Dai Henwood at Piha Beach.<\/p>\n
Dai Henwood <\/p>\n
I always say Piha because that\u2019s my sort of spiritual home. Since I\u2019ve been born, I\u2019ve always been going there for a month a year, even though I was from Wellington. There\u2019s something so energetic about it, that\u2019s where I go and do chemo, even. <\/p>\n
I learned to swim there. My kids learned to swim there. I think it\u2019s so important learning to swim to begin with and being blessed with Piha as the place [to learn]; you learn the ultimate respect for Mother Nature and the respect for the water. Now, when I go to a flat beach, it\u2019s just like, \u2018oh, fill your boots\u2019.<\/p>\n
Dai Henwood will host the 2026 Best Foods Comedy Gala in May.<\/p>\n
Hilary Barry <\/p>\n
Sandy Bay, in Northland, is my favourite. It\u2019s a gorgeous, gorgeous part of New Zealand. I love it. <\/p>\n
Hilary Barry hosts Seven Sharp, which will return to TVNZ1 this month.<\/p>\n
Clint Roberts<\/p>\n
My favourite beach out of all the beaches in New Zealand is Whangamat\u0101. You can\u2019t beat the Coromandel in summertime. But, we have family in Whangamat\u0101, so we can just show up, drop our bags and go straight over to the beach. So, we\u2019re very lucky like that. I also love Whangamat\u0101 because it\u2019s got everything there. Like it\u2019s got a supermarket, it\u2019s got pubs, it\u2019s got playgrounds for the kids. It\u2019s got two golf courses. So, it\u2019s kind of like a beach paradise.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve got little girls and so beach memories make themselves every summer for us. The most recent one would be the girls working up the courage to jump off the wharf into the water. You go from the first summer of them looking at it and going, \u201cI\u2019ll never do that\u201d. And then the following summer them going, \u201coh, maybe I want to jump off the wharf\u201d. And then last summer, they jumped off, but they needed me in the water. So, hopefully, this summer they can just jump off and off and I can just sit on the beach and watch. <\/p>\n
Clint Roberts is the co-host of ZM afternoon show Bree & Clint<\/p>\n
Black Foil Liv Mackay at Waipatiki in Hawke’s Bay.<\/p>\n
Liv Mackay<\/p>\n
Waip\u0101tiki in Hawke\u2019s Bay is my favourite because it was the closest beach to our farm growing up and I have a lot of good memories there. <\/p>\n
I have a real mix of good memories from beaches around NZ. We spent a lot of time at Lake Taup\u014d growing up, which is great for kids and a more relaxed environment around water. My teenage years were in Coromandel with friends and then, of course, sailing has given me so many memories with NZ beaches \u2013 from great stories of trying to launch boats in surf to memories at regattas with hundreds of boats waiting to get on the water. There are still so many good beaches that I want to explore.<\/p>\n
Liv Mackay will be sailing with the Black Foils in the ITM SailGP New Zealand in Auckland from February 14-15<\/p>\n
Bree Tomasel<\/p>\n
My favourite beach in New Zealand, no question about it, is H\u0101hei Beach in the Coromandel. If you\u2019ve never been, what the hell are you bloody doing? It\u2019s a tiny little beach town, but it\u2019s got everything you could possibly need. It\u2019s got your little corner store, the beach, it\u2019s got a great campground that has great vibes in the summertime. My partner\u2019s family has a bach there, so we\u2019re very lucky, we get to spend a lot of time in H\u0101hei Beach. Some big memories have been built there actually, and more to come hopefully, but one of the biggest ones was my brother got engaged to his partner at H\u0101hei Beach. So, every time I\u2019m there, I always think about that. It\u2019s such an amazing memory and I was so glad that he invited us to be a part of it.<\/p>\n
Bree Tomasel is the co-host of ZM afternoon show Bree & Clint<\/p>\n
Brokenwood Mysteries star Fern Sutherland loves Taranaki’s Back Beach.<\/p>\n
Fern Sutherland<\/p>\n
Back Beach, Taranaki, is my favourite beach. It\u2019s an incredibly scenic black beach at the bottom of enormous volcanic ash and sedimentary rock cliffs. Access is gained via falling\/flailing down a large, steep sand dune at your own risk! Sunset panoramas for days.<\/p>\n
Fern Sutherland stars in The Brokenwood Mysteries. Seasons 9-11 streaming on TVNZ+ <\/p>\n
Matty McLean<\/p>\n
My favourite beach in New Zealand was an easy one for me because I loved Muriwai as soon as I moved to Auckland and started heading out there. And I just think there\u2019s something so beautiful about the west coast beaches. Like the kind of ruggedness and they\u2019re just stunning. And so I\u2019ve always loved Muriwai, and then, when my husband and I were looking for a wedding venue, we found the most amazing spot in Muriwai. And so we got married there three years ago. So, it really holds like a special place in my heart now because, yeah, it\u2019s the place that I got married. So I love Muriwai. It\u2019s just so stunning. And I feel like now, every time I go out there, I have like a different perspective on it because before we got married, I always just loved going there because it was beautiful. And now it feels really special and personal, so Muriwai. <\/p>\n
Matty McLean is the co-host of The Hits drive show and Out The Gayte podcast.<\/p>\n
Lonely Bay in the Coromandel is Tom Sainsbury’s favourite New Zealand beach. Photos \/ Tim Roxborogh, supplied<\/p>\n
Tom Sainsbury<\/p>\n
My favourite Kiwi beach is Lonely Bay in the Coromandel. It\u2019s over the cliff from Cooks Beach and is a cute lil\u2019 hideaway with no road access. There\u2019s some gorgeous overhanging p\u014dhutukawa and rock pools aplenty. I love it.<\/p>\n
Tom Sainsbury stars in Small Town Scandal, streaming on Neon and Sky Comedy from February 9<\/p>\n
Beulah Koale loves spending time at Waiake Beach, in Auckland’s Torbay, with his family.<\/p>\n
Beulah Koale<\/p>\n
Waiake Beach in Torbay is my local. We are lucky enough to live literally down the road from it. It\u2019s a small, almost-private beach that locals in Torbay love. It has a great view of Rangitoto, and in the morning, if I\u2019m up early enough, I usually go out there and watch the sunrise, pray and have a coffee. It\u2019s also a beach my kids love and we are there all the time.<\/p>\n
My favourite beach memories involve p\u014dhutukawa trees blooming in the summertime. Sausage sizzles on the barbecue. Volleyball net up and a bunch of Samoans screaming and laughing over a game of dominoes. The best place to be in the world for me during summer is Auckland, and at a beach over a barbecue with family. <\/p>\n
Beulah Koale stars in Tin\u0101, available to watch on Apple TV Store, Prime Video Store, Neon Rentals and AroVision. <\/p>\n
\u014cpito Bay in the Coromandel is NZ’s best beach, according to Shortland Street’s Jane Wills.<\/p>\n
Jane Wills<\/p>\n
I love \u014cpito Bay in Coromandel. It\u2019s somewhat of a hidden gem and it has the most amazing long, golden-sand beach. It is also close to Luke\u2019s Kitchen, which is my favourite cafe in the Coromandel. They do great pizzas.<\/p>\n
Jane Wills plays Phil Grayson in Shortland Street on TVNZ2 and TVNZ+<\/p>\n
Jason Reeves<\/p>\n
My favourite beach would be Waih\u012b Beach. I love that place. It is such a nice beach. It\u2019s nice and flat, it\u2019s not too barrelly. I\u2019m not much of a surfer, but the beach is wonderful. There\u2019s the Bowentown end, but there\u2019s also the surf club end, and I just love it. The sand is phenomenal. The little township is really nice too. The people are so good. And when you\u2019re at Waih\u012b Beach, up on the hill is the RSA, it\u2019s legendary. We try and get there as often as we possibly can. It\u2019s just such a wonderful place with wonderful memories and I\u2019ll always go back there, and one day I\u2019m going to own a house at Waih\u012b Beach. <\/p>\n
Jason Reeves co-hosts Coast\u2019s Breakfast with Toni, Jase & Sam <\/p>\n
Now it\u2019s your turn …<\/p>\n
Nominate your favourite beaches in our five categories: Best Family Beach, Best Surf Beach, Best City Beach, Best Hidden Gem Beach and Best Camping Beach. Find out more about the categories with our launch story here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Nominations are open until the end of Sunday, January 11. From there, the 10 most popular nominees in each category will be collated and announced on Sunday, January 18. You can then vote for the ultimate winners, who will be crowned on February 1.<\/p>\n Any beach, anywhere in New Zealand, could make the final list, from the tip of Te Tai Tokerau Northland to the bottom of Rakiura Stewart Island. It\u2019s all up to you … get nominating.<\/p>\n