Manyebook

Sweet As

After 20 years away, Garth Cartwright returns to home and roadtrips from one end of the country to the other to see what's changed — and what hasn't.

'I come from Mt Roskill. Somebody has to.' So says Garth Cartwright of growing up in New Zealand's largest suburb. It had acres of rugby fields and more churches than anywhere else in the country — but there were no cinemas, music venues or pubs. In search of a little more culture, a young Garth up and moved to London. Twenty years after leaving he returned to revel in a Kiwi summer.

That summer was spent travelling the country from top to bottom and observing New Zealand and its citizens in all their eccentric glory. Taking to State Highway 1, he met old friends, cult rockers, aspiring politicians, potters, bikers, visionary artists, hunters, undercover cops and all manner of other Kiwi characters. Surfing, hitching, driving, sailing and tramping across New Zealand allowed him to reflect on how much New Zealand has changed in the last twenty years — and how much it hasn't.

  • Format
  • paperback
  • Pages
  • 312
  • Language
  • english
  • ISBN
  • 9781877505089
  • Release date
  • 2011