Summer in New Zealand is synonymous with outdoor adventures but there are always those moments where you need some down time. With that in mind, the Neo senior team share some of their top picks for getting outdoors this summer, as well as taking a break and enjoying some down time.
1. What is the number one activity you’re looking forward to doing over the break?
Nigel Stevenson (NS): Switching off my work brain for a bit and learning to sit in the calm.
Richie Murray (RM): Relaxing and lots of swimming with the kids.
Scott Wilson (SW): Nothing, absolutely nothing, but with a tinge of fishing, swimming, socialising and exercising.
Dominic Hollewand (DH): Relaxing, traveling with family / camping, reconnecting with out of Auckland family, biking, and did I say relaxing?
2. When on holiday, how do you relax?
NS: Run, swim, read, sleep.
RM: Odd jobs around the house.
SW: Sociailse with friends, watch sport, go boating, and build a retaining wall.
DH: Biking, traveling (getting away from home avoids The List), reading, watching travel videos.
3. What is the title of a book you’re hoping to read these holidays? And if you’re not a book reader, what are you hoping to watch on Netflix?
NS: Book; ‘Let my people go surfing‘, by Yvon Chouinard. This has sat on my bedside table for five months, so it’s the perfect time to read over the break. Written by the founder of the Patagonia brand, this was lent to me by one of my team (guess a big hint in this). Seems super relevant after the changes we’ve seen in work environments over the past two years.
RM: Catch-up on the Expanse – season 6.
SW: Slash. Its sitting on my bedside table waiting to astonish me with its debauchery.
DH: Finish ‘One Good Deed‘, by David Baldacci which I started 2 years ago. Recapping the Daniel Craig Bond series, and probably the Star Wars series of movies.
4. Are there any places – in or outside of Auckland – that you would like to visit over the break?
NS: Man O’ War Bay
RM: Rotorua, get back into the lakes with the kids
SW: Taupo Bay, but it’s not looking too likely this year.
DH: New Plymouth, Taupo, Rotorua
5. What songs will feature on your holiday playlist this year?
NS: ‘I get locked down, but I get up again’
SW: Grunge, lots and lots of angry grunge, oh and a bit of 80s hair metal, just for good measure.
DH: Relaxing/easy listening, Jean Michelle Jarre, Christmas songs for the kids.
