Best cafes in the Bay of Plenty

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With thousands of excellent cafes in New Zealand, it’s always difficult to work out which are the best to try, especially if you are new to a place.

Thankfully, the annual New Zealand Cafe of the Year awards help sort out the best through objective judging and public feedback.

The best cafes in the Bay of Plenty

National winner – Best Metro/CBD

Elizabeth Cafe & Larder 

247 Cameron Road, Tauranga

Best of the others

Bay of Plenty cafes shortlisted by judges for the national awards:

Best Metro/CBD

Abracadabra Café & Bar 

1263 Amohia Street, Victoria, Rotorua

Elizabeth Café & Larder 

247 Cameron Road, Tauranga

Best Suburban

Central Deli 

520 Maunganui Road, Mount Maunganui

Best Rural

L’Epicerie

Shop 7, 73 The Strand, Whakatane

Classic Kiwi

Baxters Café

208 The Strand, Whakatane

Source: New Zealand Cafe of the Year Awards 2016, run by the Restaurant Association of New Zealand.  Factors considered by the judges including atmosphere and appearance, menu and coffee, service, staff interaction and overall impression.

OUR CAFE GUIDE: The best cafes in New Zealand  Ι  The best cafes in Auckland  Ι  The best cafes in the Coromandel  Ι The best cafes in the Waikato  Ι  The best cafes in Manawatu-Whanganui  Ι  The best cafes in Hawkes Bay  Ι  The best cafes in Taranaki  Ι  The best cafes in Wellington  Ι  The best cafes in Nelson, Marlborough & West Coast  Ι  The best cafes in Canterbury  Ι  The best cafes in Dunedin  Ι  The best cafes in Queenstown  Ι The best cafes in the South Island  Ι  Where to find New Zealand’s best coffee beans

Where to find the best beaches in New Zealand

posted in: Places, Things to do | 0

Everyone in New Zealand seems to have their favourite beach and Kiwis will passionately argue for their chosen strip of sand.

Top-selling weekend newspaper the Herald on Sunday asked its readers to help decide which was the best beach in New Zealand and they were besieged with votes for all types of beach, ranging from quiet, family-safe beaches to wild, black sand beaches with rampant surf.

The west coast beach at Piha was voted New Zealand’s best beach. The beach, about an hour’s drive west of Auckland, was chosen as the nation’s top beach.

Piha only just saw off a strong challenge from another of Auckland’s iconic beaches, Takapuna Beach.

Beyond that, votes came in for beaches as far apart as Dunedin’s St Clair in the south and Ninety Mile Beach in the north.

The contest for most scenic beach was also hotly debated. Coromandel Peninsula’s Cathedral Cove eventually took the public vote but only just ahead of Kaiteriteri in Nelson Bays.

The best beaches in New Zealand

Top choice

Piha, Auckland’s West Coast

Best of the rest (not in order)

Takapuna, North Shore

Mission Bay, Auckland

Kaiteriteri, Nelson Bays

Tahunanui, Nelson

Cathedral Cove, Coromandel Peninsula

Cooks Beach Coromandel Peninsula

Mt Maunganui, Bay of Plenty

KariKari Beach, Northland

Coopers Beach, Northland

Ninety Mile Beach, Northland

Best beach in New Zealand for kids

Top choice

Waiake Beach, North Shore.

Best of the rest (not in order)

Orewa Beach, Rodney

Thornton Bay, Coromandel Peninsula

Cheltenham, North Shore

Takapuna, North Shore

Tahunanui, Nelson

Best beach in New Zealand for surf

Top choices

A tie between Piha and Whale Bay, Raglan

Best of the rest (not in order)

Whangamata, Coromandel Peninsula

Mt Maunganui, Bay of Plenty

Wainui, Gisborne

Best secret beach in New Zealand

Top choice

Awana, Great Barrier

Source: Herald on Sunday

The 10 best family beaches in New Zealand  Ι  5 of the best places to surf in New Zealand

The 10 “luckiest” places in New Zealand

posted in: Places, Random | 0

A list of the 10 “luckiest” places in New Zealand suggests the most fortunate of all is a Waikato town famous for its collections of Kiwiana.

The residents of Otorohanga (population 2,700) win more money per head in the national lottery than those living anywhere else in New Zealand.

On average, Otorohanga District residents collected about $1,526 per person in 2016 – that’s almost $600 more than people in any other area.

The results switch the finger of fortune back to the North Island after South Island towns proved to be the “luckiest” in 2014 (Kaikoura) and 2015 (Westland).

One major Lotto win helped boost Otorohanga’s luck with a ticket sold in the seaside town of Kawhia in July earning $13.3m million for the winner of a Powerball jackpot.

A Te Awamutu man also won a large cash prize after buying a ticket from the Oparau Roadhouse.

Lotto prizes of more than $503m were distributed in 2016, including 282 First Division prizes.

New Zealand’s “luckiest” places

1. Otorohanga District (per capita $1526.56)

2. Rodney Ward ($948.67)

3. Ashburton District ($762.11)

4. Ruapehu District ($647.32)

5. Kaikoura District ($356.56)

6. Dunedin City ($282.76)

7. Timaru District ($229.13)

8. Waitemata and Gulf Ward ($189.43)

9. Wairoa District ($183.45)

10. Opotiki District ($181.99)

“The truth is that I really am one of the luckiest people in New Zealand.” — Te Awamutu man who helped Otorohanga top the ‘lucky’ list.

Source: Lotteries Commission, January 2017.

Auckland’s best milkshakes

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Milkshakes are undergoing a resurgence in popularity and sophistication. No longer are they just a dollop of ice cream whizzed into an aluminium mixing container and poured into a waxed carton.

For some, the milkshake has become a tastebud challenge with flavours such as salted caramel replacing the old school standards of vanilla and chocolate.

Auckland’s milkshake scene is thriving and The Urban List’s Olivia Atkinson revealed her Auckland’s Best Milkshakes list.

They include those with impressive ranges (Grill & Shakes boasts almost 70 flavours to choose from) to those who slip a nip of liquor into their shake (Bedford Soda & Liquor do a mashup of whisky, salted caramel and Maltesers).

The Urban List’s Best Auckland Milkshakes

Grill & Shakes 

473 New North Road , Kingsland, Auckland

Fred’s Espresso & Soda Bar

181 Ponsonby Rd, Ponsonby, Auckland

The Dessert Depot

89 Kitchener Rd, Milford, Auckland

Little Bird Unbakery (3 branches)

385 New North Rd, Kingsland  

Cnr Summer Street & Ponsonby Road, Ponsonby  

14 Customs Street East, Central City

Bedford Soda & Liquor

Shop 10, 136 Ponsonby Rd, Ponsonby, Auckland

Burger Burger 

Ponsonby Central, 4 Brown St, Ponsonby, Auckland

3B York St, Osborne Lane, Newmarket, Auckland

Fortieth & Hurstmere, 40 Hurstmere Rd, Takapuna, Auckland

Source: The Urban List, October 2015.

Best Milkshakes in New Zealand

The national Best Milkshakes Competition has turned up some of New Zealand’s best milkshake makers with regional winners and a national champion.

The best milkshakes in New Zealand are here.

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