The art of… fire feasting

I was fresh off a flight from London and had rolled up to Sandy Bay, a little north of Auckland, in my converted Toyota Lucida camper. And I’d just spotted the public beach barbecues that Aussies and Kiwis blithely take for granted. “Are these, like, free barbecues? For just anyone to use? Communal grills? Right here on the beach?” With these words, I realised New Zealand is one of the most civilised nations on the planet.