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Oceania, Places

Places that inspire: Karekare beach, New Zealand

By Keith Jenkins
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A few months ago, I was invited by Mei, a.k.a. @agentcikay to contribute a guest post about places that have inspired me. I thought the subject was brilliant so I asked her if I could use it as a new guest series. I was thrilled when she said ‘yes’… after lots of coaxing and a few glasses of wine. So, here we go! I’m proud to announce the launch of this new guest series on Velvet Escape: ‘Places That Inspire’. Today’s guest post is by Angela Pearse, a travel writer based in Auckland, New Zealand.

Karekare Beach

I’m fortunate to live just 45 minutes drive from my inspirational place. Karekare is a wild, west coast Auckland beach with a wide black sand shore, scrubby hills and pounding surf. There’s something about being at Karekare that calms the nerves and heals the soul. The black iron sand seems to act like a giant magnet drawing energy off the waves, like a huge battery re-charger (well that’s my theory). Some of my major life decisions, like becoming a travel writer, have been made whilst striding along its shore.

Karekare’s rugged beauty has not gone unnoticed by creative types. Many artists live in the area and Crowded House recorded most of their final album Together Alone there, even immortalising it with a song called Kare Kare. It also played a starring role in the film The Piano. Who can forget the scene where Aida plays a haunting melody while Flora turns cartwheels with seaweed and George Baines slouches moodily around in the background?

Every visit to Karekare is special, I love the way the weather is so unpredictable. One time a freak storm sent me scurrying up the cliff to a small cave. I learnt over the next half hour why Karekare translates as ‘rolling thunder’ from Maori. The noise of the ocean reverberated off the rocky cliffs so loudly I could hardly hear myself think. It was exhilarating though. If I’d had a piano (and could play it) a song surely would have been born that day.

About today’s guest writer
Angela Pearse is an Auckland based travel writer. She has been published in AA Directions Magazine, NZ Herald online and Next Magazine. Angela is the creator of a travel website Bella Italia which provides travel articles and tips about Italy and she has just started a blog Bella Travel which highlights some of her more humourous travel experiences.

Would you like to contribute to this guest series?

Send a photo of a place that has inspired you in some way or other, as well as a few paragraphs of why/how it has inspired you (about 250 words) to keith[ad]velvetescape[dot]com. Submissions will be accepted based on the quality of the photo and the text. Thank you!

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