TV3 reporter and presenter Mike McRoberts is coming to Tauranga as guest speaker at the final event in the biennial Garden & Artfest – the Long Lunch.

It would take a long lunch to cover the highlights of Mike's career of more than 25 years reporting on everything from the war in Afghanistan and Iraq to conflicts in Lebanon, Gaza, the Solomon Islands and East Timor.

Photos from Mike McRoberts book, Mike McRoberts- Beyond the Frontline.

Mike has also covered world disasters like the earthquakes in Pakistan, China and Haiti, and his hometown of Christchurch.

After ten years reporting for Radio New Zealand, based in Christchurch, Mike moved to Auckland to work with Television New Zealand where he reported for One News and the daily current affairs Holmes programme for six years.

In 2001 he moved to TV3, where he now reports for and anchors the nightly 3 News, and current affairs show 60 Minutes.

Mike is a multiple award winner, including New Zealand Journalist of the Year in 2006. He has also been an international judge for the News and Current Affairs category in the US Emmy Awards, the television equivalent of the Oscars. He is married to 60 Minutes colleague, Paula Penfold, and father of Ben and Maia.

Last year he released his memoir ‘Beyond the Frontline' documenting some of the biggest stories of the past decade and how he reported on them.

Mike will talk about his experiences as correspondent from wars and disasters, and from his most recent overseas assignment to a very different ‘war zone', that of the fiercely fought London Olympic Games.

The Long Lunch will be held at the Tauranga Club, Devonport Road, on Sunday 11 November from 1-3pm. Tickets cost $75.

The Weekend Sun has two tickets to the Long Lunch to give away to a lucky reader who can tell us which year Mike was named the New Zealand Journalist of the Year.

Enter online under the competitions section.

Entries must be received before November 7.