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Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Is anyone who's anyone out there?

by Genevieve Helliwell
Bay of Plenty Times·
5 Jan, 2010 05:00 AM3 mins to read

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Spending the holiday period surrounded by people in bustling Mount Maunganui might not be everyone's idea of keeping a low profile, but for a few "celebrities" hanging out in the Mount is all about blending in.
One Papamoa business even claimed to have been visited by an international "movie star" but
refused to say who.
Many other businesses likewise refused to disclose their clientele, citing confidentiality reasons.
The Bay of Plenty Times spoke with more than 50 people at Mount Maunganui last week  to see whether anyone had spotted any big names roaming around the area this holiday season. Overwhelmingly, the consensus was "no".
But for the few people who had spotted a star, some big names came out, including Scott Dixon.
IndyCar driver Dixon has owned a house in Mount Maunganui for at least three years.
He was spotted at Mount Maunganui's Oceanside Cafe two weeks ago with wife Emma and 5-month-old daughter Poppy.
Oceanside Cafe owner Gordon Oakley said Dixon had come into the cafe just before Christmas.
Apart from that, Mr Oakley could not remember anyone else.
Sidetrack Cafe owner Petra-Lee Osbourne said former top jockey Lance O'Sullivan and his wife, Bridgette, dined at the cafe on December 24 and 29. Another visitor to Sidetrack cafe was MTV host and ZM DJ Jay Reeves, who ate there on Boxing Day.
Mrs Osbourne said the Bay's own All Black, Mike Delany, was a regular customer.

She said New Zealand celebrities often ate at the cafe, including Shortland Street stars and numerous well-known rugby players. However, only once in her 10-year ownership has an international superstar entered the cafe.
In 2006, U2 frontman Bono ate at the cafe, surrounded by police escorts, said Mrs Osbourne.
A member of the public said they had spotted England rugby coach Martin Johnson at Bluebiyou Restaurant in Papamoa last week..
Johnson has a house in Papamoa with Kiwi wife Kay, whose mother lives in Tauranga.
 
One Tauranga accommodation provider, who declined to be named, said they had two international league players staying with them but wouldn't say who.
Not many Mount Maunganui beachgoers had seen any "celebrities" in the past weeks, however one group of teenagers said New Zealand's Next Top Model winner, Christobelle Grierson-Ryrie, 16, had been camping at Papamoa Village Holiday Park.
Potential Auckland super-city mayor Len Brown was spotted two weeks ago in Mount Maunganui.
 In Waihi Beach last week,, locals told the Bay of Plenty Times that bach owners included TVNZ newsreader Peter Williams and fashion designer Annah Stretton.
Others who holiday at Waihi Beach include former Governor-General Dame Sylvia Cartwright, Telecom chief executive Theresa Gattung, Waikato coach and former All Black Warren Gatland,  and former Labour MP John Tamihere.
 Ex-All Black winger John Kirwan is understood to have sold his bach at Waihi Beach, but still visits.
 
with Ellen Irvine

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