Nickie Muir: We don't know how lucky we are

There is much to do in beautiful Northland that won't cost an arm and a leg.

"I'm bored. There's nothing to do. If you want to do anything everything is so expensive."

Sometimes the litany of why kids (and some adults) think rural Northland is the equivalent of a cultural and entertainment Siberia is long and simply not true.

Since being in the Far North, I've found some things offer much more opportunity than that in the Big Smoke of Auckland at a smidgen of the price.

There are some equally phenomenal people who want to bolster and develop youth here and often do most of what they do for free - or for little. You just have to know where to find them - and that's not always easy, they seem like the proverb that some of the best kumara never sing about their own sweetness - so I'll sing some of it for them.

There's something about the physical beauty here that calls people back - even when they've been really successful in their careers and could live or work anywhere in the world - and yet they choose to come back to their home towns and put hours of their time and energy into local kids - because it's a great place and the kids are worth it.

Passing the Taipa Sailing Club and watching a small clutch of sailboats, a hover of marine white butterflies floating offshore, the small person sighed and wished she could go sailing too.

I understood what she meant - she understands money can be tight and it often seems that sailing is a "rich man's sport". That's certainly the image of extravaganzas such as the America's Cup but there's another kind of sailing that is all about the environment and being "out among it", understanding wind and tide, learning new skills and testing yourself that makes it the perfect sport in Northland with our weather and some of the best places to sail in the world. And it's certainly not a rich man's sport up here.

If I'd wanted to sign the small person up to a club in Auckland, we'd be in for years of waiting lists and hundreds if not thousands of dollars.

In Northland? Less than the cost of a restaurant meal to become a member and sail, using all the gear for an entire year. Aevril Hibbard, three times NZ sailing rep, is on a mission to prove that in Northland at least - sailing is anything but a rich bloke's sport. She's back in Northland from crewing super yachts to teach kids to swim and sail and help them build up the kinds of skills - strategic thinking, self-discipline and accountability - needed and give them the experiences (sailing with dolphins, finding a competitive streak) that are so valuable, often so hard to teach and that not only build kids - but can also build communities.

If you know a kid that could do with something good to do in the weekends - the club (as all yachting NZ clubs do) welcomes guardian angels or businesses that want to sponsor a sailor. Sometimes - like Fred Dagg used to say - we don't know how lucky we are.