The American authors of a book titled Its Too Late Now What! have been attacked whilst on vacation in the Coromandel,  New Zealand.

Hawaiian couple, artists and free thinkers, Felizia Graye and ‘Professor’ Shenandoah Forest were enjoying a quiet day at the beach when, according to the Herald a horror attack left them completely “freaked out”

Ms Graye said the drama unfolded after children on a quad bike began circling where they were sitting at Kennedy Bay, about 15km northeast of Coromandel. As the bike got closer they waved at them to stop, and after she threatened to call police the children went away. But a short time later “a very upset man” arrived.

“He appeared to be really angry about us talking to the kids and started screaming at us and said ‘they are just having fun’.”

The couple left the beach in their camper van but when they stopped a while later they realised that the man had been following them. He approached their vehicle carrying a metal bar. Ms Gaye told the Herald

“He kept screaming and screaming, he was just in this rage and he started bashing up all the windows. I kept telling Shenandoah to try and start the van up. By the time he got the van started there was glass all over us.”

Their van had all its windows smashed, several panels dented, and the rear view mirrors knocked off…” more here

Fortunately the couple were taken care of by some kind hearted locals but it would’ve been good if the attack hadn’t happened in the first place and if motor vehicles were banned or restricted at popular beaches.

Beach race tracks

Perhaps they were unaware that it is quite common for NZ’s beaches to be used by recreational vehicles and that riders and pedestrians do come into contact, sometimes with undesirable outcomes. The couple were very lucky to have escaped without serious injury.

If you’re planning a holiday to New Zealand please take care on the beach as you’ll probably be sharing the sand with a variety of motor vehicles.

13 year old Daisy Fernandez was killed and her friend Claudia Billinge seriously injured by a 15 year old trail bike rider, as they lay in the dunes on Ripiro Beach at Glinks Gully,  southwest of Dargaville, where speeding was a problem. People at the beach had spoken to the youth and asked him to slow down but their pleas went unheeded. Complaints about speeding had also been made to the police earlier on the day of the accident.

Claudia recovered from her injuries and went on to make it to the top 33 contestants in the TV show New Zealand’s Next Top Model.

There have also been numerous accidents where vehicle drivers have been killed or seriously injured on tourist beaches. 21-year-old quad bike rider suffered serious spinal injuries after falling from his vehicle on sand dunes at Muriwai Beach, north-west of Auckland. The incident came despite the Auckland Regional Council’s promise to crack-down on vehicle safety at the beach over a labour weekend following both deaths and injuries to both drivers and other beach users.

We wish Felizia and Shenandoah all the best for the rest of their stay in New Zealand.