Travel Editor Stephanie Holmes talks to Liz Stokes, from hit Kiwi band The Beths, about her favourite beaches. To find out how to nominate your favourite beach in the Herald’s Best Beach campaign, scroll to the bottom of the page.
What’s your favourite family beach in New Zealand?
There’s this really nice beach at Scott’s Landing, which is north of central Auckland, in that area where there’s all the nice beaches around Matakana. It’s just a really beautiful beach. There’s a little grassy bit behind with some trees, which is nice if you want to throw a frisbee or something, or just sit down under the shade to have a bit of respite from the water. It’s a gorgeous little enclosed bay. You park and walk down the hill to get there. So if you have a stroller or something it might be a little bit more difficult to get to, but it’s really nice. One time we were there and we saw these orca whales which came in right close to the shore, which was terrifying! They looked really fake – just a big black-finned thing and I was like “that’s not real!” But it was real and it was amazing. I don’t think it happens every day, but it’s a magical place where hypothetical stuff like that can maybe happen.
Where there any beaches you and your whānau went to regularly when you were growing up?
We would sometimes go to Eastern Beach, just because that was nearby. I grew up in Pakuranga and then, later on, closer to the coast in Howick, and that was probably our local. And I really like it, too. It’s not one that if I saw someone from overseas I’d be like “come to New Zealand, and go to Eastern Beach”! But maybe that’s what makes it a classic Auckland beach. Auckland has so many beaches. It’s just this nice local spot that you can go swimming in, you can have a barbecue there. We would go there every once in a while.
Other than Eastern Beach, what’s your favourite city beach?
I really like Pt Chevalier beach. In terms of where I live now, it’s where I’m most likely to go and have a swim in the summer. I like that it’s a big, long beach; there’s usually a good vibe there people-wise. I like that there’s a pontoon – that’s always a plus. And I’ve had some quite nice night swims there, pulling up after a gig, which I haven’t done in a long time, but I used to do it a lot more. It’s a nice night-time beach, the waves are nice and small and if the tide’s high, it’s quite a warm swim at night as well. I have a few lovely memories of going swimming there.
What’s the best camping beach in New Zealand?
I’m not much of a camper, but I know that Johno [Jonathan Pearce], who’s our lead guitarist and my partner, his family grew up going to Algie’s Bay [on the Mahurangi Peninsula in Auckland] and going to a campground there over the summers. That’s a nice little bay and good for camping. I feel the connections you have with a beach, so often it’s not about finding the most beautiful or amazing beach, it’s the connections you have, right? Like a friend who lets you stay or a family member who’s got a spot they always go to, or a place your family’s always gone. Usually you go there because of some kind of connection you have, more than it being a quantitative “well this beach is better than that beach”. Algie’s Bay is special to him and special to us.
What’s your favourite hidden gem beach?
Ohiwa Beach in Bay of Plenty. It’s not great for swimming – the waves are big and it’s a bit rippy, so it’s maybe a bit dangerous - but it’s really nice to walk along and the holiday park’s really nice and there’s a bay on the inland side if you want to go kayaking or sailing, because it’s really flat and really still when the tide’s in. I really like it down in Ohiwa, because it’s a place that I’ve been a few times. I don’t know any secret, really beautiful, sparkly beaches. But I like Ohiwa. There are some nice walks that you can do around there as well - you can walk up to the top of the pā, and there’s a glow-worm bit in the bush, which I never make it to. I always say I’m going to go to it every time we go down and then it’s too scary. We’ll get halfway there and then I’ll be like, “no, I’m not going into the bush at night”. I’m a city kid, but I do like trying and I’ll try again next time.
Will you get to enjoy much beach time this summer or are you going to be too busy touring?
Laneway’s not until the end of January so until then we’ll just be rehearsing and getting ready for the year ahead. I’m really looking forward to some beach-going and swimming. Yeah, it’ll be a really nice summer.
The Herald is searching for New Zealand’s Best Beach 2023 and we need your help.
The Best Beach series runs through January and it starts with you. We want you to nominate your favourite beaches from around the country in these five categories:
You can nominate one contender in each category and tell us a little bit about why you think they deserve to win. You can also send us a favourite photo of you and your whānau enjoying these great summer spots.
Nominations are open until the end of Sunday, January 8. From there, your entries will be counted and the 10 most popular nominees in each of the five categories will be named as our finalists. You will then be able to vote for the ultimate winners in each category, which will be crowned at the end of the month. To find the form and read more Best Beach stories, go to nzherald.co.nz/bestbeach