News of New Zealanders via Global Media

Routeburn Track a Spectacle of Jaw-Dropping Scenery

Routeburn Track a Spectacle of Jaw-Dropping Scenery

For the ultimate adventure the Wall Street Journal recommends escaping into the “supersize spectacle” of one of New Zealand’s nine Great Walks for a tramp along the 32-km Routeburn Track. Journal correspondent Robin Kawakami (pictured)…

Outflanking the Tolkien Fans on Tongariro

Outflanking the Tolkien Fans on Tongariro

Before Peter Jackson and his film crew rolled into town, Mount Doom went by the humble name of Mount Ngauruhoe, the fearsome volcano which forms the centrepiece of New Zealand’s Tongariro Alpine Crossing, the…

Riding a Whole New World of BMX Clay Trails at PMP

Riding a Whole New World of BMX Clay Trails at PMP

For a trails rider, an appealing aspect of New Zealand is the PMP trails, located not far from the bustling metropolis of Auckland. This sculpted greatness is a dramatic clay theme park…

Oamaru Embracing the Steampunk Vibe

Oamaru Embracing the Steampunk Vibe

Technology blog Boing Boing visits “amazing steampunk town” Oamaru, which though “probably best known for its large colony of blue penguins”, is also the steampunk capital of New Zealand. “Oamaru has fully embraced the steampunk…

Lake Tekapo Night Skies Premium Spot for Stargazing

Lake Tekapo Night Skies Premium Spot for Stargazing

The clarity of the night sky in Aoraki Mackenzie Dark Sky Reserve has made Lake Tekapo the world’s second-best spot for stargazing after San Pedro de Atacama in Chile and the best in New…

Kauri Cliffs a Place to Holiday like a Billionaire

Kauri Cliffs a Place to Holiday like a Billionaire

Boutique golf resort the Farm at Cape Kidnappers in the Hawkes Bay wine region is one place in the world where it is possible to holiday like a billionaire, Forbes contributor Larry Olmsted says,…

New Zealand One of the Year’s Travel Hotspots

New Zealand One of the Year’s Travel Hotspots

“Attention is going to be lavished on New Zealand in 2015 – and it won’t all be Hobbit-related,” according to the Guardian, who include our country on their “holiday hotspots” for the year. “Wellington will…

New Zealand Glaciers Ebb and Tour Guides Play Catch-Up

New Zealand Glaciers Ebb and Tour Guides Play Catch-Up

Climate change is having uneven economic effects on tourism operators like Fox Glacier Guiding and Franz Josef Glacier Guides whose businesses depend on ice and snow, the New York Times reports. Guided glacier hiking began…

Film Tourism in New Zealand Massive Earner

Film Tourism in New Zealand Massive Earner

As cinemagoers rush to see the third Hobbit film, “Tolkien-mania” is again sweeping New Zealand, where record tourist arrivals are boosting the economy and helping to offset a slump in the price of its…

Wellington Makes Rough Guides Top Ten Best Cities for 2015

Wellington Makes Rough Guides Top Ten Best Cities for 2015

Wellington is one of the Rough Guides Top 10 city destinations for 2015 sitting at sixth place alongside No 1 destination Johannesburg, Malaga, New Orleans, Hamburg, Nizwa, Belgrade, Salta, Birmingham and Yangon. “Big-budget films helped…

Te Araroa Trail One of the World’s Dream Hikes

Te Araroa Trail One of the World’s Dream Hikes

Long-distance tramping route, New Zealand’s new 3000km Te Araroa Trail, is considered one of National Geographic’s best hikes in the world. This year, the publication asked 20 outdoor luminaries – from trail runners to CEOs…

New Zealand Named Best Tourist Destination

New Zealand Named Best Tourist Destination

New Zealand has been voted as Telegraph reader’s favourite country at the Telegraph Travel Awards 2014, for the third year running. Almost 90,000 people voted for their favourite travel companies and destinations, making it…

Biking New Zealand’s Wine Country

Biking New Zealand’s Wine Country

New Zealand is known for its Great Walks, but now it has Great Cycles – a series of 23 bicycle trails across the country with several local outfitters, like Nelson’s Gentle Cycle Company offering…

New Zealand Travel Secrets

New Zealand Travel Secrets

“Travel Enthusiast” Tom McLoughlin of The Huffington Post discusses his top three travel secrets from his tour of New Zealand. “The world’s finest adventure playground with sweeping mountain panoramas, bright white beaches, unbelievable city skylines;…

Tongariro Crossing One of the World’s Best One Day Walks

Tongariro Crossing One of the World’s Best One Day Walks

“Believe the hype.” Andrew Bain writes about the Tongariro Crossing for Traveller magazine, in a list of eleven of the world’s best walks you can do in one day. “Regularly billed as the best day…

New Zealand: The Best Tourist Destination in The World?

New Zealand: The Best Tourist Destination in The World?

“As an Australian, there are certain things that are hard to admit,” writes Ben Groundwater for Traveller. “New Zealand is… Awesome. Incredible. Beautiful. In fact for travellers looking for an overseas experience, it might just…

New Zealand Tourism Eyes 33% More Indians for World Cup

New Zealand Tourism Eyes 33% More Indians for World Cup

Tourism New Zealand is eyeing a massive 33 per cent growth in Indian travellers to the island Pacific nation this fiscal as it expects an influx of visitors for the World Cup Cricket it…

Cross Country by Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Cross Country by Planes, Trains and Automobiles

With less than a fortnight to spend on the other side of the world, the Independent’s Kate Simon used planes, trains, automobiles … and a bike to make every second count on a trip…

One of the Most Gay-Friendly Places to Stay on Earth

One of the Most Gay-Friendly Places to Stay on Earth

New Zealand is one of the top three most gay-friendly travel destinations, according to Lonely Planet. In 1998, New Zealand was the first country to adopt the label of ‘Gay/Lesbian Friendly’ when referring to…

Hobbits Fit Their Safety Masks for Air NZ Safety Video

Hobbits Fit Their Safety Masks for Air NZ Safety Video

Ahead of the final instalment of The Hobbit trilogy, and continuing its long tradition of entertaining in-flight videos, Air New Zealand has launched its latest “epic” pre-flight safety demonstration. The airline has done a new…

Coromandel the Best of Both Scene and Serene

Coromandel the Best of Both Scene and Serene

The Coromandel Peninsula “is crawling with sandy hot spots, but there are plenty of calm alternatives, too,” according to the New York magazine which recommends both “scenes” and “serenes”. “Reachable only after driving on a gravel road,…

Waitomo’s Subterranean World an Adventurer’s Paradise

Waitomo’s Subterranean World an Adventurer’s Paradise

“Time and nature have wrought havoc underneath the surface of and the pretty wildflowers growing on the grassy contours disguise an elaborate system of caves,” David Whitley writes for the National. “Getting down into…

Discover the Secrets of Auckland with Annabel Langbein

Discover the Secrets of Auckland with Annabel Langbein

Local television personality and author, celebrity chef Annabel Langbein reveals her favourite things to do in Auckland, including walks along the city’s windswept west coast beaches and browsing shops in the back streets of…

Two New Zealand Hotels Make Respected Fodor’s Best of List

Two New Zealand Hotels Make Respected Fodor’s Best of List

Wharekauhau Lodge in the Wairarapa and Waipoua Lodge in Northland have both been selected for the prestigious 2014 Fodor’s 100 Hotel Awards, which honours the best hotels around the world. Lodge manager Richard Rooney

New Zealand Best Place to Travel on Your Own

New Zealand Best Place to Travel on Your Own

New Zealand is the world’s safest, friendliest, and best place to travel on your own, according to Travel + Leisure magazine. The publication “crunched the numbers from the Global Peace Index, which ranks 162 nations…

Richard “Hannibal” Hayes Gives National Geographic Russia a NZ Tour

Richard “Hannibal” Hayes Gives National Geographic Russia a NZ Tour

Sir Richard “Hannibal” Hayes, legendary helicopter pilot, gave two National Geographic reporters from Russia the ride of their life as they explored New Zealand. Sir Richard is is probably New Zealand’s most legendary helicopter pilot…

Vogue’s 15 Must Visit Spots in Wellington

Vogue’s 15 Must Visit Spots in Wellington

Vogue has presented a list of 15 spots to have a perfect day in the “coolest little city in the world: Wellington, New Zealand” “New Zealand’s capital city is no longer just a sleepy layover…

Secluded Waikato Getaway Carved out of the Hills

Secluded Waikato Getaway Carved out of the Hills

“Long before Peter Jackson re-created Middle-earth in the fertile hills of New Zealand’s Waikato region, Graham Hannah and his young daughter Jessie had a dream,” Rob McFarland writes for the Sydney Morning Herald. “They would…

Lonely Planet’s Top Eight Must-See NZ Port Destinations

Lonely Planet’s Top Eight Must-See NZ Port Destinations

In an extract from Lonely Planet New Zealand, Charles Rawlings-Way describes the country’s top eight must-see port destinations. “Paris may be the city of love, but Auckland is the city of many lovers, according to…

Auckland Ties with Melbourne for World’s Friendliest City

Auckland Ties with Melbourne for World’s Friendliest City

It’s great to be a tourist down under, with travellers naming New Zealand and Australia among the best vacation destinations – the cities of Auckland and Melbourne are the friendliest in the world. Kiwis and…

On the Adventure Trail in the Footsteps of William and Kate

On the Adventure Trail in the Footsteps of William and Kate

On a South Island tour of New Zealand in the footsteps of royal couple William and Kate, the Daily Mail’s Katie Nicholl begins in the “quintessentially English city” Christchurch before making her way further…

20 Facts About New Zealand

20 Facts About New Zealand

The Huffington Post has written a list of facts about New Zealand for tourists, featuring many things kiwis are proud to claim, from Baldwin Street to bungee jumping. Most of the facts on the list…

Challenge Yourself to a Wellness Adventure at Queenstown’s Aro Ha

Challenge Yourself to a Wellness Adventure at Queenstown’s Aro Ha

At Queenstown’s new wellness retreat Aro Ha, five and seven-day retreat programs offer guests “an unexpectedly rewarding journey of denial and depravation.” “I am on an amazing journey that goes beyond the picture-postcard…

Tongariro National Park Running to Its Own Geological Beat

Tongariro National Park Running to Its Own Geological Beat

“The Tongariro Crossing is regularly called the best day walk in New Zealand, but with big claims come big crowds. At the height of summer, up to 1000 people file across the 19km-long trail…

New Zealand’s Coromandel Peninsula Well Worth a Visit

New Zealand’s Coromandel Peninsula Well Worth a Visit

“Bake in the sands of Hot Water beach, then take in the art, stunning views and craft beer of the Coromandel peninsula” says Will Macpherson in The Guardian’s Travel Guide. The Coromandel’s charms are no…

“Bilbo Baggins Slept Here” in New Zealand

“Bilbo Baggins Slept Here” in New Zealand

“It’s dinner and a movie … set” reports Ashley Winchester of the New York Times, who describes the Lord of the Rings guided tour as “straight out of Middle Earth”. The Hobbiton Movie Set in…

Diver Captures Footage of Undiscovered Cave in New Zealand

Diver Captures Footage of Undiscovered Cave in New Zealand

A diving instructor has found an undiscovered cave half a mile underground in New Zealand, posting incredible footage of the discovery online. Martyn Farr, 63, was diving through a 350-feet-long underwater passage, before he emerged…

Rare Birds and Rarified Golfers Share Scenic Clifftops

Rare Birds and Rarified Golfers Share Scenic Clifftops

“The world-renowned golf course at Cape Kidnappers is ranked as the 27th-best in the world by Golf Magazine, and for good reason is a bucket-list destination for international duffers,” Janie Robinson reports in the…

Buffet of Landscapes Perfect Backdrop for Escape

Buffet of Landscapes Perfect Backdrop for Escape

New Zealand’s “veritable buffet of landscapes … each one painted with a unique palate of colour” provided the perfect setting for Huffington Post travel writer Charli Moore’s “freedom escape”. “Having just completed an epic 18-month…

Wharariki Beach Is Basically Heaven on Earth

Wharariki Beach Is Basically Heaven on Earth

The Huffington Post has described Wharariki Beach as basically heaven on Earth. “If you weren’t already dying to visit New Zealand,” the Huffington Post has given its readers “yet another reason to head to one of…

Epic Mountain Biking Through Jaw-Dropping Scenery

Epic Mountain Biking Through Jaw-Dropping Scenery

“New Zealand is a great country to witness by bicycle,” says the Independent’s Christopher Wakling. “The government wants you to ride there. At a cost of more than $75m it recently completed

Remarkables Ice Climbing Coolest Way to See NZ

Remarkables Ice Climbing Coolest Way to See NZ

Ice climbing is an exhilarating way to break up a New Zealand ski trip and a natural progression for Australian rock climbers, says Perth Now reporter Matt Kitchin who together with Tim Steward from…

On the Culinary Festival Trail Sampling It All

On the Culinary Festival Trail Sampling It All

At this year’s Wildfoods Festival, “an annual gathering of culinary aficionados in Hokitika, a small town on the west coast”, the Washington Post’s Reid Wilson and his wife, sample “shark, kangaroo, alligator, crayfish and…

Condé Nast Editor Plans Your 12-Day Tour

Condé Nast Editor Plans Your 12-Day Tour

New Zealand – “where the island of Waiheke offers great food and even better wine”, features in the latest issue of Condé Nast Traveler as a 12-day “Editor’s Itinerary”. The tour covers both islands, with…

What New Zealand Can Teach the Rest of the World about Living Well

What New Zealand Can Teach the Rest of the World about Living Well

In The Huffington Post’s recent Living Well, On Location series, it was declared that New Zealand can teach a lot about “health,…

New Zealand’s Heaphy Track Open for Cyclists

New Zealand’s Heaphy Track Open for Cyclists

New Zealand’s Heaphy Track, the longest of the country’s nine famed Great Walks, is now permanently open to cyclists during winter. In a decision almost 15 years in the making, New…

Telling the Story of People Connected to the Land

Telling the Story of People Connected to the Land

While taking in the sights of New Zealand’s “Maori heartland” Rotorua, the Toronto Sun’s Ian Robertson stops in at Te Puia: New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute in the Whakarewarewa Geothermal…

Descending Deep into Waitomo’s Lost Cave

Descending Deep into Waitomo’s Lost Cave

“Hidden among exotic woodland and guarded only by sheep, Lost World cave entrance is a narrow crack in the earth,” writes Ben Hazell for the Telegraph. “Beneath lies an underground gorge pierced open…

Auckland’s Savvy Good Life Rivals San Francisco

Auckland’s Savvy Good Life Rivals San Francisco

Auckland offers much more than a gateway to this safe, friendly and super-scenic country, writes the National’s Kipat Wilson. “Straddling an isthmus two kilometres wide on North Island, it enjoys a warm climate, superb…

Feeding Frenzy at Marlborough’s Lochmara Lodge

Feeding Frenzy at Marlborough’s Lochmara Lodge

On a day excursion to Lochmara Lodge Wildlife Recovery and Arts Centre in Queen Charlotte Sound, as part of a Marlborough wine-tasting trip, the Courier Mail’s Angela Saurine encounters kunekune pigs, yellow-crowned kakariki parakeets…

What the Royals Are Taking in on Their NZ Tour

What the Royals Are Taking in on Their NZ Tour

As Prince William, Kate Middleton – and Prince George – head to New Zealand on an official tour, the Telegraph looks at all the places they are visiting asking their own experts, as well…

Canyon Road Unbelievably Scary as It Is Beautiful

Canyon Road Unbelievably Scary as It Is Beautiful

The Skippers Canyon road, 25 minutes north of Queenstown, has been deemed one of the world’s 22 most dangerous roads by British firm Driving Experiences, who gave the road an “overall road fear factor”…

Visit the City Reinventing Itself with Art

Visit the City Reinventing Itself with Art

For those fancying a long-weekend getaway in Christchurch, the Guardian recommends the best places to stay, eat and visit, “touring the extraordinary renewal of the city that survived an earthquake”. “There’s no camouflaging the damage,”…

Exceptional Mountain Biking Trails Abound

Exceptional Mountain Biking Trails Abound

New Zealand “boasts exceptional mountain biking” according to Men’s Journal, which includes a feature on our best trails, saying that local “fat tyre offerings are too often overlooked by adventure-seekers rushing toward the beach…

Sublime Southern Photographic Opportunities

Sublime Southern Photographic Opportunities

The South Island’s 13 most beautiful photo opportunities include a view of the braided banks of the Waimakariri River (pictured), the Matai Falls in The Caitlins and icebergs on Tasman Lake, according to last…

Astronaut Says NZ Vineyards Most Appeal from Space

Astronaut Says NZ Vineyards Most Appeal from Space

15 February 2014 – The vineyards of Marlborough are the part of the world which most caught Canadian Chris Hadfield’s eye from space. The “selfie”-taking astronaut, who became widely known after performing a rendition…