Best Beach 2023: Comedians Dai Henwood and Josh Thomson share their favourite summer hangouts

Dai Henwood reveals a secret, secluded beach not far from Piha's main beach. Photo / 123rf

Kiwi comedians Dai Henwood and Josh Thomson talk to Travel’s Anna Sarjeant and Sarah Pollok about their favourite beaches around the country. The finalists in the Herald’s Best Beach campaign will be revealed on Sunday January 15. Check out Sunday Travel or nzherald.co.nz/bestbeach to find out who’s in the running and how to vote.

What is your favourite family-friendly beach in New Zealand?

Dai Henwood: Matarangi Beach in the Coromandel. Mainly because I’ve always been a west coast guy and Matarangi is a white-sand beach on the east coast. About six or seven years ago, we went down there to stay with friends. I’m used to really big surf beaches but Matarangi has small waves. I’ve got kids and it’s perfect for them. It’s got a really pristine peacefulness about it. Since then, we’ve gone every year and rented the same Airbnb house, and more and more friends have come to stay each time. For me, it typifies a family base, where you can sit on the beach and your kids can go in the water; you don’t have to be directly next to them. There’s still a bit of surf for them to have fun with and it always makes me think of family summertime.

Josh Thomson: Caroline Bay in Timaru. It’s a beautiful, soft, white sandy beach - very fine sand - and it’s got very slow gradation out to the sea, so it’s very gentle and safe. I’ve got a lot of happy memories growing up and going there.

The Memorial Walkway leading up to Caroline Bay in Timaru.

Where’s your favourite city beach in New Zealand?

Dai: I’m from Wellington and going to the beach wasn’t really a thing we did. It was so cold. However, I moved to Auckland 20 years ago and since moving here, I fell in love with Narrow Neck Beach on Auckland’s North Shore. It’s a little bit of a drive over the bridge for a West Aucklander like me but I love it because it reminds me of Sydney beaches. I used to go over to Australia and stay with relatives as a kid and Narrow Neck, like Sydney beaches, feels quite exotic - but it’s still in the city. There’s a great dairy where you can grab an icecream too.

Narrow Neck Beach feels "quite exotic" while still being in Auckland city. Photo / Getty Images

Josh: There’s a little beach called Home Bay, which is in Auckland, and it was very close to where I used to live. Me and my friends would duck down there with a bottle of cider and just have a wonderful, wonderful, sunny afternoon. It was really good. I had this tiny inflatable boat that would fit six drinks, and it had an ice thing that fit in the middle, and we’d just stand around it and marvel at science.

Do you have a favourite surf beach in New Zealand?

Dai: The north end of Piha. It’s where I grew up body-boarding, body-surfing and regular surfing - which is a sport I wish I was better at. I’m more of a qualified paddler. I just love being in the waves there. I’m not a thrill-seeker and this may sound strange, but I love Piha because it’s so dangerous. I learned to swim at Piha, and it gave me a massive respect for nature and the power of water. If you’re not vigilant, the sea can own you in a second. The fact that I’ve been able to teach my kids to swim in the waves and pay respect to the ocean is wonderful. I believe if you can learn to swim in the water at Piha, then you can swim anywhere. It’s a mixture of showing them the freakiness of water, without freaking them out.

Josh: If we’re feeling adventurous, our favourite place to go is Muriwai, out in West Auckland. It’s this big black-sand beach and we go with the family. One time we went kite-fishing with my dad; he’d bought a kite to go fishing with. We didn’t think it would work, but then we pulled in a bunch of snapper and it was a great day.

Kiwi comedian Josh Thomson shares his favourite Kiwi beaches. Photo / Nic Gibb

What’s your favourite camping beach in New Zealand?

Dai: I mentioned that I’m from Wellington, but even before I was 1 year old, my parents would drive up to Piha every year and we’d stay for the summer. It started because my parents were doing a theatre show around the campgrounds, and then they did a theatre show at the Piha campground and fell in love with it. Then I was born and they brought me along. For the first 10 years, we camped in the North Piha campground; I made summer friends and fell in love with the surf and the sand. For me, Piha became my spiritual home and it still is. It’s my touchpoint for really happy camping memories. Both the North Piha and main Piha campground have such a wonderful vibe and are an easy walk to the surf.

Josh: I haven’t gone camping much on beaches because I’m from the South Island, and in the South Island you go camping in extreme weather and on rocks. But up north, with my family, we have been once to Tāwharanui. It’s a DoC campground and it’s very wonderful, and just so beautiful and relaxing, and everything that camping has not been for me growing up.

What’s your favourite hidden gem beach in New Zealand?

Dai: If people want a Piha Beach vibe but find it too busy over summer, put your hiking boats on and hike up and over the hill to a beach that has zero car access. It’s called Whites Beach. I wouldn’t recommend swimming there but you can dip your toes in. It’s completely secluded and because it’s walking access only, all those who get there feel a bit like an explorer, even if it’s only been a 30-minute trot. I love secluded beaches and it’s an easy one to bring a picnic. Take the kids and just park up and follow the track over the hill, then put a rug out and hang out for the afternoon. Go right to the north end of Piha Beach and find the track - it’s still a decent mission though.

Dai Henwood has a love for Piha's beaches. Photo / Supplied

Josh: It would be hard to look past Jack’s Point near Timaru. ‘Beach’ is a strong word to describe what it is. It’s got a lot of river rocks and we would walk down this sort of trail and you end up at this reef - I think it’s called Mutu Mutu reef - and it’s covered in mussels.

We’d go with the family and there would be rock pools and weird creatures and we’d collect up mussels, cook them right on the beach, see the lighthouse, see the waves. It was always very intense and quite uncomfortable but the fire made it nice and warm. It was a really lovely way to spend time with the family.

Dai Henwood and Josh Thomson feature in Patriot Brains which premieres on TVNZ in early February.