UNO Magazine | Issue 51 | Autumn 2021 | Charmeyne Te-Nana Williams

ONE MAGAZINE FOR ONE BAY OF PLENT Y

DRIVE! GRAND OPENING:

LEXUS

of Tauranga

ROAD-TRIPPING in a new-gen

BENTLEY

WHARF ST REET serves it up

Ride the volcano in

Ohakune

ST EWART CONST RUCT ION solves building puzzles

Float on a Foilboard with

Geoff Cox

NICOLA T RAVIS brings your bedroom to life

Eating Art Forage and Feast

CHARMEYNE changes ever ything I S S U E 51 AUTUMN 2021

PLUS WORK: Stuart Greenhill of Fenton Arts Collective Theresa Gattung tells us, this is how I did it THRIVE: Beauty picks Lasting skin solutions at Epidermis & Sage Skin Centre’s exclusive skin fix Annette Lees takes the plunge Meet the new owners of F45 The Mount Clubfit’s secrets to staying motivated LIVE: Bold and beautiful with Resene Mother-daughter duo Davidson & Co Craig Orr thinks positive Sandali Home rises again A perfect match at Tauranga Kitchens Life after the auction PLAY: Ben Hurley bowls a fast one EXPLORE: A dolphin seafari with Nathan Pettigrew

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I S S U E

5 1 > CO N T E N T S

CONTENTS - AUTUMN ISSUE 51 -

CHARMEYNE T E- N A N A WILLIAMS p3 0

Cover Story 30 / NGAKAU PUROTU How Charmeyne Te-Nana Williams’ beautiful heart led to her life’s purpose.

Regulars 14 / WHAT’S HOT Products you want and need.

16 / SPOTTED What’s happening (and who’s been seen) around town.

COVER PHOTO GARTH BADGER ST YLING LUCY JANE SENIOR HAIR & MAKEUP LOREN CUNNINGHAM

CONTRIBUTORS >

GARTH BADGER PHOTOGRAPHER

8 |unomagazine.co.nz

SALINA GALVAN PHOTOGRAPHER

JAHL MARSHALL PHOTOGRAPHER

CALEB WALSH PHOTOGRAPHER

JORDAN VICKERS PHOTOGRAPHER

ANDY JACKSON PHOTOGRAPHER

K ATIE COX PHOTOGRAPHER

I S S U E

The way we work Do the

5 1 > CO N T E N T S

UNO’s 50 th issue party p24

mahi .

40 / LAP OF LUXURY Lexus takes off in Tauranga.

45 / CREATIVE CHARACTER Writer and poet Stuart Greenhill talks about the Fenton Arts Collective.

The way we thrive Be

F45

your best self.

48 / GIMME SOME SKIN

p5 6

Essential beauty picks your skin will love.

50 / THE SKIN & WITHIN Beautiful skin from the inside out at Epidermis & Sage.

52 / DON’T GET MAD, GET EVEN Skin Centre’s post-summer skin saver.

53 / JUST KEEP SWIMMING Exploring our country’s waterways.

56 / F IS FOR FUNCTIONAL Fitness meets friendship at F45 The Mount.

58 / FLOATING ON AIR Ride the wave with foilboard shaper Geoff Cox.

FOILING WITH G E O F F C OX p58

GRAEME MURRAY PHOTOGRAPHER

JOEL MCDOWELL PHOTOGRAPHER

K ATIE HOY PHOTOGRAPHER

uu nn oomm aa gg aa zz iinn ee..ccoo..nn zz

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I S S U E

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STEWART CONSTRUCTION

The way we live A

p7 2

home from home.

66 / NEUTRAL GEAR Homewares you’ll covet for a cosy, neutral-coloured bedroom look.

68 / BOLD BLOCKING Dare to be different with statement colours from Resene.

72 / UPSTAIRS FOR THINKING There’s no building puzzle too big for Stewart Construction.

76 / HERE FOR YOU Mother-and-daughter sales people Diane and Ashleigh Davidson on teamwork.

81 / FROM THE ASHES Sandali Home starts afresh.

84 / FULL CIRCLE Tauranga Kitchens’ Paul Reid is back where he started.

The way we play

90 / MOVING ON UP

Here for a

Real-life success stories from EVES auctions.

KATCHAFIRE

good time .

p1 0 4

96 / WHARF STREET What’s on the menu at Tauranga’s own eat (and drink) street.

HOP HOUSE

104 / BURNING BRIGHT

p1 0 0

Katchafire’s Pacific Reggae is music with a feel-good message.

108 / ART OF THE MEAL Artist Nicola Bennett creates foodinspired art that’s good enough to eat.

ROBBIE HUNTER PHOTOGRAPHER

JOE SPIERS VIDEOGRAPHER

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MARIA HOYLE WRITER

CASEY VASSALLO WRITER

MONIQUE BALVERTO’CONNOR WRITER

LUCY JANE SENIOR FASHION ST YLIST

LOREN CUNNINGHAM HAIR & MAKEUP

AMBER ARMITAGE INTERIOR ST YLIST

I S S U E

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OHAKUNE p1 1 8

The way we think

The way we explore It’s about the

Open

journey .

your

mind.

64 / CAN’T STOP, WON’T STOP

114 / GRIN & BARE IT Road trip like you mean it in a brand-new Bentley.

Stu Stevenson shares Clubfit’s secrets to staying motivated.

118 / MOUNTAIN HIGH

81 / CRAIG ORR

Autumn is awesome in Ohakune

Bayleys’ Craig Orr on the power of a handshake and a positive attitude.

94 / STACEY JONES You’re invited to Tauranga’s new food-innovation space.

C0-OWNER + EDITOR Jenny Rudd 021 863 866 / jenny@unomagazine.co.nz

121 / GOOD INNINGS Comedian Ben Hurley is bowled over by cricket.

CO-OWNER + PUBLISHER

Mathew49 Tomlinson Issue

112 / LIFE AQUATIC

021 222 1474 / mat@unomagazine.co.nz

Nathan Pettigrew shares his love of dolphins.

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Matt Genefaas

122 / MIKE RUDD

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Hannah Keys

How well do you do at decisionmaking? And can you get better?

SUB-EDITORS Philippa Prentice Katherine Granich

MARKETING MANAGER Charlotte Brown charlotte@unomagazine.co.nz BEAUTY EDITOR + MARKETING Lisa Shea lisa@unomagazine.co.nz SUBSCRIPTIONS unomagazine.co.nz/sub PRINTER Webstar DISTRIBUTOR Ovato PUBLISHED BY Spectre Publishing Limited

NATHAN PETTIGREW

UNO is a quarterly publication: ISSN 2253-4156 © Copyright 2021. Articles and illustrations may not be reproduced in any form without the permission of the publisher. The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of, nor endorsed by, Spectre Publishing Limited, unless stated otherwise.

While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy at the time of printing, the publisher shall not be held responsible for any actions taken as a consequence of information contained in this publication.

NICOLA TRAVIS INTERIOR DESIGNER

STU STEVENSON COLUMNIST

CONSTANCE SANTOS COLUMNIST

p1 12

STACEY JONES COLUMNIST

CRAIG ORR COLUMNIST

BEN HURLEY COLUMNIST

NATHAN PETTIGREW COLUMNIST

MIKE RUDD COLUMNIST

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P U B L I S H E R S ’

N O T E

BELOW Our team on set at our cover-shoot in Auckland. From left: Lucy Jane Senior (stylist), Garth Badger (photographer), Jenny Rudd (editor), Charmeyne Te-Nana Williams (cover star), Matt Genefaas (creative director), Loren Cunningham (hair and make-up).

Aroha nui With love

I

Above from left: Matt Genefaas (creative director), Graeme Murray (photographer), Joel Shadbolt (talent!, Mat Tomlinson (publisher) and Jenny Rudd (editor) on our cover shoot at Totara Street in Mt Maunganui.

don’t think I’ve ever heard a story like it. Charmeyne faced such adversity when her husband Peter was left tetraplegic after a boxing match. Their twins were babies. The couple had just lost a son. It would be enough to just lead her own family through that life. Unimpressed with the care options offered to Peter and others in his situation, she started What Ever It Takes, a programme to care for people with traumatic brain injuries at home.

THE LATEST ISSUE Read Charmeyne’s story on page 30 and online at UNOMAGAZINE.CO.NZ

Despite the enormity of what Charmeyne was dealing with every day, she used what she knew to help others, so they wouldn’t have the same experiences as Peter.

Using what you have to help others is a common theme among the very special people we meet and feature in UNO. They share things like knowledge, skills, opportunity and time. Like Brent Stewart, who loves to solve building puzzles for his clients on page 82.

MIDDLE Editor Jenny at the SheEO launch at Eden Park. BOTTOM Our team setting up Totara St for the big event with Joel Shadbolt! From left: Matt G, Hannah, Charlie, Mat, Lisa, Jenny.

In March I went to the launch of the fourth round of SheEO, where a community of radically generous women gift money into a fund to be loaned out interest-free to women-led businesses who are solving some of the world’s biggest problems. If you’d like to

grow your business with a loan and benefit from the advice and connections of the community, then apply at sheeo.world – we have funded 15 NZ businesses so far, and I’d love to see a venture from the Bay of Plenty on that list!

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The ocean is in everything we do in the Bay; Geoff Cox disappeared into his garage for a few days and came out with a foilboard prototype. Seeing someone float above the waves they are surfing is surreal. I don’t think anyone in their forties can look at it without imagining Michael J Fox in Back To The Future. See how it works along with some epic in-action pics on page 58.

Find a quiet spot and indulge yourself in an hour of stories from our talented and kind Bay of Plenty locals.

Jenny and Mat

Exceptional

Success

Success is more than just a transaction, to us it’s deeper than that.

It’s about people moving into the next stage of life.

Like the young couple who purchased their first home to start their life together, or the retired couple who got a great price for their family home before moving into a retirement village. Our salespeople make successes like this happen every day.

So when we sell your home, know that we’ll be doing everything we can to get a successful outcome for you!

0800 743 837

info@eves.co.nz

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EVES Realty Ltd, Licensed under the REAA 2008

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ALLPRE SS Allpress is coming in hot with a ready-to-pour concentrate of their classic blend The Good Brew.

With no added sugar or flavours, each bottle contains 20 straight-up double shots you can enjoy ASAP.

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REAL RAD FOOD Have your after-dinner mint any old time of the day with these healthy little treats.

Plant-based, gluten-free, cane sugar-free, dairy-free, guilt-free – but full of flavour.

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Hot! DISCOVER more of UNO’s resident stylist Nicola Travis’s picks over on page 66.

Recovery mode MURAD For everything there is a season, and your skin is no exception.

Help it transition into autumn with this deeply moisturising cream for face and eyes that’s also formulated to smooth away stress.

MURAD.CO.NZ

WHAT’S 14 | u n o m a g a z i n e . c o . n z

DOUBLE DOWN AY TM This Danish-designed Torus vase is as gorgeous when it’s empty as it is when it’s filled with flowers, plus it’d go beautifully with your new AB pendant light...

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W H AT ’ S

H O T

Calling all creatives MADE OF TOMORROW When the ideas come thick and fast or you need to hash them out, the half-blank, half-lined pages of this diary have your name written all over them.

Also awesome: It’s made in Aotearoa from recycled coffee cups and skips the plastic coating of most other diaries, so you can recycle it after use too.

WHAT’S YOUR FLAVOUR?

MADEOFTOMORROW.COM

BIOBLUME BY HEILALA Even those who are team chocolate in terms of taste will be intrigued to learn that vanilla beans contain clinically proven skin-improving powers. Four years in the making, this new Brightening Facial Oil nourishes and repairs to reduce the signs of ageing.

Cocktail hour WITH FIFE LANE

THE VINTNER’S GIN SIP.

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5 ml Fenton Street Gin “The Vintner” 2 slices of fresh lemon 5-6 black peppercorns 3 sprigs of fresh coriander 150 ml East Imperial Yuzu Tonic METHOD

Build in a balloon glass and serve over ice.

FIFELANE.CO.NZ

Well, well, wellbeing ZE N FLOAT SPA The Mount’s Zen Float Spa is all about creating moments of relaxation, and also lets you do so at home with locally handmade wellness products like this multipurpose oil that absorbs easily for skin that feels – and smells – divine.

BAG OF TRICKS LUJO Beanbags are comfortable at the best of times, and this extra-large quilted version takes it to the next level – luxe-style in performance fabric with back support and a high seat base so you can get in and out with ease.

LUJO.CO.NZ

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HOT! unomagazine.co.nz

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TAURANGA | HAMILTON

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TAU R A N G A

UNO SPOTTED BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

S P O T T E D > L E X U S

THIS is how I did it The second in our speaker series went off! Theresa Gattung held us spellbound at Fire Restaurant.

PHOTOS SALINA GALVAN

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S P O T T E D > L E X U S

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PHOTOS SALINA GALVAN

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01. Michael & Laura Bryant 02. Brayden Clarke, Phill O’Reilly, Todd Rowan, Simon Paduch, Mike Bryant 03. Scott McFarlane, Jonny Cooper, Anthony Knight 04. Laura Bryant, Rachel Taylor, Di Matenga, Kate Rowan, Sharon Vowels, Katy Barr 05. Keith & Kerry Rawlinson 06. Olivia Mahoney, Kevin Allum, Mike Bills 07. Rupinder Saraan, Adrian Gommans.

08. Mike Bills & Todd Rowan 09. Sarah Dewhurst, Lianne Simpkin, Toni Whitehorn, Sarah Bansgrove. 10. Steve Jack, Sharon Smith

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Drinks and a catch up with friends and clients at the Tauranga Club.

PHOTOS SALINA GALVAN

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01. Pete Wales, Paul Brljevich, Hugh Hutchinson, Mark Irving. 02. Julie Paxie, Pete Wales, Glenda Warner. 03. Jill & Chris Fryer, Sam Williamson. 04. Chris Stodart, Geoffrey Campbell. 05. Sandra & Daryl Bonney. 06. David Ho, Chris Stodart, Kevin Kerr. 07. Tabak team; Julie Paxie, Sam Williamson, Paul Brljevich, Kevin Kerr, Glenda Warner. 08.

Mike Rudd, Mat Tomlinson. 09. Phillip Wilkens, Tom Elvin. 10. Dean Thompson, Rhonda Wisbey, Phillip Wilkens. 11. Tom Beswick, Glen Lindsay.

UNO SPOTTED BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

TAURANGA | HAMILTON

unomagazine.co.nz

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UNO SPOTTED BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

S P O T T E D > L E X U S

SheEO launch 2021 Eden Park saw the launch of SheEO’s fourth year of investing in women-led businesses.

PHOTOS TAMARA JOSEPHINE.

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from the Mount Bayleys office hosted a colourful, warm evening at Hide, Mt Maunganui.

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01. Alastair & Amanda Bevege 02. Conrad Doyle, Hannah Spratt & Matt Spratt 03. Joy-Anne Haddon, Karen Speed & Glenn Speed 04. Conrad Doyle, Milly Stewart, Brent Stewart & Steven White 05. David Martin & Neill Harrison 06. Gillian McQuilter & Kay Ganley 07. Katie & Todd Hunter 08. Madeleine Christie, Alasdair Christie & Kay Ganley 09. Juliet Harman & Simon Anderson 10. Katherine Evans & Aaron Robinson 11. Pamela Pedersen, Andy Williams & Jan Pedersen 12. Damon Hill, Megan Rhodes, Shirley Bastina & Graeme Bastin 13. Horst Krall, Gordon Rolinson, Kevin Lowe & Murray Sole 14. Lee Harrison, Teresa McDowell, Juliet Harman & Linda Burnett 15. Peter Gillespie, Paul Spillane & Kay Ganley 16. Leigh Krall, Sandra Robinson, Loretta Sole & Jods Rolinson 17. Simon Anderson & Kay Ganley

UNO SPOTTED BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

TAURANGA | HAMILTON

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UNO SPOTTED BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

TAURANGA | HAMILTON

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UNO 50th Issue Celebration

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Read all about this magical night on page 24.

PHOTOS JORDAN VICKERS .

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01. Sam Clarke & Dr Zoë Cruse 02. Damien & Salina Galvan 03. Ayesha Kee, Michael Tatton & Will Tatton 04. Alexandra & Luke MacGibbon 05. Angela Fleet & Jenny Rudd 06. Conrad & Mia Cranfield-Farr, Brett & Nicole Taylor 07. Jay Thomas, Georgina & Jahl Marshall 08. Brian, Brent & Millie Stewart 09. Janey Rudd, Nathan Pettigrew & Cille Andersen Fabert. 10. Grant Child & friends 11. Nicky Adams, Scott Adams & Rob McGregor 12. Lawrence Wadham, Joost Neugebauer & Gareth Jones 13. Melissa Tombleson & Kristin Bainbridge 14. Jane Young & Mary Hill 15. Nick Fleet, Angela Fleet, Richard Wright & Matt Clutterbuck 16. Lucy Shalfoun, Jenni-Lee Reardon & Tracey Rudduck-Gudsell 17. Tanya Trass & Simone Anderson. 18. Gaby Troutbeck & Nic Haldezos. 19. Carly Stewart & Logan Stewart and friend 20. Team UNO: Mat, Matt, Hannah, Jenny, Charlie & Lisa 21. Mike Rudd & Tanya Trass 22. Dan McLean, Rochelle McLean & Karen Laidlaw

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23. Hannah Keys, Matt Genefaas & Daniel Craig 24. Olivia Poppe, Lucy Shalfoun & Jenni-Lee Reardon 25. Mitch Lowe & Ezel Kokcu 26. Kim Smythe & Noel Cimadom 27. Tamryn Reeve, Sam Kid & Nicole Malthus 28. Grant Furniss & friend 29. Joel Shadbolt. 30. Debbie Clarke, Angela Fleet, Nick Fleet & friends 31. The girls! 32. Jenny Rudd, Tanya Trass & Simone Anderson 33. Kristin Bainbridge, Gaby Troutbeck & Cheryl Child 34. Joost Neugebauer, Liam Millard & Mitchell Whyte 35. Joe Spiers, Mat Tomlinson, Jenny Rudd & Charlie Brown 36. Millie Stewart, Kath McDonald & Gemma Chapman 37. Lisa Shea & Charlie Brown 38. Duncan & Andrea Ritchie 39. Bryce Mannion, Hugh Hutchison & Mat Tomlinson

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W O R K > T H I S

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Let’s talk At the second event in our speaker series, THIS Is How I Did It, lunch was once again served with a side of inspiration.

WO R DS HAN NAH K E YS / PH OTOS SA LI N A GA LVA N

U

NO editor Jenny Rudd developed speaker series THIS Is How I Did It as a platform for exceptional women to share their stories in a beautiful setting, while enjoying outstanding food and wine. The second event in the series featured the incomparable Theresa Gattung, who travelled from her home in Waihi Beach and joined us at Mt Maunganui’s Fire Restaurant to share her wisdom and lessons learned as one of New Zealand’s most successful businesswomen.

Theresa’s story is one of determination and rising above the challenges and breaking into the male-dominated upper echelon of the business world,

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and it motivated us all to push for change. She’s most well-known for becoming Telecom’s youngest-ever CEO at age 37, and the first female CEO of an NZX-listed company, but has continued to pioneer progress and pave the way for other women throughout her career, while pursuing many other business and philanthropic ventures, including bringing the world’s first perpetual fund by women for women-led

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Next speaker announced soon!

Buy tickets: thisishowididit.co.nz

“You have to make a decision – either be true to yourself or be popular. You can’t be both.”

businesses, SheEO, to New Zealand.

At Fire (over delicious, beautifully prepared plates of black chilli chicken, kale slaw and fish cakes topped with kimchi and ginger), Theresa encouraged all attendees to identify their own superpowers. “No matter how hard you work on your weaknesses, a person who those things come naturally to will always be better than you,” she said.

“Surround yourself in business with the best people whose strengths lie outside your own.”

Theresa also discovered early on in her career that she was never going to please everyone. “You have to make a decision – either be true to yourself or be popular,” she said. “You can’t be both.”

THIS Is How I Did It will be back later in the year with more incredible speakers.

Sign up on the website below to be first in line to buy tickets to listen to amazing women share their stories.

THISISHOWIDIDIT.CO.NZ

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ABOVE Editor Jenny interviews Joel, but there will be no big reveal here: What goes on tour stays on tour.

Oh, what a night UNO celebrated our 50th issue. Hurrah!

WO R DS J E N N Y R U D D / PH OTOS J O R DA N VI CK E R S

Standing on the stage to welcome everyone, I could see exactly why the Bay of Plenty is thriving. The room was full of people who support each other from the arts, business, governance, community groups, medical teams, advertisers, readers, cover stars; there were people from all sorts of different groups in our region. We wanted to invite everyone we’d ever met to share the joy together.

What better way to celebrate than with the lead singer from the country’s biggest band play all their bangers and some epic covers?!

It was a night of dancing as Joel Shadbolt played L.A.B’s biggest hits to the crowd. And we sang our hearts out

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BELOW Brydie Price warms the crowd up. She and Joel have played in bands together for years.

Thank you to our community-minded sponsors: Leveret Estate, Easy Lager, Wairau River, Pals, Blank Canvas and San Pellegrino.

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te ent af o u r ev ie r s a t p S Z

by J o e E .CO .N G A Z IN A M O Y UN - PA R T /5 0TH

It was truly a local effort; everything we ate, drank and did came from the hard work and enterprise of those connected with the Bay of Plenty.

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and waved our arms along to Lean On Me as he closed out the concert. Our cover star showed us why L.A.B had last year’s biggest selling single, In The Air. The energy in the room was alive!

It was truly a local effort; everything we ate, drank and did came from the hard work and enterprise of those connected with the Bay of Plenty.

Pals came from Jay and Anna Reeve and Leveret Estate kept us bubbly.

Non-boozy bubbles came from San Pellegrino and wine from Wairau River, which is distributed nationwide by Federal Merchants. The iconic yellow Easy Lager cans are brewed at The Island in Papamoa. The absolutely delicious grazing table came from Blank Canvas. And of course, the best venue in the country, Totara Street.

We did a live interview with Joel before he played where he shared stories of playing with his band, how they met and what’s in store for them. It all felt like we had Joel in our living room for a couple of hours. What a treat!

Thank you to everyone who came to the party and smiled and celebrated along with us. Here’s to another 50 issues.

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WOR K - T H E WAY W E -

Extraordinary experiences

that shape our calling and sharpen

our purpose .

Part of the art

at the Fenton Arts Collective p45

THE POWER OF LOVE

Char me y ne Te-Nana Williams p30

SMOOTH RIDE with Lexus of Ta uran ga p40

W O R K > T H R I V E > L I V E > P L A Y > E X P L O R E unomagazine.co.nz

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COV E R

S T O R Y

Be

au

ti

fu

l

NGAK AU PUROTU Heart

Charmeyne Te-Nana Williams Entrepreneur and disability advocate Charmeyne employs more than 250 people to support people with disabilities – like her husband, Peter who suffered a brain injury in a boxing match. What Ever It Takes is a fitting name for her business and for the way Charmeyne approaches life.

She lives between Mt Maunganui and Auckland.

WO R DS J E N N Y R U D D + PH I LI PPA PR E NTI CE / PH OTOS GARTH BA DG E R S T Y LI N G LU CY JA N E S E N I O R / HAI R & MAK EU P LO R E N CU N N I N G H AM

A

t a recent event for our speaker series THIS Is How I Did It, Charmeyne told us the incredible story of how her husband Peter Williams’ brain injury and resulting tetraplegia has shaped her life.

Bomber jacket by Shjark.

Cashmere tee and silk satin wide leg trouser by Harris Tapper. Earrings by Karen Walker. Otto chair

by Tim Webber Design.

Charmeyne and Peter had baby twin girls, who’d just arrived home from a fivemonth hospital stay after their premature birth. And four weeks earlier, the couple had buried their son, who passed away after being born at 26 weeks. Charmeyne was at home with their daughters in Auckland, on maternity leave for a job she loved at New Zealand Trade and Enterprise in the Māori enterprise team.

Peter was down in Timaru at a boxing

match, on the path to his plan to qualify for the Olympics. He’d previously won the world title for waka ama (canoe racing) in Tahiti. He was strong, athletic, and world-class at the disciplines he put his mind to. He called Charmeyne and announced, “I won, so I’m now the New Zealand Super Heavyweight Champion.

I just need to go and do a drug test, then I’ll call you back.”

But he didn’t call back. One of his teammates did. Charmeyne said it wasn’t what he said that was worrying, it was what he couldn’t say. He could barely get the words out. Peter had suffered a traumatic brain injury which would leave him tetraplegic.

Charmeyne’s story was so inspiring, we knew we couldn’t leave it in the room.

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COV E R

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“All I knew was that I loved this man and wanted to keep my family together – that was my priority.”

I remember the day Peter went down to Timaru like it was yesterday. It was Labour Weekend in 2002. That morning, we’d talked about what we had dreamed the night before. We often did that. He said “I dreamed that my spirit had left my body and it was flying across Samoa.”

the newspaper?” On a front page was an article that said Peter was actually a Black Power member and had sustained his brain injury through an initiation. So he’s trying to fight for his life and here’s this article on the front page. Where did that even come from?

After I’d spoken to Peter when he won, I remember being so excited. I thought he hadn’t rung back because he was out celebrating. Then his teammate called me and said, “You need to get down here.”

I had no idea what that meant.

I rang a friend of mine whose husband was an All Black who’d had some bad publicity, and he put me onto his lawyer, who represented us for nothing. We went to court to get them to retract what they’d printed.

I’ve been so lucky and blessed, because my family has been amazing. My sister was staying with us at the time and she looked after our babies. I jumped on a plane and went down to Timaru.

By this time, I had to send my girls off, at eight months old, to live with their grandparents in Wellington so that I could work out how to help Peter.

Thank god for my whānau, because if it wasn’t for them, I’d never have been able to get through these early stages.

Since that day, my life has really been in stages. Stage one was going down to Timaru.

STAGE TWO The BS I thought the system would focus on what’s best for Peter, me and our whānau. But it didn’t feel like that at all.

You’d think you’d go from stage to stage – from hospital, to rehab, to home but, actually, it’s not that way. Every time I went to another stage of what I thought was our recovery, it was just the same shit on a different day. All I knew was that I loved this man and wanted to keep my family together – that was my priority.

It wasn’t just the medical system either, it was our society. Arriving in Auckland, a friend asked me if I was going to stay with Peter as a partner. I was shocked.

They asked if I really knew what I was getting myself in for.

STAGE ONE The rude awakening Some of the questions that came to mind at this time were: What the hell is a traumatic brain injury? I had no idea.

I had never worried about Peter because he was so strong.

What the hell is this health system?

I had no idea what I was walking into.

I went into the hospital; Peter was in ICU and I just didn’t know what to expect.

We weren’t allowed to stay there, so that was really daunting for me.

If it wasn’t enough that we were trying to deal with what was going on with Peter, it was all over the news. My brother rang me up and said, “Have you seen 32 | u n o m a g a z i n e . c o . n z

Charmeyne with Peter, Peter’s son Sia, and their twin daughters Leata and Safenunuivao. Image courtesy of The New Zealand Herald.

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Blouse and skirt

by Loobie’s Story.

Bracelet and earrings

by Karen Walker.

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“From then on, I started to listen, observe and figure out the things that Peter would respond to well in terms of his rehab.”

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“I’m being proactive. I’m not being aggressive, I’m just fighting for what I know is right.”

WH AT E V E R IT TA K E S There’s such determination in the name of Charmeyne Te Nana-Williams’s business.

And love, when you consider who the beneficiaries are of this determination. What Ever It Takes employs more than 200 people across the North Island to deliver a programme of home-based care for people with severe and complex disabilities. What makes it different is the whanāu-centred approach. The family is involved in all aspects of the care, because What Ever It Takes looks at the needs of the whole family, rather than just keeping the spotlight on the injury.

This programme has been developed by Charmeyne and her team to give control, mana and quality of life to those suffering from and affected by major brain traumas and other life-changing disabilities. Their struggle to be allowed to take Peter home to care for him showed Charmeyne that there was a need for a different model of care.

We left Timaru after a month and moved into ICU in Auckland for a month, then Peter moved to a rehab facility in West Auckland just before Christmas 2002.

I thought that was going to be awesome, but it was really bad. The staff weren’t used to family members sticking around, but I was there every day. I became known as “the bitch” – true story. In my mind I couldn’t understand why, because I was just trying to figure out how I could make sure that Peter was well looked after. What I started to realise was that everyone was doing what they thought was best, as opposed to what was actually best for me and my family.

Trying to find financial support to keep my family going was really difficult.

When my maternity leave was over and I had to go back to work, I thought I’d go to Work and Income to get help with child support, but was told I wasn’t eligible because I was earning too much.

I’m on $50,000, and I’ve got an adult who has a serious disability and two children.

How is that a high income?

Then I was offered redundancy, which I took, because it meant I could go on the benefit. I fought with my pride.

I had never been on a benefit. But I knew that if I didn’t, it was really going to affect my family’s wellbeing and my ability to care for them. I was exhausted and I needed to, so I did. And rather than pay me the extra $100 a week on top of my wages I could have been earning, they paid me about $70,000 a year to be on the benefit and to support my kids.

That seemed dumb!

You expect and trust that the experts are giving you the right advice, but I learned that that’s not the case. I found out some time later that Peter had been eligible for child support the whole time. We had to go to court to recoup it. What a waste of time and money for everyone involved.

STAGE THREE The awakening Finally, the penny dropped. When you’re in a rehab facility, you go to these whānau meetings and sometimes you might be the only member of the whānau with 12 clinicians around the table, who are all telling you what you should do.

I was in one of these meetings and everyone was talking about how aggressive I was. I could feel myself shrinking into a corner in the chair, just fading away. My cousin was sitting next to me and she said, “You know, what some people would describe as aggressive, others would describe as proactive.” That was a turning point for me. I thought, that’s right. I’m being proactive. I’m not being aggressive, I’m just fighting for what I know is right.

From then on, I started to listen, observe and figure out the things that Peter would respond to well in terms of his rehab.

I thought about how I could take all these little bits of advice and information and fill up my kete of knowledge to move forward for Peter.

As well as learning from the model he was under, I looked around the world for different care models that fit what I believed he needed.

My aunty, who’s Māori and a social worker, said, “Have a look at this and tell me what you think.” It was a Māori model of care called Te Aho Takitoru which had been developed by her team as a social work kaupapa. What really jumped out to me was that the mana of the person being cared for was at the core. Reading it solidified in my mind what I have been trying to do since Peter’s accident – I was fighting for the mana of this man. I just wanted him to be recognised as the man of the family, as a dad and as a partner.

That’s all I was asking – nothing more and nothing less.

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On the stage sharing her story at Fire Restaurant in Mt Maunganui.

Finally, we were going home. I got so excited. But we then headed into a new world. The world of agencies.

In 18 months, we had around a hundred people come through my house. My girls were verbally abused, and Peter was physically and sexually abused. We went through another gruelling court process to bring the sexual abuser to justice, but she got off on a technicality. That whole process was so traumatising for me.

It was like I was the criminal. This woman wasn’t held accountable in any way, shape or form, and neither was the agency. That was it. No more. I had to take all my learnings and bring them together to provide a new model.

We weren’t the only family going through this either. I knew there were others looking for the same as us, so I put together a business proposal to set up a programme bringing together everything I learned from Te Aho Takitoru, my research and experience in hospital, at the rehab facility, and the agencies.

STAGE FOUR Home is where the heart is I thought going home was going to be easy – but it wasn’t. Having been in hospital and rehab for nearly three years, we’d applied to ACC to fund the modifications we needed for Peter to live at home. It was just before Christmas and I got a reply from ACC saying they’d declined our application. The application had taken forever, and they’d said no.

I felt it was because they were solely looking at the injury and how to manage that injury. It was being done adequately, they felt, in the rehab centre. I could see, though, that there was so much more to the picture surrounding Peter’s injury.

What about his well being, his wairua (spirit) and the mental health of my family as a result of the care decisions?

When ACC turned down our application, 36 | u n o m a g a z i n e . c o . n z

I thought, “If I don’t do something now, my family is just not going to survive this.”

My brother-in-law worked for 60 Minutes and asked if they could do a story on us. I had turned down offers like this in the past, but I was desperate.

So I said okay, on the condition that Peter’s integrity was maintained, and that the focus should be on getting Peter home.

At one stage during the research I could see there was some focus on the fictitious Black Power connection. So I went marching up to the Black Power pad in Mt Wellington, knocked on the door and asked their leader to speak on 60 Minutes and set the record straight that Peter was not connected to them.

In the end, the show only talked about ACC for about a minute and how our application had been declined. It took three years for ACC to decline it, and after the show, about two days to approve it.

Six years after Peter’s accident, I set up What Ever it Takes to build programmes of care under a whānau ora kaupapa.

STAGE FIVE Doing whatever it takes Our vision for our company was to set the standard internationally for how we care for families, regardless of their situation.

The biggest difference between a mainstream clinical approach and the Māori model we use, is we take into consideration all aspects of what’s going on in the whānau’s life. A mainstream model looks at what’s best for that injury in isolation. But that’s not reality for our families. We don’t focus just on physical things like the brain or the spine. This person lives at home with a whole family,

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“I thought, ‘If I don’t do something now, my family is just not going to survive this.’”

Dress by Shjark.

Earrings by Gorman.

Boots by Mi Piaci.

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Green blouse

by Shjark. Velvet jacket and trousers

by Loobie’s Story.

Earrings by Karen Walker. Boots

by Mi Piaci. Otto chair by Tim Webber Design.

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Charmeyne’s partner, Rob Tuilave.The couple have a big, beautiful, blended whānau and live between their homes in Auckland and Mt Maunganui.

“I never thought that I’d meet somebody or fall in love, but I have. I’ve had feelings of guilt, but Peter and I were only young when this happened.” so we consider that whole picture.

What help do they need to access their entitlements? What is the best wraparound care that this particular family needs? How does the family operate?

What are their dynamics? What are their values? What do they need to support them to live how they want to live?

Like everyone else, our whānau have goals. Our ngakau purotu (beautiful heart) model of care helps achieve those goals even with the challenges they face.

We started off working mainly with Māori and Pacific Island whānau.

They’re already compromised, and they’re further compromised with disability. I’m a supporter of whānau looking after whānau. I think if you want your whānau member to look after you, then let them do it. There have been lots of debates about whether whānau members take advantage of the situation, but that’s really not my experience.

Over time, people we work with has extended to whānau katoa (all families).

Our business model has allowed us to really flourish through the lockdown periods. We’re essential services, but we have a single team for each whānau we look after, so during lockdown we

went right back to our aspirational goals and how we were going to do that within the confines of our four walls.

Each time my company gets audited, we receive continuous improvement on continuous improvement. That’s not just great, that’s exceptional in our sector.

My goal is to create pathways for the future. I want us to be able to really pave the way for other organisations to come in and support families.

We are developing an app called iAwhi and now have a clinical arm: Indigenous Rehabilitation. We’ve opened a rehab gym in Auckland, and are looking to open one in Tauranga. These additions have given us the ability to offer a full service under one umbrella.

STAGE SIX Being innovative Deep breath. When my girls were at intermediate school, I realised that I had become so absorbed with what was going on for Peter that I was being counterproductive. That’s when I started to think about my happiness. All they’d known their whole life was this

environment of conflict where I’d been fighting for Peter. It was incredibly hard, but I moved out. It was the right thing for Peter to be able to work with his team from then on, and for our girls, and me.

My journey continues. It’s been 18 years, and time moves on. My father and my grandmother have passed away. My twins are leaving school.

I never thought that I’d meet somebody or fall in love, but I have. I’ve had feelings of guilt, but Peter and I were only young when this happened; he was 27. I’ve always committed to being married to Peter. But I got to a point where I thought, “I don’t want to die wondering if there could have been more.”

When we first met, Rob said to me, “I need to tell you something. I’m having a baby.” And I went, “Oh well, I’m married. I’ll have your baby if you have my husband.” And he goes, “Sweet.”

So that’s been the basis of our family.

We have five kids now with our big, beautiful, blended whānau. We have all this extended whānau on Rob’s side, and we have Peter and our extended whānau on my side, including Peter’s two sons Puna ma Faleasi and Siagogo.

It’s unconventional, but it works because we make it work. I feel that’s probably my biggest learning: You just have to make things work.

Go home and tell the people that you love how much you love them. I’ve now learnt how to care for my family and it’s the pathway that I intend to follow forever more.

WHATEVERITTAKES.CO.NZ

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P LOARYK>>L LEEXXUUSS W

Lap of luxury High-end car brand Lexus opens new showroom in the Bay of Plenty.

WO R DS DA N I E L D U N K LE Y / PH OTOS S U PPLI E D

Mike Ranstead (left), Lexus of Tauranga branch manager and Tony Coutinho, chief executive of Lexus of Tauranga.

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W O R K > L E X U S

I

f you’ve ever driven a Lexus, you’ll know the experience is all about luxury. The sister marque of world’s largest car brand, Toyota, is famous for its quality, attention to detail, and craftsmanship. Now, for the first time, those features are about to be seen up close in the Bay of Plenty.

For Tony Coutinho and Mike Ranstead of Lexus of Tauranga, a Lexus is more than just something to get you from A to B. It represents a higher level of service, stunning showrooms, and a bespoke approach to finding the right vehicle.

Think of the difference between flying economy and business class, and you’re about there. Bay of Plenty motor enthusiasts previously needed to travel across the Kaimais to get a sneak peek at the latest models, now they have one of the region’s most luxurious showrooms right on their doorstep.

After 30 years in New Zealand, why is Lexus heading to Tauranga? Coutinho, the chief executive of Ebbett Toyota and Lexus of Hamilton, says the city and brand are a perfect match. Since 2018, Lexus of Hamilton has represented the Lexus brand in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty.

The people of Tauranga seem to have

Renders of the new Tauranga Lexus showroom.

“This is a growing city that attracts people who like quality products. It’s thriving and it’s vibrant. It matches the product well.” fallen in love with Lexus, so opening a store in Tauranga seemed to be the logical next step.

“This is a growing city that attracts people who like quality products,” Coutinho says. “It’s thriving and it’s vibrant. It matches the product well and suits the kind of customer who wants an experience and a certain level of service.”

The centrepiece of Coutinho’s plan is the new showroom at 158 Elizabeth Street in the heart of Tauranga.

The new Lexus store is inspired by Japanese culture and the concept of “omotenashi”, the unwavering commitment to exceptional hospitality.

Lexus spaces in Tokyo, New York, and Dubai have inspired the ambience of the Tauranga site.

“It’s about a sense of engineered luxury,” says Ranstead, who will helm the Tauranga operation. “You walk in, and you feel that spacious, clean environment which also has warmth.” Ranstead wants customers

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WO R K > L E X U S

“We know that a lot of people in Tauranga are sustainability focused, and three out of four cars that drive out of our showroom are hybrid.”

to be “at home” during the experience and enjoy the art of hospitality. “We’re there to listen more than we speak,” he says.

All Lexus models are designed by Takumi Masters, highly skilled Japanese master craftsmen who dedicate their lives to the pursuit of motoring perfection.

The company confidently offers a fouryear, unlimited kilometre warranty on new cars sold in New Zealand.

Ranstead expects the latest Lexus SUVs, including the self-charging hybrid electric UX and NX, will be as popular in Tauranga as they are in Hamilton as customers transition away from internal combustion engine vehicles towards environmentally friendly alternatives.

that don’t, and offered a tailored service to help them choose the right vehicle.

“We help them select something that suits their lifestyle,” Coutinho says.

“We want people engaged but relaxed.

For new customers to walk out and say, ‘that was fun’.”

“We know that a lot of people in Tauranga are sustainability focused, and three out of four cars that drive out of our showroom are hybrid,” Ranstead says. “So we expect that to resonate with new customers.”

Following Lexus’s global blueprint, car buyers in Tauranga will be treated to something out of the ordinary when the new site launches. Customers will be closely guided through which cars suit them, steered away from those models

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Tauranga branch manager Mike Ranstead is excited to be part of the Lexus family.

“It’s all about fine-tuning and getting to know the customer,” says Ranstead. “We know we’re not just presenting a motor vehicle. We’re presenting an experience.”

With a fleet of climate-friendly luxury cars, Japanese hospitality and some local knowhow, Tauranga motorists are in line for something a little bit different.

W O R K > L E X U S

E BAY L TH

S

ES LEXU OV

And so does UNO Lexus has perfectly settled into Tauranga’s lifestyle.

WO R DS J E N N Y R U D D

There’s a reason why design icon Karen Walker is a Lexus ambassador; their brands and ideals are in line with each other. Last year UNO hosted a dinner with Lexus at Sisters & Co, where Karen talked about the intersection of design, luxury and sustainability. Bay of Plenty local and celebrity chef Chelsea Winter also attended the event, sharing her experience with the Lexus UX Compact SUV. And we learned about Chika Kako, the first female chief engineer at Lexus (and, indeed, at any car manufacturer in Japan).

The seats are the softest charcoal leather with sporty arrow detailing, and the dashboard and satellite navigation screen are both generously wide. I felt confident knowing the UX was on the lookout for potential problems. I reversed out of a tight spot on a dark, rainy afternoon and the wing-mirrors’ warning-lights helped me thread that needle, no sweat.

It’s not ostentatious, it just looks after you, which feels like the height of luxury.

LEXUSOFTAURANGA.CO.NZ

I have been lucky enough to test-drive the Lexus UX and it is a dreamy experience.

The key is shaped like a credit card, so it slips neatly into your back pocket, and the door unlocked when I stood next to it. Just as I started to look around for the ignition, the lights on the dashboard asked me to touch the brake then press start.

I welcome that kind of gentle direction in a world of constant decision-making.

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W O R K > S T UA R T

G R E E N H I L L

Creative character Writer and poet Stuart Greenhill of the Fenton Arts Collective in Stratford talks to UNO. PH OTOS A N DY JACK SO N

UNO: What a beautiful building you are housed in. How did you find it?

STUART GREENHILL: My partner Jo Stallard had been looking for a heritage building to save. In 2016 she offered a ridiculously low price for Egmont Chambers in Stratford and bought it.

No funding was available to earthquakeproof the building, as it was not listed on Stratford’s District Plan, so we did it.

It was a fantastic journey. The renovation won an Architecture Award in 2019 and now has a Grade II Heritage Listing.

What is the Fenton Arts Collective?

It is a collective of our passions and interests: art, history, gin and espresso.

We are 310 metres up a mountain, so our aspirations are just as high for each of them.

“There are no better observers of life than artists” Your partner Jo is the curator and artist-in-residence. What is Jo’s artistic background, and what does she paint?

Jo comes from an art history background and is a portrait artist. She works in the traditional painting technique of “grisaille” or “dead painting” to traverse the landscapes of the human face and body. Those are the landscapes she loves.

So people come to the Collective, grab a coffee or gin from downstairs, and visit Jo’s working studio upstairs – and maybe even chat about a commission.

Refreshment plays a strong role in your building; we hear gin and espresso coffee flow freely! Tell us more.

Making gin is like writing. Botanicals are characters; each brings a different personality, so it was simply a matter of creating fantastic stories. People hear those when they book a gin tasting with me. Our espresso bar uses Proof & Stock coffee, made by our daughter Adrianna, and offers high-quality healthy options including gluten-free and keto. And Tauranga celebrity chef Ken Greenhill creates a monthly five-course degustation for us. They are so popular we have a waiting list.

The historic Egmont Chambers building, home to the Fenton Arts Collective.

What’s your connection to Tauranga?

My brother’s been here since 1997, and

Jo and I set up Deckchair on Marine Parade with him in 2007. We sold three years later, travelled for a bit, and were approached in 2013 to establish Quantum Vis Eatery on Cameron Road. We still have a connection to the Bay, having formed many friendships over those years, and are thrilled that our gin is now carried by Mount Wine Barrel and Fife Lane Restaurant.

And on top of all that, you’re a published author! What have you written? Dante Fog was published by Austin Macauley Publishers in London last year. It is autobiographical fiction (yes, that is a genre). The mother in the novel tells her son, “There are no better observers of life than artists.” I totally agree. Artistic licence takes life and makes it art. That’s why I write poetry and prose and make gin and Jo paints.

There is a beautiful complexity in discovering and understanding the layers in the mirror looking back at us. Our art attempts to express it so does the character Dante Fog. What does the future hold for the Fenton Arts Collective? There’s pressure to grow, but the distillery will remain boutique, and so will the Arts Collective.

Our gallery is booked for 2021, I am contracted to Austin Macauley Publishers for my next book, and Jo has two exhibitions this year. The future will be busy.

FENTONARTSCOLLECTIVE.CO.NZ

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T H R I V E> B E AU T Y

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EYE ON THE NEEDLE Take a closer look at the latest treatment from Mt Maunganui’s Lucy Shalfoon-Roberts, aka The Skin Girl.

UNO: What do we need to know about NanoFusion?

LUCY: It’s a unique skin treatment that delivers amazing results and, unlike traditional needling, there’s no downtime.

It creates nano-scale channels in the skin, improving the penetration and absorption rate of active ingredients. Along with massage and vibration, it promotes skin healing and collagen production to help you look rejuvenated and refreshed.

Who’s it suited to? It’s great for all skin types, and can help with specific concerns such as pigmentation and acne.

Why is now a good time to do it?

This is a great autumn treatment because you don’t need to worry too much about preparing the skin ahead of time or avoiding the sun pre- and post-treatment.

Just swipe over a good-quality BB cream or mineral makeup afterwards, and you’re away.

NEW TREATMENT NanoFusion is an exciting alternative to needling - no downtime necessary. It can target specific concerns; offering fast results for acne scarring, pigmentation and signs of ageing.

It increases product absorption and penetration by creating non-abrasive nanoscale channels in the skin, while massage and vibration elements encourage skin healing and rejuvenation.

THESKINGIRL.CO.NZ

GET YOUR BOUNCE BACK Lisa Shea talks to Sam Henry of Shine Hair Co. about how we rehab our hair post-summer.

UNO: Why is my hair so dry after summer?

SAM: Our hair has a protective coating called the hydrolipidic layer, and in the summer months all the sun, salt water and chlorine can cause this coating to become depleted. This results in extreme colour fade and dull, lifeless locks.

Your hair will be crying out for moisture!

What can we do about it?

Wella’s new ColorMotion range with Wellaplex goes beyond anti-fading – with regular use, it actually improves hair quality in three areas that are specifically important for coloured hair: colour protection, shine and hydration.

SHINEHAIRCO

Lucy Shalfoon-Roberts has spent the last 3 years working alongside some of Melbourne’s top skincare experts.

“The Skin Girl is my opportunity to bring the very best in results-focused skincare practice home. I’m really excited to open my first treatment rooms here in the Bay of Plenty where I grew up.”

Located inside Sisters & Co 208 Maunganui Road, Mount Maunganui

@theskingirlnz 021 027 45718 theskingirlnz@gmail.com

T H R I V E > E P I D E R M I S

A N D

S AG E

The skin & within UNO’s beauty editor Lisa Shea catches up with Constance Santos of Epidermis & Sage, who takes a holistic approach.

PH OTO SA LI N A GA LVA N

S

itting down with skin therapist Constance Santos in her beautiful new space in Mt Maunganui, I could tell from “At Epidermis & Sage, we treat the her carefully selected products that skin quite differently to a lot of she has a real passion for all things traditional methods.” skin. The clinic is clean and calm with a contemporary, comfortable feel, and I couldn’t wait to find out what’s eliminate triggers from the inside, you’re precision and means our clients can not going to have much success with purchase the products we recommend behind it all.

LISA: How did you decide the name Epidermis & Sage?

CONSTANCE: I wanted a name that represents the way I believe in treating the skin, using more natural products and holistic methods combined with science.

The epidermis is the area of the skin that we treat the most and where lots of important skin cells live, so that’s the science part of the name. As a herb, the “sage” part relates to the natural side of my business. Sage is a cleansing herb and I felt like it symbolised a new beginning for me and for my business.

What makes you different? At Epidermis & Sage, we treat the skin quite differently to a lot of traditional methods. In my career, I’ve found that it’s never been enough to simply recommend products or treatments to clients, especially when you’re treating difficult skin conditions, as there’s often an internal trigger and it’s most likely gut-related. If you’re not treating the skin from within or trying to 50 | u n o m a g a z i n e . c o . n z

using products on the outside, so we combine both methods to get our amazing results.

We also set up our clients with the knowledge and tools to continue on, even when they’re not seeing us. If they have an acne outbreak or an eczema outbreak, for example, they can look back and figure out what triggered it and address it themselves, and I think that’s important.

What can I expect in a consultation?

Our consultation process is extremely in-depth. There are so many things that can cause difficult skin conditions, so you need to find the triggers and go through medications and everything else with a fine-tooth comb. Our clients get a long form to fill out, then we get them in for a diagnostic Observ Skin Scan that gives us about 18 different views of the skin, including lipid levels, inflammation and pigmentation at different levels. All this allows us to treat the skin with absolute

or come in for a treatment knowing we already understand exactly what’s needed. Because a lot of skin problems come from stress, part of our method is making sure that we create a luxurious, pampering experience. Our clients get into a lovely, lush bed and receive their relaxing treatment.

Can you explain to me the importance of skin nutrition and how it’s different to general nutritional supplements?

People quite often have huge nutritional deficiencies – a big one that I harp on about is the common deficiency in essential fatty acids (EFAs). Your cells need EFAs to function properly, and when you don’t, you notice things like poor healing and chronic skin conditions such as eczema.

We look at diet and address deficiencies, and bolster our results with supplements that aid in collagen production, for example. That’s also really important when addressing age-related skin

T H R I V E> E P I D E R M I S

A N D

S AG E

FOLIATI EX concerns. Rather than blasting the skin with heat or over-peeling it, to rejuvenate skin, we like to focus on DNA repair and getting the skin functioning well. There’s no point trying to stimulate your skin with products and devices on the outside if your cells don’t have the right nutrition, so we really focus a lot on internal supplements and happily refer clients to some amazing holistic nutritionists in the area who we work closely with.

What products or equipment do you use in your treatments? We use some high-tech devices. We have the Exceed medical microneedling device, which we use for our collagen induction; no one else has that device in this area. We also have the LED light Lutronic Healite, and using that kind of stronger, medicalgrade equipment means our results are a lot better.

What also makes us special is our expertise and continuous training – we’re always studying. We’re not about quick-fire or sticking-plaster treatments that mask the issue – we want our clients to see real changes in their skin that they can maintain permanently.

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STATIO ON

Autumn’s top treatment Constance Santos of Epidermis & Sage recommends...

Microdermabrasion is the perfect autumn reset for the skin after a long summer of sun damage and endless sunscreen application. It clears away built-up skin cells, increases circulation, supports the skin’s natural lymphatic drainage, eradicates toxins and gets the skin in optimal condition to absorb skincare products.

The Observ scanner gives you a clear view on what your skin is doing beneath the surface.

It is a form of exfoliation that uses tiny crystals to slough away dead skin cells while a vacuum acts as a pump for the body’s lymphatic drainage process. The machine we use at Epidermis & Sage has fully disposable heads and allows us to customise treatments, monitoring the intensity so it’s used at a safe level for your skin. We can apply peels before the treatment to get a better result, and calming and hydrating masks afterwards when the skin is more accepting, so the product gets to where it’s needed most.

The Healite LED is included in our more advanced microdermabrasion treatment and it not only calms the skin, but also simulates the fibroblasts to help the healing and anti-ageing process. Come in today for a consultation with our state-of-theart Observ scanner, so we can see exactly what your needs are and create a bespoke treatment tailored specifically to you.

EPIDERMISSAGE.NZ

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C E N T R E

Don’t get mad, get even Skin looking a bit patchy post-summer?

Never mind – Tauranga’s Skin Centre has an exclusive product formulated in-house to fix that, and practice nurse Georgie Herbison is here to tell us about it.

PH OTOS S U PPLI E D

UNO: What causes pigmentation and how can we prevent it?

GEORGIE: Melanin in the skin acts as a defence mechanism, which is why people commonly get a tan where their skin is exposed to the sun. Hyperpigmentation occurs when the skin over-produces melanin, resulting in dark patches and an uneven look. Hormonal changes can cause hyperpigmentation, but the main cause is the sun, so it’s important to always wear sunscreen or, better still, cover up or stay indoors during the hottest time of day.

Why has Skin Centre created this specialised pigmentation product, Complex K? So many patients come into the clinic distressed about their pigmentation. It’s great to be able to offer them our prescription-only product to use at home, knowing it’ll really work for them.

What makes this cream so effective?

Complex K is a sun damage and skin-lightening treatment. It contains components proven in multiple independent clinical trials to reverse the effects of excessive sun, including hydroquinone 4%, a pigment inhibitor that works by reducing the production

of pigmentation and decreasing the production of melanosomes in melanocytes by inhibiting the activity of the enzyme tyrosinase, which is needed to make melanin. It also includes a mild topical hydrocortisone to prevent irritation, mixed with a vitamin A derivative (retinoid) that can reduce the ageing effects of the sun on our skin and stimulate collagen synthesis, while reversing photo damage and increasing the absorption and efficacy of the hydroquinone.

How should we use Complex K? This is a prescription treatment that your skin needs to adjust to slowly, so our clients use it alongside their own skincare products a few nights a week to start with, and gently increase from there.

What kinds of pigmentation is it effective on and what kinds of results do you see? We’ve had some very good results treating clients with general pigmentation and freckling, melasma (hormonal pigmentation) and postinflammatory hyperpigmentation.

NZRN cosmetic nurse

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dermatologist

beauty therapist

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Is Complex K complemented by treatments you use in the clinic?

It works well in conjunction with our Fraxel laser. The non-invasive Fraxel can reverse visible signs of ageing and damage, reducing pigmentation and evening out skin tone, and Complex K helps to maintain these results.

SON BI

Who would you recommend this product to? We’d recommend it to clients with darker skin, who have a higher chance of hyperpigmentation, or anyone who’s tried other treatments with poor results. It’s especially effective for people with melasma and is a great option for anyone who doesn’t want to use laser treatments and would prefer to use a cream at home.

laser specialist

SKINCENTRE.COM

Meet the team L EL

They notice a definite lightening of the affected skin after using the cream for 12 weeks, and the overall skin texture is smoother.

T H R I V E > S W I M !

Just keep swimming In an island country surrounded by water, Kiwis have long had a love affair with outdoor swimming.

WO R DS A N N ET TE LE E S / PH OTOS S U PPLI E D

T

he Bay of Plenty could have been called “Bay of Plentiful Waters” – with hundreds of streams cascading down off its ranges, deep rivers delivering the streams to numerous wetlands and estuaries, and then all of that fresh water flowing into the sea.

The Bay of Plenty is a watery place, and so it’s a swimmy place. Every little neighbourhood here has its outdoor swim – a fizzing plunge pool in the local creek, a rope swing out across the river hole, a place to float in the warm estuary water and, of course, the coast with its surf and rock pools.

From the beginning, outdoor swimming has defined the Bay. The first swimmer in Tauranga may have been Taurikura, a puhi of Ngāti Ranginui. Taurikura was from a village called Kahakaharoa in the Omanawa Falls area. She was shamed for refusing to fetch water for her grandfather, so she slipped away from her village one night, changed into a ngārara (a reptile-like being), and dived into the river. On that swim, she carved a new

course for the river, in the process naming some of our favourite swimming places, until she reached the sea.

I grew up in Whakatāne. My childhood, like that of almost every other kid I knew, revolved around our swimming places.

I swam everywhere I could, building layers of water memories and a strong sense of place and home – a “water-biography”.

It wasn’t until my own kids became teenagers that my habit to jump into any water at my feet started to fade. And then came a fateful summer when I dipped into wild freshwater only once or twice.

I shocked myself. I had never wanted to be that dry adult who stood on the bank or the beach, lazily watching the kids have all the fun. So I made a resolution to swim every day the coming summer to break the spell and return me to the delight of immersing myself in the wild.

That year, I did swim every day of summer. I loved it so much that I carried on, swimming every day all through autumn and into the winter and then through spring. 365 days that had a mini-holiday inserted into them every time I jumped in.

I swam wherever I found myself that day, so I frequently entered unknown waterscapes. I approached strangers to ask where they swam and, through this, a nationwide network of very local swims opened up to me. I met people everywhere taking a dip in all kinds of weather, all through the year, and collected swimming stories from all over the country.

As I collated those stories into a book, I had the sense of a great swell of serious passion for water and swimming by New Zealanders that goes back hundreds of years.

I found 100-year-old stories from childhoods spent in the creeks of the western Bay of Plenty. In one, a memory from the 1920s, local kids filled coal sacks with stones to dam the Waitete Stream near Waihi. Each swimming hole had its own name and if you helped dam it, you were a member of that place for the summer and could swim there whenever you wanted. Winter storms washed the whole thing away, but no one minded the fun and watery job to rebuild it the following summer.

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T H R I V E> S W I M !

RIGHT Annette (at the front in the striped green number) takes a group out for an early morning swim at the Tauranga tidal steps before her talk at the Escape! writers festival in 2020. PHOTO Sandra Simpson / Tauranga Arts Festival.

Mount Maunganui, of course, has a long history of happiness in the water. One memory from the 1920s featured the use of the ironing board to catch the waves.

Water-biographies are still being built all over the Bay of Plenty. Any beach, any river hole you were at this summer, you would’ve seen kids in the water.

And with Tauranga’s recent investment in the Tidal Steps, you’re invited to step into the water any old time you’re in town.

The Tidal Steps is an officially sanctioned bombing place where kids can practice the old leaps - the Pin, the Gorilla, the Coffin Bomb, the Knee Bomb, the Angel, and the more traditional Cannonball. In recent years, we have the Manu, a bomb simulating a bird taking flight. A good Manu bomber enters the water in a perfect V, with legs and arms straight up and the tailbone entering the water first. Advanced is to hold a rugby ball or volleyball between your legs as you pop the Manu, sending the ball tens of metres into the air when you hit the water.

Bombing is a competitive sport now, with its own town and national tournaments. In 2017, Tauranga had its first official bomb competition at the newly opened Tidal Steps. More than 30 bombers fought it out that year for the Best Bomber title, and the numbers of people entering these competitions grows annually. There’s even an “old people’s” category for those over 45.

Don’t let the arrival of winter put you off a dip. This season can provide us with some of our best swimming. Winter

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“I met people everywhere taking a dip in all kinds of weather, all through the year, and collected swimming stories from all over the country.”

swimming has a seriousness about it.

In my year of swimming, I found it did take a little more dedication to go out in the cold, rain and gales. The sun is slow to rise and early to descend in winter, so I would sometimes have to swim in the dark to keep my pledge, but there is an added deliciousness about nighttime swimming.

Founder of that New Zealand icon the Plunket Society, Dr Truby King placed cold-water swimming among his top six essentials for health. The others were fruit, raw vegetables, coarse bread, water-drinking and vigorous towelling down.

It is true that swimming in very cold water is one of life’s great experiences.

A glorious shock awakens the entire body. You are made instantaneously present and aware. You have a vivid sensation of inner cleansing, revitalising and freshening. All of your senses are sharpened by peril, so that light appears

crisper, your sense of touch precise, your tastebuds bright and the scent of coldness concentrated.

When you emerge, the blood returns to your skin in a visible fizz of pink health.

You are burning from head to foot, and you are likely to be laughing. The coolness, freshness and sparkle will stay with you for many hours, leaving you with a bountiful sense of wellbeing and joy.

You will be kinder to your family and more generous to your workmates.

You feel calm. You feel assured that the day will be exactly the right length to achieve what needs to be done. Well, that’s how it feels, anyway. I bet you swam in cold water as a kid. Try it again.

Nothing’s changed.

There are actually proven health benefits to cold-water swimming.

People suffering from pain or allergies (rheumatism, fibromyalgia and asthma) describe how their symptoms are eased by winter swimming, perhaps because

T H R I V E > S W I M !

RIGHT The author as a two-year-old swimming at the mouth of the Whakatāne River.

“There are actually proven health benefits to coldwater swimming.

People suffering from pain or allergies describe how their symptoms are eased by winter swimming.”

of the sudden burst of neuroendocrines which act as natural painkillers and anti-inflammatories. Swimming regularly in winter significantly reduces tension, fatigue, and negative memory and mood states.

You could, of course, just have a cold bath, but then you miss out on all the loveliness of wild water. Open wild water adds to each swim special qualities of sunlight slanting through the lake or sea, watery views of the natural world, full immersion in the temperature of the season, and a taste of the water’s origin.

Water has 600 times the resistance of air, so it is an effort to swim through it.

At the same time, it holds us up, allowing us to discover its multiple dimensions – sideways, down and back up again.

We get to explore as if we’re flying.

We feel weightless and freed: A 70kg adult weighs only 3.5kg in water.

Only outdoor swimming has bright light shafting through the water. The pools of watery darkness as clouds pass overhead. The wind and waves. The sense of risk and wildness and freedom.

Unknown things rising up out of murky water. A feeling of falling when the water below is so deep and clear you can see fathoms. Disorientation without painted lines on the bottom. Not being able to stand, just in case you need to. The cold.

The underside of paddling ducks, the flicking swish of a fish, the silence, the wobbling horizon, the distant mountain, the reflection of clouds, the fresh silkiness of wild water on your skin, the ripples and coins of light on the water surface, the rocking of the waves and currents, the watery blue. Fear and joy all mixed up. The wild blue yonder right here in the Bay of Plenty.

Swim: A Year of Swimming Outdoors in New Zealand,

by Annette Lees (Potton & Burton $39.99). Available from pottonandburton.co.nz and booksaplenty.co.nz

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F is for functional … and friendship, and fun – and forty-fiveminute group workouts that really deliver results, as Nicky Adams finds out.

WO R DS N I CK Y ADAM S / PH OTOS JA H L MA R S H A LL

F

45 first came onto my radar about three years ago, when I noticed that one of my friends had – within what seemed like a startlingly short time frame – honed her body into one that was svelte, toned and stop-in-your-tracks what-the-heckhave-you-been-doing-to-get-thatfigure? The secret, she informed me, was F45.

The Mount Maunganui branch of F45 has recently been taken over by Nicole and Brett Taylor, who both have extensive experience with F45, and a real passion for fitness. Nicole is a clinical exercise physiologist who has also worked as an F45 manager, and Brett has been in the industry for more than 12 years. Owning their own F45 studio revolves around their genuine desire to be instrumental in transforming people’s lives, as well as their perceptions of health and wellbeing. They love that F45 is an incredibly effective form of exercise, not only for athletes who already have a high level of fitness, but also for those at the start of their fitness journey.

The couple were drawn to F45 The Mount by the phenomenal community that already existed here. According to 56 | u n o m a g a z i n e . c o . n z

“The vibe grabs your attention straightaway. When people come in the door, they realise, ‘Hey, this is cool’ – and that’s what appealed to Nicole and me.”

Brett, “The vibe grabs your attention straightaway. When people come in the door, they realise, ‘Hey, this is cool’ – and that’s what appealed to Nicole and me. We felt the connection with our members from the first day.”

“Once you come into the studio, you’re part of our family,” says Nicole.

“It’s a really inclusive environment – the members, trainers, everyone is welcoming.”

ABOVE F45 Mount Maunganui new owners Nicole and Brett Taylor.

RIGHT Brett middemonstration during an early morning strength class.

The pair have a definite vision of where they want to take the studio. Nicole’s clear that “although we want to grow our membership base, we also want to make sure our current members are valued.”

Brett believes what sets them apart is that “we understand what our members want: our trainers to drive them with strength, encouragement, and understanding.” In addition to the focus on individual goals, other benefits of F45

T H R I V E > F 4 5

ABOVE + BELOW There is always a friendly trainer near by to help perfect your form and keep you working hard.

The Mount (aside from the all-important sparklingly clean bathrooms) are the class format and instructor ratio.

For the uninitiated, the setup at F45 is slightly different to the average gym.

Specific equipment is assigned to each 45-minute workout and exercise sequences are projected via screens on the wall. This frees up the trainers to move around the room to help and motivate class participants.

As Brett says, “You’d seldom find a class elsewhere where you’d see two personal trainers engaging at the same time.

Here, you get that one-on-one connection, which ensures correct technique.” Furthermore, they pick only trainers who have preventative injurymanagement experience. “This enables them to motivate our members to push past comfort but stay within their physical limits.”

F45 is fast-paced. Your interest is held by a range of exercises within a number of different sessions, and by different concepts introduced into the mix. A good starting point for any of the opportunities and challenges is a 10-minute benchmark fitness test known as the Playoffs.

F45 The Mount’s members genuinely support each other, which Brett says is part of what makes the studio’s regular six-week challenges so successful.

A combination of exercise and diet, these challenges are where people can really see not just results but transformations – and says they work because “when you’re in a group environment, you don’t want to let anyone down – everyone keeps each other accountable.”

It’s hard not to be impressed by Nicole and Brett’s expertise and enthusiasm.

After I gave F45 The Mount a whirl, I’d barely left the building before I was messaging friends to see who wanted to sign up with me.

F45TRAINING.CO.NZ/THEMOUNTNZ

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T H R I V E> G E O F F

COX

Floating on air Catch up with local designer and surfer Geoff Cox, who is thrilled to have found his passion and to be helping others find it, too.

PH OTOS K ATI E COX & G R A E M E M U R R AY

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T H R I V E> G E O F F

COX

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COX

I

n July 2016, Mt Maunganui’s Geoff Cox had been working as a videographer in the film and television industry for over two decades when he disappeared into his shed. Many days and much tinkering later, he emerged with a prototype of a hydrofoil he’d shaped. Cut to today and he’s working with Signature Performance Gear to help surfers all over the world take wave-riding to a new dimension.

Getting with it Not even sure what a hydrofoil is?

It’s sort of like a surfboard but with a wing that extends down into the water.

“To put it simply, it’s a glider flying underwater,” says Geoff. “Just like an airplane wing, there’s a foil section that

60 | u n o m a g a z i n e . c o . n z

“To put it simply, it’s a glider flying underwater. Just like an aeroplane wing, there’s a foil section that generates lift when you’re moving forward.” generates lift when you’re moving forward. The unique element of surf foiling is that all of the energy comes from the wave – no kite, no sail, no motor.

One of the most rewarding things about surf foiling is learning to feel that energy and get better at finding and using it.”

Geoff was inspired to design a hydrofoil by watching Hawaiian surfer Kai Lenny paddle in on a foil. “It was the first time I’d seen surf foiling not involving jet skis

and tow ropes and all of those layers of complexity that make it less accessible. To me, it looked like the ultimate evolution of wave riding.”

The first few foils he shaped were totally experimental; there were very few surf foils on the market and he hadn’t seen any in person. “There were foils that were made for kite foiling, but they weren’t fit for the purpose of foil surfing,” he recalls.

T H R I V E> G E O F F

Refining the process In the beginning, Geoff’s process was labour and time-intensive, much like hand-shaping a surfboard. “I started with a hand-cut foam core that was then hand-laminated in carbon and epoxy,” he says. “It involved lots of sanding and there was a lot of inaccuracy in the design.”

But things got better. As part of his design background, Geoff had always been conversant in computer aided design (CAD), so he started designing his foils that way. “I built a 3D printer that allowed me to very accurately create my CAD designs as 3D-printed moulds, which I’d then use to lay up the foils in,” he says. “This accuracy allowed me to repeat designs while changing and refining features to get the performance I was after.”

COX

Geoff’s design process has evolved since the first iteration of his foils. Now using the latest technology with CAD drawing and his own 3D printer, he can refine his designs to perfection.

Three years on from his first foray, in late 2019, Geoff was entertaining the idea of producing a small run of his foils and testing the market to see if it was worth pursuing further. While communicating with a composite factory about manufacturing them, his contact at the factory mentioned that he knew of a global surf brand that was looking for foil designers to help them develop their existing offerings. That company was Signature Performance Gear.

“He connected us and it went from there,” says Geoff. “The SPG family are an amazing group of people and I’m so stoked to be part of the team. I could not have found a better brand to get involved with.”

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T H R I V E> G E O F F

COX

Moving on up The wing Geoff designed for Signature Performance Gear has been met with rave reviews worldwide by some of the major influencers in the sport. “Part of what I did for Signature was update the existing range into a modular system, which involved redesigning every component – the mast, fuselage, tails and existing wings,” says Geoff. “The second part was adding my model, called the GameChanger, to the range.”

Building moulds for commercial production is an expensive process, but Signature invested in Geoff’s model, fully trusting it was a good design. “I’d just returned from Tahiti, where I’d surfed my latest design in a wide range of conditions and it was just so good!” says Geoff.

“I had a lot of confidence in it, but it had only been ridden by me and my friends.

When the first production models started getting shipped out to the world’s top riders and influencers, I was quietly shitting myself, hoping it would be well received. I had a lot of sleepless nights!

And then the first reviews started hitting Instagram with 100% positive feedback.”

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Geoff is still hands-on in the design process, but the production foils are manufactured in a specialist composite factory.

So how does it feel to know that a design that came out of your head is now under the feet of some of the world’s best riders? “I’m just buzzing when I see what guys are doing on my foil,” says Geoff. “I guess it’s the same feeling a surfboard shaper gets seeing a surfer improve on their shapes. Locally, Alex Dive is one of the best around and his foiling took a huge leap forward when he got on my foil – he’s pushing his performance to the next level.

Internationally, the response is amazing.

Seeing videos of the best guys going off on my design is hugely rewarding.”

T H R I V E> G E O F F

COX

“It’s a difficult thing to do, so it’s very rewarding when you start to get it.”

Sharing the love A lot of the world’s top surfers are now into foiling too, and Geoff thinks they’re drawn by the excitement of a new challenge. “It’s a difficult thing to do, so it’s very rewarding when you start to get it,” says Geoff. “It really is just an amazing feeling – it feels like flying.

That’s very different to being confined to the water surface and the bumps and chop that go with it.”

Foiling has changed the types of waves Geoff and others ride, and the way they ride them, too. “So many waves that aren’t great for surfing are perfect for the foil, and we’ll often have eight or 10 of us all sharing waves and connecting up multiple rides and pumping back out to share more,” he says. “Living at the Mount, the good surfable days have gone from 50 a year to 200.”

Keen to join the party? Geoff says the learning process is probably harder on the ego than anything else. “After being an accomplished surfer, going back to being a total learner can be quite a humbling experience, but it’s also an opportunity to get that thrill of your first successful ride, which a lot of us who have been surfing for a lifetime have forgotten. I love how all my ‘older’ friends have become frothing grommets who just can’t get enough!”

SIGNATUREFOILS.NZ SIGNATUREFOILSNZ

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T H R I V E> C L U B F I T

M

aintaining the motivation to stick to a workout routine gets that little bit harder as the long, warm days come to an end. But don’t give up on your goals just because the weather’s changing – make it hard for yourself to make excuses.

It could be something simple, like having your workout gear prepped and packed and ready to go in the morning.

Anticipate how you’re going to feel and take practical steps to overcome any challenges by making a commitment with a training partner or booking in with a personal trainer to support you and keep you accountable and moving forward.

That’s part of what we offer at Clubfit, and we think we’re pretty unique in the level of ongoing service we provide to help you achieve your goals. We’re not

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just about getting people started – as part of our standard membership, we check in with you every four to five weeks so we can constantly adjust the type of training you’re doing.

You don’t get results with a cookiecutter approach, so we provide a customised programme that’s unique to you. When you join Clubfit, you’ll go through a comprehensive assessment process to clarify what you want to achieve. We work to give both first-time exercisers and people who’re gym-savvy a workout that fits their lifestyle. It needs to be something you can do at least two to three times a week and doesn’t feel like a burden when you’re already busy. It all comes back to setting yourself up for success, whatever the weather.

CLUBFIT.CO.NZ CLUBFITBAYVENUES

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Our fitness columnist, Stu Stevenson, says cooler weather’s no excuse to lose sight of your fitness goals, so let’s keep on keeping on.

TO HIT..

W NOT HO

Can’t stop, won’t stop

...the almostwinter wall

Autumn and winter present a great opportunity to work on creating balance by not pushing yourself to your limit week in, week out.

Instead, commit to a minimum of three to four quality movement sessions each week, in or out of the gym.

It’s a bit of an industry cliché that summer bodies are prepped in winter, but now is also a good time for you to take stock.

If you’ve got any niggly injuries, get some physio, get a massage or soak in a spa.

Consider your overall health and wellness by ensuring you’re getting good nutrition and building in some recovery time. You might even be able to take advantage of the cooler temperatures and darker evenings and get a good night’s sleep!

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When i t co mes to stylin g t he i deal bedro o m, first dec i de o n yo u r th eme and col our palette. Th in k about w h at yo u r en d goal i s fo r th e space – do you want to go fo r a t rend-driven lo o k o r c reate a calm retreat?

If you’re th e type w h o l i kes to u pdate yo u r home with th e seaso n s, i t ’s best to ch o o se a neut ral-co lo u red base t hat yo u can easily t ransfo rm w ith n ew décor items, su ch as beddi ng, art an d o bjects.

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Looking to give your bedroom an autumnal overhaul? Here’s how to coast through it.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT 1. Totana pendant by POTT LIGHTING from MR RALPH 2. Tumble weed wall hanging from HOME STORY 3. Arum table lamp

by FERM LIVING from SLOW STORE 4. Lo bedside table from CORCOVADO 5. Assorted bed linen from FOXTROT HOME 6. Cinta headboard from THE CANE COLLECTIVE 7. Calm print by MAIKO NAGAO 8. Nolan rug by MULBERI from FLOORING XTRA 9. Forest cushion cover from HOME BODY 10. Piha cushion cover from CITTÀ 11. All Day tray from ICO TRADERS 12. Column pillar candles by BLACK BLAZE from HUSK HOME 13. Stockholm bench from CINTESI 14. Grove dishes from CITTÀ 15. Floof chair from KINDRED HOME

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9.

LIVE - T H E WAY W E -

Places

and

spaces

where we feel totally at

home.

FAMILY TIES Mother-daughter real estate team p76

NEW AGAIN

Sandali Home rises from the ashes p81

DREAM DESIGN Tauran ga Kitc he n s carries on a legacy p84

To the walls Resene colours to warm you up p68

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L I V E> I N S P I R E D

BOLD BLOCKING Dare to be different with statement colours and sassy textures and tones.

S T Y LI N G & A R T D I R EC TI O N A M B E R A R M ITAG E PH OTOS W E N DY F E N WI CK AT F L A S H S TU D I OS

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L I V E> I N S P I R E D

THIS PAGE, BACKDROP Left wall in Resene Zumthor, right wall in Resene Red Berry, floor in Resene Colorwood Dark Ebony. ITEMS FROM TOP LEFT Hobnail planter from Republic. Bodhi bookcase from Danske Mǿbler. Albert vase and Rosy Friday vase by Jones & Co from Republic. Figgoscope rug by Marta Figueiredo from Designer Rugs. Panton Classic chair by Vitra from Matisse. Figure 01 artwork and frame from Slow Store. Lombok pot from Republic. All other items stylist’s own.

Pro tip Strike a balance by teaming an audacious colour (as in this statement chair and wall in Resene Red Berry) with soft neutrals like Resene Zumthor.

Combining areas of dynamic interest (this rug, for example) with areas of calm will also help to ensure your bold scheme isn’t visually overwhelming.

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L I V E> I N S P I R E D

Pro tip When combining two bold colours, try using complementary pairs (such as the red and blue pictured here, or green and magenta) to create a superstrong contrast, then keep your accessories pared back.

BACKDROP Left wall in Resene St Kilda, right wall in Resene Zumthor, floor in Resene Colorwood Dark Ebony. ITEMS FROM LEFT Claritas lamp by Nemo Lighting from Matisse.

Pemboke candle holders, Yoko vase by Papaya and Aviateur helicopter from Republic. Cassia sideboard from Danske Mǿbler. Panton Classic chair by Vitra from Matisse. Le Chat Chic artwork

by Kinfolk from Slow Store.

Fold Round shelves and Arch Lean Low mirror from Made of Tomorrow.

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L I V E> I N S P I R E D BACKDROP Wall in Resene Zumthor, ledge in Resene Blue Bark, floor in Resene Colorwood Dark Ebony. ITEMS FROM LEFT Beauty pillowslips and duvet covers from Penney & Bennett.

You artwork by Sofia Lind from Slow Store.

Rho bedside from Danske Mǿbler. Candles from Ecoya. Carafe set by Ferm Living from Sunday Homestore.Smoking jacket from Penney & Bennett. Aurora pouffe from Republic.

All other items stylist’s own.

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Brent Stewart has never met a construction conundrum he couldn’t develop a savvy solution for.

WO R DS C A S E Y VA S SA LLO / PH OTOS JA H L MAR S H ALL & SALI NA GA LVAN

B

rent Stewart solves puzzles, but not jigsaw-shaped ones.

His puzzles are buildingrelated: Tricky sites, leaky homes, renovations and opportunities to add value.

The director of Stewart Construction says, “I love to use property to help people achieve their goals in life.

It’s always worth taking a few steps back to look at the bigger picture before deciding what to do with your home.

If you overcapitalise, you’re soaking up money that could be used elsewhere, like for your child’s education, or to fund another property to increase your financial freedom.”

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I M AG E CO U RT E S Y O F A DA M TAY LO R A R C H I T EC T U R E

Upstairs for thinking

L I V E > S T E WA R T

His creative thinking resulted in the award-winning beachfront build on these two pages. He and wife/business partner Milly had bought an unremarkable property on Marine Parade, and rather than demolish it, relocated the second storey onto their kiwifruit orchard.

The renovation and sale of the orchard and its new home funded the construction of the home you see here, which garnered national press.

C O N S T R U C T I O N

ABOVE AND BOTTOM LEFT The view everyone in the Mount wants, straight out over the ocean.

A client had a three-bedroom home they wanted to renovate and retire in. They felt they needed to pull most of the house down, which saw the cost creeping above the budget. With his own successful experience in mind, Brent suggested subdividing, taking the top off the existing dwelling and using it to create one built on piles on the newly created section.

RIGHT Rocco, Milly, Brent and Tulsi snapped for the Front Steps Project during lockdown, outside their Marine Parade home.

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L I V E > S T E WA R T

C O N S T R U C T I O N

The property on this page presented its own challenges too. A steeply sloped site at the end of Wharf Street in Tauranga, it was a feat of engineering to build four high-end apartments here while maximising the magnificent view across the Waikareao Estuary. The result is beautifully finished and feels luxurious.

But, says Brent, “We’re not any more expensive than anybody else. We just work really smart.”

Brent is originally from Cromwell, and Milly’s from Otorohanga; together they’ve made a home in Tauranga with their children Rocco (12) and Tulsi (9). They started Stewart Construction in 2007.

Despite a recession looming, they carved their way through by becoming renovating and leaky-home specialists.

ABOVE Foreman Dylan (left) and Brent at one of the Wharf Street homes overlooking the water.

“I hired five people right from the start to support our clients through the increasing number of homes with weathertight issues,” says Brent. “Our team has grown, but I’ve been very careful to make sure everyone’s an expert in their field.”

With 23 years of experience, Brent sees the big picture as creating value and capital for his clients. The straight shooter works closely with his foremen Dylan Hone and Johnny Mills and an extensive trade network to deliver each job to the highest standard.

“I’m looking to help my clients add value to their homes by making the right decisions, regardless of whether the market goes up, down or sideways,” says Brent. Just as you’d go to a stockbroker or financial advisor for advice on how to maximise your earnings,

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L I V E > S T E WA R T

C O N S T R U C T I O N

I M AG E : L A R N I E N I CO L S O N

LEFT A light-filled bathroom makes the most of the space in Waihi Beach.

BELOW Tui’s Nest has straight lines that give the illusion of curves.

BOTTOM Pristine lines and luxurious finishes in Wharf St.

“I’m looking to help my clients add value to their homes by making the right decisions, regardless of whether the market goes up, down or sideways.”

going to Stewart Construction for property guidance will help you grow the value of the asset that, for most of us, is the biggest we’ll ever own.

“The best time to come to talk to us is before you’ve started drawing and designing,” says Brent. “That way, we can spot potential solutions before you’ve invested anything. By thinking bigger than just the four walls of a home and with your best interests at the core, the answer isn’t always conventional. I feel really good when I think of the successes our clients have had.”

Brent lights up again as he starts to run through some of the ideas he has for the beachfront site he and Milly are about to start building on. Then he’s off to solve another puzzle.

STEWARTCONSTRUCTIONBOP.CO.NZ STEWART__CONSTRUCTION

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L I V E> R E A LT Y

G R O U P

Here for you Diane and Ashleigh Davidson of EVES on teamwork, telling the truth, taking their time and where they turn their attention.

WO R DS N I CK Y A DA M S / PH OTOS SA LI NA GA LVA N

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L I V E > R E A LT Y

D

iane Davidson loves her daughter Ashleigh. “But,” she says, “the thing is, I also really like her as a person.”

G R O U P

“We’re very much on the same page as far as values and goals go.

There’s an automatic trust.”

Together, Diane and Ashleigh are Davidson & Co, operating under the EVES banner. Although husband-and-wife partnerships are common in real estate, it’s rarer to see mother-daughter duos – but its clear this pair have such an easy rapport that helps them work so well together. Explaining the reasons that she thinks the dynamic is so successful, Diane continues, “Importantly, we’re very much on the same page as far as values and goals go. There’s an automatic trust.”

Despite having grown up immersed in real estate (Ashleigh’s dad Alan is also a salesperson of 30 years and now works part-time as part of their small, tight team), Ashleigh needed to complete her papers before she could become a salesperson herself.

It quickly became apparent that she’d found her calling.

Having started her career in Auckland before moving to Tauranga 20 years ago, Diane has been in real estate for 25 years. Ashleigh is newer to the role. After completing a degree in communications, she moved into marketing and PR. Working for a couple of high-profile international companies, she loved what she was doing, but says “it never felt quite right. With real estate, though, I can use my marketing and communications skills, and every day is different.”

Diane and Ashleigh complement each other perfectly in many more ways than one. Diane has a strong moral compass and belief in old-school real estate values – for her it’s about telling the truth and helping people to achieve their goals, whether that’s finding a property within their price range or getting the best price possible for their home.

Ashleigh and Diane complement each other as a team; Ashleigh has a natural affinity with tech, which is a vital tool in real estate.

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L I V E> R E A LT Y

G R O U P

Ashleigh shares her sentiments and brings to the table a skill set that’s in keeping with buying and selling in the technological age; her videos and online marketing campaigns speak for themselves. Diane says she admires Ashleigh’s abilities. She laughs when she recalls that long before her daughter entered real estate, she insisted that Diane needed to start using social media as a selling forum. “When Ash was still living overseas, she told me I needed to be putting something on Facebook, so I posted about a pair of shoes.

‘No,’ she said, ‘I meant something relevant to real estate!’”

Diane might leave the more complex tech to Ashleigh, yet her expertise in her field is beyond impressive. She’s naturally warm and engaging, but when it comes to work, she gets down to business. Diane has strategies that – evidenced by her excellent reputation and number of repeat clients – work exceptionally well, and Ashleigh, who has the same affinity with people, is similarly focused when it comes to the job at hand.

As salespeople, these women do a lot of prospecting, and with that comes plenty of stock. Diane’s extensive experience has taught her that no matter what the market, auctions are almost always the best way to achieve the desired result; however, she doesn’t take credit for the incredible sales prices they’ve reached, instead pointing to the skill of the auctioneer, which she 78 | u n o m a g a z i n e . c o . n z

“We do everything we can to over-deliver.” believes is absolutely crucial. Grant Child, the phenomenal auctioneer they work with, is one of the reasons Diane and Ashleigh love being part of the EVES family.

Another bonus aspect of being under EVES’s wing is its complimentary marketing plan – to get you at the forefront of the Tauranga market, this is an area where Davidson & Co offer exceptional value. Through Ashleigh’s marketing talents, she can tailor additional marketing plans to suit specific demographics. The social media whiz is also a proponent of print, which she believes remains an invaluable medium.

In fact, she says that just the other day, “a lovely lady brought along

a cut-out of a property. Print is definitely not dead. We know we have more potential buyers at an open home when it’s also profiled in print.”

With Diane and Ashleigh, there’s strategy at every stage, but no pressure. “We do everything we can to over-deliver” says Diane.

For Davidson & Co, the key word is integrity. It’s not about their egos or position on the awards chart, which is ironic given Diane is a multi-award-winner. For Diane and Ashleigh, it’s about what’s best for the client. “I’ve always said, ‘If it ever becomes about me, tell me and I’ll get out,’” says Diane. “That still holds true today.”

DIANEDAVIDSON.CO.NZ

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L I V E > S A N DA L I

H O M E

From the ashes Starting afresh, Sandali Home is once again brimming with treasures.

WO R DS N I CK Y A DAM S / PH OTOS JA H L MAR S H AL S T Y LI N G / N I CO L A TR AVI S

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A

t 5am on a Saturday morning, the phone rang; unanswered, it rang again.

Then again. Sandy Crooks finally got to it. “I heard a pre-recorded message saying, ‘This is Tauranga Fire Brigade. Please attend immediately. 7 Clarke Road is on fire.’ And my heart – it just sank into my stomach,” Sandy recalls.

“I threw on a sweatshirt and raced down there.”

Sandy initially assumed that Clarke Road Kitchen Eatery, her café based at Clarke Road Village, was the premises on fire. But upon arriving at the scene, she realised that it was actually Sandali Home, the furniture and homeware store she co-owns with son Ali Mohamed.

This was just over a year ago, and the loss to the business was devastating.

When Ali awoke to the news that Sandali Home had been decimated, he was “overcome with emotion.” Together, 82 | u n o m a g a z i n e . c o . n z

“We have been able to take the stock in the direction that we were naturally heading towards – clean, simplistic, uncluttered, with neutral colours.”

he and his mother Sandy had spent three years building up a successful store and, in a flash, it was gone.

The fire had started in a neighbouring premises and spread to Sandali Home, which was engulfed in smoke. Surveying the aftermath, Ali remembers, “I knew straightaway that it was going to be a case of starting from scratch.”

However, the ensuing onset of COVID-19, lockdown and travel restrictions have made this an epic journey that neither Ali nor Sandy could have imagined.

When the entrepreneurial pair first toyed with the idea of opening up a homeware store, it wasn’t the wildest of leaps. As Sandy says, “I had always dreamed of being an importer, and at

The Japanese ceramic range has been a big hit at Sandali. The gorgeous texture and tones are perfectly suited for their style.

L I V E > S A N DA L I

H O M E

my previous café, Delicacy in Eleventh Avenue, I introduced some of the lovely artisan home pieces that I adore.”

Ali, on the other hand, has grown up in a multi-cultural family (his father is Egyptian) and home was a reflection of travels and an appreciation of beautiful artefacts. He is a naturally warm person with a love of interior furnishings; together, Ali and Sandy realised they could create something really unique.

Throw into the mix Sandy’s acquisition of a new café situated opposite the premises, and the vision became reality: Sandali Home would not just be a store, but a destination.

Post-lockdown, however, it became clear that the way Sandali Home had previously sourced its stock would have to evolve.

Shopping trips to rural Indonesian villages to handpick locally crafted treasures were – for now – on hold.

The 10 months it took to rebuild the store gave the pair time to plan the new direction.

It was imperative that they stay true to their original vision of unique, quality pieces, but the place they found themselves in slowly became even more exciting. Sandy, always positive, points out, “We have been able to take the stock in the direction that we were naturally heading towards – clean, simplistic, uncluttered, with neutral colours.”

Ali agrees. “We had seen exactly what people loved and we worked to that. We’ve also expanded our gift range; customers often come looking for something really

special but don’t want to travel further afield.

Our beautiful handmade Japanese ceramic range, for example, has been flying.”

Buoyed up by the phenomenal support of the existing clientele who were thrilled to see them reopen, and excited about new customers, Sandy and Ali are quietly confident they have hit their stride.

As a result, Sandali Home has reemerged as a sleeker, more evolved version of its original, lovely self. The emphasis is still on the desire to support artisans and helping their clients to shop sustainably. They are still sourcing beautiful, hidden gems – always, as Ali says, “hunting and gathering”.

SANDALIHOME.CO.NZ 7 CLARKE ROAD, TE PUNA SANDALI HOME

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L I V E>TAU R A N G A

K I T C H E N S

Full circle Tauranga Kitchens’ Paul Reid is back where he started, bringing you a forward-thinking, industrious and creative business that just gets better and better.

WO R DS M O N I Q U E BALVE RT- O ’CO N N O R PH OTOS SALI NA GA LVA N

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L I V E > TAU R A N G A

A

fter 32 years in the UK, Paul Reid arrived back in Aotearoa and landed on his feet. Today, you’ll find him living in Whakatāne on his family property with easy access to the bush and beach, and working as the proud owner of Tauranga Kitchens.

Paul’s career started in Whakatāne, where he trained as a carpenter before giving in to the lure of the big OE. Within two years, he’d started his own company, Woodpecker, in southeast London, specialising in kitchen and bathroom refurbishments.

The switch to kitchens came a few years ago, on his return to New Zealand. Paul’s partner is from Hāwera, so that’s where he initially headed. “I spent 18 months there working for Hawera Kitchens – and that’s what helped me realise that making people’s dream kitchens was more to me than just a job,” says Paul.

He returned to Whakatāne keen to do more of the same. His plan was to install kitchens, rather than manufacture them, but then he worked for a company

K I T C H E N S

“That’s what helped me realise that making people’s dream kitchens was more to me than just a job.” specialising in modular flat-pack kitchens and discovered he enjoyed the freedom of designing and building. (So much so, he’s currently completing a National Diploma in Kitchen Design through the National Kitchen & Bathroom Association).

ABOVE The busy workshop with lots of jobs on-the-go. From pieces of timber to kitchen units completed and ready for installation.

Fortuitously, this realisation came at a time when Papamoa pro Graham Strange had put up for sale his longstanding business of high repute, Graham Strange Cabinetmakers (a company that was advertised in UNO’s very first edition). Paul made contact (a task that was harder than it sounds, as Graham was off on one of his adventures, heliskiing in Queenstown with his son) and, eventually, a handshake sealed the deal.

“I couldn’t have got a better guy,” says Graham of Paul buying – and renaming – the business.

“We get on like a house on fire,” confirms Paul.

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L I V E>TAU R A N G A

K I T C H E N S

Making kitchens is a hands-on process.

Sawing, trimming, capping and assembling are all in a day’s work to complete a stunning kitchen.

It’s just as well, as Graham lives right behind Tauranga Kitchens’ Enterprise Drive headquarters and can’t help but pay regular visits to the bustling site.

“It’s been my life,” says Graham, who started the Papamoa-based business in 1983. “The only way I can stay away is if I’m on holiday.”

Besides, Graham has retained ownership of the building, so although he doesn’t tackle hands-on kitchen-creating tasks in the workshop anymore, he’s still involved in quoting and designing.

“It’s absolutely amazing being able to bounce ideas off someone who’s done this for years and established a really great business,” says Paul. “I don’t think there’s a single street in Papamoa or Mt Maunganui that doesn’t have one of our kitchens in it – and Tauranga too.”

Paul’s committed to continuing the ethos of the business. Tauranga Kitchens will be a continuation of what Graham has supplied, with a few tweaks.

Cabinetmakers offering bespoke kitchens, building new and renovating, they also refurbish benchtops, cupboard doors and drawers to bring kitchens up 86 | u n o m a g a z i n e . c o . n z

“I don’t think there’s a single street in Papamoa or Mt Maunganui that doesn’t have one of our kitchens in it – and Tauranga too.” to speed. Laundries, bathrooms, wardrobes and some special projects (a recent boardroom table, for example) are all part of the service.

As for the tweaks, Paul intends to employ an apprentice, and has engaged

Graham working on his canoe in his dedicated space in the Tauranga Kitchens workshop. After completing this one, he already has the next project planned.

L I V E > TAU R A N G A

K I T C H E N S

LEFT Made by Tauranga Kitchens in Welcome Bay. ABOVE The brand new Fimal saw set is a proud new addition to the workshop.

BELOW Installed – a unique kitchen island providing extra seating-space.

this is happening, Graham will be beavering away getting rid of the bits and bobs accumulated over the years – when he’s not in the smoko room cooking up bacon and eggs.

the services of independent kitchen designer Sheryl Stuart to assist with the bespoke approach. She brings a lot of clever ideas to the table, says Paul, who also employs three workshop staff and office administrator Lillian Fogden, who’s been with the business for 26 years.

Small changes being made on site include adapting the workshop to suit new practices and products. Because the latter has changed, Paul’s updated the storage system and enthuses over his recent purchases: a new forklift, a new Fimal beam saw (the first of its kind to be installed in the Bay) and a new edge-bander that promises increased productivity. Oh, and there’ll soon be a new showroom, too. While all

Tauranga Kitchens’ territory has also been extended and now reaches beyond the Western Bay of Plenty to include coastal Eastern Bay of Plenty. Given his home address, servicing areas such as Whakatāne, Ōhope and Ōpōtiki makes sense, says Paul.

Graham has another incentive to keep returning to Tauranga Kitchens: He’s been given a corner in which to continue his kayak-building project. It’s a beautiful kauri strip-build and Graham’s being assisted by “an incredible woodworker” on the team. The kayak should be ready for action next summer and the next fun project is already in the planning stages: Paul and Graham are going to join forces to build paddleboards – orders are already being taken.

TAURANGAKITCHENS.CO.NZ

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Confidential personal service

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We connect quality businesses with serious buyers

For more information call: (07) 5786329 or email: tauranga@tabak.co.nz Licensed REAA (2008)

T H I N K > P R O P E R T Y

E X P E R T

Craig Orr Our Bayleys columnist considers the power of a handshake and a positive attitude in real estate and beyond.

PH OTOS JA H L MA R S H A LL

I

n my family, a handshake is about treating everyone you meet the way you’d like to be treated. For me, it represents loyalty and respect, which are the foundations of how I do life and business.

I grew up rurally on the outskirts of town; my dad had the same job for 40 years, and my mum has only just retired.

Having now spent 10 years with Bayleys, I think my loyalty and groundedness has been instilled through my parents’ love of their work.

In my experience, the way you conduct yourself comes back tenfold. Years ago, I met a couple at a local café in Bethlehem, and whenever we ran into each other, I always said hello and remembered their names. When it came to selling their home, I was the first person they thought of, because we’d already built that rapport.

Giving back is something I’ve always admired about the Bayleys team. I’m doing the Mount Everest Challenge again this year, climbing Mauao 38 times in 50 days, and it’s bloody hard! When I found out it was for St John, it was a no-brainer.

My mum broke her hip falling down the stairs while we were on holiday in Pauanui and the St John staff were awesome.

With last year’s challenge canned due to lockdown, I’m looking forward to biking down to the Mount to get climb-fit.

I was recently asked what it takes to be a successful real estate salesperson and the answer is, you have to wear many hats.

You’re constantly dealing with different personalities, you need to be dynamic

“Giving back is something I’ve always admired about the Bayleys team. I’m doing the Mount Everest Challenge again this year, climbing Mauao 38 times in 50 days.” and adaptable, and understand what’s important to each vendor. With the market constantly shifting, it all boils down to people and how they feel about you, I’ve learned that you won’t gel with everyone, so it’s best to trust your instinct.

Real estate can be seen as a dog-eat-dog industry, but I don’t buy into that. As long as I can stay true to my values, that’s success for me. I have huge respect for the head of Bayleys’ training and coaching team David Martin. He’s always been there to offer advice and reiterates that we work with people, and without relationships, there’s no business.

You may wonder why anyone would choose to work in real estate – it’s a stressful job, clients want you 24/7 and the stakes are high. But it’s also incredibly rewarding and a responsibility I don’t take lightly. These days, I tend to be auction-

focused, as the transparency of an auction is often best for all parties. It’s public and in front of the buyers eyes, and it’s not uncommon for the underbidder to congratulate the successful bidder.

Not long ago, I became a member of the Bayleys Auction Club – it’s a National and invitation-only club. It reflects how many auctions you undertake per year, and it’s something I’m really proud of.

Having just come back from the Coromandel, where I’ve been teaching my two young daughters to surf, I’m grateful that my work allows me to make time to prioritise family. My son, Duke, lives in Melbourne, so the COVID-19 divide has been tough for us. It isn’t always perfect surf and smooth sailing, but for me, it’s about staying positive, working hard for my clients and doing it with a smile.

BAYLEYS.CO.NZ/CRAIG-ORR

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L I V E> E V E S

Moving on up Success at auction might mean a move to a new town, downsizing, or more family time. We meet people who’ve found success in their lives after an EVES auction.

WO R DS H A N N AH K E YS / PH OTOS S U PPLI E D

Anna and Simeon Clarke.

90 | u n o m a g a z i n e . c o . n z

L I V E > E V E S

Team effort

TEAM

EV

ES

DEANNE STEWART

Welcome Bay TEAM

EV

It was starting to look like Jeneva Snodgrass and Cameron McGall wouldn’t be able to buy their own home. Having arrived back in the Bay from the UK, they’d immediately begun the search for their first property. A few months later, they’d all but given up when it seemed as if the market had put their dream out of reach. Gathering their wits for a last-ditch attempt, they called on help from their family to boost their budget, a mortgage broker friend to secure finance, and advice from the experts when it came to actually winning their new Welcome Bay home at auction. “We started off bidding strong, and all of a sudden we were the last ones standing,” says Cameron. Now, the couple gets to start the next stage of their life together – as first homeowners.

ES

DANIELLE HAYES

Fruitful efforts

Time together

Maungatapu

Maungatapu

Keri Welham had transformed the backyard of her property at Te Hono Street into a fragrant, edible garden. Star jasmine, lemons, oranges, feijoas, tangelos, plums and peaches filled the air with sweet scents, and her daughter’s playhouse overlooked it all.

Bittersweet tears were shed on the big day at Tauranga’s Elizabeth Cafe & Larder (next door to EVES Realty’s auction room). There was sadness at leaving the beautiful garden, but excitement as the auction meant that Keri and her family were able to move to the Mount. They’ve bought a new property, and the next project of building their dream home is well underway.

Danielle and colleague Sarah Garnett were also recently behind the success of two families reaching their goals through the auction of this house on Te Hono Street.

Lee Vaughn teaches at Pillans Point Primary and had been commuting daily, but the sale of their home meant that his family could move across town in time for their son to start school. Happily, they have alleviated stress and gained more family time. And the auction story is pretty special too; Anna Clarke raced down from work in Auckland and slipped in next to husband Simeon, who that very moment had placed what turned out to be the winning bid on Lee and Steph’s home after a lengthy auction.

The two couples got to sit down together and congratulate each other.

The auction meant that Keri and her family were able to move to the Mount.

Now the couple gets to start the next stage of their life together – as first homeowners.

Happily, they have alleviated stress and gained more family time.

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The great price they got at auction allowed them the freedom to choose.

This home in Papamoa’s Arabian Drive was highly sought after on the market and the auction was hotly contested. The vendors had outgrown the home and bought another property, and the great price they got at auction allowed them the freedom to choose what they wanted to do next. The vendors and eventual buyers formed a friendship post-auction, so when unexpected circumstances interrupted the vendor’s move-out plans, the buyers were generously accommodating, allowing the vendors to move and start the next stage of their lives stress-free.

TEAM

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KELLY & KYRA ORMSBY

Best gift ever Pyes Pa As the hammer came down, Kate Newson collapsed into tears – she couldn’t believe she’d done it. With her husband Ryan waiting on the phone at work and Kate unable to get the words out herself, Kyra had to tell him he was the new owner of a home in Pyes Pa’s Audax Lane. After missing out on a handful of Papamoa properties, the couple had looked to The Lakes to find their dream home.

Everything fell into place for them that day, and as 2020 drew to a close, they got the best Christmas gift they could have hoped for.

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KIM CRAWFORD & PHIL RICHARDSON

Small is better Brookfield

“It’s overwhelming, but it marks the beginning of a whole new journey for us.”

Kelly Fisher and her family were ready to downsize. They had renovated their home in Brookfield for close to a decade while raising their children there. But family shapes are ever-changing, and with the oldest off to university, they bought a section in nearby Bethlehem with plans for a new build. That meant it was time to auction their family home – and letting go can be tough. “Renovating has been such a labour of love and when you’ve put everything into it, you just hope someone will love it as much as we have,” says Kelly. “It’s overwhelming, but it marks the beginning of a whole new journey for us.”

EVES.CO.NZ

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Stacey Jones The founder of pop-up restaurant Kitchen Takeover talks working with Maketu’s most famous sisters and her new food-innovation space, which you’re invited to get involved with.

PH OTOS S U PPLI E D

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ven if you’re not an obsessed foodie like me, you’ll know modern Māori cuisine is trending right now.

Chefs are lining up to incorporate Aoteroa’s unique indigenous ingredients and traditions into their menus, both here and abroad.

A pinch of pūhā, a hint of horopito – our appetite continues to grow for dishes that connect New Zealand’s cultural heritage to the plate.

At Kitchen Takeover, we’re always looking to showcase the latest food trends with a modern twist and a sense of adventure. That’s why our current pop-up restaurant experience is a collaboration with two chefs at the forefront of this movement.

You can bet that every Kitchen Takeover is a full-sensory event, and Food of the Gods is no exception.

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Award-winning chefs Kasey (left) and Karena Bird hard at work perfecting their works of art.

Kasey and Karena Bird won MasterChef in 2014. The Maketu-based sisters’ unique perspective on food – which combines indigenous ingredients with modern cooking techniques and a touch of nostalgia – saw them take first place in New Zealand’s most-loved cooking show and launched their careers as celebrity chefs. As well as their culinary talent, something I really admire about Kasey and Karena is their passion for storytelling through food. This philosophy is at the heart of Kitchen Takeover, so it felt like the perfect foundation on which to create a pop-up experience with a cultural flavour.

Taiao: Food of the Gods is Kitchen Takeover’s seventh secret supper. The six-course degustation dinner draws from Kasey and Karena’s whakapapa and upbringing to celebrate the Māori deities of the natural world. The girls have put a real local spin on this menu and sprinkled in international influences from their time overseas (they have travelled to more than 50 countries). They’ve foraged samphire from Maketu for a dish featuring New Zealand crayfish, local seaweed and classic French techniques. They’ve taken kumara to new heights with a Japaneseinspired dish that’s the perfect balance of salty and sweet. They’ve created a nonalcoholic drinks match featuring Chinese

teas and cherry juice, and they’ve reinvented their own family classics, like Nana Bridget’s pudding with native botanicals. It’s innovative, cultural and, most importantly, delicious.

The feedback for the pop-up has been amazing so far. One of the cool things about working with Kasey and Karena is that it’s brought people from all over the country to Tauranga for the experience.

I really believe that if we’re to become a sought-after food destination, we need to foster the food innovation that’s happening in our region. This means we need to elevate the local food personalities who give us a point of difference, and provide them with the tools they need to showcase their food.

That’s why the next chapter for Kitchen Takeover is to offer a permanent foodinnovation space for our city, where locals can trial restaurant ideas, celebrity chefs can collaborate on menus, and people with big foodie dreams can get them off the ground. After all, that was me three years ago. Sound like a bit of you? I’d love to hear from you if you have an idea for a pop-up and need a platform – get in touch!

KITCHENTAKEOVERNZ

- T H E WAY W E -

Eat, drink and be merry with experiences to tempt all your senses.

FOOD ALLEY

Dining and drinking on Wharf Street p96

PRETT Y YUMMY

Pairing art and food p1 0 8

Music makers Katchaf ire’s southern sounds p1 0 4

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WHARF

The Barrel Room Finely crafted food and a wide range of beverages.

The Crown & Badger A fun favourite for all ages.

The Hop House Raises the bar for craft-beer lovers.

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Tauranga’s sparkling new outdoor dining precinct is now complete. Come with us as we take a tour of this mustdo destination, where food, drinks and entertainment come together and the only traffic you’ll find is the foot kind.

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harf Street has been transformed – an exciting development for Tauranga that sees a selection of eateries and bars spill out onto the pavement, creating an atmosphere for everyone to enjoy. Did you go to the precinct’s first Friday Night Live? It was a roaring success and will continue every week from 5:30 to 9pm until the end of April and again next summer. There are also plans for more weekend events, open-air movie nights and outdoor art exhibitions – and the lane will be put to good use during the upcoming jazz festival.

Sugo Contemporary Italian-inspired eats.

The Chook Nook

Wharf Street is a cosy yet vibrant place to meet, mix and mingle, and breathes new life into the heart of the city, says Sally Cooke of Downtown Tauranga. “This is very much about creating a unique experience, with great diversity in the food and bar offerings, and all kinds of events. People can enjoy it in so many different ways.”

Fried chicken, Korean-style.

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The Barrel Room Enjoy the finer things in life with plates and pours to suit all tastes.

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etween their mouthwatering dishes and highest-quality beverages, there’s something for everyone to savour at The Barrel Room.

You’ll find wine from the best regions in New Zealand and beyond; an exceptional, ever-changing 14 craft beer taps; bottled Belgian beers and Heineken on tap for the non-craft drinkers. There’s also a stellar selection of spirits to sample. The team of chefs have created a menu filled with international flavours, along with crowd-pleasing platters, gourmet burgers and traditional-style handmade pizzas.

BARRELROOM.CO.NZ

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GET THE FULL BARREL ROOM EXPERIENCE with Latin Dance Night on Thursdays and live music on Saturdays, along with brewery, distillery and winery tasting events.

SOMETHING SPECIAL The Barrel Room has casual lunch options like these lust-worthy prawn tacos – and the specials board is always worth a look.

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The Crown & Badger British-meets-Kiwi food and hospitality come together at this popular waterfront pub.

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he Crown & Badger has held its place as one of Tauranga’s best-loved destinations for 17 years and is thrilled to be part of the Wharf Street transformation. “It’s exciting,” says owner and general manager Jessica Rafferty. “It’s been so cool to see people gravitating towards this new space – it’s just what Tauranga needed.”

BRIT WITH A TWIST The Crown & Badger is perfectly situated for a lunch break if you’re exploring the nearby shops and sights of the city.

With a sell-out quiz every Tuesday, live music on Fridays and Saturdays and more than 230 drinks behind the bar, it’s a must-visit hotspot both for folks who want a welcoming place to enjoy a classic British-inspired meal and revellers ready to dance the night away.

Their tempting menu has a Kiwi twist, but the Sunday roast is a solid Crown & Badger fan favourite.

CROWNANDBADGER.CO.NZ

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The Hop House Creativity is on tap at this boutique craft-beer bar, where you can experience an ever-evolving roster of innovative brews and special occasions.

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hether you’re a long-time brew aficionado or a recent craft convert, you’ll find your hoppy place on Wharf Street. The Hop House is a craft-beer bar dedicated to local and national boutique beverages, with in-the-know staff who offer service that goes above and beyond. They work with innovative brewers; run creative events, including stand-up comedy nights and a Thursday quiz night that gives back to the community; host monthly tasting events, weekly live music performances; and have a function space that seats 50.

Owner-operator David Stanway says he’s stoked about what Wharf Street brings to our city. “It’s been game-changing.

It really makes Tauranga a destination.”

THEHOPHOUSE.CO.NZ

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ENJOY A DELICIOUS burger or pizza at The Hop House, or choose food from nearby restaurants to enjoy with their beaut beverages.

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Sugo This forward-thinking Italian-inspired eatery lets local ingredients shine in a polished yet relaxed atmosphere.

INSPIRED ITALIAN Sugo’s philosophy is simple – celebrating the best ingredients, and freshest seasonal produce, sourced locally wherever possible.

JUST DESSERTS Sugo’s dessert menu is as creative as it is delicious – the perfect poached cherry on top of a stunning night out.

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ake a stroll down Wharf Street and Sugo will stop you in your tracks. If the deep green facade, twinkling lights, and peeps of red and white get your attention, the menu will make you want to stay. Co-owner and chef Ian Harrison focuses on fresh, local ingredients to create dishes that are constantly being reworked to suit the season. Sugo’s ever-popular chicken saltimbocca has just been given a new twist for autumn, with creamed leeks and lemon verbena, and they’ve devised four different but equally delectable versions of their risotto since their opening in November.

Ian says he and his crew are looking forward to making the most of their new surroundings. “We now have this beautiful outdoor area and it’s a really important part of Tauranga growing up.”

SUGOSUGO.CO.NZ

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The Chook Nook Serving Korean-style fried chicken in a quirky setting, the newest restaurant on this block brings an irresistible crispy crunch.

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taste of Korea in downtown Tauranga, the newly opened Chook Nook has already proven to be a hit with all ages, with something on offer for the whole family. The menu is already expanding beyond their specialty fried chicken to include delicious fried prawns, and other popular Korean chicken dishes that are sure to become your new favourite flavours.

Co-owners Paul Kwon and Yd Kim say their style of chicken is incredibly popular with visitors to Korea, so they wanted to bring it to Tauranga to share the flavours of their home country. The Chook Nook is a quirky and cool place to stay a while, and the beauty of their spot in the Wharf Street development is that your crew can pick and choose from different restaurants and eat wherever – so you can order your chicken to go, but there’s a good chance you’ll want to come back for more!

THECHOOKNOOKNZ

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FEED THE TEAM Chook Nook offers a mixed platter for groups – with a combination of their different and equally delectable fried chicken recipes.

BIG IN KOREA: The owners wanted to bring the most popular dishes for visitors in Korea straight to downtown Tauranga.

ORDER ONLINE AT THEISLAND.NZ

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Burning bright Katchafire is hotter than ever.

WO R DS N I CK Y ADAM S / PH OTOS J O E L M CDOWE LL

I

f you like reggae, then you’ll love Katchafire; if you weren’t sure if you like reggae, you’ll still love Katchafire. These guys are the musical Moro bar. The experience is universally uplifting and leaves you feeling better than you thought you could feel. With their chilled-out vibes and harmonies that ease the soul, one minute you can feel so relaxed that you can’t even form the word stress, the next an upbeat tempo will hit, and you just want to dance till you drop. And when you look around you know that it’s not just you, but the world is dancing with you.

Katchafire at Soundsplash in Jaunary performing to a sold-out crowd.

Katchafire has been around for over 20 years and is one of New Zealand’s hardest-working and most well-known reggae bands, with a cool factor that spans audiences and age groups. A multiaward winning, platinum record selling formation, they have made it big internationally, rubbing shoulders and performing with musical icons. Yet when I sat down to speak to founding member Jordan Bell, there wasn’t a bit of trumpetblowing or whiff of name-dropping.

Reggae is a musical genre that has exploded worldwide, and Katchafire has been at the center of the big bang. Each strain is taking on its own identity and these guys are 100% South Pacific roots reggae. Their unique formula blends different instruments and sounds until classical reggae morphs into a mixed genre music that can be considered “an art form”; and amid it all, the positive vibes just keep on coming.

The band is made up of founding brothers Jordan and Logan, plus “lifers” Tere Ngarua, brother-in-law Leon Davey and Roy Kaiki. Jordan explained that at the end of last year they finished off their latest single, “Circle Back”. “Definitely a love song, it’s about circling back on anything you love – it was a real summer banger.” The timing of its release was perfect: “It came out just before the summer tours so it was great to get it out there live; the support for it has been

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amazing, as we speak it’s on a million streams and climbing.” “Circle Back” was worked on during lockdown, it’s a silver lining to a period where, in normal circumstances, the band would have been touring overseas. The other upside of lockdown was the extra time at home.

The importance and influence of family is at the core of this band, and pulses through the lyrics of their tunes, from the purity of “Addicted” to the adoration of family and Aotearoa in “Fyah in the Trenches”. It’s easy to see how these tunes have been written on the road, when home has felt far away.

Katchafire creates what Jordan calls “good message music. It’s about stripping back, about not worrying – about family and having a bit of consciousness.” You can’t help but wonder about the dynamic of such a tight-knit group, but Jordan laughingly verifies that harmony on the tour bus is enforced by rules and a fining system.

The bond is clearly strong, and creatively the energy flows. Songwriting is helped by their synergy – they’re even on the same page with musical influences.

“Between us we listen to everything from Tupac to Lenny Kravitz to anything in between; R&B, Metallica, it’s all on the same playlist.”

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P L AY > K AT C H A F I R E

Jordan Bell, drummer and one of the founding members of Katchafire.

“New Zealand has a diverse palette when it comes to music, so we get a mixing of styles... It’s really interesting and works well.”

Jordan and Logan didn’t start life as musos – up until their teenage years, life was all about Rugby League. Even when music came into their lives, it wasn’t an immediate switch. As preteens Jordan and Logan stumbled across a stash of their dad’s prized musical instruments hidden in his closet. Their father, a talented musician, had hung up his guitar and embraced a life filled with church and family. He encouraged the boys to start with the basics, and a passion ensued.

Around 1997 to 1999 when the boys were in their late teens a choice had to be made – rugby was subbed out and they ran with music. In what Jordan considers a defining moment for their future, their father, Grenville, rented a loft in central Hamilton where the boys could jam at all hours with friends. They began to score gigs and, before long, they were playing

from Raglan to South Auckland. Initially a cover band, from the outset their love was of old-school reggae – in fact, Bob Marley is to this day one of Jordan’s key musical influences (“Katchafire” is derived from a Marley song). Growing up, Jordan says, reggae was “a forbidden genre – linked with dope smoking, it was a different religion from what we were doing. But at the same time, it was all around us.”

level”. Of course, home is home, and the One Love festival here in the Bay is one of the favourites as “it allows us to catch up with the reggae community and see how well the tree has flourished and grown. Not just here, but through the Pacific. It’s good to get together and see how strong the support is and how the next generation has come through, for the musicians and audience.”

After winning a competition run by NZ record label Dawn Raid, the group had the confidence to write their own songs.

Hits “Giddy Up” and “Bounce””were the result, and led in 2003 to the release of Revival, the first of (to date) five albums.

Transitioning to original music was nervewracking, but the audience loved it, and the fan base followed them and grew.

The success of the band has spread well beyond New Zealand, with the band garnering a huge international following – playing Glastonbury in the UK was “next

Overseas success has not blunted Katchafire’s love for this home audience: “New Zealand has a diverse palette when it comes to music, so we get a mixing of styles... It’s really interesting and works well. It rings in our music which, as Pacific Reggae, has more harmonies and messaging.” Talent, positivity, uplifting music and cool beats – this is why musos of all ages go mad for Katchafire.

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Art of the meal Inspired by food, this artist’s paintings look delicious enough to eat.

WO R DS M O N I Q U E BA LVE RT- O ’CO N N O R PH OTOS K ATI E H OY

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icola Bennett has made a career out of combining two of her key passions in the most delectable way. Art and food rock the world of this Okere Falls-based artist who produces paintings inspired by her love of food – there’s a deep connection, she says. Colour, to her, is like flavour.

“For me food and art are so intricately linked, in their processes, shared pleasure and transformation.

“I love the sensory pleasure of both preparing ingredients and of applying paint. Whether it’s fashioning fresh food into a meal to be shared or using tubes of paint and a canvas to create a painting that may cause an emotional response…

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Either way, there is magic in that transformation,” she enthuses.

Nicola says she’s no chef, but it’s often a cooking experience that inspires her work. Her studio is festooned with photos of food and different dishes and lots of recipe books. This way, processes influence each other, she explains.

Of great excitement is the pending completion of a kitchen within her studio that’s attached to the house she shares with her husband Stefan, their son Theo (13) and daughter Greer (11).

“When that’s finished, I’ll be able to cook and paint at the same time. Partway through cooking, if I am inspired, I can go straight to painting and then back again.”

This abstract expressionist uses oils and mixed media on her large paintings and also her smaller works, which are

ABOVE The second course artwork pairing had a limited colour palette of pink and white, inspired by the connection to the Pink and White Terraces.

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A4-size to reference a recipe book.

Wooden panelled, they give the feel and weight of a cookbook.

“I love to work this small because it feels intimate and handheld. But I also love to work very big, which results in a different kind of painting: Big, bold and gestural.”

Representational art isn’t Nicola’s gig.

She may be inspired by an avocado (she adores them, by the way) but the viewer of her art wouldn’t necessarily know that’s the case.

ABOVE The delicious and delicate meal to match artwork (left).

“My source of inspiration is a flavour, and I want the feeling of that flavour to be in my work in an abstract way. And, of course, the wonderful thing about abstract art is that it can be anything to anyone.

Someone may see forests and plants rather than interpreting any actual ingredient, such as avocado,” explains this vegetarian artist with a penchant for green.

(If you love food and nature, it’s very hard not to be drawn to green, Nicola says.)

ABOVE Timo and Nicola at the most recent “Forage and Feast” event she hosted at Terrace Kitchen. The artwork stayed up for the month afterwards.

“I just want good, fresh food in a relaxed setting. I think I’ve become a Kiwi!”

Nicola’s paintbrush is often intimately acquainted with her ingredients – she

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LEFT This piece of Nicola’s was made to match the serving of avocado, house rye bread, wild fennel, pickled nasturtium pods and green tomatoes (and won her the Molly Morpeth Canaday Merit Award).

RIGHT Colour matching the perfect green for avo on toast.

Nicola’s keen for more such sharing of the joy and similarities of cooking and painting.

“I experiment with colours that look just right; the chef with ingredients and flavours that taste just right. It’s a similar sensory search for the perfect balance of colour or flavour.”

“I experiment with colours that look just right; the chef with ingredients and flavours that taste just right. It’s a similar sensory search for the perfect balance of colour or flavour.” paints on avocados or aubergines, for example, to ensure she has the exact colour.

“I could even use a big squish of paint to give the feel of smashed avo. Threedimensional in only small amounts adds to the seductive quality of paint.”

While Nicola enjoys her own company, she gets a real buzz from meeting other creative people. “I get their energy. I love meeting makers and talking about their passion and creativity.”

Sometimes something truly wonderful grows out of such meetings. Take Nicola’s mutually creative collaboration with Timo Dicker, the executive head chef of Rotorua’s Terrace Kitchen.

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an event featuring small paintings Nicola had created in response to foraged ingredients such as artichoke, wild garlic and sorrel. Timo created a menu to suit.

Over two nights, the creative duo gave floor talks about their processes and inspirations, accompanied by a fivecourse meal.

In 2020 came “Forage and Feast”, incorporating seven small courses with Nicola and Timo setting each other various challenges. Black-and-white and pink-and-white dishes were the result of a colour competition. Twenty-six of Nicola’s paintings were displayed on the walls (and remained afterwards for a month as an exhibition), referencing ingredients Timo had cooked with for the event. Identifying those ingredients was a talking point for the diners.

She’s keen to introduce this collaborative concept in other centres such as Tauranga, Auckland and Wellington.

In the meantime, life at the easel is busy.

Nicola’s next commissioned work involves pink oyster mushrooms.

Nicola is a Molly Morpeth Canaday Award recipient (receiving the Merit award for the green painting above). Such accolades are especially sweet for the artist, who was dyslexic at school. Her creativity couldn’t be contained, resulting in a Bachelor of Art in the UK and then a Masters in Fine Art (passed with first class honours) in New Zealand.

Nicola often takes prepared food along to share at houses where she’s showcasing her art – usually involving ingredients that have inspired the painting.

How does this artist know exactly when a painting is completed? The answer, of course, references her other love.

“It is finished when it’s ready to eat with the eyes… A visual feast, if you will.”

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EX PLOR E - T H E WAY W E -

Enjoy

the great

outdoors

in our own

backyard.

INTO THE BLUE

Dolphin watching with Nathan Pettigrew p1 1 2

OHAKUNE

Shoulder season is still delightful p1 1 8

CHOOSE WELL Mike Rudd gives good advice p1 2 2

Grin and bare it in a Bentley p1 1 4

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Life aquatic The seemingly smiling faces of these marine friends will bring a grin to yours, too.

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Frank Szirmay’s bronze sculpture of Tangaroa, the Māori atua of the sea and all the creatures within, watches over Tauranga Harbour.

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rom the beginning of human history, people have been fascinated by a particular animal that has been depicted in early paintings, sculptures, and even on vases dating back earlier than 500BC. These artworks often showed illustrations of early warriors holding spears and, improbably, riding on the backs of the beloved creatures we see right here in our own big, blue backyard.

I am, of course, talking about a species we all know and love: The dolphin.

Now it’s the 21st century, but our curiosity and love for what I call “the underwater equivalent of you and I” hasn’t waned at all.

As a photographer for Dolphin Seafaris, based in Mount Maunganui, I am incredibly fortunate to share my passion with the guests that come aboard our boat Guardian – many of whom have never seen a dolphin before in their lives, let alone swum with them.

This job matches perfectly with my whole ethos, as this company was the first dolphin boat tour in the North Island to be inducted into the SMART (Sustainable Marine Mammal Actions in Recreation and Tourism) Operator

“In the blink of an eye, it becomes apparent that we have just created a lifelong memory for both young and old.”

Programme by the Department of Conservation. In a nutshell, this means that we are well-versed in how to interact safely around marine mammals here in the Bay of Plenty.

Another large part of my role is sharing the microphone with Cille Fabert, the owner of captain of Dolphin Seafaris, to give relevant commentary on the history of various species so that we know where these animals have been, what they have been through and, most importantly, where they are now in the sense of populations. Just like the talks that I offer at local schools, we are all about conservation education.

This information is backed by a tonne of knowledge from our crew regarding the bird life, turtles, orca and sharks that we see out there. But it’s also important for us to have a few good laughs along the way!

Whether it be for a private charter, or a group of individual ocean lovers, the best part of the job for me is seeing

people’s emotions when dolphins turn up and swim all around our boat. Seeing some guests with tears flowing, others laughing, while some are simply so in awe that they remain silent – this is what fulfils me the most.

In the blink of an eye, it becomes apparent that we have just created a lifelong memory for both young and old. For some, imagination becomes reality in an instant and, for us, it really doesn’t get any better than that.

To those who have already joined us, thank you for allowing us to make your dreams come true. We’d also like to sincerely thank everyone who has “supported local” during these interesting times. We are incredibly grateful and we love what we do.

Looking ahead, we will get ready for the cooler months and a chance to see the huge migrating humpback whales.

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Grin & bare it Steve Vermeulen takes a road trip to Northland with in a ridiculously beautiful Bentley; going shoeless has never felt so right.

WO R DS S TE VE VE R M E U LE N / PH OTOS VI N E S H K U MAR AN

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E X P L O R E > B E N T L E Y

T

here’s something satisfyingly audacious about driving a Bentley with bare feet. Somehow, kicking off the Havaianas and going “foot commando” in an interior awash with hand-crafted leather and timber accoutrements, beautifully knurled metal dials, and an edifying suite of cutting-edge technology just feels right.

Bare feet are entirely appropriate for this road trip to the winterless North – to Whangārei, Opua, Russell and Paihia – to relish the great roads, great food and great scenery this region offers up in spades. At around 300km in length, our first leg from Auckland’s south to the sparkling Opua harbour isn’t an exhausting drive, but it’s certainly made easier in a Bentley Continental GT V8.

This latest-generation Continental GT was released a couple of years ago and,

for me, captured the real essence of the brand more than any Bentley before it. A brand steeped in luxury and craftsmanship, yes, but also one with track-bred performance and racing pedigree aplenty.

Physics decrees that luxury features and a swathe of creature comforts shall be the antithesis of lithe handling. But Bentley doubled down on the technology stakes in this latest generation Continental GT, completely flipping that science on its head and making a big car that’s also unbelievably engaging to drive. I’m pleasantly reminded of this as the Puhoi tunnel releases me from the shackles of rush hour and onto the more sweeping curves of State Highway 1, heading through Warkworth and the Dome Valley towards Whangārei. With the composure of all-wheel drive and 404kW of power under (bare) foot, you can make short work of our typical Kiwi A-roads.

“Bentley doubled down on the technology stakes in this latest generation Continental GT, completely flipping that science on its head.” unomagazine.co.nz

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There’s a raucousness evident in the V8, something the more silken flagship W12 Continental GT doesn’t have, but the svelte looks and noise combo make the Bentley a popular sight when I hit the streets of Whangārei. A meaty V8 exhaust note around here isn’t uncommon, but judging from the nods of approval and positive reactions I’m getting with every burble and crackle on over-run, they clearly appreciate Bentley’s take on the eight-cylinder format as something a bit special.

Sticking to SH1, the miles melt away quickly and driving is effortless. I can sit back with fan-cooled seating and even a gentle massage function and burn through mile after mile without any fatigue. In what seems like no time at all, I’m enjoying fresh fish and chips in the lovely seaside village of Opua.

Our northernmost port of entry for overseas vessels, with a sheltered, deepwater bay, Opua’s a popular destination for international visitors entering our shore. Most recently it homed Spanish billionaire banker and art “enthusiast” Jaime Botin’s beautiful superyacht.

Today, though, the Bentley takes centre stage as we board the Opua car ferry to Okiato.

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“You really know you’ve well and truly shrugged off the city when you arrive in the Bay of Islands.”

You really know you’ve well and truly shrugged off the city when you arrive in the Bay of Islands. Today it’s what amounts to a busy day in Opua with the ferries at capacity on each crossing.

But the staff on board remain relaxed and accommodating. With some social distancing and PPE protocol in place, they’re only too happy to invite our photographer up to the bridge and

allow us to position the Bentley just so, before loading up for the next crossing.

It’s little things like this that serve as great reminders of how magnificent New Zealand can be.

I’m overnighting in Russell, but before I head there, I’ve been invited to Paroa Bay Winery and their hilltop Mediterraneaninspired restaurant, Sage. Operated by good friends of the Bentley brand, the

L I V E > GE UX DP SL EO LR LE >B BU EI L N DT E L E RY S

“You can also hire the entire venue, and have up to 100 guests enjoy canapés, food boards, and a bar station”

ABOVE & BELOW The Bentley Continental GT V8 sure does make a road trip to the already stunning Bay of Islands all the more exciting.

Lindis Group, Paroa Bay Winery also offers accommodation in the form of three luxury villas perched above what must be one of the most idyllic bays in the entire Bay of Islands.

I’m not drinking, but on the balcony at Sage I’m told both the 2020 Sauvignon Blanc and 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon are very sippable in tandem with, respectively, line-caught fish and New Zealand wagyu bavette. Regardless of the pairing, a stunning dining experience is assured; make sure you add a booking to your next sojourn north.

The following day starts crisply with the morning sun revealing yet another crystalline northern sky and the baritone V8 humming down the road from Russell. Formally one of the Southern Hemisphere’s busiest ports, favoured by whalers, seafarers and merchants of the day, Russell enjoys its heritage as a once-heaving Victorian metropolis of industry and debauchery in equal measure.

“It’s not nearly as debaucherous now as it was in the old days, dear,” I’m assured by an older lady, as I chat over a morning coffee while she waits for her coach tour to depart. She and her fellow travellers fawn over the Bentley’s

lines outside the fabled Duke of Marlborough Hotel. “If the walls could talk!” she laughs.

Thankfully, mid-week up here is milder-paced than usual. It’s quiet even, affording me the time to absorb the prominence and beauty of Russell’s promenade, the serenity of the harbour and character of the town that has been lovingly preserved.

The roads tighten up between Opua and Paihia, but the Bentley’s party trick is its ability to feel smaller and lighter than reality. You can push on unfazed by changes in road condition and with surprising agility.

There’s time for a brief bite on the wharf at Paihia before the 250km jaunt back to Auckland. After the past 12 months, it’s been great to get some decent driving miles in, sink my feet in the sand and reconnect with one of my favourite parts of the world.

Unsurprisingly, the Bentley has been a brilliant tourer. Maybe the bare feet and salt air played a part, but I can honestly say I’ve never felt so reinvigorated at the end of a day’s driving.

BENTLEYAUCKLAND.COM

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Mountain high Spend the weekend cycling down a volcano – only in New Zealand.

WO R DS J E N N Y R U D D / PH OTOS S U PPLI E D

I

could feel a sudden nip in the air signalling the end of summer, but I love a cool, crisp morning, so I surfed through the booking.com app looking for places that looked fun and have a flexible cancellation policy (because covid).

Shoulder seasons in resort towns offer some real accommodation gems, plus

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they have fantastic activities for visitors, there aren’t any crowds, and there’s a certain excitement in the air about the months ahead. The North Island’s favourite skiing spot, Ohakune, hit the spot for our whānau, so my husband Mat Tomlinson and I headed off for the weekend with three of our teenage kids India, Sylvia and Delilah.

DOWNLOAD the booking.com app; it was a matter of seconds to book The Powderhorn.

E X P L O R E > O H A K U N E

E AT

“Our priority on arrival was the hot water pool. Tucked under the hotel, it feels like a grotto.”

THE BLIND FINCH

S TAY

ABOVE The Powderhorn delivers on the mountainlog-cabin vibe .

A Covid shimmy saw The Blind Finch morph from a café into an epic bakery by day and burger shack by night. While we waited for our order, we watched dough being prepped to make burger buns and the next day’s bread for the bakery. We had Finch burgers and jalapeño poppers for dinner, then went back for hot-cross buns the next morning.

POWDERKEG This homely family restaurant was so welcoming to our girls, who felt very grownup dining without their parents. They had the famous pork ribs.

THE POWDERHORN CHATEAU This boutique accommodation is the ultimate in alpine cosiness. Our rooms were more like suites. Our three daughters comfortably shared one that had two queen beds as well as a seating area with a sofa and Sky TV. We loved that our rooms also had big drying wardrobes for wet wintery gear.

Our priority on arrival was the hot water pool.

Tucked under the hotel, it feels like a grotto.

You can swim under a bridge and lounge around on underwater stools. There’s an intercom that allows you to order drinks, too.

At night, our peaceful sleep was gently bookended by the sound of the Mangawhero River sloshing over the rocks just outside our room.

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“Hiring bikes from ski, board, bike shop TCB then cycling down the mountain is an absolute must!”

THE MANGAWHERO RIVER WALKWAY There were trampers gathered at The Powderhorn’s reception for their shuttle to the Tongariro Crossing at 7am, laden down with puffer jackets and hotel-made packed lunches. Meanwhile, I headed out for something in the region of an easy hour.

Right outside the hotel is the Mangawhero River Walkway, an achievable stroll that follows the river to the other end of town 2km away. Signs along the way thank the volunteers and workers who built the mountain road that takes you from town to the top of Mt Ruapehu, because they built this trail, too. What a generous gift to everyone who lives in and visits Ohakune.

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BIKING DOWN A MOUNTAIN Hiring bikes from ski, board, bike shop TCB then cycling down the mountain is an absolute must! In fact, we spent a whole day doing it again and again, tearing down 18km from the lifts at Tūroa all the way back to Ohakune. Because the ski fields are closed at this time of year, there wasn’t any traffic, and it was exhilarating. We even stopped en route to check out a waterfall and take pics of the unbelievable view across the Central Plateau.

It’s worth going to Ohakune in the off seasons just to do this all day. And TCB were incredibly friendly and helpful. They offered to take us up to the top of the mountain, but we used our truck.

Our stay at The Powderhorn Chateau was courtesy of BOOKING.COM. We used the app and it was really easy.

You can see all the local options on a map, and there are lots of great choices with flexible cancellation policies.

T H I N K > F U N N Y

G U Y

Good innings Comedian Ben Hurley is bowled over by the “ridiculously quirky” game of cricket.

“A

s far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster,” is Ray Liotta’s infamous and chilling line in the opening scene of the Martin Scorsese movie Goodfellas. A story of a man born into the mafia; essentially a crime cult held together by family. I never wanted to be a gangster, but as far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a cricketer.

I know half of you stopped reading when you read that word. Cricket is an acquired taste, polarising like blue cheese or Jim Carrey. I don’t expect you to like it and understand if you don’t. I know it’s “slow” and “boring” and “complicated” and “sometimes it’s a draw after playing for five days.” I’ve heard it all a thousand times and it doesn’t bother me.

Cricket isn’t really what this is about. This column is really for anyone who thought their natural inability to do something (well) would preclude them from doing it for a living. Because I am testament to the fact that it isn’t always the case.

I came to the game later than my friends.

I grew up in an arty household more than a sporty one, so I never really saw much sport on TV. Until I was about 11 and a combination of cricket-mad next-door neighbours and seeing New Zealand play Australia in something called “The Benson and Hedges World Series” set off a strange reaction inside me. Within a few months, I was part of a real cricket team that played on Saturday, and my bedroom walls were covered in posters of cricketers.

I caught the bug, with two hands, reverse cup, right in front of my face.

“In a deal even more complicated than the LBW rule, Spark Sport got the rights to televise the cricket and they gave me my own show!”

Was I any good? Not really. But, if I’m honest, I wasn’t awful. I made the Hawera High School First XI, but partly because one of my closest friends was the captain and put in a word. I’ve had my moments on the field but I was a bit of a late bloomer, physically, and by the time I was able to compete properly, other career paths had presented themselves.

Mostly Comedy and Beer.

I still played as a semi-social weekend warrior but the realisation eventually dawned on me that I was unlikely to make the premier club side, let alone the national one. I would always be someone who loved the game and could ruin any party by finding the one other cricket person in the room and settling in for the night. Commandeering a corner of the kitchen to loudly debate what went wrong in the 1992 World Cup semi-final loss to Pakistan. That would be my lot in cricket life. Or was it?

Around 10 years ago, when comedy and TV work became more abundant for me, New Zealand Cricket got wind of the fact that I was one of these cricket “tragics”, as we are often referred to (I prefer the term “nuffy”), and got in touch. They wanted something called a “match day host” to travel around with the team over the summer and interview drunk people

in the crowd for the big screen. Not only did I jump at this opportunity, but I did it for seven summers. Only giving it up and passing on the role to someone younger because I realised no one wants to see a 40-year-old man doing boat races on the embankment while a dozen Otago students chant, “Down in one!”

Once again, I thought that would be it for me but, last year, in a deal even more complicated than the LBW rule, Spark Sport got the rights to televise the cricket and they gave me my own show! Who said nothing good happened in 2020? And this is what I did all summer. Half-an-hour a week where I’m paid to talk about this game. This ridiculously quirky game that has featured in many of the happiest moments of my life.

(My wedding, my kids’ births and Grant Elliot hitting that six at Eden Park to put us into the World Cup Final). It’s not a dream job because I rarely have dreams this good.

Okay, so I’m not a gangster, and yes, I still think about it. I didn’t have the genes or the constitution for it. But, in this analogy, maybe I’m Martin Scorsese, telling those who are interested all about the ones that do. And I’m mostly okay with that.

BENHURLEY.COM BENHURLEYCOM | HURLEY.92

BEN.

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Mike Rudd How well do you do at decision-making?

Mike Rudd shares some advice.

PH OTO RO B B I E H U NTE R

M

y wife Jane and I were about to set foot on the Emirates A380 in Manchester, bound for Auckland.

My phone bleeped with a message: “New Zealand announces international arrivals to self-isolate for 14 days.”

What should we do? It felt like a Sliding Doors moment. It’s a Gwyneth Paltrow film in which a woman’s life takes two dramatically different paths depending on whether she boards a train or not.

So without too much hesitation, we took a deep breath and boarded the plane for our planned, annual six-week visit to New Zealand in March 2020.

More than a year later, we’re still here.

What’s more, with Immigration New Zealand’s blessing, we plan to remain in this land I have loved since my six years here as a teenager. A great outcome, I believe.

Mike sees the similarity between him and Gwyneth Paltrow in her 1998 movie.

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As for many New Zealanders and visitors alike, isolation followed by a longish period of lockdown gave us plenty of opportunity to reflect on our decision to board the aircraft. The reflection, in my case, was not about fretting over the outcome (much longer time spent in New Zealand than planned), which was increasingly a nonissue. Instead, my interest focused on how we make life-changing decisions: Quickly, instinctively and not really in a methodical way. This contrasts with the way in which we might make consumer decisions, like time spent choosing which laptop or car to buy, or where to go on holiday. We can all take weeks over those ones.

So, what about trying to get better at making decisions? There won’t be many of us who haven’t made some bad decisions and some that we are more pleased with.

The subject of how we make decisions feels important. If we understand the process a bit better, we might stand a chance of success in navigating the opportunities and pitfalls of life. At least, that’s what logic suggests.

Whoops! There’s the first snag. Quite often we don’t use logic alone to make our choices and decisions. And that is not wrong. We should trust our instincts. Who and what to trust are good examples where our intuition can play a valuable role. We do learn how to do this partly through past mistakes. And we can be taught how to react quickly to certain situations and make

better decisions. Driving a car is an example of this. But in even more complex circumstances such as in a suddenly threatening situation, a trained person like a police officer, soldier, fighter pilot or, in a medical context, a nurse or surgeon will utilise their training and experience to make decisions rationally, and fast.

One of the many useful tips I have picked up is “Don’t fear the consequences.”

Whatever the future holds, the outcome of your decision will hurt you or please you less than you imagine. This is not an invitation to be reckless but, in the end, if a decision is needed and it’s a finely balanced one, take a deep breath and make it. I remember another one that goes with this advice: If you need some help to choose between two options, toss a coin. As soon as the coin is in the air, you know on which side you want it to land.

The tool that Western army officers are taught to use for difficult, complex decision-making is called an “appreciation”.

It’s a simple, formatted approach which requires writing down exactly what the situation is, and what is the objective or goal. What are the options? Compare the options rationally and, finally, select the best one. It’s a very simple and seemingly obvious discipline, but it can be a strikingly effective mind-clearing exercise if you are getting tied up in knots. Happy decision-making.

This could have been an ad.

But we’re too busy to make one for ourselves.

So, enjoy this art instead. thievery.co.nz Photography. Videography. Creative. Content.

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