With Kiwis around the country soaking up the summer and sharing holiday pics, Grammy winner Lorde joined them posting a series of holiday pictures on Instagram.

Lorde is dressed in a beachy outfit, with a bikini, sunglasses by Thistles NYC, a brand founded by New York-based Kiwi Thistle Brown, and a cap embroidered with words like “technologist”, “medicine woman” and “man of the year”.

She’s behind the wheel of an old-model Toyota, possibly a Land Cruiser.

Lorde was learning to drive at the time of a 2022 interview with the Herald’s Viva Magazine. In 2013, she told Rolling Stone her father drove a Toyota.

Another mode of transport appears in the carousel post, with the star pictured on a plane.

She also shared an image of Twin Peaks director David Lynch with the quote “I’m wearing dark glasses today because I’m seeing the future … and the future is looking very bright.”

The singer wiped her Instagram feed of posts before sharing the post – standard practice for the star.

Fans have suggested Lorde’s hat is emblazoned with song lyrics. They are continuing to speculate about the imminent release of her next album, with some theorising it may be announced on January 1.

The singer in 2024 has shared a series of posts on Instagram that followers believe contain cryptic messages about her new music, fuelling speculation her fourth album is in the works.

The year also brought the release of some new music from Lorde, with a Talking Heads cover, Take Me to the River, for a Stop Making Sense tribute album, and a remix of Girl, So Confusing with Charli XCX.

A lime-green billboard with Lorde’s name appeared in Ponsonby Rd in Auckland in October, teasing the single’s release.

A Ponsonby Rd billboard teased Lorde's appearance on Charli XCX's Brat remix album. Photo / LUMO Digital Outdoor

It would go on to appear on Charli XCX’s follow-up album, Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat.

Charli XCX and Lorde pictured in New York City. Photo / @charli_xcx

When she’s not visiting New Zealand, Lorde is based mostly in New York City – she celebrated her 28th birthday there in November – and is understood to have a two-bedroom apartment valued at $5.8 million. In 2016, she bought a villa in Auckland’s Grey Lynn for $2.84m.

The star made a whistle-stop visit to New Zealand in May for brother Angelo’s graduation.

She’s spoken at length about her relationship with New Zealand in past interviews.

“I do really empathise with New Zealand, she told RNZ of her global fame. ”If you’re not a fan of someone like me and you didn’t choose me, you’re stuck with me and I’m held up as this representative culturally, globally, and I’m sure that can get really annoying.”

Lorde makes a point of returning home, to “get all the rest and sun that I can” as she explained to Vogue Australia in 2022.

Lorde in the music video for her 2021 single Solar Power. Photo / Universal Music via YouTube

“I obviously love seeing my family. I love to get up for a fish. That always feels like summer has begun, once I’ve done that,” she told the Herald in 2023. “I really like how a swim is just part of your day in summer.”

The Kiwi summer played a starring role in her sun-drenched last album, Solar Power, released in 2021, and imbued with optimism. The video for the single Solar Power was filmed at a secret beach location on Waiheke Island.

Whether this summer will bring another record remains to be seen.