The Best Beach in New Zealand

The New Zealand summer is long and scorching. Every kiwi kid has memories of spending the whole summer at the beach, trying to ride the scooter they got for Christmas with one hand so they can eat an ice cream with the other.

As a result, beaches are a hot topic in New Zealand. Everyone has their own favourite. The one they've been to every year since forever. I guess I don't have the authority to proclaim one beach the best. It's all subjective, really. But, I'm going to do that anyway...

Glinks Gully, despite its horrible name, is actually paradise.

The entire township of Glinks Gully. There's not even a store - so the beach is usually deserted.

The campground is well-equipped and has friendly staff. And if you walk up the small hill behind it, you end up on a large rocky outcrop that looks like a piece of New Mexico. The view is out of this world.

Cat, my American friend, took a lot of coaxing to leave this perfect spot

But there's a darker side to Glinks too. Just three hours north of Auckland, it's on the wild West Coast, where the sand is scorched, and the water is too rough for the faint of heart.

When there's a storm, it's a ruggedly magnificent sight to behold.

Come in late summer for the best sunsets of your life. I took these photos at Easter time.

Just promise me one thing. Don't tell too many people about my paradise. I don't want the word getting out.