Winston Aldworth: Life's a beach

We're on a mission to find New Zealand's best beach. Photo / NZME

We love beaches and we know you do, too — that's why we're on a mission to find New Zealand's best beach. Last week, our panel of beach experts — associate professor Karin Bryan, singer-surfer Jamie McDell and northern region Surf Life Saving NZ boss Matt Williams — met to whittle down a shortlist of 10 from which the public is selecting a winner. That means you — so vote to represent your beach!

As the experts discussed what makes a beach special, it became clear that the X-factor is indefinable. A person's favourite beach simply speaks to something primal inside each of us. We're profiling the beaches all week in the Herald in the lead-up to the big announcement.

You can vote for your favourite beach here: tinyurl.com/votenzbestbeach.