December 2013 Archives

Global Recognition for Biofuels Pioneer

Global Recognition for Biofuels Pioneer

Loss-making biofuels innovator LanzaTech’s quest to raise more capital next year has been given a boost after it was named second “hottest” biotech company in the world. Industry bible Biofuels Digest also named the…

Flash Mob Haka Surfers Paradise

Flash Mob Haka Surfers Paradise

Check out this flash mob haka in Surfers Paradise during the 2011 Rugby Union World Cup. As an added twist, a police officer walks, checking for any trouble, and…

New Zealand Trumps at Annual IRB Awards

New Zealand Trumps at Annual IRB Awards

New Zealand have made a clean sweep at the International Rugby Board (IRB) awards once more, taking away all three major end-of-season prizes, with number eight Kieran Read named player of the year, the…

Taylor Swift Posts Dreamy NZ Holiday on Instagram

Taylor Swift Posts Dreamy NZ Holiday on Instagram

In between shows on her Red tour in New Zealand, American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift posted Instagrams of herself busy at “aesthetically pleasing activities … like driving a boat, gazing off into the…

The cast of ‘The Hobbit’ talk about The Book of New Zealand

The cast of ‘The Hobbit’ talk about The Book of New Zealand

The cast talk about their experiences in New Zealand and how “The Book of New Zealand” event transports them back to Middle Earth, a world between fantasy and reality.

Ko Wins First Professional Title

Ko Wins First Professional Title

09 December 2013 – Just a matter of weeks after announcing that she had turned pro, New Zealand golfer Lydia Ko has won her first professional title. The 16-year-old won the Swinging Skirts World Ladies…

For a Vessel You Can Trust

For a Vessel You Can Trust

Three “nautical pros” of New Zealand’s multi-million dollar boat building industry feature in “The Monocle 100” special supplement of “things to sample experience and discuss.” “While Emirates Team New Zealand lost the America’s Cup in…

NZ Innovation Shines on World Stage

NZ Innovation Shines on World Stage

New Zealand’s reputation for world-leading innovation has been significantly burnished in the latest Deloitte Technology Fast 500 Asia Pacific Index, which ranks the top 500 tech companies across the region based on triennial revenue…

Hobbit Stars Say New Zealand Is More Incredible than Can Be Described

Hobbit Stars Say New Zealand Is More Incredible than Can Be Described

For those who have never been to New Zealand, highlights of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings films are often seeing the remarkable film locations, such as Lake Pukaki in Canterbury, and Mavora…

Photography in the Thick of a Botswana Pride

Photography in the Thick of a Botswana Pride

With the help of a remote control buggy, New Zealand photographer Chris McLennan has managed to capture images of a pride of eight lions in the Khwai region, Botswana. McLennan attached his camera to the…

Bungee Celebrates 25 Years of Adrenaline

Bungee Celebrates 25 Years of Adrenaline

To mark the 25th anniversary of the world’s first organized bungee jump made in New Zealand, the Guardian has picked the 10 best adrenaline dives on the planet, including naturally, Queenstown’s 43-metre drop over…

The Making of The Book of New Zealand

The Making of The Book of New Zealand

To celebrate the 2013 release of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Peter Jackson and the cast unveil a giant, New Zealand-themed pop-up book at The Beverly Hilton, with…

An Audience with Jonah Lomu

An Audience with Jonah Lomu

Rugby great Jonah Lomu – who had sixty-three caps as an All Black and is the Rugby World Cup all-time top try scorer – was in Lomond, Ireland in November to meet with fans…

Gemma New on Gender Equality in Contemporary Music

Gemma New on Gender Equality in Contemporary Music

New Zealander Gemma New, associate conductor of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and director of the Lunar Ensemble, talks with Bachtrack’s Meg Wilhoite about the question of gender equality in the world of new…

Wellington’s Craft Beer Scene Big Business

Wellington’s Craft Beer Scene Big Business

How such a small city consumes such quantities of liquid we may never know, but with 50 per cent of New Zealand’s craft beer consumption going on in the capital, it’s little wonder a…

Introducing the ‘Book of New Zealand’

Introducing the ‘Book of New Zealand’

Take a look at the video for the opening ceremony of the “Book of New Zealand”,promoting Tourism New Zealand and the 2013 release of The Hobbit: The Desolation of…

Great All Black Returns to Where It All Began

Great All Black Returns to Where It All Began

Richie McCaw returned to where his career began in Dublin for his 124th Test on 23 November, and, just like in that debut game where New Zealand were 21-7 down just after half-time, it…

Kiwi Women Lead Cultural Renaissance

Kiwi Women Lead Cultural Renaissance

Once upon a time New Zealand cultural values were based on the unholy trinity of rugby, racing and beer. Then the marketing concepts – clean and green; 100% Pure – were added to the…

NZ Public Institutions Trustworthy

NZ Public Institutions Trustworthy

New Zealand has been declared the least corrupt nation on earth, equal with Denmark. Rounding out the top four are usual Scandinavian suspects Finland and Sweden, according to Transparency International’s 2013 Corruption Perceptions Index….

Kiwi Exchange Student Makes His Mark on L.A’s Football Fields

Kiwi Exchange Student Makes His Mark on L.A’s Football Fields

One of the stars of Venice High School’s football team this season is seventeen-year-old New Zealand foreign-exchange student James Cherrington. The 6-foot-1, 97-kg Cherrington has six sacks—or Quarterback tackles—playing defensive end for the Los Angeles…

Trelise Cooper New Zealand Fashion Week 2013

Trelise Cooper New Zealand Fashion Week 2013

Watch Trelise Cooper’s spectacular runway show that overflows with vibrant colours, sensuous fabrics and eye-catching detail, creating a strong look that exudes female empowerment.

Wine for the Discerning but Diet-Conscious

Wine for the Discerning but Diet-Conscious

New Zealand has announced its intention to become the world’s leading producer of “lifestyle wines” – those with fewer calories and lower alcohol levels – for the discerning but diet-conscious drinker. The government has decided…

Island Paradise Enticing Auckland Urbanites

Island Paradise Enticing Auckland Urbanites

“Waiheke Island is now the go-to holiday home destination for wealthy New Zealand urbanites … with the west coast draw the most punters, in particular the beaches near the island’s main town Oneroa and…

Williams Takes Player of the Year Award

Williams Takes Player of the Year Award

New Zealand forward Sonny Bill Williams, 28, has been voted rugby league’s International Player of the Year, the first ever non-Australian to take the award. Williams was reduced to tears when his team-mates performed an…

Air New Zealand Plane Gets The Hobbit Dragon Decals

Air New Zealand Plane Gets The Hobbit Dragon Decals

An Air New Zealand Boeing 777-300 that the Weta Workshop team in Wellington have fitted with a 54-metre long image of Smaug the dragon from The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug was unveiled yesterday…

From Gibbston to the World – Brennan Pinot Noir a Champion

From Gibbston to the World – Brennan Pinot Noir a Champion

Sean Brennan’s painstaking approach and his belief in the Gibbston sub-region has brought Central Otago’s famed Pinot Noir to the world, with Brennan Wines’ B2 Pinot Noir 2011 scooping five awards and being named…

Creativity Before Celebrity

Creativity Before Celebrity

Lorde has suddenly become quite famous, but in reality the 17-year-old kiwi just wants to stay out of the world of smoke and mirrors like other young popstar of today. “It’s still pretty weird,” she…

Ireland v New Zealand 2013

Ireland v New Zealand 2013

The All Blacks have remained unbeaten this season, but only just. Scoring in the final moments of the game, the All Blacks needed two attempts at the conversion to…

Enabling Teens to Learn Through Responsibility

Enabling Teens to Learn Through Responsibility

Fulbright scholar and Victoria University senior lecturer Dr Barrie Gordon was in DeKalb, Illinois this month giving a presentation to students at Northern Illinois University on a teaching model, which is aimed at helping…

Marathon a Day Keeps the Doctor Away

Marathon a Day Keeps the Doctor Away

Twelve years ago, New Zealand-born endurance athlete Janette Murray-Wakelin was told she had six months to live after being diagnosed with breast cancer. Now, she’s in the midst of running a marathon every day…

Maori to NY: Let our People Sleep the Sweet Slumber

Maori to NY: Let our People Sleep the Sweet Slumber

Pressure will be mounting on the American Museum of Natural History in New York to return sacred Maori remains to New Zealand after USA Today gave prominence to the issue of toi moko (tattooed…