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Archive >> July 2016
Trek New Zealand’s Routeburn Trail
“Apart from showcasing glorious ‘100% pure New Zealand’ scenery, New Zealand’s Great Walks are equipped with huts which have bunk beds, gas kitchens, flush toilets, solar-powered lighting and clean…
Off-the-Beaten-Track Places in NZ
New Zealand offers such incredible beauty — from snow-capped mountains and lush-green rainforests to glorious white-sand beaches and towering volcanoes, “and has buckets of culture and charm,” writes Nicole…
NZ Retirement Home Residents Shake It Off
A group of 50 New Zealand retirees have “done their own take on Taylor Swift’s Shake It Off video, adding only the occasional local, and age-appropriate, touches…
Nine Wonders of New Zealand
“With natural splendours that include stunning marine wildlife and geothermal springs, to culinary adventures taking in cutting-edge restaurants and tours of award-winning vineyards, New Zealand is a country that…
Ladyhawke’s Favourite Top Five Albums
Despite Ladyhawke’s busy schedule, the New Zealand musician talked to ELLE.com about the albums that have changed her life and turned her into the synth-pop maestro she is today.
Ladyhawke,…
How to Dad – What You Need to Teach Your Baby
How to Dad is back with a new funny clip on how to be a New Zealand Dad. This time he covers what you…
Team USA Trainer Craig McFarlane Talks Tough
The “beasts” of the Oracle Team USA America’s Cup crew are among the world’s toughest athletes – people for whom some of the most gruelling training imaginable is all part…
Designer Rebecca Taylor Offers up Some Holiday Tips
New Zealand-born designer Rebecca Taylor is constantly looking to her world travels for inspiration. She lets W magazine in on the best outfits for the plane and what makes…
The Dead C’s Latest Trouble Strangely Beautiful
New Zealand band The Dead C’s latest album Trouble, which is out on 12 August, is reviewed by Mike Barnes for The Wire magazine, who describes the trio’s new…
John Danaher On His Leg Lock System
“In recent years a new school of Jiu-Jitsu players have started to perfect the leg lock game,” as reported in an article in BJJ Eastern Europe. John…
Baldwin Street a Photogenic Optical Illusion
Dunedin’s Baldwin Street, the steepest street in the world, has become an unlikely tourist attraction, with people sharing photos on social media of a bizarre optical illusion, the Daily…
Steve Hansen Re-Signs with All Blacks
World Cup winning coach Steve Hansen has re-signed with the All Blacks through until 2019, as reported on Fox Sports.
“New Zealand Rugby chief executive Steve Tew said…
#225: Conchords in NYC, Wild South, Tickled, Karen Walker + NZ Kakapo and more ++
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Heart Kids: Saving Babies’ Lives
(Sponsored Content) “Heart Kids, the only charity supporting children suffering from congenital heart defects, is teaming up with dairy company Yashili to help the lives of many of the…
Real Women on Film for Karen Walker’s New Campaign
New Zealander Karen Walker’s latest campaign celebrates the art of film photography and women of all ages, with the designer and her 8-year-old daughter Valentina in front of the…
Huffman’s Wins at World Hot Sauce Awards
Wellington-based Huffman’s Hot Sauce has been named World Champion in the Pepper Blend category at a ceremony held in Louisiana. Auckland’s Culley’s and Kaikohe’s Fire Dragon Chillies were also…
Card Ninja Performs in UK at Bedfringe
New Zealander Javier Jarquin is the Card Ninja, a PG-rated, one-man show with up-beat humour, impressive stunts and smooth audience interaction. Jarquin will demonstrate his “remarkable skills” in the…
Richard Lewer Wins Basil Sellers Art Prize
Hamilton-born Richard Lewer has been announced the winner of this year’s A$100,000 Basil Sellers Art Prize for his work “The Theatre of Sports (2016),” beating 240 other entries.
The Basil…
Yeongrak Online in Search of Scuzzy Beats
With the Christchurch earthquake wiping out all of Yeongrak’s previous hangouts, he took refuge in his bedroom, where he withdrew from regular socialising and immersed himself into the dark,…
International Fashion Award Goes to Mayako Kano
New Zealander Mayako Kano, 32, has been named winner of the International Talent Support (ITS) Fashion Award claiming a 10,000 Euro prize with “one of the more elegant provocations”…
Jess Johnson’s New Language of Virtual Reality
Jess Johnson, a Tauranga-born, New York-based artist, whose work includes drawing, animation, video, installation and recently, virtual reality (VR), offers some fascinating insights into how altered perceptions change how…
Deep South: A Wild Coastal Drive
“New Zealand is perfect for long, meandering road trips, especially in its scenic South Island. If driving on windswept coastal roads is your idea of a good time, then…
NZ Kakapo’s Successful Breeding Season
The critically endangered kakapo – one of the world’s rarest birds – “saw its numbers boom by 28%” with 34 new chicks this year. That brings its population up…
Tickled: “Compelling, Enthralling and Very Entertaining”
A lot of people think of documentaries as “ultra somber, serious cinema exercises”, writes Jim Batts in a WeAreMovieGeeks review. Tickled is different. It’s “entertaining,…
Play Lady of the Manor at Otahuna Lodge
“New Zealand’s luxury lodges each have their unique selling point,” Cleo Glyde writes for news.com.au, “and as you wend your way along the freshly raked gravel driveway of an…
Flight of the Conchords Aimless and That’s Okay
There was a time, about 10 years ago, when this unassuming pair seemed to have it all figured out in their own quiet way. The Flight of the Conchords…
Rhys Darby and Anna Faris in Air New Zealand’s Latest Safety Video
Kiwi comedian Rhys Darby has teamed up with Hollywood actress Anna Faris to play a multitude of ridiculous characters in Air New Zealand’s latest safety video, Safety in Hollywood…
Three Golfers Selected to Represent NZ at Rio
Lydia Ko, Danny Lee and Ryan Fox have been chosen to represent New Zealand in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, as reported in the Fiji Times.
“This is…
Star Trek’s Karl Urban Meets Hero Harrison Ford
A perk of working for producer J.J. Abrams on Star Trek Beyond was the chance for Wellington-born actor Karl Urban, 44, to visit his boss’ other set. And for…
Celebrating French Legion Hero James Waddell
A new exhibition marking the Somme Centenary called “Médaillé Extraordinaire” aims to raise awareness of James Waddell, a much decorated New Zealander who served in the French Foreign Legion…
Dancer Kexin Li Reviving an Ancient Art Form
Before Kexin Li, a Chinese New Zealander, came to New York in 2008 to receive systematic training in classical Chinese dance, she cared little for performing arts or even…
Conservation Dogs on the Pest Warpath
One of New Zealand’s greatest conservation accomplishments, our so-called 100 “island sanctuaries”, are entirely pest- and predator-free, allowing endangered animals to thrive without threat. Conservation dogs like Piri the…
New BBC Doco Explores Our Mythical Islands
“In New Zealand, you’ll be interested to learn, there are more species of penguin than anywhere else in the world,” the Independent’s deputy managing editor Sean O’Grady writes in…
RBS CEO Ross McEwan Still Optimistic Despite Brexit
While the Royal Bank of Scotland share price did sink to levels reminiscent of the 2008 crisis, when the bank ran out of cash and only survived because of…
Judith Hereford Pens Book Focusing on Elderly Care
New Zealand-born Judith Hereford, who lives in Herefordshire in the UK, may be over the age of 70, but that isn’t stopping her from taking on the publishing world…
Québec Music Fans Enjoy Neil Finn’s Summer Set
Neil Finn performed at the recent Festival d’été de Québec (FEQ) playing a mixture of Split Enz and Crowded House favourites, as well as some of his own tracks,…
Personhood Designation Granted to Te Urewera
Former national park Te Urewera has been granted personhood with Whanganui River expected to receive the same status soon, the New York Times reports in a feature about the…
Rose McIver on Her Early Acting Days
Kiwi actress Rose McIver, who plays lead character Liv Moore in the iZombie series, recently said she wasn’t satisfied with her early acting performance.
When the actress, who is required…
A New Zealand Winter
“You could go to Europe this summer, overpay for plane tickets and stand in line for three hours waiting to get into the Louvre so you can see the…
Andy Bearpark Re-emerges As Yogi in New Zealand
Andy Bearpark, who was once known as Margaret Thatcher’s closest ally, “has re-emerged in the unlikeliest of places and in the unlikeliest of roles,” writes Jack Barlow for
James Cameron Stars in Tourism NZ Campaign
Avatar director James Cameron is starring in the latest Tourism New Zealand campaign – a series of videos filmed over four days in the South Island, which…
How New Zealand’s Knack for ‘P’ Turned into a Homebaked Disaster
“New Zealand is 10,000km (6,00o miles) from Bangkok, 18,000km from Amsterdam and surrounded by sea. Hard drugs rarely make it into the country – and when they do prices…
Getting to Know Thomston
Auckland-based musician Thomas Stoneman, aka Thomston, 20, is gearing up to release his highly anticipated debut album, which is “shaping up to be a really interesting, emotive release”, according…
New Zealand Blazing Trail on Global Cocktail Path
“With its bordello-meets-street-art décor, Napier’s Monica Loves bar has all the trappings of a modern speakeasy, the kind you’d find down a London alley or behind an…
Maimoatia
Listen to ‘Maimoatia’, a song sung entirely in Te Reo Maori that has shot straight to the #1 of the New Zealand iTunes charts….
How Flight of the Conchords Outlasted the Hipster
“Despite breaking out at a specific cultural moment – an era during which America, at any rate, was seething with ironic hauteur and fetishised authenticity – [the Flight of…
Revived Team McLaren Returns to Grand Prix
Team McLaren, founded in 1963 by owner-driver New Zealander Bruce McLaren and the second-most successful team in series history, returns this weekend to its home Grand Prix, celebrating 50…
#223: Te Reo Hit, Anthony Wilding, Awaroa Beach, NZ Super Rugby, Waiheke + Richie McCaw and more ++
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Tipperary Store Keeps Homesick Hungry Stocked Up
Dean Hand is founder of kiwis.ie which brings a taste of home to other New Zealanders around Ireland through the website and a village shop in Clerihan, County Tipperary.
“We’re…
Nelson St Cycleway Shortlisted for World Architecture Awards
Auckland’s pink Nelson Street Cycleway, designed by Monk Mackenzie architects and landscape architecture firm LandLab, has just been shortlisted for the World Architecture Awards.
“The 0.37-mile offramp turned…
Rare Whales Seen off Dunedin Coast
For the first time in New Zealand waters an extremely rare grouping of Shepherd’s Beaked Whales, one of the least known cetaceans in the world, has been spotted from…
James Cameron – 100% Pure New Zealand
Watch Tourism New Zealand’s new clip starring Avatar and Titanic director James Cameron and his wife Suzy Amis Cameron. The campaign includes a series…
Wimbledon’s Anthony Wilding a Superstar of his Day
Long before the PR driven age of image rights and social media, before Borg, Laver and even Perry, Wimbledon had its own matinee idol – New Zealand-born Anthony Wilding….
Awaroa Beach Bought by Crowdfunding given to Public
The pristine Awaroa Beach in the Abel Tasman National Park bought through a crowdfunding campaign for almost $2.3 million has been handed to its new owners – the public,…
Te Reo Hit Topples Justin Timberlake
Pop tune Maimoatia, sung entirely in Te reo and released for Maori Language Week, shot straight to the top of the iTunes chart in New Zealand, knocking Justin Timberlake’s…
Waiheke One of World’s Best Islands
Waiheke has placed forth in Travel + Leisure magazine’s annual top ten best islands in the world survey for 2016, ahead of Bali, Hawaii and the Greek islands. It…
