Hello Whangārei

19/08/2026

Out & About Café Review, Whangārei

At the top of Maunu hill, you will find Jolt café at 460 Maunu Road.

It's a beautiful spot perched up high, and on a sunny day it's a lovely place to be, especially if you get one of the seats along the window or on the patio outside. I think it used to be a garden centre in a previous life so has parking outside, too.

The day we went, it was super busy, so I must apologise in advance for the not-so-great photos. I can also assure you that the cabinet is usually crammed with a lot more tasty options, like focaccia, croissants, and homemade pies and savouries. But it was well picked over by the time I took the photo.

Sarah and I both went for the eggs benedict; hers came with a generous portion of bacon - and mine had avo, spinach and loads of beautifully cooked mushrooms.

We had forgotten when ordering that you had a choice of kaiser bun or ciabatta — we would have preferred the latter toasted, as the bun was a little soft for our liking. Not that it stopped us from happily clearing our plates.

The café has a good amount of seating, specials board, and a decent All Day Breakfast and Lunch menu (from 11am) with various dietary requirements available. For some items the price point did lean towards the higher end by a few dollars, while others were similar as most places around town.

I grabbed a couple of pieces of ginger slice for afternoonsies - and I can vouch that their baking is well worth a try. Oh, and their coffee is very good too, though they don't have mugs, so I got mine in a takeaway cup instead.

Finally, I need to thank my good friend Michelle, who works at Tui Pharmacy, for kindly swinging past and taking a selfie for me. It meant you didn't have to see yet another pic of me!

18/08/2026

Out & About Café & Restaurant Review - Hello Whangārei's Winter Escape Series ❄️

This restaurant review comes to you from my hotel room in Queenstown.

The Monday after we arrived, we spent the day wandering around the city centre; never again will I complain about our parking rates, given we paid $7 per hour here.

We wanted a light lunch, so we were happy when we stumbled upon Baha, a Mexican restaurant with waterfront views. The menu looked good, and the prices - well, this is Queenstown, so it means you have to sell an organ to buy anything here.

Up a quick flight of stairs and behind a heavy glass door, you will find Baha, a contemporary Mexican restaurant serving what they call 'tapas-style' cuisine meant to be shared.

Their menu is colour-coded, with a symbol system highlighting the various dietary options available, a feature more restaurants and cafés are adopting now.

The interiors were gorgeous. A soft pastel colour palette teamed with the coolest light fittings made from natural materials, textured tiles and the odd cactus thrown in for good measure.

The restaurant is reasonably spacious and has a good selection of seating options, including booths, bench seating, high tables, and stools. We chose a small corner table by the window, which was private but had an obscured view of the water.

We ordered a plate of nachos with beef chilli con carne and jalapeño poppers to share. To drink, I had the sangria, and Hamish chose the Havana rum in a tall glass.

The nachos arrived and were a generous size. The flavours were very good, and probably more authentic than we have ever had before. The salsa seemed more like a cooked tomato sauce than something I'd knock up at home. But it was full of flavour.

The jalapeño poppers were exceptional; Hamish is more of a fan of these, because I usually cannot handle the heat. But I actually enjoyed them, too. They had a crispy, golden crumb coating, were filled with what I think was a cheesy tomato mixture, and came with sour cream and more tomato salsa.

If you find yourself in Queenstown with family or a group of friends, I think this would be the perfect place to catch up. Their menu selection is pretty good and offers plenty of options for sharing – or hogging all for yourself.

If you know of any good Mexican places around Whangārei - tag it in the comments maybe.

P.S. The only regret was not asking for the rum to be swapped into the taller glass as ordered. Hamish couldn't drink it - it was just too strong to enjoy.

13/08/2026

If you have little ones & need a bit of company, here’s a space you can go to today. 💛

I can vouch for the coffee & the baking looks good, too.

Play Cafe 👶

Play Cafe is a relaxed space we offer on Friday mornings for whānau with under 5s to connect. There's lots of room to play, toys, and a private parent's room. Plus great coffee and food is available for purchase from Sanctuary Cafe.

We hope to see you tomorrow!

06/08/2026

🥹 Update: Well, my recovery has been a little slower than I had hoped, so unfortunately I have not been able to prioritise my work on here. Sorry about that.

I have a long list of people to write about, so I hope you will see me in your feeds by the end of the month.

And when you do, a good old like, comment, or share would be appreciated, so people will know that I am back, baby! 👋🫶

*******************

Had the best intentions this week, but due to a shoulder injury and juggling work this page has been left to fend for itself a little.

So, sorry about that.

But Chelsea Winter’s goodies arrived today - a pack of microfibre dishcloths and a cute pink spatula.

(I was a little cheeky & reached out to her & she graciously donated a couple of her popular items).

So next week I will be doing a nice little giveaway that includes her Supergood cookbook that I bought recently.

I still have lots of local stories to finish off once my b**g arm has time to recover over the weekend - so all going well you will find me in your feeds very soon.

Thanks again for your patience & stay warm & stay connected. 👋

03/08/2026

Out & About Café Review, Whangārei ☕

I work from home and was feeling a little stir crazy, despite it only being Monday, so I took a drive to Sanctuary Café in the Regent.

Part of the Salvation Army Community Centre, it is more of an open community space than your traditional café setting. The focus is on providing locals with a welcoming environment to come into, relax, talk, and enjoy a bit of respite from the world.

There are tables, chairs, comfy sofas, and coffee tables along one side, and a small kids' play area down the other end of the space (with additional seating for parents).

There's no blackboard menu; however, Ana and the team provide homemade soup and a selection of fresh cabinet food and baking — including a couple of gluten-free options (one is also vegan).

The coffee is Altura, which is a particularly good brew, and there's a chiller with a good selection of cold drinks. They also do freshly made cold beverages.

The price point is reasonable, and you can also 'pay it forward' by paying for an extra coffee, which is gifted to someone else. I thought that was a nice touch for those who can afford to do this.

Being part of a large community centre, there's plenty of parking, and if there's something on there, you can always try the side roads and further along Aubrey Street. I noticed a Pātaka (free food pantry) out front, too.

This isn't a place for brunch; however, if you are after a good coffee, a snack and a friendly chat, or a place to connect, this might be right up your alley. Oh, and they also do catering, so if you're in need of a morning tea, etc for work, maybe give them a bell.

P.S. There's more space and tables and chairs not shown here, but out of respect for the diners, I have not included them here.

30/07/2026

Sorry guys, this week I am struggling to manage my paid gig and write the editorial content for this page.

🤫 I have more local stories in the pipeline, so bear with me while I juggle a few things.

The old FB algorithm is unforgiving, but I am hoping you guys are.

See you all back here very shortly.

P.S. I found a pristine copy of a top-selling cookbook by a popular Kiwi chef. She has kindly agreed to 'top up' my giveaway, so stay tuned Chelsea Winter fans.

28/07/2026

Jessie Rose – the Whangārei artist who let go of the rules 🎨

I've admired Jessie Rose's work from a distance for a while now. In and out of the spotlight, slowly building a creative life that works for her. Jessie’s creations are unmistakably hers, and they’re emotive. As it turns out, that's no accident.

Jessie’s first solo exhibition in 2008 was called Metamorphosis, and the transformation wasn't just about her life. It was her work.

"Up until then, I'd been painting what I'd been taught to paint, or what I thought would sell," she says. "It was incredibly freeing to let go of other people's expectations and simply create work that felt true to me. When you're authentic in your work, people connect with it in a completely different way."

That idea, personal expression over convention, shaped her, and now runs through everything she has built since.

Completely self-taught, Jessie opened Inspire in 2017, a space where people can walk through the doors, be entirely themselves, and create without fear of getting it wrong. She now teaches more than 130 students a week, from children through to adults in their nineties.

"The world can feel like a pretty noisy and overwhelming place," she says. "When students walk through our doors, they can leave some of that behind for a little while."

Her art doesn't stay in the studio, either. For over 11 years, Jessie has hand-painted caskets and urns for funeral homes from Auckland to the Far North. "Giving grieving families the option of a casket painted with love, that's a real honour," she says.

Whatever Jessie does, it seems to reach people. I remember a friend's granddaughter, a quiet young soul. We couldn't have been more different, yet Jessie's work spoke to us both. I often wondered what she connected to. The freedom in it, maybe.

"Creativity isn't about being the best artist in the room," Jessie says. "It's about giving yourself permission to try, to play, to make mistakes, and to enjoy the process."

27/07/2026

Out & About Café Review - Whangārei 🍕🍛

With Hamish swanning around in Wellington, I decided to grab a late lunch. I got stuck doing the groceries again, so I figured — fair's fair!

I ducked into Okara Indian Oven & Pizza, which opened in January this year. They are in that new building near the entrance off Port Road — The Coffee Club is in front.

Now, I wasn't hoping for too much really. Admittedly, I was a bit judgey — with the busy AI-generated posters everywhere (my marketing spidey senses were twitching), it was a lot to take in.

But you can't always judge a book by its cover.

The inside was light, bright, and contemporary, with a few tables and chairs and a bar leaner with stools running along the window. There's also a very cool neon light fixture on the wall and wheelchair access.

No seating outside. Not sure if that changes in summer.

Mandeep (pictured) was kind enough to explain the deal because there are a lot of combos, posters, and menus, and I was a little overwhelmed with what to get.

I chose the lunchtime special: a curry, rice, naan and drink for $14.99.

Not a bad price point really for the amount of food you got. Feeling a little daring, I ordered lamb rogan josh 'medium' spiciness — though I reckon I could have bumped it up a notch.

I don't eat Indian much, but I was really impressed with the flavours packed into the curry. The lamb was perfectly cooked, and the rice was fluffy. The only change I would make next time is to ask for no oil on the naan, but that's more of a me thing.

During the week, given its location, the bain-maries are kept full of food so workers can get their lunch to go, and fast. As I said, they have a lot of special combos, and they also sell pizza by the slice (in addition to whole pizzas and an extensive Indian menu, including vegetarian options).

Although an unusual combination — curry and pizza — it works. And because of the location, Mandeep said it does a roaring trade during the week (ok, my words, not his).

Forgetting to note the hours, I see online they are open 10.30-2.30pm and again from 4-8 or 8.30pm 7 days a week - which makes them a great place to grab a tasty work lunch, or dinner. There's also plenty of parking.

23/07/2026

Out & About Again - Café Review, Whangārei ☕

This week has been a bit crazy, so my usual content calendar went out the window — so sorry folks, I hope this will do.

While not your typical café setting, Hungry Jack's on Commerce Street serves exceptionally good coffee. The brand is Wild Goat, which I think is a nice, smooth blend without any bold aftertaste.

My fella works nearby, so we sometimes catch up here for a quick bite. It offers a good selection of lunch items for workers on the go, with a little seating inside and out.

There are rows of fresh cabinet food to choose from, all reasonably priced.

You can get everything from homemade toasties, pies, mini savouries and sausie rolls, to fresh sarnies and filled rolls.

They have a small blackboard menu where you can order burgers and toasted sandwiches. Plus a hot cabinet with a selection of ready-to-go goodies, like hot chips, battered sausages and lasagne toppa's — they won't get the healthy heart tick, but a naughty treat now and again is ok, isn't it?

One unique thing about this place, besides the lovely staff who make you feel welcome whether you're a regular or not, is the homemade cookies and fudge.

Bagged up and well priced, they make the perfect little thank you gift (or you can tell yourself that as you demolish the packet yourself over a weekend).

Hungry Jack's is what you see on the packet — a simple place to grab a good coffee and a bite to eat, whether that's a fresh healthy sandwich and piece of fruit, or V, pie and chips.

With some off-street parking and a place to sit, it is a great little spot worth checking out.

22/07/2026

Megan Corbett — the other Whangārei artist paying it forward 🖌

If you've spent any time in the Whangārei art scene, you've likely crossed paths with Megan Corbett. She has been part of the fabric of Te Tai Tokerau's art community for more than 30 years. As an established artist in her own right, she’s also one half of the creative partnership behind Hangar Art & Framing.

Printmaking is her first love, though she enjoys collage and works across a variety of creative mediums. Her practice has evolved the way many long careers do, through curiosity. "My creative journey has evolved by trying different techniques, researching and attending workshops," she says.

Her work often responds to topical issues. She is currently developing a series exploring the destruction, removal and awareness of colonial monuments in post-colonial times, a subject that feels especially resonant here in Te Tai Tokerau.

Megan's contribution to the region's arts goes well beyond her own practice. She has taught printmaking and creativity workshops, served as chairperson of Te Kowhai Print Trust and the Whangārei District Council Creative Communities Scheme, and judged the Kaipara Art Awards in 2022 and 2024 and the Quarry ceramic awards this year. In 2026, she was also named a finalist in the NZ Painting and Printmaking Awards.

Art runs right through the Corbett-Squire household. Megan and husband Barry Squire, who we featured recently, have run their Whangārei gallery for 20 years, with the picture framing business as the bread and butter - and the arts as the shared passion. "I'm inspired by Barry and the local art community, which is brimming with talent," Megan says, though she admits two artists under one roof has its moments. "It can be challenging at times, in particular if one of us has a win while the other doesn't."

Their three children grew up attending exhibition openings, and it shows. Youngest daughter Lucy works at the National Portrait Gallery in Wellington, Violette works for the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, and Jake is a carpenter. "There is a creative streak in my family," Megan says.

Over the years, her prints have travelled to exhibitions and print symposiums across New Zealand and internationally. But you'll find them - along with other local artists' work - much closer to home, at Hangar Art & Framing in Cross Street in Whangārei.