 13 and 14, in the same guitar lesson group at school, and I miss her dearly and worry like a parent about her being in the US right now. Hearing the fruits of her labour makes me so proud.

A song that puts me in a good headspace right now is. . . E Wawata by the Mauriora Entertainers — check it out.

FINN ANDREWS

The music I’m turning to. . . nothing sounds better than a great song at a bad time — I’m finding this to be very true at the moment. I’ve found myself listening to a lot of Billie Holiday, Antony and The Johnsons, Nina Simone. People with voices that conjure entire landscapes along with them. Perhaps that’s what appeals while I’m missing the world outdoors. I would also heartily recommend Emahoy Tsegue-Maryam Guebrou’s otherworldly The Song of the Sea. I’m becoming increasingly sentimental during this time, and it seems to be taking less and less for a song to bring me close to tears — especially if it makes me think of my friends. My dad is in the UK, and I don’t know when I’ll see him next ... this has opened up a whole host of other songs I should probably avoid.

HOLLIE SMITH

The music I’m turning to. . . all the livestream music that the New Zealand music industry is doing — Anna Coddington, Louis Baker and Anika Moa has been doing her Songs for Bubbas concerts which are often inappropriately adult-friendly. It’s an awesome way to support our small and fragile industry at this time and it’s a nice intimate way to get to know artists you love. A song that puts me in a good headspace right now is. . . maybe not one song but my John Lee Hooker record has been a fantastic puzzle and wine accompaniment.

A song that puts me in a good headspace right now is. . . the last show I went to before the lockdown began was the Weyes Blood/Aldous show at the Auckland Town Hall — as a result both these artists seem to be shepherding me through this time. The Weyes Blood song Andromeda is almost constantly floating around in the back of my mind. I’m ever so glad to have them with me. ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN VIVA

Escape to Auckland’s untouched island. Sandy beach, palm trees, gourmet food, licenced restaurant, newly refurbished suites on the water’s edge.Relax and unwind in a stunning setting. Easy to get to by car, (Catch ferry from Sandspit) sea plane, boat or helicopter. We can organise everything Contact us 09 422 8850

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FUTURE PROOF 12

STYLE

For more than two decades, Steve Dunstan has helped shape the way New Zealander’s dress through his label Huffer. Dan Ahwa catches up with the co-founder and brand director about adapting to the changing times, building a community and how he’ll be enjoying his summer

h To me it is understanding that we all have mental health and that we need to look after it and keep it healthy and often that can be by talking and sharing how you feel and identifying where you are at with yourself as a starting point. If you can’t get it out then it’s hard to help yourself or others.

Steve Dunstan on holiday. Photo / Supplied

ow would you sum up your personal experience of 2020? I got married in the early part of the year which was a life moment and the start of a new exciting journey. Ngahuia teaches me everyday and I love that about her. I learn from her determination and sense of never sitting still to some degree; and always having a challenge or a project to give you meaning and a sense of purpose. It’s also been a year of development for me and many others. The world flipped the script and threw many of us out of what was a routine into a sense of the unknown. Those emotions that we all experienced — especially during late March and April — will have a long-lasting effect on me. Understanding a sense of national resilience to a certain degree has been eye-opening without underestimating the turmoil that has been created here and around the world. The events and experiences of 2020 have magnified relationships with people. A sense of honesty and transparency emerged. This year we also opened the Huffer House in Britomart, Auckland. For me it’s about what we do in the House in the future and what role it plays to the community. We have some exciting plans around music, coffee and People Presence (our mental health initiative). I am also so excited to see our product roll out as 2021 will be the first product that is truly informed by our brand project as product timelines can be lengthly, especially when you are designing products of significance with innovation and purpose in mind. What have been some of the rewarding things you've discovered about yourself and the

brand this year? More of a connection with my inner self, which is also very translatable to Huffer. Learning to lead from the inside and then project outwards. Understanding that the world in not coming at you and that you control your experiences. Huffer is such an iconic, household name. As many brands have had to adapt to the times, what is one key change you have implemented with the brand that you are most proud of? At the end of 2019 I went on a journey of about six months with the brand to help deﬁne our purpose and meaning. We spent 23 years experimenting and evolving with great successes and massive mistakes along the way; and then suddenly stopping, creating the space and giving the opportunity to see what was to 'show up’. This experience now gives us the tools to inform and send us on a path of Huffer ‘being’ Huffer. This year was a start of implementation and I am very proud of our work that is coming out the pipeline. You have been an advocate for mental health with your work through People Presence and the Mental Health Foundation. Why is this important to you? You could say that we are in the industry of image and I feel like there is a responsibility to use our platform in a positive way to help build awareness around mental health. We are lucky to have a community and a connection. We aren’t necessarily experts in the ﬁeld but we can start conversations and work with people that do alongside the community with a mission to develop social sustainability. Every single one of us has 'mental health' and I think that the term mental health can been seen as something negative or taboo.

What will you be looking forward to doing this summer? I’m looking forward to creating the freedom to get myself in a ‘go with the ﬂow’ state for a couple of weeks. Not too many plans and time on the west coast at Piha where Ngahuia and myself have a very special place to chill. Piha is a great place to connect, wheather it be through the small, local diverse community or with the natural ﬂow of people gravitating out there to salute the great sunsets. Where are some of your favourite places to surf? I have to pinch myself that I can walk to the surf from our place at Piha and the feeling of not having to drive for a surf and to come back to an outdoor shower with a cold beer in hand. It has always been the dream. What feeling does the idea of a quintessential New Zealand summer hold for you? A sense of warmth through being connected with family and people, knowing that most people have a sense of presence as they get the ability to slow down for a moment.

f What are your favourite childhood memories of summer? Camping at beaches on the Banks Peninsula. Being around other kids for a few days on end. Music is such an integral part of Huffer's DNA and a personal passion for you. What is on heavy rotation for you this summer? We have a Huffer Spotify account (Huffermusic) and have curated a playlist named Huffer Radio where we update new or old tracks weekly. I personally subscribe along with many others and look forward to updates and letting it play out as the spirt of the brand. What is the best advice you've been given and by whom? First thing comes to mind is, execution not expenditure. Not sure who said it to me or if I just thought it but I like it! This summer I’ll be wearing… Wetsuits, hike shorts, oversized T-shirts. I’ll be reading… Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman by Yvon Chouinard. I’ll be looking forward to cooking… Italian. What I’ve just finished watching… The Crown season four. Clocked it straight away.

Huffer Britomart. Photo / Supplied

BACH LIFE

The classic Kiwi summer holiday at the bach is a time-honoured tradition. Ensure you’ve packed the right essentials to make the getaway memorable and stress-free

STYLE

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1. Moana Road retro-inspired bluetooth speakers $50. Moanaroad.com 2. Seed Heritage Terry robe $150. Seedheritage.com 3. Coast New Zealand outdoor cushion, from $130. Coastnewzealand.com 4. Citta Design beach towels, from $60 each. Cittadesign.com 5. Wallace Cotton bean bag $130. Wallacecotton.com 6. Wallace Cotton bamboo cutlery set, $25. Wallacecotton.com 7. Wolfkamp and Stone enamel mug, $23, from Iko Iko. Ikoiko.co.nz 8. Kokako Aotea plunger coffee $15. Kokako.co.nz 9. Printworks chess set, $80, from Father Rabbit. Fatherrabbit.com 10. Napoleon Goods chilly bin $10. Napoleongoods.co.nz 11. Seed Heritage kids rash vest $35. Seedheritage.com 12. MeToday SPF30 sunscreen $40. Metoday.com 13. Fresh Retro Love wool blanket $299. Freshretrolove.co.nz $50. Moanaroad.com 14. Nisa swimsuit $209. Nisa.co.nz 15. Little and Fox x Evie Kemp beach umbrella $350. Littleandfox.co.nz 16. Ruby bucket hat $59. Rubynz.com 17. Billabong sandals, $45, from Amazon Surf. Amazonsurf.co.nz 18. Amazing Aotearoa Activity Book by Gavin Bishop $25. Penguin.co.nz and from all good bookstores 19. Seedlip Spice 94 non-alcoholic spirit $65. Seedlipdrinks.com 20. Kubb Brothers Kubb set and box $220. Kubb.co.nz

Hello Summer Brighten your bed for warm days and holidays

Newmarket • Ponsonby • Takapuna • Apollo Dr • Cambridge • Napier Wellington • Christchurch

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COMMON THREADS Stretton’s masks, made from fabric off-cuts, are in daily demand — over 10,000 have already been sewn and sold through its buy-one-give-one scheme. Luxury behemoth LVMH committed its workers and relegated its workshops — spaces where next season's cutting-edge designs are usually being produced — to the necessary task of sewing masks and protective clothing for medical professionals working during the Covid-19 pandemic. “Sewing is a very forgiving pastime, as you can always unpick anything that doesn’t work,” explains avid sewer, vintage advocate, and New Zealand Fashion Museum trustee Rose Jackson, who has also worked as a workroom assistant for Aucklandbased label Pearl. “Don’t be hard on yourself or feel like your sewing has to be perfect. We’re all working with limitations at the moment, which can bring some unexpectedly beautiful results to any creative project. Enjoy taking your time and see where your instincts lead you. Anything we can do to occupy our hands, so we can avoid scrolling

We’re all working with limitations at the moment, which can bring some unexpectedly beautiful results to any creative project.

supermarket worker sewing face masks for her essential colleagues or the desire to simply take idle hands away from our screens, the growing interest in sewing during lockdown is an unsurprising return to a traditional skill favoured by previous generations, in a world ﬁlled with much uncertainty. A handful of local fashion brands have put their sewing resources and skills to good use too; Ruby is connecting with its community through virtual sewing classes and shoppable patterns for some of its popular styles and recently launched an entire collection of patterns under its sister label Liam. Other designers including Annah Stretton, Jojo Ross, Liz Mitchell, Rachel Mills and Frances Lowe of Loclaire are just some of the brands sewing and selling re-usable facemasks. Annah

through never-ending news updates, is a good thing.” Part of the appeal for sewing comes from its strong sense of community. London-based Tara Viggo, who grew up in Dunedin, now runs the popular domestic pattern-making company Paper Theory Patterns (@ paper_theory for home-sewers around the world), cultivating a following of like-minded sewers. Her most popular pattern, the Zadie jumpsuit, went viral last year, becoming the most made sewing pattern worldwide. It’s an accomplishment Tara believes comes down to sewing’s inclusivity. “I think its popularity is due to the fact it is easy to wear regardless of your size or body shape,” she says from her home in London. “It has a forgiving ﬁt and you can modify how much you want to accentuate your

f anyone was feeling nostalgic this year, you weren't alone. While I sat at home doing the very modern thing of Facetiming my grandmother in May, I’m taken back to much simpler memories of her, speciﬁcally the memory of her pre-arthritis, whizzing away over a black mid-century Singer sewing machine complete with a motor drive belt with one hell of a grunt. The portable sewing machine was how my nan would pour out her heart and soul into clothes fashioned from fabrics she purchased on her weekly trips to Barker & Pollock on Karangahape Road. Sewing was a cathartic release; an opportunity to express her creative spirit, and on other days, a chance to vent her frustrations — mood swings many of us can relate to right now. Without fail, that old-timey sewing machine became the portal for where all her creative energy could be channelled. "Creativity blooms in crisis" is what some might say right now, and whether it’s the story of the Waikato

STYLE

Putting needle to thread provided us with plenty of comforting nostalgia this year writes Dan Ahwa

Carole King doing needlepoint for her seminal album Tapestry (1971). Photo / Getty Images

waist with ties. It doesn’t have a zipper or any trims — everyone hates to sew zips. I have a more inclusive size range than most traditional brands, which I think is really appreciated by the sewing community as many people make their own clothes because they feel unwelcomed by the current size ranges on offer from designers.” Auckland-based journalist and sewing enthusiast Maggie Wicks says the sewing community’s inclusive spirit is appealing for challenging times. “The sewing community, in New Zealand and internationally, is the most incredible community. We review patterns for each other, heap praise onto each other’s Instagram posts, openly share our body measurements — nothing is out of bounds. It must be the safest space on the internet,” she says. Whether it’s fraternising or getting stuck into a sewing project, Tara advises enjoying the process. Having established herself as a go-to pattern cutter over the years, working with a diverse array of fashion brands, including River Island, All Saints, J.W. Anderson, Emilia Wickstead, Erdem and Giles Deacon, to creating costumes for Natasha Khan of Bat for Lashes and Groove Armada, sewing, she says, is ultimately about self-expression. “I think the most important thing is not to be too hard on yourself about how perfect your creations are. People often feel self-conscious that their sewing isn’t good enough, and it puts them off developing the craft further. I can guarantee no one else will notice the small blips that you’re obsessing over. It takes many years of practice to be excellent at anything, just because everyone’s grandmother seems to know how to sew doesn’t mean it’s not a serious skill that took time to develop. All the little mistakes you make along the way are essential learning curves. If it looks shit just call it punk and wear it with pride!” Conversations around sustainability are also connected to sewing, and as the fashion industry continues to

grapple with its impact on the planet, it’s a discussion even more fraught during the lockdown period. “Sewing my own clothes has taught me that we should spend more and buy less,” says Maggie. “If you knew how much time went into sewing a garment, you would know immediately that you probably did not pay enough. All clothing is handmade — even the cheapest pieces from fast fashion stores have a real person working the machines. In developing countries, the fashion industry is one of the largest employers of women, and those women are some of the lowest-paid members of the world’s workforce. We shouldn’t take our clothing for granted the way we do.” Rose, who is also a member of the team behind NZ Fashion Revolution, agrees that the act of sewing is not only one way to keep creative indoors right now, but is also a powerful rejection of mass-produced fashion, a major contributor to the world’s environmental issues. “When you make a garment from start to ﬁnish, from choosing fabric and trims to cutting, sewing and hand ﬁnishing, you get a true understanding of the huge number of processes that a single piece of clothing has to go through to be completed. It gives you heightened respect for all the garment workers of the world, many of whom are woefully underpaid to meet the voracious appetite for cheap fast fashion.” Depending on your mood for what you’d like to sew right now, whether practical or frivolous, creative freedom is what makes a sewing project fun. “I’m currently sewing with Liberty of London silk and an embroidered silk organza,” says Maggie. “I decided earlier this year that I should up the quality of the fabrics I wear, so I splashed out on several beautiful pieces. By the end of lockdown, I suspect I’ll have a large collection of inappropriately extravagant workwear.” ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN VIVA

IMAGE

MAKING

STYLE

Politicians have long harnessed the power and symbolism of clothing, and today it’s more important than ever, writes Zoe Walker Ahwa

Right: Chlöe Swarbrick’s Green Party jumper. Photo / Film7 Below: US presidentelect Joe Biden and vice-president elect Kamala Harris. Photo / Getty Images

t was a visual metaphor of New Zealand’s changing political landscape and attitudes to dress; a symbol of election success and new political power dressing. At the Greens’ election night party in Auckland, co-leader James Shaw arrived beaming with pride; the picture of smart-casual in a grey check blazer, no tie — and jeans. Up north in Russell at New Zealand First’s party at the Duke of Marlborough, the gathered crowd was a little older and the mood slightly more subdued. Winston Peters made a brief appearance, in his signature pinstripe suit with a maroon tie and matching pocket square. It was a traditional look for a stalwart of New Zealand’s traditional political landscape, whose fortunes had turned after four decades in Parliament. The two had butted heads throughout the campaign — and the generational shift of politics and election night success could neatly be summed up in their clothes. Or maybe I’m reading too much into it? I know that what politicians wear is not essential analysis. It’s about the numbers and results — and how these will shape our government and country for three more years. Clothing and politics is a divisive conversation: it can feel superficial in the context of the important issues — and is also one that often focuses unfairly on women. But politicians across the spectrum are aware of the power and symbolism of

clothing. Following the much closer 2017 election results, Winston used a wellplaced accessory to send a message and make a little joke — with an appearance after drawn-out coalition negotiations while wearing a tie emblazoned with the acronym “TGIF”. Auckland Central winner Chlöe Swarbrick made wearing your political leanings cool with her vintage Green Party jumper, which the party had replicated as merch and sold more than 1000 in a few hours (she wore hers throughout the campaign). Political image-making is more important than ever in the information and social media age, where the public is always watching, whether it’s on TV or on a phone screen. Even if a politician isn’t speaking, that image is a moment of instant communication. In the United States — granted, probably not the best example of a political landscape right now — there are multiple examples. Many of them right now involve face masks. It’s Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in matching blue suits, striding out on stage for their first joint appearance together in matching black masks — a striking image of power, stability and trust. It’s Donald Trump wearing a face mask adorned with the presidential seal as he made his way to the helicopter set to take him to hospital after testing positive for Covid-19 (you can bet this was a strategic decision that involved various high-level conversations; an attempt to “look presidential” even while sick).

“...a striking image of power, stability and trust.”

Our Prime Minister clearly values creativity and enjoys fashion and has shown her support for New Zealand-made design and the local fashion industry which is made up of many small businesses (retail, manufacturing, etc) that have been hit hard by Covid. Speaking with Viva in 2019, she discussed her understanding and support of our local fashion and retail industries when wearing it while overseas on trips — one of the rare instances that she’s acknowledged fashion. “When I’m away my focus is always obviously on the work in front of me but I’m also mindful I should represent New Zealand in every respect. Ultimately though, I think the New Zealand fashion industry stands on its own, we have so many successful, incredibly creative designers that make us all proud when they take their work overseas.” As she walked on stage at the Auckland Town Hall to address the nation and her supporters, she also displayed her increasing confidence confidence at selecting fashion that showcases her ongoing support. On the campaign trail she favoured. Kate Sylvester and Juliette Hogan and her election night look was a custom-made, draped burgundy dress layered over matching trousers, designed by Auckland-based fashion brand Maaike. It was a throwback to her previous election night in 2017, where she wore a similar look from Maaike designers Emilie Pullar and Abby van Schreven. “The colour is a connection for sure and definitely a nod to our past election look for her but more than anything we are quite limited for colour on election night — no blues or greens and patterns are too busy,” says Emilie. “She looks sensational in burgundy, so it’s an easy job for us.”

The pair have worked with the Prime Minister for a number of years but Emilie was quick to stress that they feel what she wears shouldn’t be of importance. “We almost feel slightly uncomfortable discussing it as we feel it is often unfair on women in power to have to deal with people discussing their clothes, as men’s suits are rarely mentioned. That is why we opted for simple and clean lines so it wouldn’t be a distraction or huge talking point.” Elsewhere on election night, there were various moments of clothing as a statement. James Shaw in jeans (casual, modern). Winston Peters in pinstripes (establishment, traditional). National leader Judith Collins opted for a matching jacquard coat and dress by Trelise Cooper — a brand that has traditionally been a go-to for politicians and was also worn by Māori Party co-leader Debbie NgarewaPacker. Pink was the preferred colour for Act leader David Seymour, who chose a vibrant tie that he has worn throughout the campaign for his party’s celebration. Greens’ co-leader Marama Davidson continued her sustainable approach in a vintage skirt suit sourced from Trade Me by local vintage shoppers and

stylists Duo Drops, with a bag from Manukau store Panikeke and a harakeke hair piece spotted by her daughter at home and turned into a brooch. Marama had earlier shared an Instagram post talking openly about clothing and its role in her campaign — a refreshing but extremely rare occurrence for a politician, particularly in New Zealand. “I would say 95 per cent of my wardrobe is hokohoko/recycled/preloved/op shop or whatever you want to call it. This has been a way of life for generations of our whanau,” she wrote. “I have to look and feel confident and credible when I dress for media and public appearances and just doing my job. A reality that I come to terms with because those close to me know I’d prefer to live in track pants and T-shirts all day!” Here’s hoping that’s what many politicians were able to relax in at home, even for a moment, after a seemingly never-ending campaign — before the parliamentary power suits reappear. A VERSION OF THIS STORY APPEARED ON FASHION AND CULTURE WEBSITE ENSEMBLEMAGAZINE.CO.NZ AND VIVA

Left: Judith Collins. Photo / Getty Images Above: Marama Davidson. Photo / @maramadavidson Inset: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern Photo / Getty Images

It’s congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wearing red lipstick and gold hoops to be sworn in as the youngest ever woman to serve in the US Congress — and using the moment to make a statement about sexist and racist stereotypes. “Lip+hoops were inspired by [Supreme Court Judge] Sonia Sotomayor, who was advised to wear neutralcoloured nail polish to her confirmation hearings to avoid scrutiny. She kept her red,” she wrote on Twitter. “Next time someone tells Bronx girls to take off their hoops, they can just say they’re dressing like a Congresswoman.” Later, for Vogue, she joyously shared her beauty routine and explained why that’s okay: “There’s this really false idea that if you care about makeup or if your interests are in beauty and fashion, that that’s somehow frivolous. But I actually think these are some of the most substantive decisions that we make and we make them every morning.” And look, it’s 2020. A person can be a respected politician and world leader and value good design and creativity. “This is not to say that ties are more important than the peace process — or any other policy proposal,” wrote Vanessa Friedman of the New York Times in August, when explaining why the newspaper of record covers what politicians wear. “Of course substance comes before style. But substance doesn’t exist entirely independent of style.” Case in point is Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who made history with an outstanding landslide win and 50 per cent of the overall vote — the largest share since MMP began.

Left: Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Photo / Getty Images

STYLE

“ Next time someone tells Bronx girls to take off their hoops, they can just say they’re dressing like a Congresswoman.”

ON THE AGENDA

AROUND AOTEAROA

Make it a summer of culture, style and fun

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ALL ABOARD

The Prada Cup runs from January 15 to February 22 in Auckland, with various spots for the public to watch from sea or land. Fashion designer Karen Walker is getting in the mood and embracing all things nautical, with a range created in collaboration with the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron — the official home of the America’s Cup which is celebrating 150 years in 2021. There’s plenty of on-board appropriate fare but this rain jacket seems relevant for changeable Auckland weather. Karen Walker rain jacket, $145

CATCH UP

On holiday but dreaming of pre-Covid international getaways? Indulge your travel bug and catch up on brilliant podcast Trip Notes, from the team behind the Herald’s weekly Travel magazine. Exploring destinations and offering travel tips, special guests also reminisce about their past adventures — like Judy Bailey on Botswana or Clarke Gayford (pictured) on travelling with baby Neve. Listen on iHeartRadio, Apple, Spotify and more.

TRAD & TRUE

The ultimate old-school way to unplug and unwind, puzzles for adults are making a comeback. 1. Clementoni 1000-piece puzzle, $30, from Whitcoulls 2. Lettuce x Juliette Hogan 1000-piece puzzle $42 3. Areaware 70-piece rose puzzle, $39, from Father Rabbit 4. Printworks 500-piece puzzle, $40, from Shut the Front Door

GETAWAY GLOSS

Need a new summer read at the beach or bach? The NZ Herald’s weekly lifestyle brand Viva has released a fabulous glossy magazine, with the very best in local fashion, food, beauty, design, culture and summer fun. Pick up your copy of the latest issue for just $9.90, available at supermarkets and bookstores nationwide. For a full list of retailers visit Viva.co.nz.

SUMMER SIPS

Sober driver? Try AF Drinks ($20 for four), a new brand of alcoholfree gin and tonics from Lisa King (the founder of Eat My Lunch) born from the rise of the ‘sober curious’ movement — and her own personal desire to cut back on drinking. On the sauce? The L’Opera Bitter Orange Aperitif ($55) from Hastings Distillers is a botanical wonder infused with locally grown organic Seville oranges and Kaweka spring water. The refreshing, bittersweet spirit is ideal with sparkling water, or in summer Negronis with a twist.

THE NZ LOOK

2020 has seen the NZ fashion industry discover a newfound appreciation for home and what makes this place so unique. An exhibition from the NZ Fashion Museum — curated by NZFM director Doris de Pont and Viva's Dan Ahwa — has been exploring that conversation, with earlier runs at Te Uru Gallery in Auckland’s Titirangi and Canterbury Museum — and a summer showing at Auckland’s Māngere Arts Centre, for those who missed out earlier. Moana Currents: Dressing Aotearoa Now examines the New Zealand identity through what we wear, weaving in the influence of migration, cultural exchange and the wider Pacific. There are also some wonderful pieces of fashion on display from the likes of Adrienne Whitewood, Dru Douglas, Emilia Wickstead, King Kapisi’s label Overstayer and Neil Adock. Moana Currents: Dressing Aotearoa Now, Māngere Arts Centre — Ngā Tohu o Uenuku, Auckland, January 18 —February 21 2021.

PLAY IT LOUD

Black Barn’s amphitheatre is one of New Zealand’s most beautiful venues, with its outdoor setting providing some of the most memorable summer gigs. Trinity Roots will bring its unique soul sound to the Hawke’s Bay hotspot on Thursday January 7, with the band’s first live performance of the year. They’ll be supported by Tiny Ruins. Later in the month Six60 also returns to Hawke’s Bay, with a performance at the Tomoana Showgrounds on Saturday January 23.

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ESSENTIAL READS OF 2020 Our well-read team of writers have shared some of their favourite books this year. We pick out some of the best to get stuck into over your holiday break

Wonderland: The New Zealand Photographs of Whites Aviation By Peter Alsop. Potton & Burton, $50 A mix of art, craft, nostalgia and curiosity piece, hand-coloured photographs brought a splash of post-World War II modernism into many New Zealand homes. The process involved a delicate, intricate touch and exacting replication of colour, which was applied using a thin stick wrapped with cotton wool rather than a paintbrush. As with much women’s work, it’s a skill that has been largely under-rated. In 1963, one large photograph of Lake Taupō worked on by four “colouring girls” took nine days to complete. Whites Aviation, founded in downtown Auckland in 1945, specialised in aerial photography, and their hand-coloured images have become collectibles. Wonderland, a condensed selection of landscapes from Alsop’s popular 2016 book Hand-Coloured New Zealand, is geographically arranged from Northland to Rakiura/Stewart Island, and includes some colourful profiles of the era’s key figures. — Joanna Wane, Canvas senior writer

Ko Aotearoa Tātou: We Are New Zealand Edited by Michelle Elvy, Paula Morris & James Norcliffe. Art editor David Eggleton. Otago University Press, $40 This collection was compiled in response to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s words after the devastating Christchurch terror attacks in 2019: “We are all New Zealanders.” But who are New Zealanders and what is New Zealand now in all its diversity? Bringing together a dizzying near one hundred contributors ranging from the well-known (Selina Tusitala Marsh, Apirana Taylor and Tusiata Avia) to high school students and fresh literary voices, this carefully and lovingly edited anthology spans poetry, nonfiction, essays, fiction and art, all examining national diversity and identity. This book glows with aroha and kindness. He waka eke noa — we are all in this together. — Kiran Dass, Canvas contributor

Hiakai: Modern Māori Cuisine by Monique Fiso. Godwit Press, $65 Full disclosure: I worked on this book, so there’s no way I can be completely objective about it. That said, this is probably the most important book by a New Zealand chef published this year. Monique Fiso, of multi award-winning Wellington restaurant Hiakai, has woven together the story of traditional Māori food gathering and cooking methods with a detailed primer on indigenous ingredients and a collection of breathtakingly inventive recipes. The average home cook might struggle with some of the recipes (first catch your weka) but it’s a must-read for every New Zealander. — Lucy Corry, Canvas contributor

BOOKS

Me and White Supremacy: How to Recognise Your Privilege, Combat Racism and Change the World By Layla Saad. Quercus, $38 British writer Layla Saad isn’t mucking around. She writes, “White supremacy is a violent system of oppression that harms Black, Indigenous and People of Colour. And if you are a person who holds white privilege, then you are complicit in upholding that harm, whether you realise it or not. And if you are a person who holds white privilege, the question you should be asking isn’t whether or not this is true, but rather, what are you going to do about it?” The Black Lives Matter movement saw a global craving for better understanding of racism and what to do about it. Bookshops couldn’t keep up with the demand for books about race; other important anti-racist books to consider are How to Be an Antiracist, by Ibram X Kendi; White Fragility: Why it’s so Hard for White People to Talk About Racism, by Robin DiAngelo; So You Want to Talk About Race, by Ijeoma Oluo (published in 2018 but updated after the killing in America of George Floyd) and Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race, by Reni Eddo-Lodge. Read the books, then do the work. — Kiran Dass, Canvas contributor

writing — starting with an ode to her corncob doll, composed when she was 6. In this richly illustrated tribute, she shares photos of her Tennessee childhood home, outrageous stage costumes, publicity-shy husband Carl Dean and guitar collection. But more significantly, given her status as a hitmaking genius, she explains her inspiration for 175 songs including the iconic Jolene (partly inspired by Carl flirting with “a girl down at the bank”), 9 to 5 (written on the set of the movie while tapping her fingernails to keep time) and I Will Always Love You (about longtime collaborator Porter Wagoner). She also writes of being underestimated for decades because she was a poor “Backwoods Barbie”. “I might look artificial and corny to you. You might think I have no taste. But underneath the look is a person. There’s a brain and a heart underneath the hair and the boobs.” — Eleanor Black, Canvas contributor

Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics By Dolly Parton with Robert K. Oermann. Hodder and Stoughton, $70 You don’t need to be a Dolly fan to appreciate this big-hearted book of songs and memorabilia — but I challenge anyone to resist her charms once they have flicked through its pages. A songwriter first and foremost, Parton has penned more than 3000 in her nearly 70 years of

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DINING OUT

· 20

MR. MEREDITH Multi-award-winning chef Michael Meredith tells Jo Elwin why after a hiatus to focus on his family, he’s ready to return to his culinary passions with the opening his new restaurant Mr. Morris

astronomes rejoice, Michael Meredith is back. Not that he went far — stepping away from the demands of owning and operating his restaurant Merediths but continuing to service and benefit New Zealand’s hospitality industry and Pacific Island communities through his many good works. We laugh that there was time for Netflix and overeating — which led to overgyming — but he purposefully closed Auckland’s beloved fine-dining establishment to spend time with newborn daughter Frankie and that he did, for three years. Michael had no definitive plan to open another restaurant, but says he always knew there would be another one. “I think you are in hospitality for life. It is part of you. I enjoy it and one of my main reasons to get back into it is to be part of the great hospitality environment that we are creating in New Zealand.” We talk about life and how it can deliver when you plant a seed or share a thought, which Michael says he doesn’t really do. “I tend to keep things on the downlow, but word got out and things really did happen organically.” Sometime after looking at a space in Britomart for a project that he decided wasn’t for him, the landlord got in touch

to say there was another space that might be of interest. It was, and it helped formulate the plan for Michael’s new restaurant, Mr. Morris. The space, which housed Cafe Hanoi before it moved across the road, is receiving a Nat Cheshire makeover, and it was one of the design architects who connected Michael with Leah Kirkland who will be running Mr. Morris’ front of house. Leah had recently returned from London where she had been managing Clapham’s Trinity and Bistro Union restaurants. Completing the senior team is head chef Fabio Bernadini, who worked with Michael during the early stages of Merediths, and they’ve had no trouble employing a great support team, which is understandable when Michael talks of his desire to create an environment that encourages young people into the hospitality industry; to view it as a trade rather than a service profession. “A career that they can be really proud of.” Michael is careful not to pigeonhole Mr. Morris. “The flavour profile will be diverse, reflecting New Zealand’s cuisine, which has always been a melting pot of different cultures. I was born in Samoa and the way I cook now is far removed from that, but it influences my thinking and processes. Fabio is Brazilian and has travelled the

world so there are flavours that he loves that will make the food exciting. It will be a menu with worldwide influences, just like New Zealand.” Michael has procured an asado grill, which he believes is the first of its kind in New Zealand, so there will be a lot of cooking with fire which, Michael acknowledges, is happening in many restaurants now. “We’ve stripped that molecular gastronomy of seven years ago right back to the flame and the flavour of the wood and smoke. We’re turning away from the very controlled environments in which we were trained and going back to the roots of cooking. We’re going to have a play at Mr. Morris and add our own story to it. The bottom line is that it has to be delicious.” The 70-seat restaurant will have a casual vibe with an open kitchen and bar area that encourages diner interaction. But there will be nothing casual about the service. “Good service is what makes hospitality,” Michael stresses. Preferring to say that things will be “less formatted”. The menu is a sizeable one with broad appeal. Sundays will be lunch only with a four-course set menu that fulfils Michael’s desire to offer people a “trust the chef” experience. The restaurant will be closed Mondays except once a month when Michael will bring back the dine-by-donation evenings that raised $340,000 for charities at Merediths. A private dining room — Mrs. Morris — has been designed as a mini restaurant with its own bar and a fully-equipped Miele kitchen. Behind the Mr. Morris name is a touching story of Michael’s life and business partner Claire Baudinet’s uncle Ray Morris who passed away unexpectedly during the restaurant’s initial planning stages. “Ray was one of my biggest fans, always

Photos / Anna Kidman praising my food. Mind you when Claire would cook something basic, he would praise her too!” Michael laughs. “That’s the way he was, he loved food. It’s us honouring him.” Mr Morris. is opening mid-November — close to the birth of Michael and Claire’s son in January. When I mention bad planning, he laughs and says that it was going to be good timing before Covid set the restaurant back five months. He’s delighted the baby is a boy, giving credit to his time away from the kitchen. “There is a theory that chefs have a lot of girls because they are working around heat and flames and I have been blessed with four daughters.” Mr Morris, Excelsior Building, Cnr Galway & Commerce St, Britomart. Visit Mrmorris.nz to book ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN VIVA

UNDER THE GRILL: 20 QUESTIONS FOR CLEVER SUMMER FOODIES COMPILED BY KIM KNIGHT

Tiffany, Nadine and Annabelle are all what? a) New season spuds b) Types of radish c) Backing singers at Christmas in the Park d) Early cropping tomatoes

At what internal temperature is a steak deemed medium rare? a) 45-50°c b) 55-60°c c) 60-65°c d) 65-70°c

What summer stone fruit stars in a Black Forest Gateau? a) Apricot b) Peach c) Nectarine d) Cherry

8) 9) 10)

14) 15) 16) 17)

White bread soaked in berries is known as what? a) Figgy Pudding b) Summer Pudding c) Eve’s Pudding d) A National British Disgrace Which of these are not found in a classic Griffin’s Sampler box? a Pink wafers b Krispies c Round wines d Chocolate thins In 1956, which winery produced our first commercial Methode traditionelle? a) Selaks b) Quartz Reef c) Daniel Le Brun d) Montana Kuku, korona and kurewha are all what kind of kaimoana? a) Prawns b) Cockles c) Kina d) Mussels

Why add vinegar when you’re making a pavlova? a) To stabilise the egg foam b) To detract ﬂies c) To stop it sticking to the tray d) To reduce the sugar content

18)

What’s the best thing to do with a snarler or a snag? a) Boil it b) Barbecue it c) Pull on the line gently d) Slice thinly and serve with whipped cream

Pohutukawa is botanically related to which Christmas spice? a) Cinnamon b) Nutmeg c) Clove d) Cardamom

19)

When did Mandarin Cream become a Cadbury Roses flavour? a) 1920s b) 1940s c) 1950s d) 1970s

Where are 52% of the country’s cucumbers planted? a) Napier b) Taranaki c) Auckland d) Northland

20)

Who is the world’s largest boysenberry producer? a) New Zealand b) Australia c) Canada d) China

ANSWERS: 1C, 2B, 3A, 4A, 5B, 6D, 7D, 8A, 9C, 10C, 11B, 12B, 13C, 14C, 15B, 16A, 17D, 18B, 19C, 20A

What’s the spirit in a Pimms No. 1? a) Vodka b) Brandy c) Tequila d) Gin

13)

Traditionally, Sex on the Beach contains what? a) Blue Curacao b) Peach Schnapps c) Limoncello d) Sand

How can you tell it’s a pipi and not a tuatua? a) The shells are symmetrical b) It has tiny teeth c) They are only found in fresh water d) The shells are round

12)

Which of these is not a good companion herb for homegrown tomatoes? a) Chives b) Parsley c) Rosemary d) Basil

You have condensed milk and vinegar. What are you making? a) Gluten-free massage oil b) Mayonnaise for an iceberg lettuce salad c) Soothing balms for jellyﬁsh stings d) The Great Kiwi Dip

11)

What was Tip Top’s first “novelty ice cream on a stick”? a) Jelly Tip b) Topsy c) Strawberry Toppa d) Rocky Road

QUIZ

The strawberry heritage trail passes through which of these towns? a) Alexandra b) Havelock North c) Waimate d) Nelson

RECIPES

· 22

Al Fresco Style

→

Warm days and long nights require meals that are light, fresh and easy to prepare. These crowd pleasers from our food editors at Be Well and Viva will be a sureﬁre hit for summer gatherings

Outdoor pro-tips: • • • •

AVOID DRINKS IN CANS. They will be near boiling point before you even sit down. Take a dry white wine or a cider. The glass may be heavy but they’ll stay chilled for longer, especially in a wine cooler. UTENSILS. Go eco with reusable cutlery, and straws. Plastic just won’t cut it — literally and metaphorically. LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION. Avoid hills, ants, animals and people playing sports. Find somewhere quiet with enough space to spread out. DO IT QUICK. Before the sun disappears.

Homemade Hot Dogs These delicious hot dogs are even better with your choice of topping. By Angela Casley Makes 8 Ingredients: 8 sausages 8 hot dog sized bread rolls Topping 1 2 onions, caramelised 1/2 red pepper, sliced and roasted 80g blue cheese Topping 2 2 cups Asian slaw, 4 Tbsp pickle Sauces Home-made tomato sauce, garlic aioli

Photo / Babiche Martens

1. Barbecue or pan fry the sausages. Slice the rolls and heat the bread in the oven. 2. Fill your buns with a sausage and your chosen topping.

Photo / Babiche Martens

Coriander Dressing with Mussels & Cockles This tasty recipe is perfect for a dinner party starter. By Angela Casley Serves 4 as a starter Ingredients: Dressing 2 cups coriander 1 green chilli, seeds removed 1/2 tsp cumin 2 cloves garlic 1/2 cup olive oil Zest and juice of 1 lemon 1kg mixture of mussels and cockles, scrubbed crusty bread for serving

1. To make the dressing: place the coriander, chilli, cumin, garlic, olive oil and lemon into a blender. Blitz until well combined. Set aside until required. 2. Heat a barbecue until hot. Place the shellﬁsh on to the hotplate and cover. They will take a few minutes to open. Place on to a large platter and drizzle with dressing. 3. Serve with warmed crusty bread.

Pack Light with these essentials

Makes 2 loaves Ingredients: For the crumble topping 50g plain ﬂour 50g cold butter, cut into small pieces 50g soft brown sugar a small handful of roughly chopped fresh local walnuts For the loaf 175g butter, softened 150g caster sugar 2 eggs 115g plain ﬂour 1 teaspoon baking powder 150g ground almonds 250-300g summer berries, I used raspberries, blueberries and strawberries (cut large strawberries into thick slices lengthwise)

1. Heat the oven to 170C. Grease and line 2 x 20cm x 10cm x 5cm deep loaf tins with baking paper, leaving an overhang of paper at each end to help when removing baked loaves from their tin. 2. Make the crumble topping — sift the flour into a bowl, add the butter and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Stir through the sugar and the walnuts. Set aside. 3. In a bowl beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, adding a little flour with each addition if the mixture begins to curdle. Sift

the ﬂour and baking powder over the butter mixture, add the ground almonds then gently fold to combine. Divide the mixture between the prepared tins and smooth the surface with a spatula. Scatter over the berries and ﬁnish with the crumble topping. 4. Place in the oven and bake for 1 – 1 1/2 hours until a skewer inserted into the centre of each loaf comes out clean. You will also smell when they are cooked. 5. Remove from the oven and leave for 5-10 minutes before removing from the tin.

Gingham picnic basket, $75, from Farmers. Farmers.co.nz

3. Redcurrent teatowls (set of 3) $29.90. Redcurrent.co.nz.

Soft Fish Tacos with Mango Salsa & Spicy Sauce Thanks to my friend, Stu, who’s a keen fisherman, this fish taco recipe is regularly on our menu. The chipotle sauce is also great served over grilled chicken or even a roast vegetable salad. Quick to prepare with just the panfrying of the fish left until last. Don’t forget a sprinkle of coriander leaves and a squeeze of lime to finish your tacos. Two each may not be enough. By Anglea Casley Ingredients: Salsa 1 mango, chopped small 1/2 red onion, chopped small 1/2 cup chopped coriander Spicy Sauce 1/2 cup chipotle sauce (I use La Morena) 1/4 cup mayonnaise 1/4 cup sour cream Fish tacos 1 Tbsp butter 500g fish fillets, cut into eight pieces 8 small tortillas 2 cups shredded green cabbage 1 avocado, mashed with 1 Tbsp lime juice 1 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds To garnish, extra coriander leaves 2 limes, cut into wedges

1. Firstly make the salsa. In a small bowl combine the mango, onion and coriander. 2. In another small bowl combine the chipotle sauce, mayonnaise and sour cream. Set aside. 3. Heat the butter in a frying pan. Cook the fish fillets in batches and keep warm. 4. Warm the tortillas in the microwave for 1 minute. 5. Serve with shredded cabbage, avocado, fish, salsa and sauce. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds, coriander leaves and lime wedges.

Photo / Babiche Martens

Use fresh berries that are available to you at time of baking. Add in a few tart berries to contrast the buttery, sweet cake mixture. Delicious served warm or cold. By Kathy Paterson

Summer Fruit Loaf

RECIPES

Photo / Kathy Paterson

Living & Co. stainless steel. 2 x bent straws, 2 x straight straws, 1 x brush cleaner, $7, from The Warehouse. Thewarehouse.co.nz

LIFE

· 24

PLASTICS & THE PANDEMIC B

efore Covid changed everything, the tide was turning against plastic. Among 18 to 35-year-olds, single-use items like takeaway coffee cups were inching towards social unacceptability, suffering the same fate as smoking. This perceptible shift represented the growing momentum in New Zealand to lessen our reliance on single-use plastic. We had banned plastic bags, there was an uptake in the use of reusable cups and containers, refillery stores were popping up around the country and hospitality was shifting to paper or compostable packaging products. But in March, as Covid panic began to spread around New Zealand, plastic waste began to surge too. Reports emerged that Auckland’s waste water system was blocked by an unprecedented deluge of antiseptic wipes. Watercare staff had to unblock the pump station weekly, as people — scared of the virus — flushed the wipes in a bid to protect themselves against Covid. These mostly non-degradable synthetic wipes — which pose a threat to marine life — were just the tip of the iceberg. Plastic sanitiser bottles flooded the community, present in every home, office, restaurant and service outlet. Plastic gloves, disposable masks and PPE gear were suddenly being used widely and single-use plastics and serveware returned with a vengeance. Concerns about climate change and waste reduction were replaced with more immediate concerns for health and safety. With little time to worry about waste, let alone future-proofing a planet under threat from climate change, we stockpiled sanitiser and masks, and service industries moved to become as sanitary as possible. “Stopping the spread” by adopting a hygienic new normal was encouraged by government officials in the fight against the pandemic. Doing our bit for the team of five million meant single-use everything was

From wet wipes, to sanitiser, masks to single-use serve ware, the pandemic has seen a surge in plastic. Has tackling the pandemic mean dropping the ball on plastic pollution? — By Johanna Thornton

preferred and health and sanitation prioritised before waste reduction. But while the virus has a potential cure — a vaccine — plastic pollution is an environmental catastrophe. Are we addressing an immediate crisis at the expense of another?

During lockdown, kerbside recycling in some regions was put on hold and supermarkets disallowed the use of BYO containers. As lockdown lifted, many coffee outlets, as a safety measure, chose not to accept reusable coffee cups. Big players like Starbucks and McDonald’s temporarily banned reusables, and many local chains and retailers followed suit.

Two days’ worth of plastic for a family of three in an Auckland quarantine hotel. Photo / Supplied confusion among the public signalled a green light for some to abandon their waste-reduction efforts. Environmentalists have expressed concern that this permission to use plastic will get people out of the habit of recycling and using reusable products just as progress is being made. Ocean campaign director at Greenpeace John Hocevar told CNBC in June, “The plastic industry seized on the pandemic as an opportunity to try to convince people that singleuse plastic is necessary to keep us safe, and that reusables are dirty and

dangerous. The fact that neither of these things is supported by the best available science was irrelevant.” During level 3, when food businesses were allowed to offer contactless pick-up and delivery, many outlets moved swiftly to translate their food and drink into takeaways. The resulting explosion in single-use packaging was accepted as necessary to keep people safe, as well as a convenient solution for restaurants desperate to keep aﬂoat ﬁnancially. Laura Cope manages hospitality support and waste-avoidance strategies for the Takeaway

The virus has exposed the lack of large-scale frameworks in place for reusable takeaway and food delivery systems, which would protect the environment from the casualty of convenience. At our quarantine facilities, disposable packaging is used for meal service, following guidance from the Ministry of Health. Images of quarantine food have been doing the rounds on social media, and while some meals are served in paper or bio packaging (each hotel is

“For a family of four receiving three meals a day, roughly 24 containers, 12 water bottles and 24 pieces of plastic cutlery pile up every day, which over 14 days equates to 840 pieces of plastic.”

responsible for its own in-room food service), many have opted for plastic or foil containers, with bottled water and plastic cutlery. For a family of four receiving three meals a day, roughly 24 containers, 12 water bottles and 24 pieces of plastic cutlery pile up every day, which over 14 days equates to 840 pieces of plastic. Extrapolate that for a portion of the 89,089 people who have been through New Zealand’s managed isolation and quarantine facilities since March 26 (ﬁgures as at December 9) and it’s a staggering amount of waste. Offsetting the risk to staff managing these facilities is crucial, but the Ministry of Health should be looking at implementing a more sustainable approach to managed isolation, especially if there’s no end in sight to border management. Around the world, mask wearing is the new normal. New Zealanders have been mandated to wear masks on public transport and on ﬂights, with some choosing to wear them in shops and crowded spaces, a phenomenon that’s been mirrored globally. Though some have adopted reusable masks, many are wearing disposables, which are made of polypropylene (a thermoplastic polymer), that has a lifespan of 450 years. According to Greenpeace NZ, discarded face masks and gloves have been showing up near the coasts of Hong Kong, the US, France, Mainland China and Taiwan. In Auckland, council contractors have been picking up discarded masks in parks, beaches, reserves and on the street. Given their lasting unwanted effects on the environment, these masks are an ecological hazard. No one is suggesting New Zealand abandons its efforts to contain the virus, but there are things we can do to ensure that waste reduction remains a key consideration. If you’re in a position to do so, refuse plastic and choose products and companies that share the same ethos. Plastics is political, and it’s important to have a say. On August 12, Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage announced a proposal to address plastic takeaway and serviceware items for phaseouts and bans, as part of wider plan to address single use and hard to recycle plastics. Submissions closed on November 4 and a decision is still pending (check the Mfe.givt.nz website for updates). Seven single use plastic items, including plastic cups and lids, plastic drink stirrers, and straws (with exemptions for disability) were highlighted for phase-outs, as well as hard-to-recycle plastics like PVC, polystyrene packaging, and oxo-degradable plastics, with a goal to begin phase outs in 2023. Keep demanding and asking more of local government, such as the introduction of reuse systems and infrastructure for standardised cup and container lending schemes like Again Again, CupCycling, Wanakup,

LIFE

Throwaways campaign, which aims to ban single-use takeaway food waste in New Zealand. She’s also the founder of responsible cafe guide Use Your Own and says the industry has been dealing with the same anxieties as the rest of us. “Plus very real worries about job and income security for themselves and employees. “I think that more than deliberately prioritising meals in plastic, they prioritised their own mental health and what they perceived to be their own ﬁnancial survival. The increase in single-use packaging was an unfortunate by-product of that.” Owner-operators who were committed to reducing single-use waste before the pandemic are continuing to welcome reusable cups and containers, says Laura. Helping matters is that evidence declaring reusables safe is becoming increasingly well publicised. “On June 22, more than 119 scientists including epidemiologists, virologists, biologists, chemists and doctors from 81 countries published a signed statement to reassure the public that reusable systems can be used safely during the Covid pandemic by employing basic hygiene,” says Laura. Medical and food safety experts have made it clear that soap and hot water are effective at killing Coronavirus on reusable serviceware. “If accessible, dishwashers are most effective because of their high temperature and prolonged washing, so dining in at level 2 using ceramic crockery and cups is absolutely safe provided food safety risks are managed,” says Laura.

Photo / Getty Images

A discarded mask left on an Auckland street. Photo / Supplied Good to Go and Reusabowl, which have processes for safe takeback, washing and sterilisation built into the system. Sign the Takeaway Throwaways petition (visit Takeawaythrowaways.co.nz). And most importantly, as we emerge from this pandemic, keep climate top of mind; the planet needs to be here long after the virus has left us. WEAR A REUSABLE MASK (FIND SOME LOCAL EXAMPLES ON VIVA. CO.NZ/PLASTIC-POLLUTION/). ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN VIVA

AN UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCE T his summer, discover the adventure, beauty and heritage of one of New Zealand’s most exclusive coastal lodges. Secluded on a peninsula that stretches into the sparkling Bay of Islands, The Landing is one of Northland’s best-kept secrets; four architectdesigned Residences nestled among some of the world’s most breathtaking coastal scenery, with an award-winning vineyard and winery and a fascinating cultural history. In a typical year, most guests at this private retreat would be international visitors, flying in from the States, Australia and Europe to swim, fish, snorkel and paddleboard in the marine playground of the Pacific Ocean, laze or play tennis in the sun, taste wines at the winery or take night walks through the regenerated native bush, which is home to one of the most abundant kiwi populations in the country. With this year being far from typical, this summer only New Zealanders will have the opportunity to discover a place described as “magical” by former President Barack Obama when he stayed there in 2018. When you arrive at The Landing, it’s instantly apparent why some of the earliest M ori and European arrivals to New Zealand made their home in the area. The peninsula is bathed in sunshine and fringed with white-sand beaches, looking across the teal waters of the Bay of Islands with over 140 islands and a rich marine ecosystem. The temperate climate makes it ideal for wine-growing, with The Landing having its own well-established 23-acre rolling vineyard as well as a sustainable winery where they craft delicious Chardonnay, Syrah, Pinot Gris and Rose. A lush orchard, vegetable and herb garden, as well as beehives and chicken houses supplement fresh-caught seafood and other produce from the region, which a personal chef prepares for bespoke breakfasts, lunches and dinners. Its guest accommodation sits at the spectacular end of the modern luxury market, ranging from the intimate waterfront Boathouse and glass-walled Vineyard Villa to hunting lodge-style Gabriel Residence and sprawling jewelin-the-crown clifftop Cooper Residence. The latter is named for Peter Cooper, the US-based owner of The Landing. Born and raised in Northland, Peter is the founder of Cooper and Company, whose business interests in New Zealand include, luxury motor launch Ata Rangi, the downtown Auckland precinct of Britomart and The Hotel Britomart . The Landing is his personal vision of a place where the best of Aotearoa’s natural and cultural heritage is preserved. Given the rising international interest in what New Zealand has to offer, this summer might be your best chance to enjoy the unique experience of The Landing before borders open again.

Mornings on the water. Afternoons at the winery. Alfresco dinners by the ocean. Evenings star gazing. Night encounters with kiwi.

Unforgettable summers start at The Landing.

Summer at the Bay of Islands’ most exclusive retreat. Enquire at thelandingnz.com

Goodbye to

Cheers *

With our out-of-office on and time to contemplate the opportunity of a new year ahead, Greg Bruce explores email etiquette and considers what our email sign-offs say about us

nothing more than those words, I thought: "This is an interesting person." Not that being interesting is everything, but what do people think about me when they read "Cheers"? At best, they think nothing. Is that the impression I want to leave people with? Is that who I am? I have long suspected the answer to be yes. Something strong and not entirely conscious within me has always believed the unthinking use of "Cheers" is part of a good life, that it saves me something, but it's now clear it has cost me much. What emotional uplift would I now feel, looking back on the past 7300 days, knowing I had stood strong in the face of my raging need to conform? Would that have helped me avoid the many emotional and psychological setbacks that have beset me? Would I have flourished like a beautiful butterfly (average lifespan two weeks)? The thrill of creating, of not being stuck in a rut, of constantly becoming yourself:

a nice thing for someone? What if I had done something as simple as coming up with a new sign-off each time? Opened the creative tap and seen what came out: snippets of song lyrics, self-help maxims, proverbs, personal revelations. What if I'd allowed that sort of creative spirit to course through me? Who might I have become, had I engaged in 50,000 such tiny acts of creativity over the past 25 years? It's hard to say but I surely would have been writing something more interesting than this. What is life but freedom? What is 50,000 repetitions of the same empty word, but the denial of freedom, and therefore the denial of life? In this sense, my commitment to "Cheers" has been death by 300,000 boring keystrokes. The reason for all this introspection about a seemingly innocuous word is that a couple of months ago I received an email from someone who signed off: "Best light." Those two words were so shocking. They jolted me from my complacency. Based on

this is life. A commitment to being creative in one's email sign-off, therefore, is non-trivial: it is simultaneously the signal of a will that won't be restrained and the enactment of that will. If I write at the bottom of my next email "C ya!", it might not appear from the outside that my life has changed, but of course, it will have because the act itself is the change. I'm aware all this sounds like a Tony Robbins-style motivational seminar. That's because what's embodied in the rethinking of an email sign-off is far more than just communication: it is power. When you examine your life, you change your life. After reading this article, if you feel the power, take off your shoes and socks where you stand, urn your underfloor heating up to max, then walk across the tiles as if they're only mildly warm, then send me $2000. The possibility of the enactment of a new life is inspiring, but it's much easier to talk about how we should have done something 50,000 times in the past than it is to do it even once in the present. When I scroll back through my emails over the past few weeks, I've sent some regards, a few bests, and even a couple of thanks, but mostly I still am, and presumably always will be, a guy who finishes with "Cheers".

LIFE

aking into account holidays and periods spent working in largely email-free jobs, I estimate I've sent 52,000 emails in the last 25 years, almost every one ending with the word "Cheers". For very official communications, I have occasionally written "Regards" and to very close friends I've recently started writing "Cheerz", so let's say the real figure is closer to 50,000. Reduced to a bald number like that it's startling and quite embarrassing. What does it say about me? It says I'm the sort of person who doesn't like to make decisions, nor spend time thinking. It says I'm the type of person who thinks the word "Cheers" says something specific about me. It's hard to say exactly what that might be because it's a decision I made 25 years ago, but my guess is I thought it demonstrated the carefree, uninhibited personality of someone undaunted by authority — things I wasn't then and still aren't. So much of life is unexamined, but none more so, until recently, than my use of "Cheers". Now I look closely, I can't help but wonder what its endless, mindless repetition throughout my adult life has cost me. What if, every time I had come to the end of an email, instead of writing "Cheers", I had instead learned a word in a new language? Or done

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“IN THE EVENINGS, THE BIG KIDS WENT AFTER THE FLOUNDER, IN PAIRS WITH A LONG NET ON POLES HELD UPRIGHT BETWEEN THEM, LIKE A TENNIS NET DRAGGING THE SAND”.

LIFE

· 29 Photo / Gett tty t Images

GOLDEN DAZE SIMON WILSON IN PRAISE OF FLOUNDER (AND OTHER CHILDHOOD MEMORIES)

he best food is that feed of mussels on the beach, roasted open on corrugated iron over a fire. The fish and chips with a cheap bottle of bubbly, sitting on the floor of your new house because you can’t afford furniture. The best food is, by definition, the best because of the people you’re with and the way the sun goes down, which is to say, the occasion. And, coming in an honourable third, the food itself. And it probably has to include fish. Good restaurants know about this. They give you an experience. If it’s Al Brown at Depot, the experience is designed to make you remember that fire on the beach, even if it’s not your own memory. It’s clever, what he does there. When we were kids, Al and I used to go to the same beach for our summer holidays. Not that we knew it, because he’s younger than me so we weren’t there together. We holidayed maybe 50m apart, in space but not in time. His dad had a boat and they stayed in the motor camp and did a lot of fishing, and we had no boat and stayed in a rented Fibrolite bach right by the motor camp and never caught anything even when we did try fishing. Castlepoint, on the Wairarapa Coast, the greatest place on earth. There’s surf that turns you over and over, thrilling for any kid. Stingrays, sometimes. A shop with ice cream and fish and chips, neither of them, sad to say, especially memorable. A lagoon with much wilder surf out beyond the

cutting, great sweeping tides that roll in all the way from Chile. Desolate men fishing off the rocks, risking all for a few kahawai, a lighthouse that never blinks, a million shellfish fossils in the rocks, the castle buttress so high and tough to climb, up through the karaka trees and on to the windblown grassy slopes, with a cliff on the seaward side so sheer that it was, when I was a child, the foundation fear of all my nightmares. Castlepoint, where the adults were all so tough, hanging about the fishing boats with their sideburns and bottles of beer, the print frocks and stubbies, the ciggies. A place to ride your bike, run on the beach and into the hills, tumble down the giant dunes with sand in your ears and mouth and hair and half-broken bones by the time you reach the bottom. And do it again. A wild place where the only thing was to be wild. On evenings when the wind was offshore, the sky heavy and dark, someone would send out a Kontiki line. A little boat with a long line of hooks, named for the sailboat in which Thor Heyerdahl tried to undo generations of Polynesian nautical knowledge, complete with evidence the aliens had landed. He was a romantic figure, then. The boat would head straight out on the flat expanse of the sea. Later, its sail collapsed, they wound it in and we’d all gawp at the few sad fish flapping on the sand. The magic was not in the catch. The magic was the tiny boat on the endless ocean. In the evenings, the big kids went after the flounder, in

pairs with a long net on poles held upright between them, like a tennis net dragging the sand. Some tough bugger who never felt the cold at the deeper end, another in the shallows, both trudging along in the gloom. There’s only one way to cook flounder: pan fried with the head on, flour and butter, wedges of lemon. The secret is freshness. Actually the secret is the chips, which should be wedges and must be crunchy. Drive north of Castlepoint for a couple of hours and they’ll do you a swanky version, crumbed, in the round baronial hall at Craggy Range, in Hawke’s Bay’s Tukituki Valley. They do an even better one at Pipi Restaurant in nearby Havelock North, around the corner and up the hill a bit on Joll St, where everything is pink, the tables are benches and the whole place, operated by a genius called Alex Tylee, makes a promise to you: of warm, fond, occasionally raucous and possibly a little too drunken happiness. Alex doesn’t always have flounder. It’s that kind of fish. But when she does, it spills over the edge of the plate and you squeeze out the lemon, eat the fillet off one side, sweet and juicy and firm, and lift the frame with your knife and fork, turn it over, breaking nothing, and repeat. Take pleasure in the skill of it. Divert to the chips at your leisure. And to the greens, perhaps watercress, fresh, for the tang of it, picked in the creek within the hour. ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN TRAVEL

NORTHLAND

· 30 Northland sunset. Photo / Supplied

Northern Star Northland is brimming with stunning experiences and plenty of indulgences. Here are a few of our personal picks

he Dancing Petrel winery is in a stunning position on the northfacing slopes of Paewhenua Island in Doubtless Bay overlooking Mangonui township. Personal wine tastings can be arranged any day by calling the vineyard to arrange for the property gate to be opened. Tastings take about an hour and includes samples of some interesting wine styles that aren’t usually available in New Zealand. Master of Wine Michael Cooper has given the Dancing Petrel Tannat a five-star rating, but this has meant that particular wine has sold out. However, other delicious wines available for tasting include whites such as Arneis, oaked

and unoaked viognier and pinot gris, as well as a rose, sparkles and a full-bodied cabernet franc. Tahi Café on the Tahi honey estate at Pātaua North on the east coast is open daily until early February from 8.30am to 4pm with a blackboard menu of breakfast and lunch dishes. Founder Suzan Craig purchased the remote former cattle farm and set about returning the land to nature in 2004. The property now has almost 30ha of wetlands and more than 350,000 native trees as well as a buzzing honey business. A popular Sunday activity in the summer is to take a Tahi Walk. The tracks are only open on Sundays and free maps are available but a donation

is appreciated to help further the Tahi conservation project. Tahi Honey is sold on the property and through the company’s website, with all profits being reinvested in the property’s planting and wetland restoration. The Paroa Bay Winery in Russell has the stunning Sage restaurant. One of Northland’s outstanding dining venues, the restaurant looks out over the iconic Bay of Islands from the tip of the Russell peninsula. The focus is on locally grown and sourced ingredients, including seafood from the area.

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NORTHLAND

· 32 Eagles Nest. Photo / Supplied

or people staying in Russell, the Sage restaurant also offers a truly luxurious takeaway menu, which can include a whole baked crayfish, marinated mussels, oysters and smoked fish pate or a charcuterie selection of hams, salami, duck liver pate, olives, relish and sourdough. Luxury accommodation is also available on the property as well as at the stunning Eagles Nest nearby. This property is a multi-award-winning retreat on a huge estate in Russell with a resident personal trainer and spa therapists. Resident chefs are on hand to spoil guests. Eagles Nest is also a popular wedding venue. Active tourists can head out to the world-renowned dive sites off Whangārei’s east coast. Dive Tutukaka offers full-service dive charters as well as diver training courses to the Poor Knights Islands 23km off the Tutukaka coast. Wreck diving trips are also a highlight for experienced divers. Non-divers can still enjoy the islands with snorkelling, kayaking and sightseeing on offer. Yukon Dive Charters offers trips from Tutukaka Marina and a new base at Marsden Cove near Ruakākā.

PRIV VACY. IN NTIMAC CY. YO OUR SUMME ER ESCAPE.

As well as day diving trips, the company offers overnight trips and boat charters. For people who are wanting to get out on the water but who are not yet qualified divers, sightseeing and snorkelling trips are available. Cycling adventures include a fivenight Cook to Kupe coast to coast tour from the Bay of Islands to the Hokianga. Organisers say the tour is not just focused on the cycle trail, with ferry rides and visits to remote towns and vineyards. Ideas for family outings include the Bates and Keen Family Farm at Hikurangi which offers close encounters with rare breeds of cattle and sheep as well as llamas and alpacas. The Kauri Museum at Matakohe is award-winning for its exhibits that tell the story of the pioneering days when kauri timber and gum were the goldrush of the region. Kiwi North in Whangārei offers the only kiwi house in Northland, and there's the Whangārei Native Bird Recovery Centre which is famous for its talking tui. The Boatshed in Whangarei is a great spot to indulge in some retail therapy, with a huge selection of gift ideas, summer outfits and swimwear. It is in the Town Basin, which has great

cafes and restaurants, as well as the popular loop walk where you can join locals on a 5km walking and cycling circuit around the inner Whangarei Harbour. The NZ Fudge Farm is among the shops at the Town Basin, and offers coffees, ice cream and packages of delicious fudge. Whangārei accommodation includes the Quest Whangārei apartments which overlook the Town Basin and the Flames International Hotel at Onerahi, near Whangārei Airport. Waipu is another great place to stop

to sample The Black Shed homeware shop and gallery, with coffees and baking treats such as cronuts. The fun doesn’t stop with summer. Winter activities in the North include the Bay of Islands Country Rock Festival on May 7, 8 and 9, and the Bay of Islands Jazz and Blues Festival on August 13, 14 and 15. The festivals were cancelled in 2020 but organisers have decided to try again in 2021 with a top range of New Zealand musicians at seven venues in Paihia and Russell. Tickets are on sale now from the festivals' websites.

Our small farm is focused on raising rare animal breeds, growing heritage produce and developing a beautiful environment that we can share with visitors. We love to see people enjoy our farm, interacting with animals that are such characters and living a relaxed and natural life. Right now we are breeding Red Devon cattle, Swedish Gotland Pelt sheep, Finnish Landrace sheep, Llamas, Suri and Huacaya alpacas.

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WHANGAREI

· 34

WHĀNAU FUN IN WHANGĀREI

Whangārei district is wellknown for having some of the best beaches in New Zealand, but there’s also a whole bunch of other things to keep your whānau happy over summer

ou can have the best time discovering waterfalls, enjoying rural, coastal and urban walks, riding a horse along a beach, Kayak a pristine mangrove forest, float along crystal blue waters on a stand up paddleboard , learn to surf, have some ‘tree-mendous’ treetop fun, get stung with a paint ball, ride down a hill on a ‘fun as monster scooter’, mountain bike, or play at a waterpark with an inflatable obstacle course. The centrally located Hātea Loop — Huarahi o te Whai, is a 4.2km walkway of fun with wide spaces, sculptures to climb all over, wildlife to spot and boats to watch. Don’t miss Te Matau ā Pohe (the bascule bridge) that lifts and opens around midday each day. Along the way, discover the ‘magical’ Camera Obscura, housed inside a fantastic steel sculpture, that brings the outside world inside and turns it upside down! Let your kids share the thrill of catching a fish by throwing a line off a jetty. There’s a yellow one on the Hātea Loop, or others throughout the district. For starters, try the inner harbour jetties at Onerahi, Urquharts Bay or McLeod Bay. Did you know that in 2019, some of the world’s best street artists took part in the Street Prints Manaia, International Art Festival in Whangārei? And there are now 15

Poor Knights Islands 1

Tutukākā Coast

Whangarei

Whangārei Heads Bream Bay

Waipū 12

New Zealand

Auckland

Moureeses Bay, Whananaki

Poor Knights Island. Photo / supplied

ï incredible large-scale art murals throughout the central city. Pick up a trail map from one of the Whangārei information Centres; this is a treasure hunt right in the city centre! The walk between AH Reed Memorial Park and Otuihau — Whangārei Falls is pure delight; it’s not too long and not too short and has heaps of things to explore and discover along the way. Follow the river, see

huge kauri trees, cross the bridges, discover loads of places to picnic, run and play. And there’s sure to be a rope swing from a tree over the river if they want to take that leap! You can also have a ‘race’ from Mair Park to the top of Parihaka for a bird’s eye view of the city and surrounding areas. Enjoy leisurely cycle rides with the kids along shared paths or go to the extreme on

a network of flow and gravity-oriented world class mountain bike trails. Away from the city, the pedestrian bridges at Whananaki (perhaps the longest in the Southern Hemisphere) and Pātaua North and South are also perfect for throwing a sprat line over. A day to play in, on and under the pristine waters of the wondrous Poor Knights Islands and discover the unique and incredibly varied plant, animal and fish life is a day that will stay with you forever. When you’re ready for some indoor fun, head along to Kiwi North — Kiwi House, Museum and Heritage Park to enjoy the antics of foraging kiwi and check out the ‘spiny back’ tuatara and gorgeous geckos. The Heritage Park has heaps of places to explore including an old jailhouse, and the museum has ‘real live’ moa bones. The vintage and classic cars, motorcycles, trucks and jeeps at Packard Museum will bring back memories from your childhood Claphams National Clock Museum has heaps of crazy novelty clocks and the cacophony of cuckoo clocks is really something else. And then there’s our beaches. Some of the best beaches you could ever discover! You may already have your favourite but if not, we suggest popping into one of the Whangārei information centres for the local intel.

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Welcome to GrabOne’s Summer Savings Guide We are so excited to launch the second edition of our annual GrabOne Summer Savings Guide, jam-packed with all the inspiration you need to make this summer, one that the whole family will enjoy. Do you remember when you were a kid and summer activities were a great escape? Your only goal each day was to figure out the biggest thrill, you were completely free and fun was the only end game. Being an adult comes with its benefits - you can eat 2kgs of Central Otago Cherries in one sitting, go on a luxury getaway to Hanmer Springs, or stay up way too late looking at the stars at the Stardome. But when was the last time you did any of that?! We are here to help you fix that with amazing value getaways and activities, and with something for everyone, you’ll be sure to excite your inner child! Joy is the name of the game this summer, and with the holidays coming in thick and fast, GrabOne’s Summer Savings Guide has got the whole family covered. Be a tourist in your own town or city or travel further afield. Let’s face it 2020 has been a year, so go ahead and put your feet up, make the holidays one to remember for all the right reasons, and visit us at GrabOne.co.nz or download our app. If you are a business and want to be part of the excitement, just jump onto GrabOne.co.nz/run-a-deal and one of our team will be in touch, we’d love you to be part of our family. Happy Holidays! National Sales Manager, GrabOne

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