August 2014 Archives

Living a Kiwi Life – Episode 6: Black Water Rafting, Kiwi Birds & Ruakuri Scenic Reserve

Living a Kiwi Life – Episode 6: Black Water Rafting, Kiwi Birds & Ruakuri Scenic Reserve

In this episode, the couple go Black Water Rafting, explore the Kiwi Bird Sanctuary and Ruakuri Scenic Reserve Loop Walk. Living a Kiwi Life is a series of youtube…

Kate De Goldi Wastes Not a Marvellous Word

Kate De Goldi Wastes Not a Marvellous Word

Acclaimed Christchurch-born author Kate De Goldi’s children’s book, The ACB with Honora Lee is a “marvellous, whimsical tale”. “ surprisingly, takes place mostly in a nursing home. Perry is the daughter…

Kimbra’s Princely Potential Lands Her Major Label Resources

Kimbra’s Princely Potential Lands Her Major Label Resources

Kimbra only intended to stay in Los Angeles for a month, but after she saw an online listing for an urban farm in Silverlake – “20 chickens, eight sheep, three sheepdogs, an outdoor kitchen…

Black Grace Makes Edinburgh Fringe Debut

Black Grace Makes Edinburgh Fringe Debut

Black Grace dance company makes its Edinburgh Fringe Festival debut with a series of performances spanning nearly 20 years. Founder and choreographer Neil Ieremia will steer the troupe through a mixed bill of short…

James McDonald Earns Sydney Jockeys’ Premiership Title

James McDonald Earns Sydney Jockeys’ Premiership Title

Twenty-two year old James McDonald has secured the Sydney jockeys’ premiership title at Warwick Farm Racecourse, with his 71st win on outsider New Zealand-bred Bascule. McDonald started even prior to the race with Nash Rawiller…

Designer Annah Stretton to Show at London Fashion Week Event

Designer Annah Stretton to Show at London Fashion Week Event

New Zealander Annah Stretton is one of five international designers selected to showcase their collections at this year’s London Fashion Week opening event – Splendours of the Commonwealth 2014. At the September event,…

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…

Lords of Lightning Electrify Newcastle Skies

Lords of Lightning Electrify Newcastle Skies

New Zealand electrician Carlos Van Camp will brighten the skies over the River Tyne in Newcastle with man-made lightning strikes as part of the Great North Run event. The Great North Run Million Opening Ceremony…

Aotearoa – Stan Walker, Ria Hall, Maisey Rika & Troy Kingi

Aotearoa – Stan Walker, Ria Hall, Maisey Rika & Troy Kingi

Listen to the amazing voices of Stan Walker, Ria Hall, Maisey Rika & Troy Kingi singing a waiata lauched on Maori Television. The song acknowledges the Maori culture and…

Growing up in NZ Public, Broods Now Hitting the Big Time

Growing up in NZ Public, Broods Now Hitting the Big Time

Broods only started writing music together last year, but the Nelson brother-sister duo, Caleb and Georgia Nott, aged 21 and 19, are being tipped as New Zealand’s next big musical exports. They speak to…

Why Lorde Can’t Wait to Vote

Why Lorde Can’t Wait to Vote

Lorde talks about the power of young people and how they can make things happen. The video was produced by The New Zealand Electoral Commission encouraging the younger generation…

Mature Kiwis Stun Paraguay in U-20 Women’s World Cup

Mature Kiwis Stun Paraguay in U-20 Women’s World Cup

New Zealand have made a dream start to their FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup campaign with a 2-0 win over Paraguay at Montreal’s Olympic Stadium in Canada. The junior Football Ferns have never progressed beyond…

Lorde Adds to Already High-Profile Catalogue with Hunger Games Deal

Lorde Adds to Already High-Profile Catalogue with Hunger Games Deal

Lorde will pen a new lead single for the latest installment of the popular film franchise, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1, also overseeing the selections for the soundtrack album, where her single…

Ben Lewis a Finalist in Prestigious UK Interior Design Awards

Ben Lewis a Finalist in Prestigious UK Interior Design Awards

Ben Lewis, of family-owned furniture and design company Trenzseater (pictured right with father, Mark), was a finalist in the prestigious London-based Andrew Martin Interior Designer of the Year Award. Previous winners include British…

Flight of the Conchords – Issues (Think About It)

Flight of the Conchords – Issues (Think About It)

Have a little laugh with Flight of the Conchords as they perform their song “Issues” – also known as Think About It. The song is featured in the episode…

Retirement Village Residents Film Perfect Pharrell Williams Parody

Retirement Village Residents Film Perfect Pharrell Williams Parody

The residents of Diana Isaac Retirement Village in Christchurch have proven that despite any aching joints and stiff hips their dancing shoes are as good as new by creating their own version of Pharrell…

New Zealand Launches Biggest Ever Cultural Charge to Edinburgh Festival

New Zealand Launches Biggest Ever Cultural Charge to Edinburgh Festival

The New Zealand contingent at Edinburgh 2014 includes around 240 actors, dancers, musicians, Maori performing artists, producers and writers. One of these acts is The Factory – described as “the Pacific Les Mis” – exploring…

Lorde’s Royals a hit with…the cows?

Lorde’s Royals a hit with…the cows?

One farmer in Kansas has an unusual way of calling in the cattle, he plays Lorde’s hit song Royals on the trombone. In the video the cattle can be…

Scott Dixon Wins 5th Mid-Ohio IndyCar in 8 years

Scott Dixon Wins 5th Mid-Ohio IndyCar in 8 years

New Zealand racer Scott Dixon went from last in qualifying to capture his fifth win at Mid-Ohio in the last eight years. Dixon coasted in on low fuel Sunday to finally end his team’s victory…

Linda Villumesen Takes Time Trial Gold in Glasgow

Linda Villumesen Takes Time Trial Gold in Glasgow

Linda Villumsen, 29, dug deep in the final stages of the time-trial to beat professional cyclist Briton Emma Pooley by six seconds, winning gold at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Villumson finished with a time…

New Zealand South Island Road Trip

New Zealand South Island Road Trip

Watch this short documentary about South Island in New Zealand written, filmed and edited by Davide Baj & Alastair Robinson. The video features places in New Zealand such as…

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…

Kiwi Students Win Big at Microsoft’s Imagine Cup

Kiwi Students Win Big at Microsoft’s Imagine Cup

A group of aspiring technologists from the University of Auckland have taken out one of three grand prizes and won $50,000 at Microsoft’s Imagine Cup in Seattle. Kiwi team Estimeet won the Innovation category at…

Broods Setting Hearts Alight – Make Hype Machine’s One to Watch List

Broods Setting Hearts Alight – Make Hype Machine’s One to Watch List

Broods make Hype Machine’s Ones To Watch feature for the second half of 2014, selected under the qualifiers, that it’s their first time on the most-blogged list, and they’ve yet to release a full-length…

Lucy Lawless to Star in Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D

Lucy Lawless to Star in Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D

Former Xena: Warrior Princess Lucy Lawless, 46, will join the cast of American television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D in an unspecified role later this year. According to TV Line, the show is looking to fill…

Designer Virginia Star Busmann Inspired by Dutch Aesthetics

Designer Virginia Star Busmann Inspired by Dutch Aesthetics

Formerly of Auckland, designer Virginia Star Busmann is the owner of Forestry at Home, a Netherlands-based woollen blanket producer, which sells plaid throws woven at a mill in Lithuania but made from…

Bullrush Hits Blue Water in Whitsundays Airlie Beach Race Week

Bullrush Hits Blue Water in Whitsundays Airlie Beach Race Week

Janine and Anthony Robinson will be racing their Elliott 12 Bullrush in the Performance Division at this year’s Vision Surveys 25th Airlie Beach Race Week on in the Whitsundays, Queensland from 8-15…

Kiwi Directs New Katy Perry Video

Kiwi Directs New Katy Perry Video

Joel Kefali has directed music videos for Lorde, The Naked and Famous and David Dallas – but he’s just released his biggest one yet. The Kiwi director is the man behind Katy Perry’s latest video, This…

Roy Stuart Shapes the World’s Most Expensive Surfboard

Roy Stuart Shapes the World’s Most Expensive Surfboard

New Zealand surfboard designer Roy Stuart has created the world’s most expensive surfboard. Priced at a cool $1.3 million, ‘The Rampant’ is painted with 23-karat gold and made from glossy timber said to…

Wattie’s – There’s a Little Bit in All of Us

Wattie’s – There’s a Little Bit in All of Us

Times are changing, but there are some things that never change. Kiwis love their Watties sauce “There’s a little bit in all of us”. Wattie’s or Heinz Wattie’s Limited…

Helen Clark Joins Fight to Ban Ivory Trading

Helen Clark Joins Fight to Ban Ivory Trading

Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Helen Clark has joined prominent New Zealand business leaders, respected conservationist Jane Goodall, WildAid and the Environmental Investigation Agency – to formally urge the New Zealand…