There’s a remote spot north of Waipū, on Northland’s Ruakākā Beach, that is a favourite of Duncan Garner’s. As a keen fisherman, it’s an area that the well-known broadcaster seeks out for the plethora of snapper and kahawai that swim there. It’s a place where he can tune out the world at large and be at one with nature. It’s also a rare patch of the planet where there is no cellphone coverage, making it one of the only places in the 49-year-old’s frantic world where he is unreachable.
Having spent 30 years as a journalist and over 20 years as a parent means that Duncan has, as he puts it, learnt to sleep with one eye open. His phone is never ever off. Surely, that’s a hyperbole, you might think. What about weekends? What about holidays? What about, you know, bedtime? No, no and no.
The news never sleeps and neither does this newsman, but after a tumultuous period that has included a divorce, a fight in family court, an arrest, two sudden job endings, a six-figure legal bill and moving back home with his mother, Duncan is finally learning to pause… a bit.
As he emerges from what he calls “five years of hell”, there’s a renewed focus on the simpler pleasures of life that has been a long time coming and very much needed.
“I would have cried more in the past five years – externally and internally – than I ever have in my life,” he says.
It’s a frank admission from a big personality. “But it’s cathartic for me – and men should be allowed to do that.”
In March this year, the
