Michael Rooke
Wilhelmina Shrimpton
Today FM host Wilhelmina Shrimpton always looks forward to her summer break, but for the first time in a long time she wasn’t counting the days until she was done with work for the year.
“Obviously I’m really excited for my holiday, but I love my job so much that even if there weren’t holidays, I’d be okay with it,” the 32-year-old enthuses. “I enjoy going to work every day. I spring out of bed. I’m the happiest I’ve been in a while.”
Last year was a banner year for Wilhelmina and her husband Mike Sanders, 34, who both started new jobs, as well as moving to a new house. After taking on fresh challenges at work, including producing her own documentary series for Today FM, she has learned to give herself the praise she deserves.
“I found out that I’m way more capable than I believed I was. I’ve surprised myself. I’m like, ‘Wow, I’m pretty good at this,'” she says with a laugh. “Last year was a lesson to not be so harsh on myself. We’re all our own harshest critics, but it’s better to celebrate your wins.”
In her twenties, Wilhelmina would fill her holidays with plans to hit all the best summer festivals. But in recent times, she has started to appreciate the joy of going with the flow and bouncing between her friends’ baches.
“I remember a couple of years ago, thinking, ‘Oh, no, I’ve got no plans. I’m going to be so bored.’ But there’s always someone having a barbecue or going to the beach.
“I like to keep these two weeks free because I like that idea of being a bit fluid. Having one day at home and packing a bag to go away the next or heading out on a boat on another day. I’m open to spontaneous adventures.”
As long as she has time to soak up the sun, Wilhelmina says that’s all she needs for her dream Kiwi summer.
“People always say, ‘You can’t beat Wellington on a good day,’ but that applies to the whole of New Zealand. There’s a beautiful energy in the air at the moment and you can feel the excitement building in everyone. This time of year gives me so much life.”
Kate Rodger
While most people head off on holiday in January, for Newshub’s entertainment editor Kate Rodger, it’s the start of the awards season in Hollywood, which is one of her busiest times of the year.
So instead, Kate and her son Max, 10, will enjoy a staycation in Auckland house-sitting for her brother John. The 55-year-old is delighted that her stepdaughter Jaeda, 15, who usually spends the whole school break with her mum, will be coming back early to join them.
“I have this weird role where she lives permanently with me for all of school and then she goes away for the holidays, so I always feel like I want to have some quality time with her.”
Add a trip to the beach and you have described Kate’s perfect summer.
“I’m a beach girl,” she enthuses. “I’m one of those weird people who actually quite likes finding sand in my bed because it reminds me that it’s summer.”
After being stuck in Aotearoa because of Covid, Kate admits she felt nervous heading back into the world to join the international press circuit in 2022, where she regularly interviews big-name stars like Tom Cruise and Emma Thompson. But Kate is going into the new year with a renewed sense of “mana”.
“I never used to have anxiety and I think it’s a symptom of menopause colliding with Covid lockdown, and becoming introverted for the first time, where I suspect I’m a wild extrovert,” shares Kate. “I started getting my mojo back and that wasn’t just in a work sense. It was confidence in my parenting and confidence to trust my gut again.”
This year, Kate is excited to take her 83-year-old father on a trip to Fiji. She was born in the Pacific nation and grew up there until she started primary school. For her dad’s 65th birthday, Kate, John and her sister Jessica promised they would take him back to visit, and are finally making good on their deal.
“We’re only 20 years too late, but we’re finally taking him back to Fiji. We’re taking him on a cruise on one of the beautiful blue lagoon boats, then we’ll have a couple of days in Suva and we’ll go back to our old house. Dad’s pumped!”
Francesca Rudkin
For summer this year, Newstalk ZB’s Francesca Rudkin is going all out.
“I’m going to work really hard and I’m going to relax really hard,” the Sunday Session host laughs.
While almost everyone else in her office heads away on their break, Francesca will be taking a hiatus from her usual Sunday show and filling in for afternoon talkback during the week, which she loves.
“I find it so grounding and such a privilege to talk to people from all around New Zealand.”
Then at the end of January, Francesca, 50, and her partner Tim Aitken, 51, will head off with their kids Oscar, 16, and Lola, 13, for their annual holiday to Omori on Lake Taupō.
“Every year I do the Tongariro Crossing and I’ll drag a kid with me – and this year my daughter said she’d love to go stay in a hut for the night, so we’re going to do our first overnight tramp and have that special time.”
It will be a happy way to kick off the new year after what Francesca admits was a rocky 2022.
One of the hardest parts was watching Lola withdraw from her friends and family as she struggled with her mental health.
They eventually found a psychologist who not only helped Lola work through her anxiety but also diagnosed her with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
“A highlight has been watching Lola work so hard and fight through everything she has been through to finish last year. She’s amazing,” tells Francesca. “I’m really proud of how she’s coped with everything. She’s had to do a lot of it on her own. I’m so thankful to the amazing psychologist who helped her find a diagnosis and my heart goes out to anyone who is dealing with an adolescent with mental health issues.”
While Francesca normally makes her New Year’s resolutions in February so she is more likely to stick to them, there is one change she already knows will be on her list.
“Before Covid,I was a glass-half-full kind of person,” she says. “I was positive to the point that I would annoy my friends. I was surprised post-Covid that that’s been knocked a little bit because there has been so much uncertainty.
“I’d love to leave behind this glass-half-empty attitude and get back to being positive.”
Robert Rakete
As parents to five busy people between the ages of 30 and 18, Robert Rakete and his wife Nikki’s summer break this year is all about spending quality time with the whānau.
“It’s been a heck of a year, so we will just be resting and sort of getting to know each other again,” says the host of The Breeze. “Everyone is so busy, so it’s nice to clear the decks for a little while and sit outside with a drink and some kai, and just catch up.”
It was a year of change for Robert’s family. His youngest son Oliver and stepdaughter Paige Huia, both 18, graduated high school and his eldest, Emmy, 30, settled into her role as a new mum after welcoming daughter Te Raumawhitu at the end of 2021.
To say that Robert is a doting dad to his children – which also includes Bella, 23, and stepson Finn, 22 – would be an understatement. As he faces the prospect of an almost empty nest, Robert, 56, takes comfort in the fact that he gets to spend more time with his wife of 12 years, Nikki, 48.
“We wouldn’t mind if they all stayed with us, but they’ve got to go out and live their own lives,” says Robert with a smile. “I’m looking forward to having that time with Nikki. She is the funniest, sexiest, coolest, kindest person I know and whenever I spend time with her, I always feel like I’m a better person afterwards.”
Reflecting on 2022, Robert’s highlight was spending time with Te Raumawhitu, who is his first grandchild.
While Robert and Nikki have a permanent car seat and pram in the car, he says they are conscious about not intruding on the new family’s time together. “We don’t want to be those annoying parents who
turn up all the time, but we are 100 percent available when they need us. It’s a beautiful time for a young family, so we want to make sure they have time, just the three of them.”
Robert’s eyes light up as he talks about the family’s new addition and although he has always had a big heart, Robert says having a grandchild has shown him a new kind of love.
“You have all this love in your life and you think that’s all the love in the world. And then a baby comes along and everyone is moved down the table because there is a whole other kind of love. It’s
just awesome.”
