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One of the world's richest men, Bill Gates, has been holidaying in New Zealand - while A-list Hollywood stars Charlize Theron, Jack Nicholson and Johnny Depp are the subject of a mini media sensation, with speculation they're also visiting.
Gates spent Christmas quad-biking at Ahipara, the small Northland
town at the southern end of Ninety Mile Beach.
Ahipara Superette manager Sunita Patel told the Herald on Sunday the Microsoft magnate took a guided trip with Tua Tua Tours on Tuesday.
"We're proud he came here," Patel said.
Tua Tua Tours quad bike expeditions range from $100 for 90 minutes to $175 for three hours - small change for the man only just knocked off his richest-man-in-the-world perch earlier this year, according to Forbes magazine.
His net worth is estimated at US$59 billion (NZ$76b).
A woman who identified herself as the wife of the Tua Tua Tours manager, but wouldn't give her name, said she'd consulted "some people" who "don't want us talking about it because he is still in the country and they don't want him being hassled".
It was reported by TV3 yesterday that Hollywood superstar Johnny Depp is also expected to visit the surfing location.
Another source said Gates and his son were at luxury golf resort Kauri Cliffs last Saturday and asked for clothing to be couriered from Auckland. Kauri Cliffs denied Gates was there.
And yesterday, rumours were swirling around Waiheke Island about the presence of Oscar winners Charlize Theron and Jack Nicholson.
Word is they might be going to see the Little River Band play at the Ridgeview Estate tonight. But they weren't at the first concert held last night.
On the Hauraki Gulf island, 30 minutes by ferry from downtown Auckland, there's even rumours about where the rumours started.
Theron is mates with Nicholson, and good friends with Kiwi film director Niki Caro, who apparently has a house on the island. The pair worked together on the movie North Country.
Waiheke interest was further piqued when word went around that concert organisers had been contacted by an overseas company to review security for an A-list celebrity.
So, it stands to reason, the public relations company promoting the Little River Band's two performances at Ridgeview's inaugural summer concerts would throw the famous names into a press release yesterday - six hours before the start of last night's gig. At that stage there were about 2000 of the $100 tickets sold. By the time the band played, the promoters had reached the 2800 capacity they were hoping for.
And it seemed that, as eager as the crowd was for the ageing rockers, they were equally keen to crane sunburnt necks in search of Hollywood stars.
"He probably went fishing," said one woman. "He loves fishing."
"He would have rung me," deadpanned her newly-Kiwi, ex-American partner. "We're both from the (US) Midwest."
There didn't seem to be a concert-goer unaware of the A-list fame expected to drop in their laps.
"I know, I know," said former National Party supremo Michelle Boag, when approached by the Herald on Sunday. "You're looking for Jack Nicholson and Charlize Theron."
The crowd's closest brush with fame, as it turned out, was probably the Little River Band, and the stage they were playing on.
The 15-metre white shell stage travels the world. After the New Zea- land summer con- cert the stage heads to the UK for the summer festival season.
Company owner Kiwi Neil MacLeod said the stage had hosted some of music's biggest names on its Northern Hemisphere tours, most recently Amy Winehouse and British chart-toppers Kaiser Chiefs, and "probably everyone in music, somewhere along the line".
So the band played, and the crowd went wild, in a restrained way. And Nicholson and Theron?
"Maybe they'll come for the second concert," said McLeod.
Another Waiheke Whisper starts.
