Discover Kim Forsythe's Taupo

Between Christmas and the new year, the Interislander Summer Festival Taupo Races are an annual highlight, with Kim packing “a gourmet picnic and champagne to party the afternoon away with friends and our families.” That’s followed closely in January by the outdoor Taupo Summer Concert at Riverside Park, another opportunity for “an entertaining day out with a picnic hamper and lots of cold beverages.”

In autumn, it’s Nutrigrain Taupo IRONMAN triathlon and she and her family always head out to support participants. Scott usually heads into town at midnight to cheer the last competitors across the finish line. Each year, Baked With Love creates special gingerbread IRONMAN cookies.

As winter’s chill starts to fade, the yearly Taupo Starlight Cinema Fireworks & Laser Extravaganza sees Kim, her family and friends wrapped up in jackets and blankets to enjoy the Guy Fawkes display at Owen Delaney Park. “It’s an awesome evening with our friends, and all our children running wild.”

Find out more about Taupo events here.

Throughout the year, “I love to cook for everybody,” says Kim. “My tank is always full of happiness when I’m with our friends.” When she’s not hosting regular Sunday roast dinners at her home, Kim likes to gather up her girlfriends and head out to Vine Eatery & Bar on Tuwharetoa Street, where they catch up over shared tapas and cocktails. 

If it’s just her and her husband, Kim’s favourite place for a date night is The Brantry, a refurbished double-storey 1950s home in the middle of town, to enjoy “an absolutely divine three-course dinner with fabulous wine selection”, built around seasonally-led New Zealand produce. 

What she treasures most of all is time with her boys. The lakefront bar at Two Mile Bay Sailing Club is her family’s favourite local weekend hangout, for an afternoon of “swimming, ciders, and pizza.”