‘On the rocks’: New Zealand's coastal bach landscape and the case of Rangitoto Island

A distinctive feature of many of New Zealand's coastal landscapes has been the rudimentarily constructed holiday home known as a ‘bach’. In recent years, however, rapidly escalating beachfront property prices, and the associated development of elite residential landscapes, have threatened the status of the bach. This commentary examines the diminishing number of ‘classic’ kiwi baches, and specifically considers the case of Rangitoto, a volcanic island close to central Auckland. Here, the location of baches on publicly owned land has been controversial and the small number that remains symbolize curiosities from another time and place.