Michael Long Wins Vic Open with Magic Shot
Cromwell-born former PGA Tour professional Michael Long said he could not have hit the incredible chip shot that won him this year’s Vic Open if he had another 99 tries. Long admitted he thought he…
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
Megan Gale a Model Tourism NZ Cycling Ambassador
Australian model, actor and television presenter Megan Gale, 40, once helped promote Australia to Italy on travel show Getaway, now she will use her Maori heritage to help endear New Zealand to the world. Gale…
Two Great Reasons to Visit Martinborough
New Zealand’s most expensive wine, Marie Zelie Reserve Pinot Noir 2010 is one good reason to visit Martinborough Vineyards, Wharekauhau Lodge is another, says the Telegraph’s Victoria Moore. “Price alone wouldn’t be enough to make…
Jane Carter Makes University of Illinois History
Aucklander Jane Carter is the Great Lakes Valley Conference Women’s Tennis Freshman of the Year, which is, according to the State Journal-Register, “perhaps the greatest individual accomplishment in the seven-year National Collegiate Athletic Association…
Marlon Williams Brings Honey Back to the Bees
“If there’s anyone who proves that singer-songwriters don’t need a Nashville or Memphis address to make authentic, arresting country music, it’s 25-year-old crooner Marlon Williams,” Village Voice music editor Lindsey Rhoades says. “Growing…
New Zealand More Popular Than Ever For Visitors
New data shows that more people than ever are visiting New Zealand, as reported on ExpatForum.com. In December 2015 visitor arrivals reached 444,900 – 3.13 million in the December 2015 year. Australia contributed 1.33 million…
Iconic New Zealand Lodge Introduces ‘Estate to Plate’ Culinary Safari
Rotorua’s iconic wilderness luxury lodge Treetops Estate is promoting a new premium food experience styled as ‘The Estate to Plate Safari’, as reported in an article on Robb Report. The safari begins with…
New Zealand Unemployment Drops to 6-Year Low
New Zealand’s unemployment rate has plummeted to 5.3% – in the fourth quarter of the year – which is a six-year low. “Although the number of employed people has risen, there was also growth in…
New Zealand’s Hawke’s Bay Boasts Fine Dining, Wines
“Napier is home to restaurants that rival some of Europe’s finest and to robust reds and complex chardonnays that have put New Zealand on the world’s wine map,” writes Liza Weisstuch, who travelled through…
New Zealand One of The World’s Most Generous Nations
New Zealand is the country with the second highest rate of charitable donations as a percentage gross domestic product (GDP) according to a new report released by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF). Charitable giving by…
More People Moving from Australia to New Zealand Than Vice Versa
The long-existing friendly rivalry between Australia and New Zealand was complicated over the past few decades “by the fact that many New Zealanders moved to Australia in search of jobs and other opportunities”, writes Adam…
5 Must-Visit Places in New Zealand
“New Zealand has proven a popular destination for Malaysians be it making a Lord of the Rings pilgrimage to Hobbiton or getting an adrenaline rush from a variety of adventure sports”, according to an…
New Zealand Top Women’s World Rankings
New Zealand’s Black Ferns have been ranked #1 on the first rankings for women’s Test rugby. “It’s a positive step for one of the fastest growing team sports in the world, as it brings parity…
Auckland Ranked World’s #4 Most Cosmopolitan City
Auckland has been identified as the world’s fourth most cosmopolitan city in the 2015 World Migration Report from the International Organisation for Migration. Only Dubai (83%), Brussels (62%) and Toronto (46%) have larger…
David Farrier’s Doco Tickled a Hit with Critics
New investigative documentary, the “engrossing” Tickled, co-directed by New Zealanders David Farrier and Dylan Reeve, has received rave reviews from critics and punters after its premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Farrier and Dylan Reeve’s…
Decorated WWII Fighter Pilot Keith Thiele
Squadron Leader Keith Thiele, who has died in Sydney aged 94, was decorated four times as a bomber and a fighter pilot and was one of only four New Zealand-born airmen to earn three…
First Things First in Planet’s Adventure Mecca
Braving the 16-hour flight from Los Angeles to New Zealand is easy, according to Outside Magazine, but the hard part is sorting through the overwhelming number of possibilities crammed into the two islands. Outside…
Ukulele Orchestra Strums up Fans in US
Andy Morley-Hall is a member of the Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra, an eight-piece band that combines high-energy ukulele covers of classic pop and rock songs by the likes of Blondie, Cyndi Lauper and Salt-N-Pepa…
Thor director Taika Waititi an Indie Powerhouse
“As a director, got an impeccable ability to balance painful earnestness with biting humour,” Angela Watercutter writes for WIRED. “And as a comedy writer and actor, he produces jokes that land…
Photographer Robin Hammond Speaks on Conflict
New Zealand-born Robin Hammond is one of six photographers featured in a series called Conflict, which explores the testimonies of professional conflict photographers and looks at how they engage with and seek to understand…
Queen of Eyewear Karen Walker Spearheads New Range
“The reigning queen of cult eyewear, Karen Walker, is back with another sunglasses collection, and yes – the lookbook is just as adorable and the styles are just as lustworthy as we’ve come to…
Matt Jenke Google Maps the Great Walks
Aucklander Matt Jenke has helped put some of the country’s top tramping tracks on the Google map, completing seven of the nine Great Walks wearing a Google Street View Trekker, a wearable backpack outfitted…
Hunt for the Wilderpeople is Perfectly Balanced
Taika Waititi’s film adaptation of Barry Crump’s Wild Pork and Watercress, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, which made its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, is a “deliciously good time at the movies,” according to…
New Zealand: Best of South Island
“It was a dream come true,” writes Lynette Tan in a post about her 3-week trip around the South Island of New Zealand. “New Zealand is an exceptional place to travel to for…
Wanaka Lakeside Apartments Ranked #3 Luxury Hotel South Pacific
Wanaka’s Lakeside Apartments have been ranked third best Luxury Hotel in the South Pacific Region in the 2016 TripAdvisor Choice Awards. The Hotel also was recognized as the best Luxury Hotel in New Zealand as…
Beatrice Tinsley Acknowledged by Google Doodle
Beatrice Tinsley, “one of the least acknowledged – and most original – thinkers in astronomy is being acknowledged by Google Doodle”, writes Jess Staufenberg in an article for The Independent. The Doodle on Google’s…
Jonah Lomu: A Gentle Giant
For many the defining image of gentle giant Jonah Lomu, who died in November, aged 40, is the sight of the New Zealand rugby star swatting aside England players in the semi-final of the 1995…
Top of the Lake Season 2 to Start Filming This Spring
“It’s been almost three years since Top of the Lake first aired and it’s still hard to shake the series’ sense of creeping dread”, writes Jacob Stolworthy in an article on The Independent. Lead actress…
Migaloo Sighted in New Zealand
The world’s most famous white whale Migaloo – a pure white humpback – has been sighted between the North and South Island of New Zealand. “Migaloo being in New Zealand waters supports the findings from…
Record New Zealand Wine Exports
New Zealand wine exports have hit a record high as the USA becomes New Zealand’s largest export market for wine. “Underlying the growth is the very positive reputation of New Zealand wine amongst consumers and…
The 7 Most Stunning Lakes in New Zealand
In a blog post Matt – self-proclaimed Adventurer, Instagrammer and New Zealand travel planning expert – featured seven of New Zealand most stunning lakes. “New Zealand is a land of picturesque lakes, often painted and photographed…
Badass Woman Nancy Wake
Nancy Wake was included in Buzzfeed’s list of “14 Badass Historical Women To Name Your Daughters After”. If you would like your baby to be exceedingly glamorous you should name her Nancy after Nancy Wake –…
All Trygve Wakenshaw Wants Is to Be Mr Bean
Mime superstar, New Zealand-born Trygve Wakenshaw, who has been garnering rave reviews for his recent solo show, Nautilus talks with the Guardian about his theatre background, his future and what he really wants –…
Chef Anna Hansen on Juggling Work and Family
New Zealand-raised chef Anna Hansen, owner of London’s Modern Pantry, talks with the Guardian about juggling the demands of business and family. Time management is one thing Hansen says she is not particularly good at. “I…
Owls Do Cry Reissued with Margaret Drabble Intro
Janet Frame’s 1957 debut novel Owls Do Cry has now been reissued with a nuanced and appreciative introduction by Margaret Drabble, who calls the novel “an exhilarating and dazzling prelude to long and…
Snowboarder Nev Lapwood Wins Big Dragon’s Den Deal
New Zealand-born Nev Lapwood’s Snowboard Addiction training website has inked a US$100,000 investment deal with Canadian e-commerce maven Michele Romanow after wowing the panel on reality television show Dragon’s Den. Snowboard Addiction was…
Black Hole Expert Roy Kerr Honoured in Nice
One of the world’s most brilliant mathematicians, New Zealander Roy Kerr, 81, has been awarded the Crafoord Prize for his work on black holes. With an award of US$700,000 the prize is one of…
All Blacks Add Spice to European Champions Cup
New Zealand’s All Black stars are the big prizes in rugby’s global talent pool, particularly only a few months after winning a second consecutive World Cup, the New York Times reports. Like Ma’a Nonu,…
Stacey Gorman’s Frosty Meringues the New Cool
From elaborate pavlovas to plush, punk-pink rainbow cakes, chefs and food stylists Auckland-born Stacey O’Gorman (left) and British business partner Alex Hoffler – aka the Meringue Girls – both still in their…
Tramping New Zealand’s Magical Great Walks
“New Zealand’s Fiordland National Park – bigger than Yosemite and Yellowstone national parks combined – offers a wealth of magical hikes,” Associated Press journalist Carey Williams writes. “The Great Walks are routes featured by the…
Marlon Williams takes on North America
In July 2015, Marlon Williams made his Vancouver Folk Music Festival debut stunning the crowd. The 25-year-old New Zealander is a revelation, according to the Vancouver Sun. Williams’ voice is riveting, a cross between…
Sundance Welcomes Taika Waititi’s Latest
Taika Waititi’s new film Hunt for the Wilderpeople, a dramatisation of Barry Crump’s 1986 novel, Wild Pork and Watercress, has premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Boy director Waititi returns with the road comedy…
Ben Sanders’ Crime Novel Takes on the Big Guns
Ben Sanders’ American Blood is a “world-class thriller,” according to Karen Hardy writing for the Sydney Morning Herald. “It’s perhaps a little too soon to put Sanders in the same league as Lee Child,”…
Thomas Monckton’s The Pianist a Brilliant Hour
New Zealander Thomas Monckton is one of a new generation of mimes, a “luminary”, beginning to “carry the torch in a tradition that brought us Charlie Chaplin and Mr Bean,” according to the Sydney…
Mime’s New Star Is Trygve Wakenshaw
“Rubber-limbed” New Zealander Trygve Wakenshaw is “one of the most talented acts of the new mime movement,” Tristram Fane Saunders writes for the Telegraph. Trained at École Philippe Gaulier (“essentially RADA for…
Moa’s Range of Ecological Roles Irreplaceable
Filling the ecological gap left by the extinction of the moa with imported Australian emus and cassowaries would not work, according to insights into the giant flightless birds’ feeding behaviours. The findings, reported in the…
Under-15 Cricket Team Breaks with Tradition
Wakatipu High School Uunder-15 cricket team impressed locals at January’s Western New South Wales Cricket Carnival, wowing locals in the small rural township of Molong with their haka. Molong’s picturesque pitch, with its white picket…
Okinawa Islands Traditions Inspire English Teacher
New Zealander Jesse Whitehead, 25, has published a photography book depicting the people, nature, and culture of Okinawa, Japan as he experienced them during his three-year stay in Tomigusuku City. Whitehead came to Okinawa in…
Freeskier Alec Savery Has the Best of Both Slopes
Queenstown freeskier Alec Savery, 20, spends most of his time in Cardrona, where just about anyone who’s anyone in the New Zealand freeski scene spends their winters. So, when it comes time to compete…
Heath Cozens Breaks Stereotypes with Doglegs
Disabled athletes fight the non-disabled in New Zealand director Heath Cozens’ award-winning documentary Doglegs which provides an outlet for five determined wrestlers to escape the prejudice they face in everyday life, the Guardian reports. It…
Pack up Your Troubles and Paddle
New Zealand’s only packraft operator Expedition X takes Guardian journalist Ellie Ross into a “secret corner” of the Rees Valley, an hour’s drive north of Queenstown, for a trek into the wilderness with a…
New Zealanders Helping Racing 92 to the Top
The experience of former All Blacks is helping Paris club Racing 92 with long-term ambitions, both nationally and internationally, said club president Jacky Lorenzetti. French clubs often give priority to their own national…
Luxury Lodge-Hopping in New Zealand
“Once seen by many as a destination for backpackers to hike, bike and bungee jump, New Zealand’s profile is changing,” Mark Jones writes in a Financial Times feature. “In 2014 the national tourist board…
Designer Tracy Grant Lord Dresses Scottish Ballet
Aucklander Tracy Grant Lord is the brains behind the costumes and set of Scottish Ballet’s Cinderalla, a production originally created for the Royal New Zealand Ballet in 2007, which Grant Lord also worked on….
Best Italian Wines New Zealand Made
You don’t have to go to the source to drink world-class Sangiovese or Montepulciano. According to Condé Nast Traveler, some of the finest Italian wine is made right here in New Zealand. When it comes…
David Bowie Changed Geeling Ching’s Life
In 1983, Aucklander Geeling Ching was 23 years old and waiting tables at a Sydney café when she was chosen to play the lead role in David Bowie’s “China Girl,” Associated Press…
