After A Hard Day’s Travels
A Tauranga woman thought she was hallucinating when a clattering noise prompted her to run downstairs to the kitchen and check on the cats, where she found a baby seal, who then waddled into…
Blog Archives
Unreal Festive Spirit
“After 14 attempts I am still unable to reconcile Christmas Day with the hot sunshine of the north-east New Zealand city of Gisborne,” Guardian reader John Darkin writes for the publication’s weekly series ‘Letter from.’ “The…
Planning Christmas Capers
Now living in Rotorua, Canadian Jill Campbell, from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, is looking for other Capers so they can to get together for a céilidh or a drink at the pub over Christmas….
Alleged Fraudster Arrested
A New Zealander has been arrested in Australia for alleged embezzling $16 million from Queensland Health. 36-year-old Hohepa Morehu-Barlow — also known as Joel Barlow — had been evading police since Thursday afternoon when…
Jumping Back On Court
Rotorua-born basketball player Taki Te Koi plays as a senior for California’s Dominican University women’s team and after a torn ligament injury “is ready to put it all out on the court again in…
Exploring The North
Cathedral Cove, “the looming limestone archway seen in The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian,” was one of the scenic spots The Tribune’s Sarah Linn stopped at on her tour of New Zealand. “Travelling along State Highway 25,…
Grass-Roots Campaigning
Bret McKenzie is in Utah, where he’s “picked up some sort of Mormon cold” while filming a scene with a foal for Austenland: he delivers a foal. “We shot it in England this summer, and…
Store Openings In California
New Zealand-born fashion designer Rebecca Taylor is “on a roll” according to the Los Angeles Times’ Melissa Magsaysay who was at the opening of Taylor’s West Coast flagship store on Robertson Boulevard. “The designer just celebrated…
Hope Yet For Happy Feet
New Zealand author and entrepreneur Gareth Morgan will join 12 scientists on a 30-day voyage to Antarctica early next year to raise awareness of the importance of the region, and as an “add-on” to…
Where Fear And Awe Collide
Greymouth-born filmmaker and painter Vincent Ward’s exhibition Breath, which is on at New Plymouth’s Govett-Brewster Gallery through 26 February 2012, is the first survey of Ward’s work within an art museum context and rests,…
Impressive Pest Control
Sheep, rugby and kiwi were what the director of Canada’s McGill University’s Office for Science and Society Joe Schwarcz associated with New Zealand, not possum, weasel, ferret or rabbit. “I certainly did not connect…
More Penguins Return Home
A photograph of a blue penguin moving toward the sea after being released by wildlife workers in Tauranga is included in theGuardian’s ‘24 hours in pictures’ series for 9 December. The penguins were among those…
Tolkien Tourism In Matamata
The Lord of the Rings franchise is partially responsible for a tourism windfall in New Zealand with global visitor numbers up 40 per cent since 2000. At least five official LOTR-themed tour companies are in operation….
Streaking Star Trails
A long-exposure image of star trails streaking over Lake Tekapo features on the National Geographic website. The lake was one of the first sites designated as a Starlight Reserve as part of a UN-supported initiative to…
Moving On From Terrible
Naked and Famous guitarist and vocalist Thom Powers admits to have been part of several “terrible, terrible bands” in his time. “Everything that was terrible about ‘90s rock music — I did that,” the…
Weta Leads The Charge
“Wellington: once you come, you stay,” Crave Online’s Grae Drake is told on a visit to Weta Digital. “This is both a threat and a promise, uttered by the geniuses employed at Weta. The…
Fighting Flu In South Asia
Massey University has received $5 million from the World Bank to develop an on-line project which will fight animal-borne diseases that can transmit to humans, such as bird flu and rabies, in South Asia….
Florentine Light And Dark
New Zealand artist Pete Wheeler, 33, presents his first Italian solo exhibition, ‘Paths of the Destroyer’, at the Poggiali e Forconi Gallery in Florence. Berlin-based Wheeler says that the ‘Paths of the Destroyer’ are…
Album Upbeat She Swears
Ladyhawke has announced the release of her second album, Anxiety, which will be out on 19 March 2012. It has been recorded over the past year at producer Pascal Gabriel’s house in the south of…
Surviving A Day Of Fun
“In one day I jumped from a bridge, rode at breakneck speeds in a canyon on a jet boat, took a helicopter flight over a mountain range, survived four hours on Class IV white…
New Zealand Facebook First
“New Zealand already has lush rainforests and sandy beaches, bungee jumping and scuba diving, gourmet restaurants and lively night life, even a thriving tech community that has drawn investment from the likes of Peter…
Observing Oceanic Responsibilities
New Zealand and Australia have signed a marine observation agreement, which is expected to result in improved knowledge of regional climate systems. New Zealand’s high commissioner Major-General Martyn Dunne and Australia’s Science Minister Kim…
Give Them Authority
Former New Zealand cabinet minister and member of parliament, Maurice McTigue, who is currently vice president of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University in Virginia, comments on changes at the United States Postal…
Must Eats In The South
When visiting New Zealand there are five foods “you’ve just got to try” according to Jaunted’s Eric Rosen. “On our own recent long visit to the South Island, we discovered more and more chefs…
Reporting From New Zealand
“For a small place, New Zealand generates a lot of news,” ABC New Zealand correspondent Dominque Schwartz tells Elizabeth Jackson. “Its population is less than that of Sydney, but this year alone there’ve been…
Physicality Earns Top Award
All Blacks loose forward Jerome Kaino, 28, was named New Zealand player of the year at the Steinlager Rugby Awards held in Auckland. Kaino played all but 55 seconds of New Zealand’s seven World…
Great Barrier Phenomenon
American entomologist Mark Moffett, 53, claimed he discovered the largest weta of the species ever found. International publications, such as the Daily Mail, The Huffington Post and Telegraph, have declared Moffett’s find the world’s biggest insect in terms…
Documenting Recovery
While an exchange student in New Zealand, American Peter Hoffman, 27, discovered his passion for photography, and for the country. This year, Hoffman plans to return to Christchurch, where in February this year an…
Stay At The Furthermost Edge
Tucked up in the high country of the South Island, Mount Aspiring teetering to the rear, Lake Wanaka far down below, the 65,000-acre Minaret Station is not so much the middle of nowhere as…
Challenging Classroom Prejudice
New Zealand-born teacher Suran Dickson, 34, felt moved enough to leave her job and launch Diversity Role Models, a charity which tackles the worrying incidence of homophobic bullying in British schools, where terms…
Magical Parrot Meetings
The rangers and scientists of the Kakapo Recovery program on Codfish Island are slowly but surely succeeding in their mission to “make more kakapo” by micromanaging the birds’ diet, mating, births, and fledging —…
New Zealand Least Corrupt
New Zealand is perceived as having the least corrupt government and public institutions in the world, topping the Corruption Perceptions Index 2011 survey. 178 countries were included in this year’s iteration of the annual survey,…
Alien Disappearance
Without any human intervention, the Argentine ant — the world’s most invasive species — is disappearing from New Zealand. The alien ant arrived in New Zealand in 1990 and has since marched across our…
Muppets Made Malevolent
Peter Jackson’s Meet the Feebles is “a hilariously offensive film,” the Muppet’s exact reverse,” writes New York Times’ blogger Lia Miller. “As I began researching this article,” Miller writes, “I was reminded of the most fantastically warped Muppet-style…
Calling Australia Home
Almost one in five Maori — or 151,000 of the total population of 815,000 — now live outside New Zealand, with most — 140,000 — calling Australia home. An increasing number were born in…
Kudos Across The Tasman
Hamilton-born singer Kimbra has taken the title of Best Female Artist at the Australian 2011 ARIA Awards, following in the footsteps of fellow New Zealander Jenny Morris who won the title twice in 1987…
Cranking Out A Conchords Film
Bret McKenzie has said he has hopes for a film version of his and Jemaine Clement’s hit television show Flight of the Conchords. “We’re going to try and do a movie,” McKenzie said at The Muppets premiere…
Birds In Paradise
About an hour from downtown Wellington is Kapiti Island, one of New Zealand’s most successful nature reserves and a model for wildlife and flora conservation. Award-winning journalist Jill Robinson takes a day-trip there. “On…
Gorge Of Gold
The Karangahake Gorge, between the Coromandel Peninsula townships of Paeroa and Waihi, features walkways offering a glimpse of goldmining history amidst dramatic scenery. The USA Today’s Liz Lewis describes: “Enormous foundation ruins of the gold…
Crooning Retro Sass
Wellington-born 21-year-old Willy Moon is “dressed up to the nines in a black wool coat, white suit, pale blue shirt and tie, hair greased and parted with precision — the spitting image of a…
Slamming Sixes Galore
Masterton-born batsman Jesse Ryder, 27, smashed a world record 16 sixes against Australia A in Brisbane on 27 November. Ryder blasted 175 off 137 deliveries primarily against Australia A’s spinners and part-time bowlers at…
Woodland Harmony
A 1960s Boston house designed by Hamilton-born Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor and architect Maurice Smith is advertised as for sale in the Boston Herald. “This Weston contemporary is built to harmonize with its…
Astrophotography First
With only a 25cm telescope, amateur New Zealand astronomer Rolf Olsen has for the first time been able to get a direct photograph of the disk of swirling material forming a planet around a…
Paddling Perfection
Abel Tasman National Park, Lake Tarawera and Urupukapuka Island in the Bay of Islands are all included in The Australian’s “Ten top paddling experiences in Australia and New Zealand.” “ day-touring itineraries include…
Spellbound On Tiritiri Matangi
New Zealand bellbird, Anthornis melanura was the Guardian’s ‘Mystery Bird’ on 24 November. “This bird is named for its gorgeous song, which consists of three distinct sounds that resemble the chiming of distant bells,” evolutionary…
Man Of Masterpieces
Kerikeri resident Russell Garcia, an California-born arranger, composer and conductor who was an influential figure in the West Coast music scene during the 1950s and ‘60s and whose work in Hollywood included writing the…
Sacred Heart Star To Blackburn
Seventeen-year-old Junior All White Aucklander Tim Payne is the second New Zealander, after All White Ryan Nelsen, to join Lancashire Premiere club the Blackburn Rovers. Payne, who is expected to sign his first professional…
Wine Producer Of The Year
Brent Marris’ Marlborough winery Marisco Vineyards, which produced its first vintage just two years ago, has been named New Zealand Wine Producer of the Year by the International Wine & Spirits Competition. Former chief…
Freedom For Little Blues
Forty-nine little blue penguins rescued from the Rena oil spill that occurred in October off the coast of Tauranga have been returned to the wild at Mt Maunganui beach. Most of them immediately ran…
Upon A Breathing Planet
“Step into the volcanic crater on White Island, among the steaming fumaroles and geysers, and you’re instantly in a geothermal wonderland,” American journalist Jill Robinson writes for The Washington Post. “The hissing and bubbling…
From Top To Bottom
The 3000km Te Araroa, or The Long Pathway, the world’s longest walking trail, will be officially opened on 3 December in Wellington. The trail is the result of a massive volunteer effort that…
Queens Street Firsts
Andrea Hewitt, 29, won the women’s event while Kris Gemmell beat compatriot Bevan Docherty in the men’s race as New Zealanders dominated their home leg of the ITU World Cup triathlon series in Auckland….
Unique Island Perspective
New Zealand’s first-ever entry in the foreign-language Oscar race, Samoan-born director Tusi Tamasese’s debut feature The Orator is being hailed as a brave new voice in world cinema. Orator is pioneering in more ways than that:…
Jackson’s Effect
New Zealand filmmaking is at an all-time high thanks to Lord of the Rings’ director Peter Jackson who, 12 years ago, boosted the country’s Hollywood stock The Hollywood Reporter’s Pip Bulbeck writes. Jackson — who also appeared on…
Inspired By Ancestral Loss
New Zealand actor Charles Chan writes about his role as Wang in the play The Bone Feeder — which was on at Auckland’s TAPAC in November — for a story in The Malaysian Star. The Bone…
Xena Loves Geniuses
“You may know her as Xena from Xena: Warrior Princess and, more recently, Lucretia from Spartacus, but you may not expect that Lucy Lawless would fly all the way from New Zealand to California for TEDMED, a…
