Band In The Mikado

Feilding Boy and PNBHS IDOL Comes Home To share stage with NZ IDOL

At just four years old Beau Tewhaiti took out the "Top Entertainment Award at the Rose City Country Music Festival". Singing a medley of "Put Your Hand in the Hand", "Hey Good Looking'," and "Lonely Blues," with 3 major key changes, and a capacity crowd, it was obvious then that Beau had natural talent.

The singing and the winning continued, all around the country, 1992 Wairarapa Celebration Awards, 93 Tauranga NZ Star Awards, 94 the NZ Gold Guitar, 95 the Taupo Invitation Awards, 98 the Napier New Year Awards, and then the big ones "NZ Entertainer of the Year Winner in 1999 and Junior Overall Gold Guitar Winner in 2000.

At age 10 Beau appeared with Jason Gunn on McDonald Young Entertainers where he won his most prized award a Sony Playstation.

Attending North Street School the new entrant was asked to sing at the end of year prize giving, and many other occasions including his 12-year-old classmate's funeral. Beau went on to Palmerston Boys High School where his voice changed, so under the keen eye of music teacher Graeme Young, Beau took up guitar, and continued with piano. Later his voice settled, and in 2004 Beau won PNBH Idol by student vote. In 2005 he joined "OK Chorale" who won gold and in Year 13 his last year at school he was named the most likely student to become famous and was presented with a leaving jersey labelled PNBHS Idol.

At seventeen Beau took up a full time cadetship at Work & Income and gave singing a break, but not really as there was always a wedding, birthday or an event where he was asked to sing. In 2006 the Wairarapa Celebration Awards organizers asked Beau to enter which he did so reluctantly and then happily accepted the Overall Winners Award, $1000 and an acoustic guitar.

Beau has also enjoyed theatre and at age 11 appeared in the Feilding Little Theatre show "Hercules." He gave a memorable performance as "the Postman" in North Street School's 2000 production "Charlie the Best and Bravest Mate" and was in the PNBHS "Hot Mikado" production. His last theatre production was 2009 "Miss Saigon" at the Regent Theatre.

More recently he has taken front of stage with local covers band Mama's Boys. As a lead vocalist and guitar player his repertoire ranges from Fat Freddy, John Mayer, OMC, Katchafire, Kings of Leon and Michael Jackson.

March this year Beau moved to Wellington to pursue his passion for music and is currently working full time and is actively serving at the "Arise" church making new friends and meeting like-minded musicians who he is composing music with.

Exploring the Wonders of the Mayan Riviera

A lot of friends expressed surprise when I told them I was going to Mexico this year. Wasn’t this a dangerous destination with all the drug wars and killing? But the Mayan Riviera is as far from these problems as Toronto is from Winnipeg. Mind you, one hotel did blow up…not from terrorist bombs but from sewer gas from a dodgy septic field!

You’ll find the Mayans, the native inhabitants of the area, to be uniformly friendly, warm and lacking the entrepreneurial aggressiveness notable in other Caribbean destinations. Crime is rare.

My new home for a week was the Gran Bahia Principe Coba, part of a hotel complex of three all-inclusive hotels where guests can go to wine, dine and enjoy facilities interchangeably.

The rooms were commodious and clean, and though this is a large complex, the regular shuttle service keeps everything connected. Guests have the choice of enjoying four a la carte restaurant meals at a multitude of facilities in the three hotels. (I would recommend the Gold Club upgrade for expanded and more personalized service). I had a to-die-for filet mignon at Le Gourmet, top-notch Japanese dining at the Mikado, and traditional Mexican fare, complete with a roving mariachi band at the Tequila.

My own preference is to intersperse beach time with taking in some of the local sights — and the Riviera Maya is rich in history, culture and natural attractions. No one should miss seeing the ancient Mayan ruins which abound here. Chichen Itza is one of the new Seven Wonders of the Modern World. Its 10- foot Pyramid of Kukulcan twice yearly at the equinox gives an eerie representation of the Mayan serpent god, Kukulcan (Quetzlcoatl in the north) climbing the steps in shadow form. The walls of the structures here are decorated with representations of the rain god Chac with his long nose reminiscent of the Muppet characater Gonzo. Visit the two cenotes, waterfilled limestone sinkholes which on one end provided the town’s water supply and the other a sacred venue to commune with the gods…and throw in the occasional human sacrifice.

A visit to the Mayan underworld (known as xibabla) is also a unique experience. The whole Yucatan Peninsula is honeycombed with limestone, water-filled caverns populated in mythology with leprechaun-like creatures called Alux and reputed to be the resting place of the souls of the dead. I paid my respects at the Rio Secreto (Secret River), an extremely environmentally conscious establishment which takes visitors on an ethereal tour of stalactite and stalagmite dotted tunnels and rivers. Expect to see the rare blind albino fish and a large but harmless spider known as a crab spider. A high point of the excursion is swimming among stalactites in an underground stream, then stopping, turning out all lights and meditating on…nothingness.

For the mikado, or, A Japanese middy in acton

The Story of the Mikado

In the Mikado's service, a story of two battle summers in China

Harper's magazine

Harper's new monthly magazine