Two and half hours South of Auckland is Mount Maunganui. Growing up in Hamilton the ‘Mount’ was the summer pilgrimage for two-weeks. We would hire a bach with 60′s and 70′s furniture and store up on Vitamin D for the year. A couple of years ago my parents finally achieved their dream; a bach at the Mount. Not long after they purchased it I moved to the UK, so now I am back at the bottom of the earth it is time to take the opportunity to spend time at this stunning place. The beach is well… the most beautiful in the world that I am sure. In 2008 I went to the official ’9th’ best beach in the world in Fiji. It didn’t rate anywhere near the Mount hence my proclamation as ‘the best.’

On this occasion I was to be at a meeting 3-hours South of Auckland at 9am so I drove 2.5 hours to the Mount and stayed the night there before enjoying a morning on the beach to sooth my soul before my meeting. As the Buddha said, “if you open your eyes and see what you are looking at, in that moment, there is as much Dharma in the leaf of a tree as there is in a scripture.”

On this night we saw Man on Wire, a doco film about about Philippe Petit who walked on a high-wire between the twin towers in the 70′s. His passion and determination is incredible. An inspiring man.

Herne Bay beach is just a 5-minute drive from my house. Suzie, my dog loves it. It is only a small beach but there is enough sand and water for her to go nuts. Going ‘nuts’ is Suzie digging, running around in circles and sprinting in and out of the water with a big dog smile on her face. She reminds me to be present and enjoy every minute. After all, she does.