Lewis de Jong is guitarist and lead singer for te reo heavy metal band Alien Weaponry. Here, he gives his guide to the best of his hometown, Northland's Waipu.
Waipu is a pretty small place, but there is pretty much everything you need here to live your life – a few shops and cafes, great beaches, rivers and caves, friendly people. We even have our own Christmas parade, Highland games, car show, Easter carnival, midwinter (Art & Tartan) arts festival and a museum.
The local music scene is pretty diverse too – everything from bagpipes to heavy metal.
Our good mate Riki at FEOH Espresso has the best coffee in New Zealand, possibly the world. We went to school with Riki's son Benji, who also works there. They taught Henry [de Jong] and I everything you need to know about making great coffee, which has come in handy a few times when we came home from tour with no money and needed a job. They roast their own beans and Benji does the baking, and it's a cool place to sit and enjoy the sunshine with friends.
