Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times / Opinion

Will Johnston: Battle of the Bays - Hawkes Bay or BOP?

NZ Herald
26 Oct, 2018 03:00 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

My first destination was Hastings with friends I've known since kindy. Photo / Supplied

My first destination was Hastings with friends I've known since kindy. Photo / Supplied

Will Johnston
Opinion by Will Johnston
Will Johnston is the local 9am-3pm host for The Hits Bay of Plenty 95FM. He's also a celebrant and MC.

COMMENT:

I drove 1000km over Labour Weekend. During most of that time I was realising how privileged I am!

My first destination was Hastings with friends I've known since kindy. We were at a Shapeshifter concert at Black Barn Vineyards on a beautiful Hawke's Bay evening with thousands of other people who love a good dance and a couple of vinos.

Sidenote: We REALLY need to step up our game on the outdoor music venues in the BOP.

Like a field in Tauranga is nice, but Black Barn is this beautiful terraced, natural amphitheatre, fairy-light-covered little paradise that makes you feel like you're in a bit of a dream. The Baypark carpark doesn't seem as romantic somehow huh?!

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The place we Airbnb'd in Hastings was a beautiful old wooden home, amazingly redone, with sprawling grounds and free avos in the fruit bowl. As a bay area, the Hawke's Bay is lovely.

The people are super friendly, even a little more down to earth than the rapidly growing 'swanky' areas in the Bay of Plenty. But we murder them when it comes to beaches. I almost feel sorry for them and those stone covered monstrosities they have to endure to get a little sea water.

Photo / Supplied
Photo / Supplied

Then it was a long drive from Hawke's Bay all the way up to Tairua in the Coromandel.

During that five hour drive I went through a bunch of small-town NZ that is still as green, quiet and beautifully preserved in the 1950s as it's always been.

Such a contrast to the Auckland/downtown the Mount on a Saturday at brunch time. The most beautiful contrast. You'd be lucky to find anything open on a Saturday morning in small town NZ ... Except your next door neighbour's front door that you've just walked through for a catch up and the bacon is frying, and the jug is on for your Pams instant coffee. Beautiful indeed.

Discover more

Opinion

Comment: Be a goat every now and then

02 Nov 03:00 PM

I made it to Tairua and, even having been there a couple of times in my life before, was once again blown away by how beautiful that beach and waterway really is. I decided to try and be a person who appears to look after himself and went for an early morning run on Monday morning and ended up on the beach there.

The people I bumped in to in Tairua, from the guy who let me pat his cute as hell dalmatian on the back of his ute, to the girls who served me my real fruit icecream, to the people I said a puffed and slightly high-voiced "hi" to while I was running were all people that seemed happy to be existing in a small beachside town in the sun, living a life of friendly human interaction and salt water.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

What a beautiful country it is we live in. Maybe don't book that cheap light to Bali in the next online sale, maybe get in your car and just drive and see what happens?

The worst that could happen is you end up in Auckland. And even that is fun for a bit. Until you have to pay their prices for the fuel to get home!

• Will Johnston is the local 9am-3pm host for The Hits Bay of Plenty 95FM. He's also a celebrant and MC.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty TimesUpdated

'Serious injuries': Crash closes highway

11 Jul 05:30 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

Mixed verdicts delivered for Tribesmen accused of murdering one of their own

11 Jul 05:00 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

'Hardly surviving': Sales fall after dairy raid

11 Jul 03:29 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

'Serious injuries': Crash closes highway

'Serious injuries': Crash closes highway

11 Jul 05:30 AM

Emergency services are responding to a two-vehicle crash which has closed SH29.

Mixed verdicts delivered for Tribesmen accused of murdering one of their own

Mixed verdicts delivered for Tribesmen accused of murdering one of their own

11 Jul 05:00 AM
'Hardly surviving': Sales fall after dairy raid

'Hardly surviving': Sales fall after dairy raid

11 Jul 03:29 AM
Substation fault cuts power to thousands in Tauranga

Substation fault cuts power to thousands in Tauranga

11 Jul 03:01 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP