Where will you be holidaying this summer?
Staff share their favourite holiday spots
Tolaga Bay, Gisborne.
We do the annual week long camping holiday with all of our friends
and their kids – it is always a huge group of around 18 adults and
22 kids. We’ve been going to Tolaga Bay for 15 years give or take
a year or two. The beach is safe for swimming, surfing and boogie
boarding. We eat fish and seafood nearly every night, we put on an
‘amazing race’ for the kids every year with a trophy up for grabs.
The wharf is great for fishing from (one of our friends caught a huge
kingfish one year) and also for jumping off. As the years go by, the
kids show us that they are braver than their mothers, forcing us to
step up and take the plunge too. Cooks Cove walk is right next door
and we go up and over every year, we even met Aaron Cruden over
in Cooks Cove one year and the kids all gathered in for a photo and
an autograph on their hats. I could fill this entire magazine with so
many great memories from the beautiful Tolaga Bay.
Whale Bay, Whangarei.
You wind your way through the New Zealand native bush and
then arrive at the most idyllic beautiful beach. White sand and
Pohutukawa trees over the bay. If you are lucky you may get the
chance to swim with dolphins, as I did at my last visit. I h ighly
recommend it to anyone.
Helen Liddall, Speech Language Therapist, Tauranga Hospital
Lyndell Jones, RHIP Student Placement Coordinator,
BOP Clinical School
Ten minutes north of Whangamata
is a little place called Opoutere.
Tawharanui Regional Park,
north of Auckland.
No electricity, no showers (although there is a tap!) – just the sea,
bird life, long stretches of beach, amazing old-time Kiwi camping
in a most beautiful spot. Best not to go over the peak time if you
want to avoid crowds, but it’s virtually empty by late Feb and
still fantastic. And if you MUST have coffee and outings, there is
heaps to do within a half hour drive.
Nikki Moore, Medical Typist, Tauranga
In fact, it might be best to drive straight past because I don’t really
want more people to know about this hidden gem! Opoutere
has a few of baches, a camp ground and a yoga retreat. But
the real jewel is the YHA. This has a few tent spots and hostel
accommodation. It’s the old converted school house and has
a wonderful history and ambiance. We have taken our family
there for our summer holidays for the past four years. It’s a great
base for lots of activities with the added element of interesting
international travellers passing through. Plus they have free use of
kayaks which the kids love to use to explore the sheltered harbour.
Just down the road there is a perfect bridge for jumping off into
the river to cool down on a baking day. The beach is accessed
through a shady forest and stretches forever with classic rolling
surf. I’m originally from England and this place has everything
that’s magical about this adopted country of mine!
Dr Alison James,GP Liaison