Swiss-Belhotel Chief Gavin Faull Ever the Traveller
New Zealander Gavin Faull, 63, has been living out of a suitcase ever since he decided to join a consulting firm in Hong Kong back in 1973. Now, as chairman and president of Swiss-Belhotel…
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
North Island a Feast of Exhilarating Activities
Ahipara, on the west coast of Northland, New Zealand’s northernmost region, is a fantastic place to begin a tour of the North Island, the National Post’s Kat Tancock suggests. “It’s late afternoon on a hot…
Picturesque Doesn’t Begin to Describe Minaret
Matt Wallis is one of four brothers who own Minaret Station, a working farm at Lake Wanaka with a luxurious alpine lodge for tourists and accessible only by helicopter, Katarina Kroslakova writes for the…
Marlon Williams’ Voice Skips Decades and Genres
Marlon Williams’ recent gig at Sydney’s Basement was “terrific”, according to music writer Bernard Zuel. “Williams is tall and good looking and charming and winning. That will get you far. He can write a…
New Zealand – Bucket List Destination: 6 Ways to Travel on a Budget
“The sweeping mountain vistas, stunning beaches, vibrant cities and hospitable locals make New Zealand a bucket list travel destination for many”, writes Claire Volkman for the Huffington Post. Getting to New Zealand and staying there…
Fear the Walking Dead Releases First Clip
AMC has released the first clip from its Walking Dead spinoff Fear the Walking Dead, which will premiere in August. The clip shows a scene in which guidance counsellor Nancy (Kim Dickens) assures…
Kiwi Turbo-Charges Walmart’s Reinvention
Walmart’s program to remain the world’s leading retailer has New Zealander Greg Foran in a driving role. In a Fortune profile of Walmart’s new CEO Doug McMillon, writer Brian O’Keefe reserves special…
New Zealand Steps Up To Chair UN Security Council
Throughout July, New Zealand’s top UN diplomat Gerard van Bohemen will take on the responsibilities of the Presidency of the United Nations Security Council, and his cited his main goal to facilitate…
NZ-Designed Waterslide Relocating to US Ski Trail
The World’s Longest Waterslide, designed by New Zealander Jimi Hunt, is to be rebuilt in the United States on the slopes of Mountain Creek in Vernon, New Jersey. After learning from Travel Channel producers about…
Jereme Aubertin Makes Surf Photo Comp Semifinals
New Zealander Jereme Aubertin has been named one of 10 semifinalists competing for the 2015 Follow The Light Photography grant, the most prestigious competition in surf photography. Aubertin, who took the picture above in the…
Zane Lowe Helping Apple Reinvent Live Radio
For the last 12 years, New Zealand radio DJ Zane Lowe has been a top tastemaker on the BBC’s Radio 1 by championing brand-new music, landing interviews with stars like Kanye West and running…
South Island Skies Illuminated by Aurora Australis
Local photographers Stephen Voss and Blair Pattinson braved freezing temperatures in the South Island to capture images of the Aurora Australis, a natural light display in the sky. A solar storm meant that the Aurora…
On Tiree at the Beach with Chef Margot Henderson
Chef owners of London’s Rochelle Canteen and St John New Zealander Margot Henderson and her husband Fergus talk with the Observer about their beach holidays on Hebridean island Tiree, a place for “recharging the…
Lemi Ponifasio Directs Epic Canadian Theatre Piece
Canada’s most ambitious musical theatre piece had a recent curtain call 35 years after its premiere, as part of Toronto’s 2015 Luminato Festival. New Zealand-based choreographer Lemi Ponifasio was called in to revive…
Artist Kristina Webb Prospering in Insta-Economy
Kristina Webb, a 19-year old New Zealander, has built a full-time job on Instagram with colourful, Disney-like pictures, which are appealing to a huge teenage base of viewers. “It is sort of my perfect job…
Hard as Nails Keven Mealamu Has an Arty Side
The second most-capped All Black of all time tells the Independent how illustrating children’s books helps keep him grounded before big games, like the forthcoming defence of the World Cup. Mealamu, 36, one of the…
Keisha Castle-Hughes Thinks Big for Warrior Role
Not much more than a year ago, New Zealand actress Keisha Castle-Hughes, 25, was a Game Of Thrones fan scouring Hollywood Boulevard for a long blonde wig to wear to an informal dress-up event…
California Playwright Inspired by Life of Nancy Wake
Wellington-born wartime heroine Nancy Wake’s story unfolds in Code Name: Brass Rose, a California-produced play by Rachel Bublitz on as part of San Francisco’s Loud and Unladylike reading festival. Wake was a British…
Queenstown Airport to Open New International Terminal
“New Zealand’s Queenstown Airport (…) is turning to be the busiest and the fastest-growing in the country (and) is set to become the third bigger as it opens the new international terminal”, writes Kalyan…
New Zealand Black Currants Boost Brain: Study
A study conducted by scientists at the New Zealand Plant & Food Research center and UK Northumbria University has found that compounds in juice from New Zealand black currants increases mental performance, mood, and…
Astronomers Hoping for Glimpse of Pluto in New Zealand
Scientists from all over the world will gather in Central Otago on New Zealand’s South Island for a rare 90-second glimpse of Pluto on Tuesday June 30. “A stellar occultation (is) an event when light…
New Zealand Ranked Top in Poll of Must-Visit Film Locations
New Zealand has topped the list of must-visit filming locations in a poll commissioned by HBO Entertainment. The Lord of the Rings film locations were followed by New York (Sex and the City) and The…
Benjamin Hadfield the Man Behind Hong Kong’s Junk Parties
New Zealander Benjamin Hadfield is co-founder of a Hong Kong-based start-up company, which serves as an online marketplace where anyone can easily book a junk for the day. Junks.hk aims to bring the city’s…
Rowland Perry Transforming Skateboards into Kitchen Tools
As a child growing up in rural New Zealand, Rowland Perry always had the need for a blade. Now, the Sydney-based skater and designer is making his own, refashioning old skateboards into bespoke kitchen…
New Zealand a Prosperity Index Success Story
While Greece, Spain and Portugal face a bleak scenario as they struggle on their road to recovery New Zealand, Canada, America and Britain emerge from the Legatum Institute’s Prosperity Index as success stories, Newsweek…
Alan Larsen Is the Duke of Wellington at Re-enactment
The most important man in the Allied camp at the re-enactment of Napolean’s defeat at Waterloo was 55-year-old New Zealander Alan Larsen, known as the Duke of Wellington. Larsen, a historical events coordinator, can be…
Our Best Wild Lodges Stun Condé Nast Traveller
New Zealand’s 18 best wild lodges feature in the June issue of Condé Nast Traveller and include Akaroa’s Scrubby Bay, Minaret Station in Wanaka, Russell’s Eagle’s Nest and Acacia Cliffs Lodge in…
Back of the Bus Show Hits the Streets of East Lancashire
New Zealand-based Java Dance Company heads to East Lancashire with a show that wowed audiences at the Edinburgh Festival. Their physical comedy show Back of the Bus takes place on an hour-long circular ride…
Callum Millward Wins Colorado Ironman
Professional triathlete New Zealander Callum Millward has won the Ironman 70.3 Boulder in 3:46:47, a race he last won in 2012. His competition included three-time British Olympian Tim Don and Colorado’s Ben Hoffman, who placed…
Trinity Hill’s Warren Gibson Making Wine with Sense of Place
Winemaker at Trinity Hill Warren Gibson called 2013 the vintage of the century. That year was incredibly dry. Considering he was just as excited about 2014 and 2015, now is the ideal time to…
New Zealand’s Super Fund – World’s Best-performing Sovereign Wealth Fund
The New Zealand Superannuation Fund has outperformed all of its counterparts with its generated returns of more than 17 per cent a year over the past five years according to analysis by JPMorgan. “Acting as…
Guide James Blick Preserving Spain’s Culinary Authenticity
New Zealand travel writer James Blick and American Lauren Aloise run Devour Tours in Barcelona, as well as in Madrid, Seville and Malaga. They both feel strongly about helping to preserve the…
New Zealand Film Festival Reveals Line-Up
The New Zealand Film Festival has revealed this year’s programme including ten New Zealand films. Act of Kindness is an “inspiring true story (that) follows a spirited young New Zealander’s search for…
Serbia Win Fifa-U20 World Cup
Serbia have beaten Brazil 2-1 in the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2015 final in Auckland, New Zealand, early on Saturday Central European time. In the 70th minute Stanisa Mandic scored the first goal for his…
Emilia Wickstead Wins British Fashion Council Prize
New Zealand designer Emilia Wickstead, a favourite of Kate Middleton, has been named one of nine winners of the British Fashion Council (BFC) annual trust fund. The financial prizes, which total about £300,000, are…
New Zealand Chardonnay Named World-Beater
The 2012 Vidal Legacy Chardonnay, “a distinctly modern New Zealand chardonnay”, has been awarded the International Trophy for Chardonnay priced over £15 in the annual World Wine Awards released by influential wine publication
Jemaine Clement Starring in People Places Things
Flight of the Conchords star Jemaine Clement stars in the new “incredibly charming and sweet” dramedy People Places Things, which will be released in New Zealand on September 10. The New Zealand actor plays Will…
Outstanding Baby Blacks Beat England to Take World Title
“Black is back. England’s reign as World Rugby Under-20 champions is over, deposed by an outstanding New Zealand side, several of whom you should expect to see in an All Black shirt in the…
New Zealand Elderly Protected from Crisis as Income Gap Widens
“Income inequality has risen in most OECD countries” in the last 30 years and the age profile of poverty has shifted “with young people replacing the elderly as the group most at risk of…
Lorde – a Force of Nature
Just a few weeks after having covered Vogue Australia, the New Zealand singer has been photographed by Ryan McGinley for the cover of Dazed Magazine’s Girls Rule the World issue. Dazed…
Why Kiwis Just Know How to Tell a Killer Story
“The best in Auckland town tell us why Kiwi storytellers are simply irresistible to global audiences” says global creative advertising site The Little Black Book in a series of posts on Auckland. Dave…
Next-Gen Facial Animation with the Auckland Face Simulator
A team located at The Laboratory for Animate Technologies at the University of Auckland’s Bioengineering Institute, is developing multidisciplinary technologies to create interactive autonomously animated systems that will define the next generation of human…
7 Emerging Auckland Directors
“There’s no mistaking it; the city of sails sure does produce some talented directors thriving in the best kind of creative currents,” suggests global creative advertising site The Little Black Book in…
Dance Connects with Locals – the New Zealand Haka
After a Vienna waltz class in 2013 and dancing with Cretans in a “giant spinning circle of locked arms”, Christine Negroni travelled to India, Ethiopia and New Zealand to connect with locals through dance. Her…
Mikey McCleary – “I Became a Part of Indian Music”
Mikey McCleary “has recreated some evergreen Bollywood tracks and infused youthfulness in them”. With his work on “Khoya khoya chand”, “Hawa hawai”, “Dhak Dhak” or the recent “Fifi– Jata kahan hai deewane” he has…
New Zealand Stunt Double Falls in Love at Mad Max Fury Road Set
New Zealand stunt double Dayna Grant and Dane Grant have found their soulmate at the set of post-apocalyptic action movie. “The couple that does stunts together, stays together”, writes Andrea Romano for
New Zealand Salmon Industry Leads the Way in Sustainability
The New Zealand Salmon Industry is leading the way in fish sustainability measures according to the recent global sustainability report Global Salmon Initiative Sustainability released by the Global Salmon Initiative. “Overall,…
Martin Henderson Joins Grey’s Anatomy
New Zealand actor Martin Henderson has been cast as the new dreamboat doctor on Grey’s Anatomy, which is heading into its 12th season, to fill the void left by Patrick Dempsey’s departure in season…
UMO Ringleader Ruban Nielson Gets Personal
Ruban Nielson’s private life provided the conditions under which Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s latest LP Multi-Love came together. But the album is much more than the sum of its body parts, the Guardian’s Kate Hutchinson…
Lecretia Seales’ death comes amidst growing momentum for euthanasia
Dutch euthanasia expert Rob Jonquiere hopes the death of New Zealander Lecretia Seales, an advocate who has died from brain cancer, will bring about a law change. Seales, 42, died from natural causes, just hours…
Family Pays Tribute to Dapper Tailor Peter Rigby
Well-known Lower Hutt tailor Peter Rigby, who made clothes for many New Zealand plays and films, including Utu, The Frighteners, Goodbye Pork Pie and the Lord of the Rings trilogy, has died, aged 81. Born…
ArtScience Museum Head Honor Harger Embracing Technology
Executive director of Singapore’s ArtScience Museum New Zealander Honor Harger is embracing interactive technology such as touch screens and mobile apps in order to retain visitors and draw new ones, mirroring a trend in…
Rare Baby Kiwi Named Nutter – “a Ball of Fluff With a Beak”
A rare baby kiwi has been born at the West Coast Wildlife Centre in Franz Josef on New Zealand’s South Island. The baby kiwi named Nutter, described as “90 per cent fluff and 10…
Teenager Ayla Hutchinson Lands US Deal with Kindling Cracker
Taranaki teenager Ayla Hutchinson’s science project has earned her a lucrative international business deal. Hutchinson, who invented the Kindling Cracker, recently entered into an agreement with America’s lead supplier of professional-quality tools, Northern Tool…
Joseph Parker Crushes Yakup Saglam in Two Rounds
Heavyweight contender Joseph Parker has defeated the “more experienced but terribly limited Yakup Saglam” with a “two round knockout” at the Manawatu Arena in Palmerston North, New Zealand On Saturday, June 13. Parker, who came…
New Zealand Drivers Come First and Second for Porsche in Le Mans 24 Hours Race
New Zealand racers Earl Bamber and Brendon Hartley, driving for Porsche, have come first and second in the Le Mans 24 Hours Race ending Audi’s five year winning streak. The winning Porsche “had both pace…
