Kiwi hearts belong on the coast
The beach is more than just a place, it’s a part of who we are — for better or worse. Kim Knight remembers
Tan lines, tog lines, summer stories writ on skin. New Zealanders reveal themselves at the beach. There is sand in our statistics and sand in our mythologies.
Maui, raised in the ocean, was cast ashore as a man.
Nobody here can ever be more than 130km from the sea. Childhood tastes of salt and pineapple Frujus.
Do you ever forget your first beach?
The Pancake Tearooms in Punakaiki did not serve pancakes.
We made coffee from a tin, triangular ham sandwiches from white bread and double-scoop ice creams from four-litre cardboard boxes stamped “hokey pokey” and “French vanilla”.
I was 14. I named my customers for their favourite flavours. He was Maple Walnut.
We walked all the way to the river end, then we walked all the way to the safe swimming end.
On the West Coast, they squeeze the last drop out of the sun. Shortly before it pitches below the horizon, it catches the sea on fire. I should have kissed him. The next day his family drove to another camping ground by another beach.
Pack that summer in a box and take it to the beach. Tupperware containers of fruitcake and cars with the windows rolled down. New Zealand’s national colour is a very particular shade of bright, light, 1970s blue that paints baches photogenic and caravans melancholic.
When you close your eyes, is it one beach or many?
A 50kg human contains 40 teaspoons of salt. Babies are threequarters water. We were born to gather at that margin between land and sea. Feel the sun. Sand between your toes. The national narrative depends on beachy-keen cliches.
Ministry for the Environment: Of the 92 indigenous seabird species and subspecies that breed in New Zealand, 32 are classified as threatened with extinction, 51 at risk of extinction.
Niwa: The risks from coastal hazards will rise substantially as sea level continues to rise and waves and storm surge increase.
Lorde: She thinks you love the This month the Herald is searching for New Zealand’s best beach and we want to hear your choices.
We’ve assembled a panel of beach experts — Associate Professor Karin Bryan, of Waikato University, Surf Life Saving New Zealand boss Matt Williams, and singer-songwriter and surfer Jamie McDell — who will sift Enter your favourite beach at the entries down to a shortlist of 10 great beaches.
Through January, the Herald will be publishing profiles of these coastal contenders and readers will be able to vote to find the ultimate winner. At the end of the month, we will be naming New Zealand’s Best Beach.
We’re looking at factors like local amenities, family friendliness, green credentials and “X-factor”.
But the final choices and the reasons are up to you, so tell us which beach you love the most and why.