Living the Dream

Dream lifestyles around New Zealand's coastlines and waterways - stories and sensational images of people who have made these enviable life choices, and what it has taken them to get there.

How often do you wish you could stay on at your holiday destination?

Many people dream of a waterfront home and a laid-back lifestyle on the beach or beside the lake. This book tells the fascinating stories of a range of people who have made it happen. The lifestyles are enviable, but it takes planning, tough decisions and hard graft to get there. From family baches passed down through generations and brought back to life to architect-designed beach houses for young families, there is a simplicity of approach and single-minded focus on the end goals that is common through widely different situations.

Would you be prepared to pull your kids out of mainstream schools, and home school them so they can live on a wild beach. Would you give up your career and find another way of working so you could surf/swim/kayak every day? These pages tell the stories of people who have done just that and are living their fantasy.

Homes and people covered are in: Ahipara; Bay of Islands; Matapouri Bay; Whananaki; Piha; Raglan; Pauanui; Lake Rotoiti; Papamoa; Gisborne; Mahia Peninsula; Oakura; Golden Bay; Pelorus Sound; Greymouth; Kaikoura; and Dunedin.

About the Author

Derek Morrison was born into a farming family near Putaruru in 1974. While studying veterinary science at Massey University he discovered his two passions: photography and surfing. He began supplying images for New Zealand Surfing magazine and eventually took over the editorship. After a stint working in Sydney, in 2008 he moved to Dunedin to raise his young family and to start his company Adventure Media Group Ltd. He continues to contribute to a range of leading magazines as well as his surf, lifestyle and culture photo blog, Box of Light. He is married to Rachael and they have three children: Taya, Rewa and Keo.