Cheap but cheerful
New Zealand tourists are among the most fiscally tight travelers in the world according to a survey by online travel company Expedia, who asked more than 4,500 hoteliers around the globe their opinions on…
July 2009 Archives
Taking over Rotterdam
Iconic Auckland pop artist, Billy Apple, has hijacked the Netherlands art scene by holding a major solo exhibition at the Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art in Rotterdam. Comprising two parts ‘A History…
Leading from the Front
Lieutenant Colonel Jeremy Ramsden, has become the first New Zealander to be awarded the NATO Meritorious Service Medal at a special ceremony recently in Brussels, Belgium. The award was presented NATO Secretary-General His Excellency…
Ospreys Welcome Collins
Former All Black back-rower Jerry Collins, 28, has signed two-year contract with Welsh Liberty Stadium side the Ospreys having arrived from French team Toulon. Collins says he is taking nothing for granted at his…
Back in the Hot Seats
All Blacks head coach Graham Henry and his two assistants Wayne Smith and Steve Hansen have been re-appointed for an extended two seasons until the end of the 2011 World Cup. “Graham, Wayne and…
Face to Face on the South’s Slopes
Western Australia Today has pit two of New Zealand’s banner ski resorts against each other to see whether Wanaka or Queenstown really has it all. Combing through the views, nightlife, food, accommodations, and skiing,…
Energetic last dance
Wellington jazz musicians the Ford/Tipping/Wise Trio have released a “hard-grooving, impressively creative release” called After the Last Dance, which music site All About Jazz reviews this month. “Each tunes is thoughtfully…
Interpreting Haydn
The New Zealand String Quartet performed two pieces by Haydn at Ithaca College in New York to commemorate the 200th anniversary of his death in 1809. The group also played Janacek’s String Quartet No…
American hoopla
The Datsuns are in the United States promoting their fourth album Headstunts — the first time the band has been in the country since touring with the Pixies in 2004. When The Datsuns blasted…
Paddock To Plate
New Zealand chefs and consumers are increasingly embracing diverse homegrown produce, with Queenstown’s Saffron restaurant at the forefront of this “quiet revolution” explains Australia’s Special Broadcasting Service. Sourced from the restaurant’s surrounding environs is…
Bet on the Baa Blacks
The town of Methven (population 1200) recently hosted a sheep-race, which saw two teams of eight “professionally trained” sheep speed round the local pub and over barrels at speeds of over 40kmp/h. Organiser and…
On display in Venice
The work of New Zealand artists Judy Millar (above) and Francis Upritchard (below) at the 53rd International Venice Biennale is beautifully showcased in a photographic essay by Ronnie Peters on his blog RonnieWorld. “Artist…
Stellar young talent
Eleanor Catton, 24, has been praised in the first international reviews for her novel, The Rehearsal, receiving rave write-ups in influential publications The Scotsman, The Times and The Daily Telegraph. Tom…
Eblack strummer wins
New Zealander Mason Maddox or “massi4h”, a member of the 2009 eBlacks team, has won a gold medal at the World Cyber Games Asian Championship in Singapore. Maddox won gold competing on the Xbox…
Pastry Mad In The Bay
Aucklander Alka Patel has taken the New Zealand pie to the streets of San Francisco, selling the pastry goodness at Stonestown farmers’ market. “I sold out of everything both days,” Patel told SFoodie, including…
Supernova discovery
Oxford dairy farmer Stuart Parker, 37, had been scanning the North Canterbury skies through his telescope for 15 years searching for a supernova before finally coming across one – now named SN2009GJ – on…
In Praise of Hard Work
Radio New Zealand has received a Gold Medal at the recent New York Festival Radio Awards for its documentary on the life of Mount Everest conqueror, Sir Edmund Hillary. The medal went to ‘It’s…
Straight to the point
Two hard-hitting, ‘in your face’ anti-speeding campaigns from Colenso and Saatchi & Saatchi — who were both awarded Bronze Lions at the recent 2009 International Advertising Festival in Cannes
Piecing life together
Mt Maunganui artist and jigsaw puzzle creator Royce McClure, 53, was in India this month assembling a 25,000 piece puzzle he designed for a Lipton Tea promotion. A veteran of over 180 puzzles and…
Everyman’s House
Artist Dick Frizzell’s Haumoana home ‘Faraway’ – “a sky blue, maritime-themed house that is surrounded by an olive grove, an orchard and a flower and vegetable garden” – features in the real estate section…
Pakiri Paradise
Horse-riding on a secluded North Island beach is one of the activities included in the series and accompanying BBC book Unforgettable Things To Do Before You Die; examiner.com reporter Jenna Voigt decides to complete…
Unbeatable on the Thames
New Zealand have beaten the British at the five-day Henley Royal Regatta winning gold in four finals. New Zealand won the head-to-head clashes 3-2, Mahé Drysdale getting revenge for the 2007 final against Alan…
Bedroom Dealings
Westport couple Wayne Saggers and Kathy Wahrlich sold their bed and threw in six-bedroom historic Stone House in an online auction on TradeMe for $302,600 to an Aucklander named, Mike. The package, which had…
Jet back to Oshkosh
Christchurch inventor Glenn Martin, 49, will make another appearance, albeit without his Martin Jetpack, at this year’s EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin to report on the progress of his personal flying machine, to give…
Online generation bridge
Auckland City Libraries and the New Zealand Chinese Association Auckland Inc. have joined forces to develop the first New Zealand Chinese digital communities website, which will be launched at the Rising Dragons, Soaring Bananas…
Sting in UK market
Family-owned business Nelson Honey is seeking approval to market its bee venom honey in Britain, claiming the product alleviates the symptoms of arthritis. Britain’s Food Safety Authority has to approve the marketing of any…
Front row seat for Kirk
Former Fairfax boss and All Black great David Kirk is the newly appointed executive chairman of the Pacific Equity Partners-owned Hoyts cinema group. The move, which will also see Kirk invest his own money…
On the rocks
Minus5 creator Craig Ling has opened another ice bar, this time in Stillwater, Minnesota. “Patrons looking for something really cool will now be able to don a parka and gloves and step into an…
#111: New Zealanders in Global Headlines
Edge Message #111 from Brian Sweeney, producer NZEDGE.COM Pictured above: Janet Frame, Anna Paquin, Rachel Paget, Boh Runga…
True Colours
The oldest moa feathers yet discovered and their DNA are providing New Zealand and Australian scientists with clues to the plumage of the giant bird – perhaps not unlike a giant chicken and speckled…
Currant discovery
A recent study lead by Roger Hurst of the New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research (NZIPFR), has discovered that blackcurrant extract improves athletic performance. The findings, which were published in the American…
Hell has no borders
New Zealand fastfood chain Hell Pizza will open 30 franchises throughout Ireland by 2016. The first Hell’s Pizza was launched in Dublin earlier this year, which made Ireland the fifth country to open a…
Creators and Destroyers
The history and breathtaking landscape of New Zealand’s first national park, Tongariro (which dominates the middle of the North Island) is subject to an in-depth analysis by travel writer Mel White and photographer Stuart…
The Stub of Your Cheque Book
Every now and then the various streams of our lives seem to conflate, one layer tumbling in on another, old times hurtling back from the past and crashing into the present regardless of how…
Little Island Paradise
Waiheke Island, in the North Island’s Hauraki Gulf has placed 6th in the 2009 list of the ‘World’s Best Islands to Live On’ by Islands magazine, and is praised in particular for being emigration-friendly…
