SUMMER SERIES: Kiwis recommend their favourite beach, a book to read on it, and a song that encapsulates summer.
A great book to read on the beach is: The Women, by Kristin Hannah
A warning: when I googled this book to remind myself about the story, a few articles explicitly said it wasn’t a ‘beach read’, but it is a page turner.
The story is centred on women who served as nurses during the Vietnam war and what greeted them when they arrived back to the US. It’s evocative, emotionally heavy and drops you in the middle of what at times can only be described as hell. There are lovely, lighter moments too, I promise.
The characters and the feeling of this book stuck with me long after I’d finished it.
A song that encapsulates summer for me is: Why Does Love Do This To Me, the Exponents
I know, I know, but who hasn’t belted this out at a party at the end of hot summer’s night? Pubs, weddings, festivals, bbqs – the reach of Why Does Love Do This To Me is unstoppable here in New Zealand. It sounds to me like the late 90’s early 2000s, jumping and yelling at the end of a good night – a time when we were students with the whole summer in front of us.
Even if you don’t love it… you can’t help but love it.
My favourite beach in all of Aotearoa would have to be: Whangaumu, Tutukaka coast, Northland
My family has been lucky enough to stay at Whangaumu Bay for a number of years (thanks Claire). The crescent-shaped beach with a look-out to climb up to at one end and a rock pool at the other has become our summer retreat. The whole of the Tutukaka coast is beautiful and each bay or beach offers something different, surfing, strolling, snorkling, sleeping. A daily stop at the Matapouri store for a scoop of chips and an ice cream is something to savour.
