The art of architecture

WORDS DANIEL DUNKLEY / PHOTOS SALINA GALVAN

In-demand architect Camden Cummings talks about his grand designs for homes in the Bay of Plenty.

For Tauranga architect Camden Cummings, designing a home is all about marrying the “pragmatic” with the “poetic”. Sure, a home needs the right number of rooms, a big enough kitchen, and space for your cars, but it also needs somewhere for those moments with the family, a spot to relax and read a book, or a deck to take in the view.

“Architecture isn’t just pragmatics, it’s an art of pulling different elements together,” Cam says. “Good architecture stands apart as it creates special spaces. A home is a container of your memories. It’s where you retreat from the world. You spend so much time there, so you need it to feel special.”
On Marine Parade, Cam has combined the pragmatic and poetic to great effect. A new home on the Mount’s most exclusive street has fellow architects talking, and Cam’s business, Cummings Studio Architects, recently won an NZIA Waikato Bay of Plenty Architecture Award for the split-level property overlooking Mount Maunganui’s main beach.

The award marks a huge early win for Cam’s Tauranga-based company. Before forming his own business, Cam worked for a large national firm behind the concept for the redeveloped Tauranga Airport and Waikato University campus in Tauranga. Out on his own, Cam is keen to add further architectural interest to our cities and suburbs.

An artist and designer at heart, Cam has formulated ideas his entire life. Hailing from Waihi, he initially cut his teeth as a draughtsman, building up skills in technical software and design in New Zealand and Europe. He then spent several years in Australia, studying for a masters in architecture, later working on commercial projects in Melbourne and Brisbane.

After settling in the Bay of Plenty with his wife Peta – an interior designer – and two children, family homes are at the top of his agenda.

“Designing residential homes on a smaller scale is what I love,” he says. “It’s more meaningful working with mums and dads and families. With commercial projects, you’re two or three people removed from the decision-makers. I prefer a closer relationship.”

Cummings Studio Architects was established in 2017, and finished its first award-winning project last year. The grand design, nestled in the heart of Marine Parade, is private enough to feel tucked away from the street, but open enough to view waves crashing towards the beach.

It’s easy to see why the home has earned recognition. The lower floor is split into two sections: a kitchen and dining area with views of the beach, and a “sunken” private lounge. The property strikes the right balance between views and privacy; the front is framed by glass, but occupants in the upstairs bedroom can close things off with timber shutters.

“When we tackled the project, one of the biggest issues was the road,” Cam says. “How could we retain the view of the waterfront, and not make it a fish bowl? For privacy, the bedroom is often at the back of the plan. The client wanted the master bedroom at the front but also wanted to control their privacy. It was a simple solution for them, in the end.”

The Marine Parade house boasts a courtyard between two modern living quarters, and, once inside, people can view the full length of the property. Despite its size, the home doesn’t feel sparse or vacuous, but well-proportioned and warm.

Cam enjoys the challenge of meeting people’s demands, tackling the practicalities, and pairing it with his own creative vision. At the start of each project, clients write a brief and set a budget. Ideas are then pulled together, and cutting-edge technology is used to give clients a glimpse of their creation.

THE PROPERTY STRIKES THE RIGHT BALANCE BETWEEN VIEWS AND PRIVACY

Cam’s practice likes to design the bathrooms and kitchen joinery in his projects, to ensure that design intent is followed through. “These are smaller representations of the larger house, so are equally as important,” Cam says. He pays meticulous attention to detail to ensure cupboards, tiles, bricks and taps match the aesthetic of his design. Only “honest” natural materials are used for the finishing touches. “So many homes look like they’re designed by two different people –I don’t want that,” he adds.

Cam says realising a client’s brief and budget is the most important part of the job. When projects come together, as they have on Marine Parade, a happy homeowner is the most satisfying thing of all, he says.

“One of the nicest things is hearing from the clients at the end. “For me, that’s all it takes – to know they love the house and feel their expectations were exceeded, and that they have a special space to enjoy. As an architect, that’s the biggest compliment you can get.”

CSARCHITECTS.CO.NZ

The hotspot eatery stoking the embers for local foodies

An experience like no other on Central Parade in the Mount.

WORDS KATE UNDERWOOD / PHOTO KENRICK RHYS

The opening of Fife Lane is the realisation of a nine-year dream for Ryan and Kat Dippie, who along with their passionate team, transformed the space on Mt Maunganui’s Central Parade into an industrial-chic restaurant. The hotspot eatery is impressing locals and visitors with everything from Gisborne wagyu scotch with blue cheese butter to Coromandel mussels with saffron cream and plenty of vibrant Central Otago pinot noir.

As avid diners themselves, Ryan and Kat felt there was a significant gap in the area. “If you didn’t want to go over the bridge or right down to the Mount, where could you go?” Kat says. Drawing inspiration from New Zealand restaurant stalwarts like Jervois Steak House and Botswana Butchery, Kat says they wanted to create a quality dining experience that complemented other offerings already in the Bay.

Having spent the last nine years as owners of Rain Bar in Papamoa, Ryan and Kat utilised the expertise and collective knowledge of their dream hospitality team to create Fife Lane. Kitchen manager Robbie Webber, frontof-house Keri Harman and bar manager Scott Hinton were all sent on a two-year research stint in Melbourne, to hone their skills and bring back a wealth of fresh inspiration.

The result is an extensive menu specifically designed to provide food that feels both accessible and remarkable. Opt for the Hawke’s Bay lamb shoulder with minted pea puree which is served with crumbed sweet breads, or – from the steak selection – the under-rated French bavette cut. Smaller plates include tender calamari with miso mayo, and a pork belly with cauliflower purée and feijoa chutney. Among the sides, paprika buttered corn cobs and golden beer-battered onion rings are lining up to be favourites, and, from the sharing section the eye fillet beef Wellington and the seafood paella would be fabulous for a crowd.

Taking inspiration from butchers of the past, a custom-built glass meat locker sits at the heart of the space. This fine looking chill room houses an array of aged meat cuts – from West Coast savannah Angus sirloin to a Wakanui Angus rump. And if you order from the cabinet, you also have the luxury of selecting your own steak knife, presented at the table in a bespoke wooden box.

Wine is Ryan’s thing, and he’s dedicated an entire room to housing their diverse range. With barman Scott, they’ve handselected every bottle, including several vintages from across New Zealand and a sprinkling of international varietals. They have wine glass styles fit for every drop, whether it’s a bright Chablis, a German riesling from Kat’s sommelier friend, a pinot blanc blend from Mt Rosa, or Mumm by the glass.

The extensive cocktail menu – which includes a few interesting twists on classics – and the considered whiskey list are served from an immaculate white-tiled bar, which is an elegant contrast to the dining room’s bold black palette and natural wooden elements. The oversized tables were custom-built to allow enough space to comfortably accommodate mains with plenty of room for sides.

Ryan and Kat’s concept for the sophisticated fit-out came to fruition with the help of designer Stacey Smith of Twentyfivebees. Together, they created spaces suitable for intimate dining, families and larger groups. Ryan’s brother Owen Dippie installed his signature tiki artwork which leads to the charming rear dining room where Owen’s wife, Erin, has lined the wall with striking images of whole fish and scotch fillet steaks.

Alongside kitchen manager Robbie’s 30 years of experience, chef Dan Lockhart helped curate the menu, utilising a rare Spanish Mibrasa oven that takes centre stage in the kitchen. The closed barbecue design uses embers (instead of flame) to add a distinctive hint of charcoal to dry-aged scotch and charred asparagus. There’s also a smokey apple pie for dessert and, if that’s a little heavy, a theatrical mocha-gato dessert cocktail could be for you.

While steak is an obvious focus at Fife Lane, it’s far more than a steak restaurant; with options for the meat or seafood-averse such as gnocchi with Kaimai mushroom, broccoli, garlic butter and Parmesan. Ryan is a charismatic host who’ll happily tell you his favourites on the menu and steer you towards the chef’s specialities. But, back to that steak knife box – being offered a choice of blades to slice the tenderest of cuts is an experience which just doesn’t happen often enough in life.

Two mates with a masterplan for the Mount’s booming music scene

Day and night, there’s always something on the go at multi-functional Mt Maunganui venue Totara St.

As Tauranga and the Mount’s population skyrockets, the music and arts scene is growing along with it. The attraction of the city to touring bands isn’t just about the size of the audience, though – it’s also about the fantastic venues at which they can play. The Mount’s Totara St events centre is such a place. By day, it’s a music school, but at night, it morphs into a rock ’n’ roll superstar.

Totara St co-directors Ross Shilling and Jay Munro met almost 10 years ago through a mutual friend. Both share a passion for the music industry – Ross has been in bands, owned venues and worked for years as a sound technician, while Jay had been involved in the promotional aspect of the industry in his hometown of Whangamata, where he juggled making surfboards with promoting bands and acts on the side. Together, they set out to create a venue that incorporated multiple facets of the business and, says Ross: “The masterplan was what we’ve ended up with.”

Realising their vision was no mean feat. According to Ross, “We looked at this place and it seemed almost set up, so we decided to jump in boots and all, and build a venue.” 

Patience and elbow grease brought the project to life. The final push was opening for the 2012 Tauranga Jazz Festival, which had booked Totara St to host a poetry reading. Jay says it was “a bit like being on The Block TV show, with things really running down to the wire.”

In retrospect, they’re surprised that the organisers put such faith and support in them, but they proved worthy of the show of confidence, as all was up and running in the nick of time. Except, that is, for the missing toilet doors; Ross and Jay say it was open-plan or nothing for that event!

Walking through Totara St today, it’s plain to see why it’s gone on to become so successful. The music school side of the business is front of house, and the layout perfectly suits its purpose – from the comfy, retro-feel lounge to the rainbow-bright classrooms. A staff of around 13 contract tutors offer lessons on most instruments, and pupils love that they have the opportunity at the end of every term to perform as a band on a professional stage. 

The events side of the venue is another thing altogether. Access is through a side entrance that leads into a sleek space with pared-back décor, a mezzanine floor complete with bar, and a huge stage fitted with sound equipment that’d blow the boots off even the most experienced roadie. Considerable investment has been made into this equipment – the set-up boasts a Martin Audio sound system, built-in acoustic panels and a lighting rig that ensure a first-class experience for audiences and bands. Without the hassle or expense of having to haul in their own gear, the process is greatly simplified for performers, adding to Totara St’s appeal.

Totara St has earned its stripes, and today the line-ups here are a heady mix of local and international players. From British acts such as musician Midge Ure and ska band Bad Manners, to Kiwi names such as The Black Seeds, White Chapel Jak and LAB, the list goes on. Ross and Jay have been savvy enough to realise that variety pays dividends, so they offer a variety of genres – entertainment for all sorts of age groups and musical tastes. 

Despite their success, the pair aren’t the type to rest on their laurels. They’re currently developing the catering side of the business, the Chur!Coal barbecue and eatery, which allows Totara St to tantilise the tastebuds of 20 to 400 people for parties and all manner of corporate events, from functions to team-building sessions.

Totara St is one well-run business, and one that has a huge appreciation for the community it operates in. Its ability to shapeshift to be as appealing to Millennials as it is to Baby Boomers and band members is amazing – and that’s rock ’n’ roll baby.

TOTARASTREET.CO.NZ

A good night in next to nothing.

Gregory Davidson from George Street Linen says to invest in the best bed linen, your body and your wellbeing will thank you for it.

Don't wear pyjamas. That's the advice from bed linen expert Greg Davidson at George St Linen in Whakatāne. He says if you invest in the most carefully sourced and woven sheets and duvet covers, then you don't want anything else on your skin.

Textiles for life

Gregory has been in textile design for 40 years in New York, Sydney, China, everywhere! He’s travelled the world supervising the production of textiles and design.

The textile centre of the world moved to China, so he lived in Shanghai from 2003 and supplied businesses like John Lewis and Macy's with their own branded linen. He’d been living in Shanghai with 25 million other people, and in 2018 visited Whakatane. “I thought, what a cute little town with no traffic lights! I fell in love with it and saw a 1920s garage for sale, so I bought it, filled it with beautiful bed linen, and here we are,” says Gregory.

Gregory’s guide to the best fibres when it comes to bedlinens:

Au naturel

I'm a great believer in natural fibres. We use cotton, linen, bamboo, wool and merino. The benefit is that they are all temperature regulating, keeping you warm in winter and cool in summer.

Cotton

Our cotton is a blend of American, Australia and Chinese. We spin the same cotton, one yarn, and we weave it in different waves. We use the same supplier of yarn as Calvin Klein uses for his underwear.

Percale

A plain weave with a smooth surface, so it's more likely to keep you cool at night.

Sateeen

There are more yarns on the face than on the back, so it's a buttery soft weave, giving a shiny effect that's very soft.

Cotton jersey

This is knitted on a circular machine. We do a reverse twist on every second yarn. 

Linen

Our linen is Belgian. We like it because there is a low minerality in Belgian water that makes the linen very strong when it's processed.

I'm linen all the way, it's my personal favourite.

Merino

There are so many benefits with New Zealand-made merino, so I had a sample duvet cover made and slept in it. Total heaven, and very easy to throw in the washer and dryer. I think we are the only ones in the world, I haven't heard of merino duvet covers before.

Colours

We are seeing earthy colours like clay, olive, hazel, cypress. Mustard is being used as an accent, the shot of yellow is very popular.

See the full range at

16 George St, Whakatane

Sisters & Co, 208 Maunganui Rd, Mt Maunganui

georgestreetlinen.com

A dash of the special sauce.

New restaurant Sugo serves Italian food at its finest – fancy-ish but wholly fuss-free.

When Ian Harrison says Tauranga’s new eatery, Sugo, is his happy place, it’s a comment to savour. He’s opened 19 restaurants and hotels on behalf of others, five of them in two years as an executive chef, and cooked his way around the world for 20-plus years working with chefs of high repute and at Michelin-starred restaurants. Until recently, his dream was to own an intimate fine-dining restaurant, but now he’s toned it down a tad – and he couldn’t be happier. He suspects New Zealand has rubbed off on him.

British-born Ian is chef and co-owner of Sugo, which became a tasty addition to Tauranga’s eating scene in early November. “It’s contemporary, seasonal, fresh and a nod to Italy, but it’s also no fuss,” he says. “I now know I’ll never open that fine-dining restaurant I used to dream about. I just want good, fresh food in a relaxed setting. I think I’ve become a Kiwi!”

Ian came to New Zealand for eight months, 10 years ago. He fell in love with the country – and one of its inhabitants, whom he’s since wed. Five years were spent in Auckland then it was on to the Bay of Plenty, where he was executive chef at Alpino and Clarence. At Alpino, he sharpened his skills in Italian cuisine; at Clarence he fine-tuned his European-Kiwi tools. “Those combined, brought me to Sugo,” he says.

On Wharf Street, Sugo is hard to miss. The facade of the Italian-inspired eatery is green, white lights and planters hang overhead, and red umbrellas shelter tables topped with terracotta plant pots. There’s an abundance of décor wow indoors, where a variety of seating options cater for 60 to 70. Alfresco dining numbers (when the Wharf Street upgrade is completed) will sit at 50. 

Sugo’s tagline is “Italian inspired” and Ian believes anyone who’s been to Italy will taste the connection. Ian, who preserves and ferments as well as cooks, enthuses over seasonal and fresh food, and says pasta and antipasti are stars, as are unsung heroes in the meat world. ‘Sugo’ means ‘sauce’ and there’ll be plenty of that – he’s a dab hand at making them and they’re a key element in Italian cooking.

Instead of fussing excessively over presentation and the addition of numerous ingredients, Ian says he’d rather spend time finding suppliers (he has about 19) who offer top-notch products. “I want to source the best ingredients I can find, do as little as possible to them, then deliver so the products can sing. He doesn’t see the need for too many ingredients per dish, either, nor an extensive menu.

Ian and business partners Josh Fitzgerald and Warren and Megan Lippi-Smith have ensured Sugo dining is also relatively affordable – most mains are $30 and nothing’s over $35. A lunch menu will be added in February, perfect for those working in the CBD. Oh, and free of charge are dog biscuits made on-site for visiting pooches. 

“I’m cooking good food, enjoying myself and making my mum and dad proud,” says Ian. “This place reminds me why I got into doing what I do.”

SUGO.CO.NZ

Column: Craig Orr shares his secrets to property success

Growing up, my family had a bach at the Mount on Oceanview Road, so we’d escape Hamilton and spend our summers here by the beach. But it wasn’t until I met my wife Natasha not long after I moved back to New Zealand from Perth that I finally moved to the Bay for good. Tash was working at clothing store Augustine, and one day I went in there with my sister and son Duke (now 11), who was two at the time. It was instant fireworks. Now Tash and I are raising our daughters, Estelle (7) and Ivy (3), while Duke, a budding surfer, lives in Jan Juc in Victoria. Safe to say I’m itching to see him when the trans-Tasman bubble gets going! 

Being in real estate with Bayleys means I have the flexibility to be there for my kids a bit more. I live for the mornings when we scooter to school and kindy. It’s that close-knit-village feel of our city that makes it such a fantastic place to work and raise a family. 

I started as a lifestyle-property agent but naturally moved into residential property through referrals and as my family-minded clients moved around, selling their properties to upgrade or downsizing after their kids had moved out. I cover much of Tauranga and the outskirts, from the Mount to Waihi Beach, but you’ll often find me in Omanu, Te Puna and Tauriko. The best part is I’ve made some really good friends working in the business. I even attended the wedding of some great clients who recently got married on the Te Puna property I sold them.
People buy from agents they trust, and I can tell almost instantly how a buyer feels about a home. You can sense it – and that’s the key to being a great agent. 

Just the other week, I had a woman wanting to buy a property I’d listed, but she needed to sell hers first. We got it on the market for her and sold it within a week. To help someone make the move they want to make in a stress-free, positive way is what it’s all about. 

As a former landscaper, part of what I bring to the table is my hands-on experience in making a home more liveable when it comes to the backyard. In the Bay of Plenty, so many of us live outside, so I can help clients see how to create the ideal outdoor spaces. 

In my twenties, I moved to Western Australia to play semi-professional rugby in the coastal suburb of Cottesloe. It was through the club I met a French stonemason and learned the ropes. That led me to setting up my own landscape construction business alongside a friend and carpenter. We grew it into a successful business, but in 2011, after 15 years, it was time for me to come home. The shift got me thinking about how long I wanted to stay on the tools, and after chatting with my good friend Stephen Shale – a Bayleys auctioneer who was then manager of Bayleys Waikato – I was motivated to follow my passion into property, where I’m proud to say I’ve been for nine years.

I also couldn’t do it all without my personal assistant, Corinne Littlejohn. You need to work as a team and she’s my backbone.

On weekdays, you can find me heading up the Mount with my phone torch at dusk. In the weekends, between open homes, I get down to the beach with the kids and out on my surfboard whenever I can. That’s the thing about living here – you can have a busy day, but the minute you head up the Mount or hit the sand, it all just washes away.

The multisporter making his own way in the world

WORDS Sue Hoffart PHOTOS Graeme Murray

For four-time Coast to Coast champ Sam Clark, dodging explosives in China and kayaking from Sweden to Finland are what makes adventure sports not just a hobby, but a way of life.

Endurance athlete Sam Clark credits cartoons with kick-starting his career as a jet-setting adventurer and multisport titleholder.

In recent years, the tenacious Welcome Bay resident has managed to dodge explosives in a Chinese quarry and container ships in the Baltic Sea. In February, he ran, biked and kayaked across the South Island in just over 10 hours to scoop the prestigious Coast to Coast world multisport championship. It was the fourth time in five years that he’d won the gruelling 243km race from Kumara Beach to Christchurch.

His early forays into sport were far less successful. As a boy, Sam proved uncoordinated with a hockey stick and similarly awkward with a soccer ball.

By age 10, he had his priorities sorted. If the painfully slow school bus couldn’t deliver him home in time for his favourite martial arts cartoon, he would bike to and from Otakiri Primary School himself. Given the school was 11km from the Clark family abode in the rural Eastern Bay of Plenty, Sam easily clocked up more than 100km of riding each week. It also set a precedent; if he wanted to venture into downtown Whakatane on the weekend, his parents knew he could cycle the 70km round trip himself.

Young Sam had discovered the joy of independent travel and found himself quickly, accidentally fit.

“By default, I became one of the fast kids,” the 30-year-old recalls. “And winning cross country was pretty important at primary school. Once I was fit, running opened doors.”

Sam and older sister Sophia began training for triathlon competitions, piling in the back of their father’s ute to swim train at Lake Rotoma. From a young age, the siblings also embarked on challenging multi-day tramping and kayaking trips in Urewera National Park with their outdoorsy parents, Environment Bay of Plenty Councillor Bill Clark and recently-retired primary school teacher Alison. 

Sam suspects his thirst for adventure was inherited from his poetry-loving father, who had lived and travelled in Africa, owned sawmills and gave up an accounting degree to become a deer culler. Bill Clark also competed in the Coast to Coast multisport event that his son would go on to win four times.

“Growing up, complaining was not an option. I think there’s something in my blood that makes me push myself to do mad things,” says Sam.

The school teacher’s son was also studious and bookish and a trumpet-playing member of the Bay of Plenty Brass Band till age 14. To earn any screen-watching time, he and his sister needed to chalk up the equivalent period in music practice.

At Whakatane High School, Sam discovered interschool multisport races. He borrowed a mountain bike, dusted off his father’s old kayak and fared unexpectedly well against a much bigger pool of teenage peers. Hooked, he asked his parents whether he might perhaps have a racing kayak for Christmas. 

“I woke up Christmas morning to find there was a splitting axe under the tree. It was their way of giving me the opportunity to earn it, and I spent most afternoons and holidays splitting firewood,” explains Sam.

It took months of work to earn the $2000 ticket price.

“By the time I could afford the new kayak, I had the strength to paddle it.” 

Even before he was legally old enough to hold a licence, Sam would load up his prized craft and drive 10 minutes down country roads to the Rangitaiki River, to practice paddling. 

His final year of high school was a blur of entry forms and weekend races, including the rugged Motu Challenge multisport race where he finished fourth amid an adult field. He was only 18 when he entered and won the non-elite, two-day section of the Coast to Coast event for the first time. 

“I thought I might truly be good at this kind of racing, but how could I fund it?” recalls Sam.

Unwilling to face the prospect of more full-time study, he opted instead for a mechanical engineering apprenticeship at the workshop where he had spent his school holidays. While he was an able enough worker, Sam was not a model employee. 

“I was constantly at odds with my bosses about staying late or doing overtime because all I wanted to do was go and train. And I was taking a lot of unpaid leave to go do sports events around the country,” says Sam.

For four years, his apprentice’s wage was spent on race entry fees, travel and sporting equipment, ticking off Ironman events and world championships, eight-day expedition races with a team and individual challenges in New Zealand and overseas. 

Once he had his fitter and turner’s qualification in hand, Sam continued to mix work and sport.

“A lot of athletes my age dropped away. They went to uni or couldn’t fund themselves any more. But I was always able to find work and some way of getting to the start line. Eating baked beans, using borrowed gear; if you really want to do it, you’ll somehow make it work.“

Disappointments came with the wins and placings. A planned trip to Europe, for a season of  cycle racing, had to be abandoned when Sam tumbled off his mountain bike and broke his wrist. Those events that didn’t go well only served to spur him on.

“I thought I’ve got to train harder, come back better, more well trained, better prepared and faster,” says Sam.

“I made an awful lot of mistakes but I learned from them. What to eat, what not to eat. What gear to use. Lining up and doing ultramarathons, thinking running 90km will be easy, then having to walk 40km at the end because I didn’t fuel properly, or train. 

“There’s nothing like the absolutely darkest moments to learn from.”

In China, Sam has raced through northern provinces using Soviet-era maps to traverse roads that no longer exist. He has paddled on the Yellow River and through one of the world’s largest cave systems. In later years, mobile translation apps have helped him communicate with friendly, curious locals as well as fellow Chinese competitors. Once, he and his teammates found themselves in the middle of a quarry, surrounded by explosives. 

“There were sticks of dynamite and blasting caps in the rocks around us. What did we do? We ran extra fast to get out of there! No, my mum doesn’t know about that,” laugh Sam.

“But part of what makes racing in China so appealing is that when you finish each day, all the teams sit around a dinner table and share war stories, so there’s a lot of camaraderie involved. It’s the hardest and most challenging races I’ve ever done, in places nobody has ever heard of.”

Some destinations are easier to love than others. He talks fondly of a particularly satisfying world swim-run championship event in Sweden that involved 72km of running and 12km of swimming between islands in the Stockholm archipelago. The spectacular scenery was part of it, and the Baltic Sea’s low salinity level meant he didn’t need goggles and the water tasted almost sweet.

Sam has become far more appreciative of the places racing takes him. He now makes a concerted effort to stay with local residents, to explore and try the local cuisine rather than focussing solely on race preparation and recovery. His favourite memory of a French alpine event involves staying with a local family for a week and helping them concrete their driveway.

The failed soccer and hockey player has certainly discovered the joy of being a valued part of a team. He has found his tribe; a like-minded international group of adrenaline-fuelled athletes who have taught him about organisation, team dynamics, friendship and the thrill of pitting himself against a series of outrageously difficult challenges.

Two years ago, when he raced – and won – with the Swedish military adventure team, he found himself paddling from Sweden to Finland.

“It was terrifying. You’re in the middle of the open sea with towering waves, in kayaks that aren’t up to the job, trying to avoid enormous container ships and knowing you just have to keep going, turning back’s not an option,” says Sam.

“For me, it’s such an exciting, unpredictable way of living.

“I don’t always look forward to a race, sometimes I dread it. I put an awful lot of pressure on myself… And yes, I do that in life as well, because all this has an opportunity cost. I look at friends who have gone to uni, have steady jobs, own houses and sometimes you can’t help but compare what you have.

“But of course, I’ve now had 15 years of travel and adventures. It opens you up to having these absolutely wild experiences you could never hope to achieve any other way. I love the sense of fulfilment. I certainly wouldn’t change it.”

Boy meets girl

Sport and social media brought Welsh medic Zoë Cruse into Sam’s orbit.

The pair became Facebook friends after he spotted the dreadlocked doctor out for a run in Whangarei, where she was working in urgent care after emigrating from the United Kingdom.

Then, when Zoë was living in the Philippines and Sam was racing in China, they found themselves in similar time zones and began chatting online. Once they were both back on New Zealand soil, they met in person for the first time. On their second date, mutual love was declared. By their sixth date, in the summer of 2018, she agreed to move to Tauranga with him.

Since finishing her medical degree, Zoë aims to spend six months practicing medicine and the other half of the year travelling and teaching yoga or scuba diving.

“The reason we are so good together is because our lifestyles are similar and we have similar values,” she says.

“I think I’m a bit nomadic, I have the worst itchy feet. Helping people and making a difference to people is a big part of what I do but I’ve never wanted medicine to define me. It’s one of the things I do.”

Zoë is also an amateur triathlete and a current member of Tauranga’s musical theatre group.

A locked-down world

Sam and partner Zoë ought to be in Europe right now, recovering from an Ironman-style event in Germany. But the global COVID-19 pandemic has scratched almost everything from the international racing calendar and removed Sam’s ability to earn from sport.

“COVID-19 really forced me to evaluate the way I’m living a little bit,” Sam says. “Without having an income stream from overseas races, I’ve had to go back to doing a bit more work using my trade.”

He is currently working as a landscaper, taking engineering work when he can and studying towards an engineering diploma, while fitting in 14 to 20 hours of training each week. And he considers himself one of the lucky ones.

“There are an awful lot of athletes out there stacking shelves or making coffee to make ends meet. They are really struggling with their own sense of worth because there aren’t races to target and work towards. And that’s not just professional athletes.

“For now, overseas events are not going to be a reality for most Kiwi athletes. It certainly makes you appreciate what we’ve been able to do in the past.

He says domestic events are starting to pop up again.

“One I really want to do is the Geyserland Mega Grind, a 700km bike packing race from Rotorua to Gisborne and back via Urewera National Park,” says Sam.

“In the absence of overseas travel, I’m turning my sights back on grassroots New Zealand events. This is a great opportunity to look at what we have in New Zealand. People flock here from all round the world to fulfil their sense of adventure and there are still many parts of the country I have not been to.”

Where to spend the last of the warmer weather

After enduring a year of uncertainty in 2020, the summer has been sweet and internationally envied here in our Aotearoa bubble. But with the sun setting earlier and earlier at the day’s end, it’s time to take advantage of the lingering warmer days by exploring everything that our backyard has to offer.

After enduring a year of uncertainty in 2020, the summer has been sweet and internationally envied here in our Aotearoa bubble. But with the sun setting earlier and earlier at the day’s end, it’s time to take advantage of the lingering warmer days by exploring everything that our backyard has to offer.

From the East Coast to the West, there is something for everyone. While we still have the glorious sunshine, pack your bags and take off with your family, friends and lovers for one last summer adventure!

Even if you’ve used up all of your annual leave, the pandemic has altered our ability to work from anywhere – even holiday. No longer confined to five days a week in an office and desperate for a change of scenery from Working From Home (WFH), Booking.com has predicted that we’ll see a significant rise in the “workcation”. Nearly a third (32%) of travellers have already considered booking somewhere to stay in order to work from a different destination. Now that there are zero excuses to not book that last minute holiday, you can dial in to your next Zoom meeting from the beach! 

For inspiration on where to enjoy the last of the summer sun, and to find award-winning properties to stay at on your trips, read on. Each of the following properties received a Booking.com Traveller Review Award in 2021, meaning they’ve been globally recognised for making travel experiences more memorable for all. With the frequent unforeseen changes in our ability to travel, Booking.com offers flexibility and a range of convenient cancellation options when you book, so you can still make plans and feel confident you won’t lose out if last-minute changes come up.

NEW PLYMOUTH

Located on the rugged West Coast of the North Island, New Plymouth offers stunning 360-degree views of the Tasman. The ocean surrounding Mount Taranaki makes this place a party for the eyes, so make sure you’ve packed your camera.

If you’re keen on hitting the surf, dabbling in a wide choice of scenic walks, or if you’re there for the great selection of food and drinks, New Plymouth is a great place to explore.

Surf or swim the world-renowned Fitzroy beach and catch the sunset across the beautiful west coast. Stroll the unmissable Coastal Walkway, stretching the entire length of the city, or go for a feast at the ‘Social Kitchen’ in Powderham Street.

WHERE TO STAY

After a day’s exploring, head along the coast to the beachside town of Oakura where the charming Ahu Ahu Beach Villas await. Set on a vast hill top with incredible oceanside views, the villas offer the perfect spot to enjoy an evening BBQ and grab a bottle of wine, as the sun sets on the stunning West coast skyline.

These unique villas are oozing with charm and character making for an extra special end to a fantastic summer.

HAHEI, COROMANDEL

Hahei is a must-do on the summer itinerary. This iconic beach town in the Coromandel is home to glorious white sand beaches and clear blue waters. Encompassed by grand Pohutukawa trees, Hahei beach is a fantastic place for families to relax and play.  

The town’s charming streets, attractive climate, and relaxing vibes make for an ideal vacation spot. Spend your last days of summer taking the famous walk to Cathedral Cove, eating and afternoon drinking at the residential food trucks at Hahei campground and spending endless hours at the beach with nowhere to be but there.  

WHERE TO STAY

Located on the Hahei beachfront, Hahei Holiday Resort offers self-contained accommodation with cooking amenities and great ocean views. As the beach and shops are all a leisurely stroll away, these holiday homes are the ideal situation for a traditional Kiwi summer holiday.

With a variety of room sizes and accommodation types on offer, the resort has something suitable to any group and budget. Take your family or friends for a relaxing stay and watch your worries melt away.

MANGAWHAI

An easy hour and a half drive north of Auckland, you’ll gladly find yourself in magical Mangawhai. Head away with your favourite company and choose from a plethora of activities from the active to the relaxation.

Walk the Mangawhai cliff for alluring views and go surfing at one of the local surf beaches such as Te Arai or Forestry. Head across the estuary for a spot of dune-boarding – or simply stay put landside and enjoy ocean views the magnificent dunes present.

WHERE TO STAY

Enjoy the perfect summer stay at the Tui & Nikau Cabins. This modern but homely accommodation offers beautiful garden views and is pleasantly secluded to let you truly escape the day to day. Relax in this naturally lit abode after a day of exploring the local area. Have a glass, toast some marshmallows and enjoy this escape.

AHIPARA

On the southern end of 90 Mile Beach discover the untouched West coast town of Ahipara. Watch horses run wild on the beach, catch a wave at Shipwreck Bay, rent out off-roading quad bikes or check out the famous local Fish n Chip shop for a sunset dinner. If it’s high action or relaxation you’re after, Ahipara will tick all the boxes for you. Make the most of the summery weather, pack the car and head up to the serene landscape of Ahipara to satisfy those holiday cravings.

WHERE TO STAY

Come take a big breath of fresh air at the Endless Summer Lodge in Ahipara for a pleasant weekend away. This lodge offers idyllic beachfront accommodation in a historic 1870s villa. Guests can relax in the hammocks, or enjoy a walk along 90 Mile Beach. At the end of your day, come back for a lush, wood-fired pizza in the traditional oven, built on the beautiful back deck. Book yourself a weekend of simple pleasures and enjoy everything that the Endless Summer Lodge provides

 PAIHIA

Known as the gateway to the Bay of Islands, Paihia is sure to stun with its good looks. Pop on the ferry to Russell for the day, or you can head five minutes over to Waitangi and delve into our country’s rich history, or simply take a leisurely stroll through the Paihia township. A small place with big character and endless surrounding places to visit will make for an exciting and scenic trip away. Paihia’s romantic landscapes will have you falling in love with New Zealand all over again.

WHERE TO STAY

Enjoy the warm earthy tones at the attractive ‘Cliff Edge by the Sea’ property. Set on a peaceful hilltop with grand bay views, this expansive holiday home offers free Wi-Fi and breakfast. An easy two-minute walk from the beach, this property is sure to impress every guest. Come and explore the Bay of Islands for the day and cosy up with a nice cuppa (or vino) for a relaxing evening back at Cliff Edge by the Sea.

Theresa Gattung: pioneering change from the top down

A regular fixture on Fortune’s most powerful women in international business lists, Theresa is no stranger to the challenges such females face. Now leading the New Zealand chapter of SheEO, she’s helping a global community make long-overdue change. 

Spend any time looking into the life and times of Theresa Gattung and you’ll realise one thing very quickly: she’s not afraid to pioneer change. Arriving in the public eye at the age of 37, when she became the youngest ever and first female chief executive of Telecom (now Spark), she then went on to co-found My Food Bag, the home-delivered cooking-kit service that revolutionised the way thousands of New Zealanders approach mealtimes. She’s been recognised as one of the country’s leading philanthropists, working with charities such as the SPCA and Tauranga-based Cambodia Charitable Trust, and more recently launched the New Zealand arm of world-first female venture-capital fund SheEO. 

Playing her part in an ambitious goal to see 10,000 women-led ventures funded through SheEO worldwide, Theresa’s knee-deep in what may be her most important quest for change yet. To put its significance into context and demonstrate the urgent need for organisations of SheEO’s kind, you need only to consider that worldwide just four percent of all available capital is currently invested in women-led ventures. Having spent decades holding prominent positions in the business world, Theresa’s quick to recognise that even in 2020, the playing field for women in business is still far from even. “You don't really have to walk very long as a woman in business to realise that it's still harder,” she says. “It's not as hard as it was 20 or 30 years ago, but it’s still hard.” 

As the daughter of two entrepreneurial British migrants, it’s no surprise that Theresa grew up to be business-savvy, with a bent for challenging the status quo. Leaving behind their native London, her working-class parents, Marion and John, set sail for New Zealand in the 1960s. They were what Theresa affectionately calls, “ten-pound Poms”. “They paid £10, got the passage by ship and had to sign an agreement saying that they’d stay in New Zealand for at least two years,” she says. “And here they are, over 50 years later.”

Moving from their initial base in Wellington to settle in the Bay of Plenty, Marion and John set up a souvenir business in Rotorua. “My parents were entrepreneurs, in a small way,” says Theresa. “My father retired from the paid workforce in his forties after ill-health and had to support himself ever since, with property and other interests. So, yes, I come from a background of small business people.” 

Breaking away from their established family tradition of taking the same career path as their parents before them, Theresa believes that her parents’ success in New Zealand is partly due to their adopted Kiwi mentality – simply getting stuck in and being willing to try something new. She also recognises her father’s progressive and supportive approach to parenting as a unique factor in shaping the person she became. “My father had only sisters and then he had four daughters,” she says. “He was always very encouraging of us reaching our full potential, and never had any particular gender stereotypes about what girls could do [or] boys could do, which was pretty unusual [at the time].” 

On completing her schooling in Rotorua, Theresa studied a business degree at the University of Waikato, before moving to Wellington to complete a law degree. Even as a young adult, she understood that she would need to play her part in fighting for gender equality in the business world. At the time, there were no women running large companies in New Zealand, so she knew that achieving her dream of running a large company by the age of 40 would not be easy. “I've always understood that there are structural issues that can hold women back in society,” she says. 

In the years that followed, Theresa began her corporate career climb through TVNZ, National Mutual, the Bank of New Zealand and telecommunications company Telecom. Originally joining the latter in 1994, she was appointed CEO in 1999. As its first female CEO, she was thrust into the public eye, at times facing challenges that her male counterparts would rarely experience (after being announced as chief executive at a press conference, the first question she was asked was if she intended to have children). 

As she says in her memoir, Bird on a Wire, Theresa successfully led the company into an entirely new era of communication. “I joined Telecom in 1994 and I was given a cell phone that was really big; you almost needed a separate briefcase for the size of the cell phones!” she laughs. Two years later, returning from a conference in Europe in 1996, she began to realise just how big the internet was destined to become, and went on to lead Telecom’s transition into the age of IT. “When I was CEO, we bought a couple of large IT companies. We bought Gen-i and we bought Computer Land, and we put it together with Telecom’s IT division and we called it Gen-i. Then over that time, Telecom became the number-one provider of IT services.”

Stepping down from her role at Telecom in 2007, Theresa spent several years pursuing other business and philanthropic ventures, before co-founding My Food Bag in 2012 with Cecilia and James Robinson. “When Cecilia was on maternity [leave] with her son, Tom, she wrote up the business plan for My Food Bag and showed it to me,” she says. “I looked at it and I thought, ‘Yes, this is really gonna work’. I realised that something like that would fill such a need for women of every situation because ‘What are we going to have for dinner tonight?’ usually falls on the woman of the household.” 

As chair of My Food Bag and a key investor, Theresa worked with the Robinsons, Nadia Lim and her husband Carlos Bagrie to swiftly get the business off the ground. “In the beginning it was just us and then we started hiring people, and we did have that philosophy that we're going to go for the best,” she says. “We had the best advisors, we got the best people and we always thought that it could be a bigger business. We never saw it just as a small business. We set it up, the systems and everything, to scale fast.” 

After huge and rapid success, a majority share of My Food Bag was sold to Waterman Capital, freeing Theresa up to focus on building a name for SheEO in New Zealand. “When I heard [SheEO founder] Vicki Saunders speak a few years ago at a conference in America, she had just launched SheEO in Canada [in 2015] and I thought it was a brilliant idea,” she says. “Her idea was to completely change the paradigm.”

Simple yet hugely effective, SheEO operates on the principal of ‘radical generosity’, a belief that trust, collaboration and a strong female community is key to creating opportunities for more women-led ventures to succeed. Each year, an intake of local investors, called Activators, each contribute $1100 into a central funding pool. These women then work together to choose five women-led ventures to fund through five-year interest-free loans. 

“[Vicki] had a couple of cycles [of funding] in Canada and I went up to her and said, ‘This would be fantastic in New Zealand,’” says Theresa. “I organised a conference and brought her down [to New Zealand] and she presented to a room full of 500 women who just loved the idea. We decided to launch in New Zealand, but then we hit a roadblock because in Canada [SheEO] is not a business or a charity. It's not tax-deductible and it doesn't want it to be a charity. We're trying to reframe what business is, and I believe the world will be more effectively changed through business than through charity. So we struggle because the law doesn't really have a category that's in between.”

“You don't really have to walk very long as a woman in business to realise that it's still harder.”

Having ironed out some teething problems and brought Westpac on board as a key supporter, the New Zealand chapter of SheEO has so far raised $700,000, which has been loaned to 10 local ventures over two cycles of funding. Worldwide, SheEO has so far raised more than US$4 million in loans through 4000 Activators, allowing 53 women-led ventures in five countries to gain vital funding. The opportunity to change the face of business seems almost limitless. 

When it comes to selecting ventures to invest in, SheEO has unique criteria. They have to be at least 51 percent women-owned, be doing something good for the country, the world or the planet, meet revenue criteria and demonstrate an ability to scale. Among recent local ventures that have received funding from SheEO is Pure Peony Skincare, a Nelson-based business that uses the root of organic peonies to create natural products to soothe skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis and rosacea. 

Although SheEO has game-changing benefits for their selected ventures, the system isn’t all take. Through several nationwide and regional events, SheEO Activators have the opportunity to make invaluable business connections themselves through their involvement in the organisation. Every year, SheEO runs a launch event at which the supported ventures for the year are announced and Activators have the opportunity to gather on a national level. Along with networking opportunities, Activators also have the chance to participate in follow-on funding programmes with the ventures as and when they become available. 

“The first benefit you get as an Activator is meeting all the other Activators,” says Theresa. “Vicki comes down from Canada and it’s amazing to spend a day and an evening with that group and to be so inspired. You really make linkages that will benefit your business.” 

SheEO is unique in that the required investment is relatively minimal, allowing women of all ages and backgrounds to invest in the fund. Aiming to encourage a more diverse range of women to join as Activators, SheEO gives Activators the opportunity to split the yearly financial commitment across a monthly payment plan. This commitment to accessibility helps to ensure that SheEO not only continues to support women-led ventures, but also creates a chance for women who otherwise may not feel empowered to do so to become involved in investing. 

It’s this sort of clever thinking that has contributed to the rapid growth of SheEO locally and internationally. The first ever SheEO Global Summit took place in Canada on March 9 and SheEO Magazine launched in New Zealand with the aim to help to further the SheEO’s reach and inspire Kiwi women. 

Seeing SheEO in action, it’s obvious that the world needs more of its kind and Theresa is to be commended for having the foresight to see it could work in the New Zealand market. With a knack for knowing exactly what the world needs when, she says she allows both passion and logic to guide her when it comes to choosing what to take on. “I do what moves me at the heart level and the head level. I think, ‘I could make a difference to this and it would be a good use of my time. It’d have a big enough impact and I’d enjoy doing it.’”

Theresa knows better than anyone that New Zealand is a nation of risk-takers and innovators, but she insists we need to keep pushing for more and looking at how to solve the big issues in our society. When asked about what the world needs most right now, she puts a challenge to her fellow Kiwis. “We just need to keep being more of what we can be, because we can really mean something to the world,” she says. “We show what's possible. We have to make New Zealand the best she can be because we lead the world in many ways. We have to keep doing that, even though we're not perfect. New ways of thinking to deal with problems can flourish here. We have to become even more a part of the solution – that’s the mission of every person living in New Zealand

Theresa recommends: Inspiring reads

The Testaments by Margaret Atwood 

A sequel to Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, originally published in 1985 and now a TV series, this 2019 novel is set 15 years after the gripping and gruesome events of the first book. “I find it a complete reminder that [women] have to keep reclaiming our power and asserting our right to have our voices heard,” says Theresa. 

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer  

Written by a botanist and professor of biology, Braiding Sweetgrass explores our reciprocal relationship with the earth in connection to the widespread general awakening of ecological consciousness. “It’s a fantastic ode to nature and an inspirational read about the beauty of it,” says Theresa.

Diving into the art of surfing after life-altering illness

PHOTOS Salina Galvan

Matt Scorringe first set foot on a surfboard at the age of two and has been catching waves since he was five. Now, he’s making waves, after a life-altering health battle gave him the impetus to pursue surfing in a way that’s changing the ambition and success of surfers throughout New Zealand.

Growing up in Whangamata, it was bound to happen. After Matt Scorringe’s parents moved from Hamilton and took over the family bach in what he affectionately calls ‘Whangas’, the beachfront location had an immediate effect.

“I was probably first on a board when I was about two years old,” Matt says. “My brother surfed and growing up where surfing has such a rich history meant we had boards in the garage. I think I was about five when I took a foam board from the garage and first started catching waves. Whenever mum wasn’t looking, I’d be up to my waist in the water.”

Fortunately, Matt’s mother usually was looking, as she could watch the young surfer from her kitchen window to make sure he didn’t drown. And when not up to his waist in water, Matt worked at the family gas station to save money for boards. Kiwi childhoods don’t get much more classic than that, and so it was pretty much inevitable that surfing was going to be in Matt’s future. 

“There were these iconic surfers like ‘Taff’ Kenning, Bob Davies, and Pete Mitchell around there,” Matt says, “and, though, at the time they weren’t called pro-surfers, they were real innovators of the sport in New Zealand. Growing up in that environment – a beach town with three surf shops and what seemed like just 500 people, with the culture and the waves – it had a real effect. There was just no other road for me.”

By age 14, that road had taken Matt to Bali where he represented New Zealand at the International Surfing Association World Junior Titles, a feat he repeated until the age of 20 when Billabong came knocking on his door with a sponsorship offer. He moved to Australia at 17 to be closer to the competition circuit and, soon after, teamed up with pro surfer Joshua Kerr, a friendship that would later see the pair travel the world together, living the dream: surfing, and getting paid to do it.

But all that changed in 2009. “I got home from a tour in Hawaii,” recalls Matt, “and eight days later I was having chemotherapy. I thought I’d just been burning the candle at both ends a bit too much, and maybe had a bit of a hangover, but the turning point was when I woke up and my whole body was covered in a rash and I was getting blood noses.” A quick trip to the doctor followed and the assessment was earth-shattering: acute myeloid leukaemia. 

“There was really no time to process it or make decisions on it. Fortunately, I responded to treatment, but it took eight months of intense chemo. The initial stage is a bit of a blur to me – it’s one of those parts of your life that you tend to block out a bit. It was a pretty crazy experience and I really had a moment but, once I got to the hospital, that changed. I’ve always been very competitive, so once I was at the hospital, I thought, ‘Well, this is another challenge and I’m going to smash this thing and win it.’ I set a goal of being back and competing in the New Zealand nationals the next year – and, though I still looked like a cancer patient when I got there, it was a stepping stone for my journey back.”

“I’ve always been very competitive, so once I was at the hospital, I thought, ‘Well, this is another challenge and I’m going to smash this thing and win it.”

It was also a turning point. Like many people suddenly faced with their own mortality and months of medical treatment, Matt did a lot of thinking.

“When life comes at you like that, you re-evaluate everything,” he says. “Even though I’d recovered, I thought that my chance to be a surfer was gone and that I’d have to do what everyone else was doing: find work somewhere in the surf industry, move to Auckland, drive the traffic, be a nine-to-fiver. But, a year after my cancer, my partner and I moved to Bali for six months and we decided to try and get some priorities sorted.”

One of those priorities was pursuing his love of surfing in a way that gave back to the sport he loved. His years on the competition circuit had been great and he’d learnt a huge amount about surfing, but he’d also learnt a lot about how many competitors were still not giving it 100%; the accepted mentality was that, to be a good surfer, you just surfed. And things like nutrition, structured coaching and training programmes were for nerds. 

“The reason I started the Art of Surfing was that I realised too late that there are so many components to it. Being on tour meant I saw what those top-level surfers were doing, and I got to be in the locker rooms with Kelly Slater and the world champions and see what they were doing, what equipment they were using, and how they were being coached.” 

“The big turn-around came after Mick Fanning got injured,” Matt says referring to the champion Australian surfer known as White Lightning. “He was the first surfer to take training and nutrition and all that high-end stuff seriously, as part of his road back. He came back to win the world title. And then the chase was on – it was a whole new world of professionalism, while back here in New Zealand we still thought that, to get better, you just surfed more.”

Embracing a whole new world of professionalism is Matt created Art of Surfing for but, when he initially pitched to the powers that be, the reception was not quite what he expected. Surfing – not just in New Zealand but worldwide – was in transition. The surfing boom was in decline, the global financial crisis was hitting hard and streetwear was taking over from surfwear. So, while the organisation Matt approached liked his idea, they were looking to downsize rather than take on new ventures. 

“Looking back now, it was perfect for me, because it made me realise I was going to have to do it all on my own. I’d looked around and there was no one else doing what I wanted to do – and to this day, nearly ten years later, I’m probably still the only one doing what I’m doing.” 

Matt – like most surfers of his generation – was self-taught, and he had, in fact, turned down the opportunity to be tutored by ‘the godfather of technical coaching’, Martin Dunn, largely because he felt surfers had to be self-taught, with the raw talent being shaped by some inner Zen. He now sees the error of that and wishes he’d had a mentor and teacher – but, he realised, that if he never had one, he could at least be there for the next generation.

“I came home with all the knowledge I’d picked up and, after recovering, I sincerely wanted to use that to help our surfers do better,” Matt says. “I’d been in competitions where we’d come up just short, and I knew that if we just tweaked what we were doing, Kiwis could be on the next level. I still see a bit of the pushback against coaching but its changed a lot. When I started, there were a lot of people who wanted to come and train, but didn’t want to be seen coming to train! There was this mentality that getting trained in surfing wasn’t cool. People wanted to go out to Papamoa to do it, so they wouldn’t be seen. That’s changed completely now.”

One of the drivers of that change has been the acceptance of surfing as an Olympic sport. “Surfing,” says Matt, “particularly in New Zealand, is still seen differently to other major sports – and the Olympics will change that. It will mean we start to take things seriously and start working towards finding the best path for our athletes at Olympic level.  I’ve talked with friends in snowboarding and other sports that have recently been made Olympic sports and they all say it takes time. It’s like the chicken and the egg – you need funding to get results, you need results to get funding – but it’s great to see that we’re off to a really good start with two athletes going to Tokyo.”

Matt’s role in preparing those Olympic contenders has been as head coach of the development pathways programme he helped put together to get our surfers up to Olympic qualifying level, and he’s more than happy with the results. “We’ve now got two athletes qualified for the 2020 Olympics – Billy Simon from Raglan and Ella Williams from Whangamata – who both came through that programme. Now we just need to get some more structures and mechanisms in place to support them and the sport. At that level, you don’t spend a lot of time at home; you’re travelling all the time, so you need coaches, nutritionists and all the support required on different continents. Part of what I’m doing is not just bringing my knowledge but the connections and contacts to make it easier.”

Olympic-level mechanisms have been in place in Australian surfing for some time, only on a much bigger scale. While Matt might be envious of their resources, he’s not sure it’s what we need here in New Zealand. “I think they’re getting silver spoon-fed over there and I don’t think it’s producing the grit and determination that’s needed in the sport. There are competitors from other countries where their families depend on their success and they’ve got all the fight in the world that money can’t buy. Hard work beats talent nine times out of ten, and our biggest issue as Kiwi surfers is that we’re laidback Kiwis! We don’t have the dog-eat-dog mentality we need ... so I want to focus on making a kick-ass programme for our surfers. We are world-renowned for sports and I want to play a part in making surfing one of those sports.”

And as though helping shape a whole new generation of surfers and raising our standouts to a whole new level isn’t enough, Matt is also upping the game for non-professional surfers here in New Zealand, from his base in Mount Maunganui. 

“Moving to the Mount was the best decision I ever made,” Matt says, “on all levels. It’s not really known for consistent surf here, but the way it’s become a hotspot and the way surfing and the beach lifestyle has grown is great. The amount of kids coming through at development level is fantastic; we’ve gone from one squad a week to five, and it’s still growing. My business is completely built off word of mouth, and you can see there is now a real hunger for coaching and teaching that is great for the sport long-term.” 

A man with so much on his plate can’t be everywhere at once, unfortunately – but, ever the problem solver, Matt has a plan. “I want to go to every region, I want to help every grassroots surfer everywhere. So I’ve really turned my focus to the online side of the Art of Surfing, and people out there want it. I’ve developed a library of online content for people who want to learn how to surf, from beginners through to elite. And we’re going to take this global. We’re known as the go-to in New Zealand and we’re confident people will come along for the ride, but the potential in places like America is really where we could see growth. It’s been a three-year project but, in the last six months, it has really come together.”

With all this going on, does Matt Scorringe still find time outside of coaching, teaching, developing online content, and mentoring Olympic surfers for the thing that got him on this path back in ‘Whangas’?

“Oh yeah, of course,” he says. “Surfing’s the one thing that keeps everything else at bay!”

Homes we love: a look back over 40 issues

Re-visit some of our favourite homes from the last 40 issues of UNO magazine.

Featured:

1. Designer: Jorgen Frandsen Location: Otumoetai, Tauranga Issue: 11, summer 2011

   The owners needed a home they could work and live in, and one that reflected both the ocean and the industrial nature of the nearby Port of Tauranga.

2. Designer: Paul Jones Location: Tauriko, Tauranga Issue: 10, spring 2007

   The main living areas in this Tauriko home boast a four-metre stud height, expansive polished concrete floors and customised stainless steel fittings.

3. Designers: Jorgen Frandsen and Nick Chibnall-West Location: The Lakes, Tauranga Issue: 14, spring 2011

   Inspiration is taken from the Californian Sea Ranch, and a desire for the dwelling to resemble a series of sheds, with columns like tent poles extending at either end.

4. Architect: Steven Chambers Location: Tauranga Issue: 28, autumn 2015

   This private oasis was conceived as a cluster of differing scaled pods that allow the landscape to ebb and flow around them.

5. Designer: Ambienti Architects Location: Ōhope Issue: 24, autumn 2014

   This bach is nestled into 100-year-old pohutukawas on a hillside, looking out to the ocean at Ōhope. The brief was to recreate the feeling of the old bach which stood in its place: not in design or layout, but in its relationship with setting and the way the family used the home.

6. Designer: Will Tatton Location: Mt Maunganui Issue: 35, summer 2016

   Will Tatton says that his job is a blend of many things: art, psychology and business. “I delve back into dreams and ideas, unpack them, and bring them back to life in a home.”

7. Designers: Creative Space Architectural Design Location: Coromandel Issue: 32, autumn 2016

   Extensive interviewing and planning ensured the  owners had a home which will never need to change.

8. Architect: Steven Chambers Location: Welcome Bay, Tauranga Issue: 6, spring 2006

   Perched on a slope in Welcome Bay, this industrial style home rises above the ground and cantilevers out on beams. It looks like it’s floating over the land.

Creating the dream

Good design is a process of elimination. Weigh up the negatives and positives, get the proportions right, and you are well on your way. Where is the best view? Where is there most shelter? I spend lots of time at the start, looking at every option before designing.

WORDS MARK CASHMORE / PHOTOS QUINN O’CONNELL

This home in The Mount was a favourite project. I am often asked to design landscapes and swimming pools. But this renovation included altering the interior and the house’s façade. I started the whole landscape concept with a curved line, which ended up as the pool’s edge. The lawn leads to a semi-enclosed pool deck with a spa. It’s rather nice to look back to the house and get away from it all.

THE START OF THE PROJECT: The house had great bones, and sat really well on the property. It was tucked up close to the road, which left a large plot of enclosed, private, north-facing land here at the back.

CLEARING THE SPACE: Under the brolite exterior were weatherboards in fantastic condition, which was an exciting discovery at the start of the project. They de ned the whole beach theme for the house. The entire façade was removed, and the layout recon gured to maximise the north-facing view of The Mount.

Bedrooms were moved upstairs, and the living area moved downstairs

BEACH HOME: The entertainment area is entirely covered by the deck. A pergola extends further, so you can sit outside all year round. Every element has been designed and constructed as a whole: the deck, pergola, the stairs, balustrades and the sail shade. I use expert carpenters to bring these detailed structures to life. It’s designed so that light is maximised where needed, and shade is created to give pockets of cool relief in the summer. All lighting was installed with dimmers to help create atmosphere.

THE CURVE: The whole design of the outdoor area started with a curved line through the section, which ended up being the edge of the pool, the edge of the lawn, and the bottom of a slope. The line could have developed into a wall, or a path, or something entirely di erent. Everything evolved from that line, keeping balanced proportions for the house and land.

DETAILS, MATERIALS, LIGHT AND SHADOW ADD ATMOSPHERE TO EVERY SPACE.

The step, connecting indoors and outdoors, needs to be just the right level for easy transfer of drinks and dinner. It was constructed to give a beachy, boardwalk feel.

This is the crucial view, from inside the house out through the entertaining space, the lawn and the pool. It’s so often spoiled with a fence. By raising the pool slightly and dropping the lawn, there’s no need for one.

A semi-enclosed space for the outdoor shower, with timber detailing to act as a screen.

Get the look with Mark Cashmore

Swimming Pools + Landscapes + Renovations

POOLS NEED TO BE SAFE. But that doesn’t mean you need a fence around it. I use levels, materials, slopes, drops and geometry to design pools that look like water features, feel like part of your landscape, and are perfectly safe and legal.

ACHIEVE YOUR LOOK BY THINKING DIFFERENTLY. I used white pebbles in white concrete as an exposed aggregate for the entertaining area. It reflected light back up into the details of the white pergola and really added to the beach feel.

EVERY PROPERTY AND EVERY CLIENT IS UNIQUE. I will conceptualize the task and develop original design ideas, no matter what size the project. Sketches and lots of communication are important.

44a Tay Street, Mount Maunganui
T. 021 996 300 SWIMMINGPOOLDESIGN.CO.NZ

Kitchen perfection

Filled with bright light, flowing out to a view of the ocean, this kitchen has been designed with coastal living in mind. Design details are absolutely everywhere: port holes are set at eye level above the marble splash-back, and the kitchen bench has an intricate, floral, tin façade . The bench itself is topped with cool marble.

But it’s super-functional too. The roller cupboard means everything you use frequently, like toasters and kettles, can be accessed quickly from the bench top.

The pantry has deep, smooth-close drawers and holds more than a tardis! Bottles of wine and pantry staples – everything you need for a minimum of supermarket visits.

PALAZZOKITCHENS.CO.NZ

Boom town

We talk to Shane McConnell of GJ Gardner Homes, Tauranga, about investing in new builds and how to get involved.

Jono Sharrock from BNZ and Shane McConnell talk about the Tauranga boom.

PHOTOS JAHL MARSHALL

You may be eligible to borrow up to 90% for a new build, but only up to 80% for an existing house that you will live in, or only 60% if you’re an investor. It’s allowing some people to get into the market, where they couldn’t before and it’s helping to address the shortage of homes.

Before starting, we assess the total cost of completing the build, which includes borrowing costs such as any rent you may need to pay during the build. This all gets capitalised in the loan and is paid for as you incur build costs. That’s why it’s really important to work with a reputable building company that understands time frames and costs.

What’s happening in the market?

Q There have been explosions in the housing market before; why’s this one so special?

Many economists agree on factors affecting the current boom. We have strong immigration into New Zealand, creating a shortage of housing. Increasing numbers of Aucklanders are looking for affordable land to buy and Tauranga is seen as a good solution, particularly with its attractive lifestyle. This has exaggerated the shortage of housing in our region. Add to this low interest rates, favourable government lending criteria for new builds and strong growth in property values and you have all the ingredients for the kind of boom we are experiencing now.

Q I have bought a house, will it reduce drastically in value at some stage?

During the last recession some areas, like Bethlehem, actually increased in value during the recession. Others stayed pretty flat, some areas of The Mount dropped, but overall there wasn’t a big dip. Like most investments, the long-term ones tend to be less risky. It’s risky to take on a mortgage you can only service at low lending rates, as interest rates will inevitably rise again. If you are buying houses to sell them quickly, this too is risky as you need to be selling in a rising market. Always factor in tax implications and realise that at some point the market may dip.

Q Surely it’s not sustainable, this kind of growth. When do you think it will stop?

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment recently released a report predicting the continuing rise in construction in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty, peaking in late 2017 then flattening out over the next four years to similar levels to those seen at the start of this year. Remember, things often get shaken up which are well outside the control of our economy and impossible to predict, such as interesting choices for the next American president which could seriously affect the worldwide economy.

Q Are the new rules with lending going to affect me?

If you are buying a home to live in, generally the new rules shouldn’t affect you. The rules favour new builds, and we use Onion Home Loans and Insurance for our clients. They specialise in brokering construction lending to provide competitive funding packages for new builds. Many of our clients have used this service to access competitive lending terms, and have been given the means to own a new home where it has been previously been denied. As a business, we bank with BNZ, so they also offer great construction lending packages to our clients.

Jono Sharrock from BNZ and Shane McConnell talk about the Tauranga boom.

How do I get into the action?

Q Can I buy a section and sell off a plan?

Yes. Before the title is issued, you pay a deposit of up to 10%. Once issued, you’ll need to pay the rest up front. We have clients who buy a GJ house and land package and put it up for sale before it’s out of council, repeating the same process over and over again. Purely anecdotally, I’d say these clients have done very well! They use us from start to finish for the design, full quote, drawings, selections and sale of their package.

Often, the biggest gains are made by actually building. Once the house is under construction, assess whether it is better to sell the house straight away to release cash for other projects, or wait to extract potentially bigger gains. I suggest you get as much advice as you can from as many sources as possible.

Q Where can I buy a section?

We usually have stock available all over Tauranga: people just like you are still finding great opportunities. Go to gjgardner.co.nz and check our ‘Tauranga listings’. They change frequently with new ones being added, so it’s worth checking regularly or give us a call to find out the latest.

Q Do you have to be registered to buy these packages and build on them?

You must be registered as a New Zealand taxpayer with an IRD number. You can use a trust or a company to buy and sell property. Before getting involved, I suggest you talk to your accountant and lawyer about the best set-up for you.

Q Should I just build the house and sell it, or get someone else to do it?

With the new health and safety laws firmly in place, our responsibility continues long after the build ends. It continues for many years to come. As an individual it is very difficult to find the best quality labour, and if there is a problem with the home during the build or in the future after you’ve sold it, you will be treated as the ‘head contractor’ and legally, the buck stops with you. If you build with us, you get the benefit of our hard-earned reputation, and the quality and value of our established trade and supplier network. You also get an industry-leading, independent, Certified Builders, Halo ten-year guarantee. That is a lot of peace of mind.

GJGARDNER.CO.NZ

A design for life - Will Tatton

We look through some of the ICONIC Mount houses designed by architectural designer Will Tatton, starting with his own.

INTERVIEW JENNY RUDD PHOTOS JAHL MARSHALL

“The honest simplicity of a modest all-timber house appeals to me as house construction has become more complex and more processed, more artificial, more everything: ensuites, double garages, automated systems. The list and the costs grow and grow. It’s new builds on steroids.

“Looking for a home for my family, I happened across a ubiquitous 1963 L-shaped, Beazley standard-plan house. What makes it feel so solid, enduring and part of the landscape? This family home is 105 m2 with three bedrooms, one toilet, one basin. The single garage is in original 1963 corrugated steel. What an antidote to today’s expectations.”

Slender, wearing a checked shirt, black woolen blazer, wooden-framed glasses and leather brogues, Will rides his bike everywhere. “We have about ten houses under construction at the moment, and I managed to visit five of them on a bike ride the other day.” He reminds me of a gentle, intelligent, preppy professor at Harvard.

Will Tatton is part of the Bay of Plenty fabric. Of our last two of our covers he says: “Peter Williams is my brother-in-law, and Anne Sharplin is a good friend.

“It’s such a relief, after the recession, to move back to working with the end user. We deal with fewer people now, not so many builders and subcontractors. But that actually makes our job more sociable, and a bit like psychology, which I like.

“My job is a pleasant blend of art and business. The people side of things is eternally fascinating to me. As designers, we work out how people’s lives are going to be led, then we design a house around those patterns.”

PITAU RD, THE MOUNT
The owner’s brother cast the concrete kitchen benches.

“We are all different, but we are all common. In reality, we all have different dreams in our heads, and Kiwis generally feel that they can make those dreams come true with our own house design, whether it’s large or small.

“Over the years, I have developed a way of dissecting people’s lives, working out what their dreams are, what they’ve achieved, and what they’ve accumulated in their brains over years of thinking.

“I often ask clients what kind of materials they liked when they were young, like cedar or stone, what games they used to play, where they’ve been, what they’ve seen and what they loved. All these thoughts collect over many years. I delve back into that psychology, into all those dreams and ideas that are stored in there somewhere. Then I unpack them, and bring them back to life.”

WILLTATTON.CO.NZ

Andre Laurent - Total Perfectionist

My career started in the early nineties when, not having any real idea about what to do, I took a job as a chippy on a building site here in Tauranga.

WORDS Andre Laurent

It didn’t take long before I noticed there was a real lack of respect for designers and architects; simply, the plans they gave us were often inaccurate or lacked any proper detail and information, leaving us to try and figure things out for ourselves on site.

I knew there had to be a better way and could already see back then the problems this was potentially going to cause. So, while continuing to work full-time as a builder, I completed an architectural design degree and took up contract drafting work at night. My drive throughout was to bridge the gap between the office and the work site.

I quickly established a reputation for supplying highly accurate information and critical details that my friends and colleagues back on the building site fully appreciated. I established Creative Space Architectural Design Ltd in 2003.

PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES OF SIMPLICITY

My focus on design accuracy and highly detailed plans led to exploring the idea of simplicity. I began to wonder how far we can push this perceived boundary into the space of design excellence. And the answer is, quite a lot actually.

I finally had the opportunity to test out my ideas when we sold our first home and bought a beautiful big piece of land sitting at the top of the Wairoa Valley hills. This time, I wanted to design and build a home that would cost the same as an entry-level brick and tile yet have the features and benefits of a high specification, architecturally designed home.

LOOKING AFTER THE BUDGET

One of the great things about reducing the cost of building your home: there’s more budget to spend on everything else. However, the simplicity of the structure is part of its beauty too. The home has a 2.7m stud height, feels spacious and gets as much sunshine or breeze as we want. We have a high-spec kitchen, full gable double-glazed stacking doors along two sides of the ground level, pivot windows in the roof of the top level, a hardwood deck and plenty of budget left over for the spa pool and new furnishings.

Another discovery that came out of this experiment was the development of the previously unused roof cavity into more living and storage space. This further reduced both the construction costs and building footprint, plus the entirety of the roof space is now used, with the low ends of the attic trusses providing storage.

HIGH PERFORMANCE

One of the ways we were able to increase the performance of our home without adding any extra cost, was to use Insulated Concrete Forms (ICF) for the main structure. This, combined with opposing windows and doors, has meant we are comfortable in any weather. The ambient temperature of our home remains around 22 degrees all year around, without any extra heating or cooling systems.

I am constantly comparing the temperature inside and outside. In the middle of winter, it can be an overcast day of 10 degrees and be 26 degrees inside. With no additional heating overnight, by 6am the internal temperature will have dropped to 22 degrees whilst outside it might be just one degree.

The other benefit of using ICF – longevity. Our new home will last several lifetimes. Just as all homes should.

This exercise in simplicity has given my family the most incredibly warm, comfortable, stylish home, at an entry-level budget. I think it’s safe to say that the experiment was a total success.

creativespace.co.nz

Alisha Brady: EnableMe

A financial personal trainer at EnableMe, our guest columnist says that when it comes to paying off your mortgage, 10 is the new 30.

PHOTO SALINA GALVAN

When you go to a bank to get a mortgage, many people default to the bank’s offer of a 30-year term. It’s in the bank’s interest for you to take your time, as they’ll make more money. But did you know that over 30 years, you’ll pay back almost three times what you borrowed?

EnableMe founder Hannah McQueen was a young accountant when she applied to get her first mortgage 11 years ago. Reluctant to pay three times the amount she wanted to borrow back to the bank, she approached the University of Auckland’s mathematics department. Together they devised a calculus formula to determine how to pay off your mortgage in the fastest time, with the lowest interest cost and the most flexibility. That’s now the basis of EnableMe’s programme, which in the past decade has helped thousands of Kiwis get in control and get ahead.

We work on these ratios: you can pay off your debt in eight years if it’s four times the size of your household income, or in 10-12 years if it’s five times the size. If it’s more like eight times, you’ve probably stretched yourself too far and we’d suggest selling your house.

That’s why we say 10 is the new 30! Most people can achieve more than they realise when they’re armed with an ambitious plan and expert advice, and when they’re accountable to someone other than their spouse.

Kiwis fritter away 15 percent of their income on things that don’t make them any happier or that they don’t notice they’re spending money on. Finding and eliminating the fritter in your spending provides a huge opportunity to make progress. You’d also be surprised at the savings you can make from efficient mortgage set-ups, tax structures and insurances.

We use behavioural science to work out what your spending personality is, then help you incorporate positive behaviours into your life. Most of us are shoppers rather than savers, but having a plan in place that includes things that make you happy and also gives you something to strive for can help you make progress and build wealth, while taking into account your spending habits.

You can go for the traditional approach of printing out your bank statements and working out where all your money has gone, but that only tells you what you’ve done, not what you’re capable of. We’re not in the business of putting people on financial deprivation diets – we want to help them get ahead while enjoying life.

ENABLEME.CO.NZ

It’s all downhill

There are more than 25 ski fields in this lovely little country of ours, and whether you’re into gently gliding across groomed pistes or consider yourselves the heli skiing types, we’re here to help you meet your match.

Best for children

Whakapapa: The rising sun strikes early at New Zealand’s largest ski field on the northern side of Mt Ruapehu, softening the slopes, and snow machines ensure a long season here. Whakapapa has thrills and spills for old hands, while Happy Valley is tailor-made for beginners and has its own ski school. You’ll also find all the sustenance and hot chocolate you need at one of the many cafés; Knoll Ridge is the highest in the country.
Skill level: Learner to experienced.
Location: Three hours from Tauranga.
Open: June to October.
Cost: Adults from $73/day.
What’s cool: Happy Valley’s see-through covered lift tunnels. 

Best for powder

TūROA: The top of Tūroa is a serious powder playground – even your boss will understand why you need to take a day off to make the first tracks. On the south-western side of Mt Ruapehu, Tūroa has a totally different feel to Whakapapa, with exposed volcanic terrain, wide trails and huge basins. It boasts the longest vertical drop in New Zealand and has the most extensive terrain parks in the North Island.
Skill level: Learner to experienced.
Location: Just under four hours from Tauranga.
Open: June to September.
Cost: Adults from $73/day.
What’s cool: The High Noon Express chairlift that takes you to 2322ft.

Best for going off-piste

CRAIGIEBURN: A club that attracts hardcore skiers and powderhounds, Craigieburn is located in the Southern Alps. Described as ‘cheap, steep and deep’, you won’t find groomed runs here – it’s just one massive off-piste area. If that doesn’t worry you, you’re probably the perfect fit.
Skill level: Intermediate to advanced.
Location: Just under two hours from Christchurch.
Open: July to August.
Cost: Adults $75/day.
What’s cool: A vertical descent that’s been compared to heliskiing – without the helicopter.
CRAIGIEBURN.CO.NZ



Best for all-day sun

MOUNT DOBSON: Usually crowd-free and with great ski schools, Mt Dobson is high up, so the snow is pretty dry, but you’ll also enjoy some lovely sun warming your back. Situated on the main road between Queenstown and Christchurch, it’s close to accommodation and other activities at nearby Tekapo. The chairlift is the centrepiece of the lift system, and there’s a natural halfpipe underneath.
Skill level: Learner to advanced.
Location: Two-and-a-half hours from Christchurch.
Open: July to August.
Cost: Adults from $84/day.
What’s cool: The epic view of Mount Cook.

Best for experts

CORONET PEAK: Coronet Peak is a world-class ski and snowboard spot, featuring state-of-the-art facilities, 280ha of skiable terrain and breath-taking views. It also has the country’s largest fully automated snow-making system, with 217 snow guns, which combined with Mother Nature results in a long season of consistently good skiing and snowboarding.
Skill level: Learner to experienced.
Location: Twenty minutes from Queenstown.
Open: June to September.
Cost: Adults from $119/day.
What’s cool: Night skiing on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

Best all-rounder

CARDRONA: Like the sound of New Zealand’s biggest halfpipe? Beginner and intermediate skiers love this easy-going ski field for its wide open spaces – plus it’s often less crowded than some other local spots. With five eateries on the mountain and some of the driest snow around, this ski field really does offer something for everyone – and the drive home over the Crown Range is spectacular too.
Skill level: Learner to intermediate.
Location: Thirty minutes from Wanaka.
Open: June to October.
Cost: Adults from $65/day.
What’s cool: Stopping for a well-earned Speight’s at the Cardrona Hotel.

Bay business matchmakers

Paul Brljevich and Kevin Kerr of Tauranga-based Tabak Business Sales share the secrets of successful deals.

WORDS DANIEL DUNKLEY / PHOTOS SALINA GALVAN

Making the decision to sell your own business is never easy. If after years of hard slog, you opted to sell up so you could ride off into the sunset, how exactly would you go about it? Would you phone a few contacts and hope for the best, or take up an offer from the first interested party?

For the owners of Tauranga’s Tabak Business Sales, Paul Brljevich (pictured above left) and Kevin Kerr (above right), finding the right buyer is something of an art form. They could be considered matchmakers who link Bay of Plenty businesses with the most attractive suitors.

Paul and Kevin each have more than a decade’s experience in orchestrating business sales for Tabak, Tauranga’s oldest business brokerage. They say selling can be an emotional decision, but requires sharp analysis, impartiality and fairness. After all, it can be the most important decision of someone’s career.

From their base on Cameron Road, in the heart of Tauranga’s rapidly expanding business district, the duo has earned a reputation for their exceptional valuation skills, forensic-like attention to detail and extensive network of contacts. They cover sales all over the Bay of Plenty and up to the Coromandel, finding buyers for businesses valued at between $200,000 and $10 million. Tabak also has offices in Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown.

Kevin has been a business broker since 2001, when he was enticed into the industry from horticultural management. Paul joined in 2007, after running companies in the leisure, hospitality and property industries, plus a spell in banking. “We’ve lived it,” says Paul. “We’ve run businesses and operated businesses, so we can relate. A person’s business is like their baby; their staff are their family. They want to find a buyer who can make things bigger and better for the future.”

The business of selling a business requires top-notch expertise. Tabak works to achieve the delicate balance of getting the right price for sellers while ensuring a fair outcome for buyers. “If the initial valuation isn’t accurate, the business will remain out there on the market,” says Kevin. “We have to give realistic valuations based on thorough analysis and data. Vendors are on one side and buyers are on the other, and we’re right in the middle brokering a fair outcome.”

How does a sale happen? First, Tabak conducts an interview with the seller. A warts-and-all review follows, which evaluates the positives and negatives of the business. Tabak then taps into its prized global network of 3500 buyers, investors and contacts. This network is so successful that 80 percent of Tabak’s listed businesses are sold before they go to the wider market, allowing sellers to discreetly find the right buyer and avoid disruptive publicity.

“It’s different to selling a home,” says Paul. “You need to know the intricacies; you need to know everything! Buyers don’t purchase because we’re slick. They do it because we’ve done our homework and presented it in the right way.”

The results speak for themselves. On average, Tabak sells businesses in just three to four months, and in the past 10 years, has consistently achieved sale prices within 10 percent of the listing price. 

So, what advice would the Bay’s business matchmakers give to potential sellers? “Confidentiality is key,” says Paul. “Have an exit plan when you start a business,” adds Kevin, who also believes advisers
with dedicated resources can make all the difference. “Because we’re smaller, we’re not trying to service a huge number of clients. We have a select number of listings, to make sure we deliver.”

Paul and Kevin clearly get a buzz out of their work. From business owners seeking a change, to 60-somethings cashing out on their lifelong endeavours, each case is different and requires a thoughtful, personalised approach. “We focus on quality, not quantity, and situations in which the whole team can work on a deal – where we all know the business inside out,” says Kevin.

The pair’s drive comes from helping people achieve their long-term goals. Whether it’s buying that dream retirement home, splashing out on a beachside bach, or funding a round-the-world trip, there’s great satisfaction in helping people reap their rewards.

“We recently had a husband-and-wife team who’d been in business together for decades – it was their life,” says Paul. “We were able to get multiple offers for it. The buyers loved it, and the couple were able to go on and enjoy their retirement – it worked for everybody. Outcomes like that are why we love what we do.”

TABAK.CO.NZ

Getting it right

Holland Beckett Law’s new partner Christie Goodspeed tells why she became a lawyer, and what family means to the firm.

WORDS DANIEL DUNKLEY / PHOTOS BRYDIE THOMPSON

Christie Goodspeed opens the door to her Omokoroa home mid-conversation, with a phone pressed to her ear and her seven- and five-year-old daughters in tow, and is immediately joined by a boisterous German schnauzer and a fluffy ragdoll cat. The hectic scene offers a glimpse into the busy life of one of the newest partners at Holland Beckett Law (affectionately known as Hobec), the Bay of Plenty’s biggest law firm.

Christie smiles and takes a breath before sitting down to talk about her role at the firm known for its prowess with commercial clients. She may be leading a full life, but her surroundings hint at the meticulous planning of a top lawyer. Christie organised every detail of her family’s modern home, plotting the house from start to finish and overseeing its development from floorplan to family dwelling. Yet interior design, art and landscaping are only her part-time hobbies – in May, she was made partner at Holland Beckett, and now leads its employment and family law teams.

For Christie, Omokoroa is the perfect place for her family to call home. With idyllic views overlooking the water and a lush tropical garden, their property connects to a scenic walk leading to the children’s school. Her husband Nick, an IT technical consultant, works from home two days a week to help the pair strike the right work-life balance amid the rigours of their professions and parenting.“We’re certainly very lucky,” says Christie. “I come to work happy every day.”

Born in Hamilton, Christie decided she wanted to be a lawyer at the age of 10. She says she was attracted to the profession after watching an episode of TV show LA Law. “I liked the rough and tumble of the court litigation,” she says. “It takes a certain type of person to become a litigator – someone who likes to argue. You’ll have to ask my husband!”

She studied law at university alongside psychology, a decision that has proven useful in her work in the delicate and often emotional field of family law. “With family law and employment, it’s all about personal relationships. My psychology background is helpful, particularly when I’m dealing with separation, division of property and issues involving children.”

Christie’s journey to joining Holland Beckett in 2016 began with jobs at New Zealand firms Tompkins Wake and Buddle Findlay, and advisory firm PwC in Sydney. After becoming parents to Lily (7), Sophie (5) and Callum (3), she and Nick moved back to New Zealand.

Holland Beckett has offices in Tauranga, Rotorua, Whakatane and Opotiki. The full-service firm employs lawyers who specialise in property, estate planning, corporate and financial transactions, environmental and resource management, employment, dispute resolution, health and safety, and family and Māori law matters.

When it comes to employment law, Christie covers all areas. She says she likes to help employers problem-solve and “get it right” with their employees. On the family law side of things, she specialises in complex relationship-property cases, in which assets need to
be divided at the beginning or end of a relationship. In particular, she excels at cases involving companies and trusts. Holland Beckett is able to utilise the skills of a large commercial operation to solve difficult issues. “We help people define how they want to manage their assets going forward, and what they want to keep separate,” says Christie.

Christie’s demanding profession puts her at the centre of the Bay of Plenty’s commercial and family life. She has volunteered for Women’s Refuge and spoken publicly about racial-, gender- and sexual orientation-based discrimination. She says it can be difficult for lawyers to not to bring work problems home. “Our role is inherently being involved in conflict. You have to be able to take a step back and look at these issues with objective eyes, and that makes you a better advocate for your client.”

You might say the Bay of Plenty’s unique beauty and relaxed lifestyle provide the perfect backdrop for a family law firm. Many of Holland Beckett’s lawyers have moved here from Auckland or further afield to enjoy all the area has to offer. “Many of the partners have big-city experience or have come back after living overseas,” says Christie. They’ve chosen to be here because they want to raise their families here, and that’s a great thing. We’re a big firm with a high calibre of clients, but there’s a real sense of collegiality between everyone. The culture of the firm is important to us.”

So what makes Holland Beckett stand out from its rivals? Talking to Christie, it’s clear her employer practices what it preaches when it comes to looking after families. She was offered flexible working hours when she joined, which has allowed her to pursue her career goals without sacrificing her personal life.

She says the firm understands the importance of family. “They were so receptive to that. It certainly hasn’t stood in the way of me becoming a partner, which is fantastic. People have been promoted on parental leave, and that’s just unheard of. We have a really supportive team environment, and we all work well together. We just want to get on with it and get the best outcome for our clients.”

Christie looks outside, turning her attention to the garden. If her pristine property is anything to go by, this lawyer’s clients are in safe hands.

hobec.co.nz