Where to eat, drink, shop and soak in our beautiful country, as told to Karl Puschmann

It’s a big week for Māori singer-songwriter Marlon Williams. Today he releases his new album My Boy, the long-awaited follow-up to his breakthrough record, 2018’s Make Way for Love.

That No.1 charting album was a beautifully heavy affair that charted the end of his relationship with fellow folk singer Aldous Harding. Written in a cathartic three-week outpouring, it resonated strongly with everyone who’d ever loved and lost.

Four years on his new album, My Boy, couldn’t be further from that lovelorn record. It’s light and buoyant and fizzing with life.

Marlon describes it to Viva as “playful”, and it sees him convincingly reshaping his renowned country croon into unexpected genres and moods to reveal a strong mischievous streak. This is most amply demonstrated on the fantastically breezy pop strum of its title track.

He’s also announced that he’ll be hitting the road on a New Zealand tour in January with his band, The Yarra Benders. With all that in mind, Viva quizzed the artist on his favourite spots to eat, drink, shop and soak in around our beautiful country.

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I’m biased but it’s going to have to be Lyttelton. There are so many great spots to get coffee. But I’m actually going to go with a pie shop called Hope River Pies down on Norwich Quay, the bottom street in Lyttelton. They sell the best pies I’ve ever had and an exquisite accompanying flat white. You get a beef ragu pie with a coffee and that’s a great lunch.

I should stick up for the South Island here but I get car sick easily, so I’m going to say the Desert Road. It’s got the overlay or feel of the classic American wide-open highway. The Desert Road is just straight and you can go flat tack — within the speed limit, of course.

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I’m going to go Blackball on the West Coast of the South Island, inland from Greymouth. It’s got a pub and a church. It reminds me of what I imagine the hills of West Virginia would have been like in the mining times. The West Coast is my favourite part of the world and Blackball has the best pub. I like the hilliness. Coming from Lyttelton, I like the hills.

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A post shared by Civil & Naval (@civilandnaval)

The bar that’s meant the most to me throughout my life has still got to be the Wunderbar in Lyttelton. It’s such an iconic spot but nowadays I do spend all my time at Civil and Naval in Lyttelton. It’s a beautiful little hipster bar across the road from the supermarket on London St. It’s no secret these days but it’s definitely where I spend most of my time and money.

I love going to Search and Destroy in Auckland on Ponsonby Rd. Alison’s an absolute legend. Go there and have a drink and a sandwich and find some beautiful Japanese World War II workwear. It’s a thrift store/museum. I love it.

It’s been a while since I owned a record player. I love going to Slow Boat Records in Wellington. There’s something about that space that’s filled with the nostalgia of being a teenager and buying vinyl. It’s lived in and it’s got characters working there. It’s great. But also when you go to Slow Boat you can also go to Rough Peel Music a few doors down the road. I’m going two-for-one on this because if you go to one you’re going to go to the next one right after. That’s the best block of record shopping in the country.

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A post shared by Orokonui Ecosanctuary (@orokonui__ecosanctuary)

The Orokonui Ecosanctuary, which is outside Dunedin. You step through the fence and all of a sudden there’s takahē and rare kiwi. It’s a beautiful parkland. They do incredible work repopulating native species. It’s not really a tourist attraction but you can go there, so it counts. You don’t know what you’re going to see in there. Some of those endangered species are truly like dinosaurs. It’s like stepping back in time. And it’s beautiful nature, too.

I both played at and went to the last Laneways that were here. I hear it’s coming back. So, for me selfishly as a musician, that was one of my favourite shows I ever played. But I want to make my own festival. Marlonfest!

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I’m an absolute fiend for Vietnamese food. My favourite restaurant in the country is Hello Vietnam, just off Riccarton Rd in Christchurch. Bruce Tan, who runs it, is the classic slightly grumpy character who oversees the whole thing and it’s open at slightly weird hours. But they do an extremely good bowl of pho.

Best spot in New Zealand

Banks Peninsula. It’s my home. It’s expansive, there are not many people there and it’s full of my past. It’s the most comfortable and beautiful place for me to be. It’s pretty mundane but there you go.

Marlon Williams’ new album My Boy is out on Friday, September 9. The tour plays Auckland’s Civic on Friday, Jan 20; Wellington’s Michael Fowler Centre on Weds, Jan 25; the Christchurch Town Hall on Friday, Jan 27; and Dunedin’s Regent Theatre on Saturday, Jan 28. Tickets go on sale midday on Monday, September 12.

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