YOLO You Only Live Once

• You Only Live Once • F E B R U ARY 1 8 , 2 02 0

Making The Most Of Living

Northcity Caravans bottom of Piano Hill, Kauri, SH1

0276007759 • 09 4338542 Email: info@northcitycaravans.co.nz www.northcitycaravans.co.nz

Motorhomes • RV’s • Caravans • Cabin Sales • Caravan Rentals

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Artist impression

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3 Kerikeri township

Kerikeri 127 Kerikeri Road

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Retirement Living For The Young At Heart

For Sale

• Convenient lock and leave retirement living with continuity of care • In the heart of Kerikeri township • Be part of a vibrant community • A range of apartment sizes and configurations available • Access to shared community spaces and facilities with a variety of events/activities • Opportunity to secure an Occupation Right Agreement, as per the Retirement Villages Act 2003 • Kerikeri Retirement Village Apartments expected completion date May 2020 Conditions apply Call Leigh Munro for an information pack - secure your apartment now

From $470,000 (One bedroom) From $567,000 (Two bedroom) View by appointment www.harcourts.co.nz/KK27776

Leigh Munro M 027 4781 866 P 09 407 6677 leigh.munro@harcourtsboi.co.nz Bay of Islands Realty Ltd Licensed Agent REAA 2008

• You Only Live Once •

Forget Me Not The Northland Disabled Charitable Trust is a non- profit organisation and has been operating the Forget Me Not Adult Day Centre in Tikipunga, Whangarei since 1994.

The Centre is a day care service and is available to adults of all ages including those who are young with disabilities, the elderly and frail, those with memory loss, head injuries and/ or other disabilities. The Centre provides quality day care that enhances the welfare not only of the clients but also of the carers and families who look after their loved ones at home on a 24 hour a day basis. The Centre has capacity for 40 client visits per day. The Staff are qualified in their respective fields, and are experienced and caring.

Entry criteria is based on you visiting and having a look around to decide if you would like to attend. There is no huge protocols for attendance other than enjoying and benefiting from attending.

The programme is structured with a variety of activities that provide motivation, education, rehabilitation and fun. A cooked lunch is provided daily for clients and ‘take home’ meals service is available for clients who require an evening meal. Clients are transported to and from the Centre by the Trust vans.

To achieve the best quality service to our community the Trust relies heavily on philanthropic funding and sponsorship to keep the service sustainable.

The Menu does vary but includes a broad range as below: • Alfredo Chicken

• Macaroni Cheese

• Braised Steak, mashed potato and vegetables GF

• Pasta and Meat Balls

• Butter Chicken with Rice • Chicken and Gravy with vegetables GF

Frozen Meals At Forget Me Not we have identified a need for supply of meals that are easily heated at home.

These delicious meals are not restricted to clients only, but are available for any of the elderly and disabled people in our local community who can no longer cook meals themselves at home.

• Chicken Tikka (Mild) with rice and vegetables • Devilled Sausages with mashed potato and vegetables • Lambs Fry bacon and vegetables GF • Cottage Pie • Curry Sausages • Irish Stew GF • Lasagne

• Mariner seafood creamy pasta • Roast Beef with roast vegetables GF • Roast Chicken with roast vegetables GF • Roast Pork with roast vegetables GF • Sausage and Gravy GF • Smoked fish pie with mashed potato top • Steak and Kidney GF • Sweet and Sour Chicken with Rice • Vege Ragout • Vegetable Curry and rice (GF=Gluten Free)

The meals are cooked in our WDC A certified kitchen by our chefs and are freshly frozen. Moulied meals are available if needed on request.

Meals can be collected from the Centre Mon-Fri 9am-3pm or we will deliver within city limits if we can for someone who is immobile etc. Please just phone us on 09 4371144 to order meals or you can visit us to see what meals we have available.

110 Boundary Road, Tikipunga, Whangarei 0112 Phone: 09 437 1144 Email: manager@forgetmenot.org.nz www.adultdaycentre.co.nz

WOULD YOU LIKE TO ATTEND THE CENTRE?

We are an Adult Day Care Centre in our 26th year of operation in the Whangarei District. We provide quality day care for adults of all ages, including the elderly, frail, and those with head injuries, memory loss and / or other disabilities.

We are open from 8.30am - 4.00 pm Monday - Friday 49 weeks of the year.

We provide

A secure, attractive purpose built environment, a range of interesting activities, therapeutic rehabilitation, motivation, meals, transport & excursions. Our staff are qualified skilled, and experienced and we have a wonderful team of volunteers.

We welcome enquiries and visits forgetme-not@forgetmenot.org.nz • www.adultdaycentre.co.nz *Frozen meals available on request

Ph: 09-437 1144 110 Boundary Rd, Tikipunga, Whangarei.

• You Only Live Once •

An army of elderly exercisers is growing in Northland Every week groups march into action at a range of halls and meeting places throughout the region.

For Mark Burkill, Strength and Balance Coordinator of Sport Northland, it’s a case of more the merrier. There are currently 86 certified classes being held throughout Northland, and Mark is keen to see more participants. He aims to promote fun fitness throughout the region which can be held anywhere and run by anyone with a bit of training. Regular exercise is vital for people of all ages, and especially as the ageing population increases in the region.

Strength and balance are vital to maintain an independent lifestyle, he says.

“We know that falls are the most frequent cause of injury for older people.

Research has revealed that older people with muscle weakness and limitations to mobility are three to five times more likely to fall in any one year than those without these problems.

Mark says the classes are designed to be gently challenging, with participants encouraged to push themselves a little further to get maximum benefit from the exercises.

“It’s all about maintaining muscle strength and balance so people can continue to be independent as they age.

“We want people to stay stronger for longer.’’

“This is a huge issue as Northland’s population continues to get older,’’ he says.

The Community Group Strength and Balance Programme started in August 2017 in Northland as a pilot programme initiated

by ACC and facilitated by Sport Northland.

There are multiple aims, including maintaining or improving health status, maintaining independence, greater social connections, reduction of fall risk and injury risk.

Improving the health and lives of our older adults is at its heart. There is a lot of laughter and warm greetings as the regular Tuesday class in Kamo wanders in wearing matching red T-shirts and clutching water bottles. This is just one of the 86 classes running weekly throughout Northland.

Comfortable seats are lined up for each participant – as a steadying prop for balancing exercises and as a resting place if need be.

Our new website is now LIVE!

Arthritis or past injuries don’t stop people from participating and the low impact exercises help considerably with pain management.

“We do quite a bit of stretching and balance exercises.”

If muscles are allowed to deteriorate, daily tasks such as housework, personal care and even hopping in a car and fastening the seatbelt can become difficult.

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• You Only Live Once •

Falls become more likely when balancing becomes a problem, which adds to the country’s medical costs.

Mark says community classes have a big social impact on their members, and many participants report that it is both the social connection and the exercise that motivates them to return each week.

Classes then become much more than preventing falls: They are a way for people to connect while working on aspects of their health that see them maintaining their lifestyle, and even working towards getting back towards some of those activities that they’ve lost.

“There are so many inspirational stories.

One woman told me how she had managed to walk on a beach for the first time in two years as balancing in sand had been too difficult. She not only walked on the beach, she also went out kayaking.

“Others have told me about catching their foot on a step and managing to rebalance themselves without falling which could have resulted in a serious injury.

“The exercises are helping them to continue to live normal lives and have the confidence to do so.’’

Mark says the exercise classes are a safe place, with certified instructors, a health and safety plan in place and chairs to retreat to if need be.

“They know they can try these exercises and they’ll have all the support they need.

They don’t have to be scared.

“So much of getting back into exercise is about building optimism and resilience.

■ Far left, top: Aileen Dempster in a seated star jump.

■ Far right, top: Mark Burkill of Sport Northland leads the class ■ Bottom: Alison Voss stretches hands to improve arm strength.

It’s all about maintaining muscle strength and balance so people can continue to be independent as they age.

It can start to feel quite addictive so that people really don’t want to miss a class.”

The Community Group Strength and Balance programme in Northland works in two ways.

Sport Northland supports existing providers by connecting and promoting their classes through the Green Prescription programme and through networks with other support organisations and services such as hospitals’ fracture liaison services and primary practice, GP’s nurses and physiotherapists. Support may extend to informing better practice where needed and the sharing of information and resources.

Better partnerships ensure the consistency of high quality programmes in our communities.

The second way of working sees the formation of new classes in communities of need. This requires the community to not only support but lead the programmes themselves.

“Sport Northland provides the training and resources required, but we are ultimately dependent on peer leaders stepping forward to volunteer their time and energy to run classes for their communities.

The programme hasn’t been without its challenges, but overall we’ve seen a big growth in both the number of classes and people attending classes,’’ Mark says.

ACC has a dedicated website and movement “Live Stronger for Longer” www. livestronger.org.nz which has all the Strength and Balance classes listed by region and a whole host of information, resources and links to support health aging and accident prevention for older adults.

Sport Northland also has class lists available on its website www. sportnorthland.co.nz/Get-Active/ Community-Strength-and-Balance-1, and links to the Green Prescription programme and other activity resources. Class lists include many other low to moderate impact activities for older adults that promote a healthier, more active lifestyle.

Mark says becoming involved is easy.

As a participant make contact, make the call. Class lists can be found on the websites listed above, through Green Prescription or asking a GP or nurse. Instructors are always looking for new participants, and most classes offer a free class for new people to come and have a go or between $3 and $6 for regular attendance. Groups or individuals interested in starting an exercise group in your area can contact Sport Northland on 09 437 9600, or Mark on 0275 838 087.

• You Only Live Once •

LEARNING from the CRADLE to the GRAVE Learning takes place our whole lives and learning a new skill can help slow cognitive ageing. You exercise your body to improve your overall health and the same concept applies to the brain. You need to exercise your brain with new challenges to help keep it healthy.

Henry Ford once said, “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty.

Anyone who keeps learning stays young.”

Help keep your mind young by being actively involved in new activities.

A fun way to do this is to attend adult community education classes….whether it is languages, arts and crafts, computer classes,

photography, mindfulness meditation or more!

Learn to speak a new language, learn how to paint, join a cooking class or become more computer savvy.

solving. Journaling helps you to reflect on your experiences, disclose your feelings, and find meaning in them. It can also help improve your working memory.

Create your own blog, learn how to improve and save your photos for the internet or learn how to use gmail with confidence. Publish your own ebook on Amazon or explore your family roots, both using FREE techniques that are readily available online.

Mindfulness Meditation has many health benefits for the mind, body and spirit.

Discover inner peace amongst the noisy confusion of life! Explore cucina Italiana as you cook, eat, speak Italian. Perhaps you may prefer Mexican food, traditional Japanese recipes, Indian cooking or IndoChinese dishes. What new foods would you like to try?

Art journaling is a great way to record your thoughts and is also a great tool for problem

Discover something new ...you are never too old to learn!

PATTERSON LAW LTD BARRISTERS, SOLICITORS & NOTARY PUBLIC Conveyancing, Commercial, Matrimonial, Trusts, Estate Administration and Wills Professional Chambers, 131 Commerce Street, PO Box 283, DX AA20002, Kaitaia Ph: (09) 4081600 | Fax: (09) 4081602 Email: admin@pattersonlaw.co.nz

• You Only Live Once •

Do you want to stay at home, but need a little assistance?

We can help with that!

We help people to remain independent in their own homes by offering quality Home Based Support Services.

The focus of this Service is the dignity, wholeness, rights and needs of the individual. Only trained Support Workers who have the sensitivity to the needs of the person requiring assistance to maintain their independence are employed by us.

We are Home Support North Charitable Trust, a 100% Northland owned and operated non-profit charitable organisation who has served the Northland community since 1994, and with offices in Kerikeri and Whangarei with visiting nurse co-ordinators in Kaitaia we provide services to the whole of Northland.

Why Choose Us? • You will receive regular Nurse Co-ordinator contact • We will screen, monitor and train your Support Workers

We have recently launched our website which easily provides information on how to access our services. You may be eligible to receive free care, depending on your circumstances. To ensure the quality of the service provided to you Home Support North Charitable Trust is certified to the Home and Community Support Sector Standards as audited by HDANZ.

Care~Call rostering system to ensure all services to you, our Client, are completed in the professional caring way which is expected of our team and has given Home Support North Charitable Trust it’s great reputation.

In our commitment to providing the best service, we have utilised technology to work within our funding available by implementing electronic timesheets for our Support Workers. This allows them to have up to date information at their fingertips in the form of an app on their mobile device which works hand in hand with our robust

Contact Details

• We will monitor the relationship between you and your Support Worker and the quality of support you receive

Whangarei: 7a First Avenue, Whangarei Phone: 09 430 2090 or 0800 832 383

Need more information?

Mid/Far North: 19 Homestead Road, Kerikeri Phone: 09 401 6657 or 0800 729 787 Email: officewhg@homesupport.co.nz www.homesupport.co.nz

• Nurse Co-ordinators are available to discuss your concerns • We are connected to the Healthlink network and can liaise electronically with other Health Professionals involved in your care

Have a look at our new website www.homesupport.co.nz or give us a call 0800 832 383

• You Only Live Once •

ENDURING POWER OF ATTORNEY

If you specify in your EPA for property that it only takes effect upon your becoming mentally incapable, then a certificate from a health practitioner is required before your property attorney can make any decisions for you.

Do you feel confident that others will know how to look after you and your property if you become unable to do so yourself, such as through accident, illness or incapacity? There may come a time when you become unable to make or communicate decisions yourself.

How do I go about setting up an enduring power of attorney?

It is crucial that someone you trust knows how you would want your life and property handled. One way to ensure this happens is to appoint someone to act on your behalf by giving them “enduring power of attorney”.

Consider setting up an EPA along with your Will when planning ahead. There are two kinds of EPA: one that covers a person’s property and one that covers their personal care and welfare.

EPA for PROPERTY You can choose whether you want a power of attorney for property to take effect now, or when you can no longer manage your affairs. You can give the attorney full power over all your property, or limit power to, for example, looking after specific investments or property.

Your attorney must act in your best interests at all times, and must not abuse the trust you’ve placed in them. They should not act dishonestly, invest your money recklessly, or do anything they don’t have authority to do under the EPA.

Attorneys can generally only benefit themselves if the EPA specifically says they can.

Your attorney must also involve you in decision-making as much as possible: they must consult with you when making decisions, and must try to get you to develop and exercise whatever capacity you have to make decisions for yourself.

Your attorney’s specific responsibilities will depend on the type of EPA and the instructions you’ve included in it. If you want their authority to be limited to certain areas you should say exactly what these areas are.

You can require your attorney to consult with people named in your EPA, or to give certain kinds of information to people named in the EPA. You can also include other restrictions - for example, you might even specify certain people who you don’t want to look after you.

If your attorney isn’t carrying out their responsibilities properly, you or another interested person can ask the Family Court to intervene.

An EPA for property can apply to as many or as few assets as you, the donor, wish. If it is to be limited, that must be specified.

You may appoint one or more persons or a trustee company, for example Public Trust, as your property attorney. EPA for personal care & welfare This EPA will only come into effect if you become incapable of making or communicating your decisions.

An EPA for personal care and welfare can only be given to one individual and not to a trustee company. The EPA can authorise the attorney to act in relation to your personal care and welfare generally, or only in relation to stated specific areas.

Without a certificate from a health practitioner, your attorney can’t make any significant decisions for you under an EPA for personal care and welfare.

Who Should I Appoint as an Attorney?

It is crucial that you trust the person and are confident that he or she will act in your best interests. At some stage you may be absolutely reliant on that person.

If your attorney for personal care and welfare stands to benefit from your estate, they may have to make decisions that have financial implications for them personally. It is important to be aware of this when you choose your attorney.

You may choose to appoint your spouse or one or more of your children, or any other family member. You may also choose a friend or a professional adviser. Note: a professional adviser is entitled to charge a fee for acting as your attorney.

By law, your attorney must be at least 20 years of age and must not be bankrupt or suffering from any legal incapacity. You could require your attorney to consult with family members and your GP about matters concerning your personal care and welfare.

Though you don’t have to, it’s a good idea to consider appointing one person as attorney for your personal care and welfare and a different person or persons for your property. The skills needed to look after personal care and wellbeing are often quite different from those needed to look after someone’s financial affairs.

The person you appoint as your attorney for personal care and welfare will have to work closely with your property attorney so you will need to feel confident that those you appoint can work together.

Who decides whether or not I am mentally capable?

You’ve become mentally incapable if: • In relation to property, you are no longer completely competent to manage your own property affairs • In relation to personal care and welfare, you can no longer make or understand decisions, or foresee their consequences; or you can no longer communicate them to other people.

You should be aware that under law every person is presumed to be mentally competent until the contrary is shown. It is not your attorney who decides when you are no longer mentally capable. The question of whether you’re still mentally capable must be decided by a health practitioner who is qualified to carry out this assessment.

When you make your EPA, you can specify the particular type of health practitioner you want to make the assessment of your mental capacity. For example, you might want to specify a GP or a geriatrician - a doctor specialising in the care of older people.

Availability of specialist doctors may vary - your GP or local Age Concern may be able to advise you.

Whoever does the assessment, it must be a health practitioner whose scope of practice includes assessing people’s mental capacity. If necessary, the Family Court can be asked to decide whether someone is mentally incapable, after looking at all the evidence.

To set up an EPA you will need legal advice; this could be from a lawyer, a legal executive or an authorised officer of a trustee company such as the Public Trust. When you make an EPA you must use the standard forms that are included in the Protection and Property Rights regulations. Legal advisers will have these forms. They are also available on the Office for Senior Citizens website: osc.govt.nz Your legal adviser will explain what information should be included and the decisions you must make.

Your legal adviser will also explain the optional provisions you can choose to include, such as: • Requiring your attorney to consult with people you name in the EPA requiring your attorney to provide information to people you name in the EPA • Appointing a successor (replacement) attorney if your attorney becomes unable to act.

Note: that your attorney can also ask for direction from the Family Court. Sourced from www, ageconcern.org.nz

NOW AT 7 MAUNU ROAD, WHANGAREI

WILLS & ENDURING POWERS OF ATTORNEY PERSONAL CARE, WELFARE & PROPERTY

9AM - 5PM | MONDAY TO FRIDAY | 09 601 3218 | kay@perrylaw.co.nz

• You Only Live Once •

An ode to 90s café culture The coffee would strip the lining of your stomach. The stuff was so strong that you’d feel the burn when it went down and the kick would last all day. Even getting it was an ordeal.

They also played great music, you could dress as weird as you liked, and no one blinked an eye. But its most enduring legacy (other than the amazing memories) was the impact it had the development of organics in Auckland.

The music was deafening, razor sharp guitar, drum beats that resonated in your chest cavity. The counter staff displayed hipper-than-though indifference; the whole business of serving you was a pain the ass and they’d rather be listening to Einsturzende Neubauten.

Brazil was the cafe de jour for 90s coffee (and other) junkies. Located in the old Playhouse Theatre entranceway, complete with marble floor and arched ceiling, it was the headquarters of K Rd cool for the duration of its existence from 1995 to the 2007.

It wasn’t user friendly - the vertiginous staircase to the upstairs tables was impossible to navigate with a hangover but we all loved it because it felt authentic, played great music, and made you feel like you were in a scene from Blade Runner.

The 80s and 90s were the decades when food and coffee culture became a thing in Auckland. Coffee shops serving weak tea and soggy ham sandwiches were no longer cutting the mustard (excuse the pun). In their place came exotic offerings such as Middle East Cafe (opposite the Civic) and the revelation of hummus and falafel, the signature chawarmas; Mexican Cafe’s Tex-Mex take on nachos; and imaginative pizza offerings from One Red Dog on Ponsonby Rd. DKD behind the Civic Theatre started it all. Opened in 1984 by three coffee-loving Aucklanders, it was the first real cafe in Auckland - all bohemian arthouse vibes and alternative types supping flat whites.

In fact, they may have invented the New Zealand flat white.

“Well, we didn’t invent it,” says Darrell Ahlers, one of the cafe’s founders. “We just thought latte was too pretentious as a name so we decided to call lattes ‘flat whites’.”

“Janet and I were both young mums and we were worried about the future we were creating for our children,” she says.

So, they went about creating a menu, wine and beer list that was 100 per cent organic.

They were the first in Auckland to do so.

DKD was the progenitor of the new wave of Auckland cafes. There had been a coffee bar movement in the 60s, complete with cool sounds and boho patrons. But DKD represented a leap ahead for coffee culture in New Zealand and spawned a movement that’s arguably what Auckland’s best known for.

The stark interiors and formica tables were the perfect backdrop for deep conversations about Peter Greenaway movies and Derrida. Cigarettes were smoked, chocolate cake devoured, coffee was imbibed (it wasn’t licensed) and fun was had by all until it succumbed to the developers and turned into the soulless Imax complex in the late 1990s.

Not as influential, but serving special coffee that knocked your socks off, Open Late Cafe on Ponsonby Rd was another 90s food mainstay. It closed around 3am (though some remember being there until dawn) and the signature dish was wedges, with sour cream and salsa. It was where you’d gowhen you’d just finished watching Shayne Carter playing at Kurtz Lounge on Symonds St. And people smoked pot inside. No one cared. It was that kind of place.

“It was really a reflection of what we were serving our kids in our home kitchens,” explains Ord. While there were some places that were dabbling in organics, Verona was the first eatery to offer “organic red wine, served with organic chicken”.

“We were supporting a lot of the emerging wineries and brewers who were also emerging at the time - brands like Emersons, Rippon, and Founders,” she says.

The fully organic menu was embraced by talented chefs who were delighted to work with interesting ingredients. Popular dishes included a whole flounder cooked with coconut and bananas, a killer bread-andbutter pudding, and spring rolls with tuna and mango.

Tres, tres 1990s.

Verona had the best parties, the coolest staff and the best music. “We were one of the first places to introduce DJs, so the music was always great.”

The combination of killer tunes, dramatic decor and ethical food created an institution that forged Ord’s reputation as a hospo queen and created a space that any with a creative bent could find fuel for their craft. SPQR still holds its own as one of Ponsonby Rd’s best spots to see and be seen. But when it opened in 1992 it was a revelation.

Shortland Street stars flocked to the place and it was too cool for pretty much anyone who wasn’t a minor celeb.

It was also the gayest place in town and provided a much-needed haven for the city’s queer community when homosexuality was still frowned upon in many quarters.

The great pizza and Italian-style food remains and it has stood the test of time: as you people watch from the street seating you can still get a sense of why it created such a buzz when opened over a quarter of a century ago.

SPQR is vestige of a time when food culture was new and exciting and not controlled by hospo monopolies, and long may it last.

While Verona may be best-known by younger folk because of that dreadful song

by Elemeno P, it was a genuinely great place to hang out in the 90s. Established in 1992

by Hilary Ord and Janet Sergeant, it had sumptuous chandeliers, darkened booths and toilet mirrors that made you look great.

We are open School Holidays Stop luncha Bring for the breakfast, family and enjoy walk our sub-tropical or through just a snack.

Shop Sculpture gardens or just inenjoy the Gallery.

Listen to lunch at the Cafe...

the frogs and birds while relaxing in the garden

Stop for breakfast, lunch or just a snack.

Shop in the Gallery. Listen to the frogs and birds while relaxing in the garden

Open Open 77 Days Days

Joanna Mathers

Open for: • Breakfast • Lunch • Delicious Cakes • Functions • Paintings • Glass Works • Carvings • Jewellery • Sculptures • Ceramics • Gift Vouchers

1392 Old Russell Rd, Hikurangi Phone/Fax: Gallery 09 433 9616 or Café 09 433 9934 Hours: 7 days - 9am to 5pm www.galleryhelenabay.co.nz www.facebook/galleryhelenabay

Gift Vouchers available for the Café and Gallery

• You Only Live Once •

An intrepid generation Call them Mr and Mrs Boomer. Les and Philippa live on Auckland’s North Shore; Les got his Gold Card a couple of years ago, while Philippa is still working at her office job. They’re part of the most upwardly, outwardly and inwardly mobile generation in human history.

Boomers - born from 1946 to 1964, now in their mid-50s to mid-70s - make up about 20 per cent of the population in countries such as New Zealand. But studies in Europe, North America and Australia show their generation accounts for 80 per cent of money spent on travel.

In the past five years Les and Philippa have travelled overseas - for leisure or family reasons - six times, each around 10 days. Three of those were cruises. They’ve travelled inside New Zealand 10 times for trips of 2 to 3 days.

Most of this age-group weren’t travellers in their earlier years. Some brave souls headed for London in the Swinging 60s to listen to the Beatles, wear miniskirts and squat in Earl’s Court, but that adventure was financially and socially out of reach for most.

Their idea of a holiday is relaxation, new experiences - either food or sights, and Les says it’s “essential to have a modicum of comfort. I don’t suffer long plane trips - more than 10 hours - well.” The couple use a travel agent to book their flights but have started to organise their own accommodation, rental cars, insurance and the like, online.

For young Kiwis and Aussies, the OE pilgrimage peaked in the mid-70s and through the ‘80s. London has Air New Zealand’s long-haul flights to thank for an influx, or a reflux, of beer-drinking, hardpartying rugby fans and office temps.

The Boomers’ dream trip? “Either a small ship cruise (up to 1500 passengers) from the Northern Hemisphere to New Zealand, with lots of sea days to enjoy the facilities or a river cruise through Champagne or the Rhone,” Les says.

Like Les and Philippa, most Boomers settled into steady jobs, married and had their families young (usually in that order).

Now their kids have flown the nest; while still fit and healthy, Mum and Dad are spending the kids’ inheritance on their bucket lists.

While they’ve probably visited places close to home - Australia, the Pacific, maybe Hawaii

mountain range”. Accommodation includes an overnight stay in the Sahara desert and a traditional riad in Marrakech.

In Southeast Asia, the Vintage Vietnam tour takes in homestays in the Mekong Delta, cruising on Halong Bay, Cu Chi war tunnels in Ho Chi Minh City and traditional water puppetry, as well as indulging in traditional cuisine.

- now they’re going further afield. Places where the locals don’t speak English, may not eat meat and three veg, and offer what the industry politely calls “soft adventures”.

They put the work in. Research shows Boomers are likely to spend days - even months - online looking where to eat or visit.

They often like tours where someone’s done all the organisation but they have free time to follow their own stars, or artworks.

And they don’t mind going it alone.

Brett Mitchell, general manager at Intrepid Travel, the Melbourne-based small-group and sustainable tour company, says his company’s research shows solo travel is on the rise. Intrepid saw a 46 per cent increase in 55+ travellers going solo in the last year.

In the past year, the company has recorded a 20 per cent of 55+ travellers on dedicated foodie trips and a 45 per cent increase in those on “active” trips.

The Ecuador to Peru Explorer is a more active option, starting in the High Andes with the baroque La Compania de Jesus church and two nights in a restored hacienda before hiking towards the world’s highest active volcano, Cotopaxi.

Cruising is far and away the fastest growing sector of the worldwide travel market. Because it’s more expensive, because travellers need more time on their hands, it’s the Boomers’ natural habitat.

Statistics from the industry’s global body, the Cruise Line Industry Association, show that half of all passengers are 50+.

StatsNZ produces even more dramatic figures for ships visiting our ports in the year to June 2018, with three-quarters of all passengers aged 50+. The median age dropped slightly to 64; there are 120 women for every 100 men. You’ll probably find Mr and Mrs Boomer onboard - just as soon as they’ve paid off next month’s trip to Europe.

Boomer favourites include the Morocco Food Explorer, where travellers eat “while reclining on kilims in the shadow of the ancient ruins of Volubilis, take a tasting tour through the souks to prepare pastilla and enjoy a slow-cooked feast of succulent mechoui (lamb) while looking at the Atlas

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BET TER TOGETHER HOT WHANGAREI I 09 438 2333 I WHANGAREI@HOT.CO.NZ

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CONDITIONS: Valid for new bookings only from 16-29 Feb 20 or until sold out. Prices are correct as at 14 Feb. Prices are thereafter subject to change without notice until time of confirmation. Full payment is required within 3 days of reservation being made and no later than 29 Feb 20. All travel must be commenced and completed as specified All packages are based on economy class flying Virgin Australia from Auckland to Brisbane. Day of the week airfare surcharges may apply. Limited availability applies over peak periods. Min/max stays apply. Twin share is based on two adults sharing one room using existing bedding. Bedding configurations may vary. Advertised prices are total price per person as specified based on payment by cash or cheque. Credit card fees will apply. Airfares are non-refundable, non-transferable and name changes are not permitted. Amendment and cancellation fees apply.

• You Only Live Once •

You only die once – you live everyday Kiwis aren’t great at putting money away for a rainy day. While some of us do manage to save money for the good things in life such as holidays or weddings, planning for funerals is often not even considered, and yet it’s the certain life event we’ll all face.

As funeral experts we see first-hand the difficulty families faces when it comes to honouring a loved one - funeral options, choices and costs can be daunting. If we could only give you one piece of expert advice, it would be to take the pressure off your family by preplanning your funeral. Plan today and get on with living your life to the full.

You may have had a conversation with your loved ones about your wishes, but those dinner chats years ago might not come to mind when it matters most - and what if the children each have a different recollection of that chat? It happens more often than you think.

Pre-planning allows you to be involved in the choices about your final farewell. From decisions such as cremation or burial, to the form of service or the music you would prefer, you can record your preferences as a guide for your family. We would like to see more families concentrating on celebrating a life and positively grieving the loss, rather than worrying about the details of funeral planning.

When thinking about the cost of a funeral, many people say they aren’t worried as they presume the proceeds of selling their house will cover it, however there are two reasons this isn’t such a great plan.

The person most able to help you to work through the options is your FDANZ funeral director. They can help you consider all aspects of your pre arrangement.

Regardless of the type of funeral people plan, it is important to plan a funeral that allows those who are grieving the ability to say goodbye to their loved ones. A meaningful funeral farewell helps positive grieving.

Firstly, the settlement of an estate and subsequent sale of a property can take many, many months. Can those you love afford to pay for the funeral while they wait for your house funds to come through?

Secondly, many of us spend our latter years in a retirement village or residential care facility rather than in our own home.

The funds from the sale of the family home can get eaten up by the cost of that care, leaving uncertainty about what amount would be left to fund a funeral.

Alternatively, if you pre-pay your funeral, and if the need later arose for long-term residential care in a rest home or hospital, the value of that pre paid funeral, up to $10,000, is excluded from the Government’s financial means assessment for the residential care subsidy.

care, can be set aside for your funeral so your family have one less thing to worry about when the time comes. Which way would you rather spend your $10,000?

The FDANZ Funeral Trust is run by professional managers who responsibly invest your money. You can pay either in a lump sum or by instalments chosen by you. In addition, any excess funds will be returned to your estate.

In basic terms, this means up to $10,000 that you might otherwise have been forced to spend on subsidising your

Alongside pre-planning, we encourage people to pre-pay their funeral. As well as taking the financial strain off your loved ones, there are strong fiscal reasons for putting aside funds in a pre-paid funeral plan.

You live every day, you only die once.

Pre-plan your funeral now and get on with living Talk to the experts we understand Funerals

www.morrisandmorris.co.nz

09 437 5799

Landline: 09 437 5799 anytime Email: office@morrisandmorris.co.nz Physical address: 199 Kamo Road Whau Valley Whangarei Website: www.morrisandmorris.co.nz

The Falls Estate isn’t just retirement, but an appetite for living

Join us to see what you’re missing

Next Open Day

Thursday 20th February 2020 10.30am – 12pm We invite you to join us for morning tea and a relaxed discussion about Retirement Living, followed by an opportunity to view the Village facilities and any homes currently for sale. Family or friends are welcome too.

RSVP by Wednesday 19th February, please call 09 437 5844

94 BOUNDAR Y ROAD, TIK IPUNG A , WHANG AREI

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