I think it is time to bring back localism. Well, maybe not a fistful of fives out the back (although plenty of rule breakers in the crowded lineups this past week could have done with some tough love).
Nope, I'm talking about the people in our backyard – the cafés, restaurants, surf shops, fish shops, grocery stores, our local architects, photographers, health, fitness and mindfulness businesses – all those people who make the lifestyle of our beach suburbs so good. They need your support.
This whole Covid-19 thing has turned the world upside down (we just blew past 3.5 million cases), but we've seen how we can pull together and get it done with that good old Kiwi attitude. We still have work to be done in the social distancing arena unfortunately – that's just the nature of this particular beast – but we can start to think about life after Alert Levels and how we rebuild. Surely, our backyard is not a bad place to start?
Support local, buy local, engage local and let's really kick this whole thing up a gear. It's a chance to reshape the lifestyle of our beaches and our town for the better.
Here are some dreamy creamy waves from Second Beach and images from a week of swell to remind you of what a beautiful place it is we live in and call home.
See you at the beach ... Derek
PS For the past many, many months I've been working on a story with local writer Bill Morris for New Zealand Geographic featuring our sea lions. The issue has now come out and the story, The sea lions next door, is available online right here. Check it out and please subscribe to NZ Geographic so we can keep the Taonga that is well-researched, long-form journalism featuring New Zealand stories and nature alive and kicking.
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