Timelord Travels South
“We had only been in New Zealand for a weekend but already I had begun to understand how the country’s dramatic landscape — volcanoes, mud pools and geysers, pristine beaches, lush vegetation, lakes and…
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
Packing a Punch
New Zealand is one of those countries that packs an enormous amount into a relatively small package. It’s unpretentious, despite its wonderful portfolio of natural treasures that range from the semi-tropical tip of North…
Twitter Tourism
Scottish journalist Danny Wallace recently tweeted his way around New Zealand garnering valuable travel tips from locals on the way who suggested views from atop Auckland’s Mt Eden, a Guinness…
Trekking Frozen Tears
“With the help of experienced guides it’s possible to safely enjoy the exquisite beauty of ancient, frozen rivers, their icy blue splendour glowing in the southern hemisphere’s brilliant summer sun,” Carmen Gentile…
Checking in at Opua
Opua is the first mandatory stop in the Bay of Islands for boats arriving from foreign waters and where visiting sailor, and blogger, Ruth checks in with New Zealand customs and immigration officials. “Actually,…
Hobbit Tourism
With filming on The Hobbit confirmed to begin in March, New Zealand is preparing for another tourism boom. It is expected that Peter Jackson’s latest film creation will drive a renewed bout of Tolkien…
Sustainable style
Cape Kidnappers in Hawke’s Bay is included in a Reuters list of “1 green getaways” compiled by “boutique hotel specialists Mr & Mrs Smith (http://www.mrandmrssmith.com)”. “Combine a 6-acre working sheep and cattle farm with…
Frontier Travel
“Driven by an adventurous national spirit and blessed with an extraordinarily rugged landscape that calls to adrenaline addicts like a jungle gym calls to children, New Zealanders and visiting foreigners have pioneered an impressive…
Wind Assisted Travel
When in Wellington “you don’t need energy to walk as you’ll be assisted by the wind,” discovers Malay Mail reporter Dominah Devadas. Devadas writes that asides from the wind, “Wellington is home to magnificent…
Ball Player Takes a Hike
“Without question, the highlight of offseason was the 53.5km trek on one of New Zealand’s Great Walks that opened his eyes to the beauty of nature,” Greg Johns…
Queenstown Todo
As the brochures boast: “Whether you crave adventure daily, or just like to have your pants scared off occasionally, you will find what you are looking for” in Queenstown. There’s a vibrant nightlife, with…
Tourism Awakening
These days, Nelson is a city “very much awake to the rewards of top-class dining and swish eco-stays”, Jimmy Thomson writes for The Sydney Morning Herald. “‘I’ve been to Nelson … it was closed,’…
Scratching the Surface
“No, you can’t do New Zealand in a week,” is what a travel writer friend told The National’s Rosemary Behan when she was invited on a seven-day whirlwind tour of both islands. Behan describes…
Golfer’s dream courses
The sister golf courses of Kauri Cliffs and Cape Kidnappers are included in a list of Toronto Star travel writer Ian Cruickshank’s “top five places that still need to be played.” “Kauri Cliffs teeters…
Different Sort of Luxury
“Forget hot showers, nice meals and clean sheets, walking New Zealand’s spectacular Milford Track is a luxury in itself,” Eric Arnold writes in a travel piece for Forbes. “Most of the time spent walking…
Kayaking Refuge
“Whale Island, in the Bay of Plenty is roughly 15km long by 5km wide with a central dome that reaches 354m,” describes Keith Austin in a travel piece for The Australian. “Not that this…
Wine About the Bay
There’s more to New Zealand wine than Marlborough, and much of it is within an hour of New Zealand’s major cities jaunted reporter Eric Rosen discovers on a “whirlwind field trip” of the Hawkes…
New Zealand and You
After more than a decade of success with the 100% Pure New Zealand brand, Tourism New Zealand has changed the slogan to 100% Pure You. Tourism New Zealand chief executive Kevin Bowler said research…
Ulva Island transfixes
“I feel like I’m in a New Zealand tourism commercial,” Sarah Nicholson writes for Adelaide Now describing her “perfect New Zealand moment” wandering the golden sand of Ulva Island, one of the small islands…
New crowd descends
Visitors from the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to New Zealand was up 57 per cent in the last eight months, largely driven by UAE tourists, according to the latest figures from Emirates…
Scenic Rail Journeys
Travelling by train from Wellington to London, BBC journalist Robert Greenall writes that “there are still plenty of good reasons to go by train.” “The joy of ‘slow travel’ is that you see how…
Pristine Parengarenga
“Somewhere ahead is Parengarenga Harbour on New Zealand’s North Island,” Peter Gosnell writes in an article about a kayak tour for The Daily Telegraph. “Legendary oceanographer Jacques Costeau once declared it the cleanest harbour…
Stretching Out on High
“In what is being hailed as the most important development in air travel for decades,” Air New Zealand has taken delivery of the world’s first passenger plane with a redesigned interior, allowing economy class…
Breath of Fresh Air
“It’s an extraordinary place, New Zealand,” British writer and journalist Daniel Hannan writes in a blog for the Telegraph. “Its pure air gets to work on even the most casual visitor. No country is…
Volcanic adventure
“The precipitous mist that clung to the peaks of this volcanic island did little to obscure the ominous scene that was quickly emerging in front of our boat,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter Elisabeth Ponsot describes…
Steamy sightseeing
Rotorua’s “Buried Village is a museum where you can walk around the excavations and see a Victorian gentleman’s hat and Sunday best crockery preserved in mud as perfectly as were the artefacts from ancient…
Makarora patience
The Makarora River, which enters Lake Wanaka from the north, is where the Edmonton Sun’s Neil Waugh heads to fish. “You quickly learn that New Zealand trout fishing is unlike most other…
Diabetes aware walk
From New Zealand national park to New Zealand national park American Greg Lineham, 5, will walk over a two and a half month period to raise money for juvenile diabetes research. Lineham’s daughter, Halley,…
Underground Stars
“The world renowned Waitomo Glowworm Caves should be high on any visitor’s wish-list,” recommends Monsters & Critic’s writer Jennie Radue. “The most obvious difference between the Waitomo Glowworm and its European counterpart is that…
Holiday Seclusion
New Zealander Amanda Jones writes for the Los Angeles Times about the bach, “purportedly evoking ‘bachelor pad,’ although this typically refers to their condition and not the marital status of their occupants.” “On a…
First light treks
New Zealander Reg Kaa, 46, and wife Dutch-born Jacqui Kaa, 39, run Eastender Horse Treks in Rangitukia. Their most popular route is a two-hour circuit along the isolated Rangitukia beach for a trot or…
Sea-life haven
“This is Kaikoura: and it’s paradise,” Kip Brook writes for the International Business Times. “It’s just two hours’ drive from Christchurch international airport and is one of the most breathtaking locations of any town…
A really good time
In an extract from the 21-published Lonely Planet title Discover New Zealand, which highlights the very best the country has to offer, the guide says: “You probably already know how ludicrously photogenic New Zealand…
Railway tranquillity
New Zealand’s trains, like the country itself, offer a glimpse of an older world. Travelling from Picton to Christchurch, the Telegraph’s James Owen relishes the chance to slow down and take stock. “‘Here, you…
In the Top Three
New Zealand has made the top-three list of the best place to live in the world, following a United Nations human development annual survey. Norway took first place, followed by Australia in second place….
Coolest Little Capital
Wellington has been named the ‘Coolest Little Capital City’ in the world by Lonely Planet. The Lonely Planet Best In Travel 211 also named Wellington as the fourth best city in the world to…
Auckland comparisons
“Travellers from Vancouver disembarking in Auckland will feel instantly at home,” Alan Ferguson writes for The Vancouver Sun. “The city’s temperate climate, its easy access to the coast and its varied activities, have earned…
Sharing the wave
North Otago’s Waitaki District has been chosen as Nevada’s Douglas County sister community. One borders the South Pacific, and the other sits in the Great Basin. One calls August winter, and the other calls…
Intimate Sophistication
Wanaka’s Whare Kea is included in a Forbes’ list of the ‘World’s Top Microboutique Hotels’. “Whare Kea means ‘house of the kea’ in Maori — the kea being the world’s only alpine parrot. This…
Unforgettable sights
“New Zealand is no single thing, stretched as it is across 1 miles in the Roaring Forties, from businesslike Auckland in the north to the uninhabited, penguin-covered Snares Islands in the remote and windy…
Wilderness gold
“Just like the safari camp and the ski chalet, the New Zealand lodge is a triumph of reinvention, the transformation of a utilitarian wilderness refuge into tourism gold,” writes The Sydney Morning Herald’s Max…
Icy southern beauty
“New Zealand is the land of all things possible,” Josh Green writes in a travel piece for the San Jose Mercury News. “It’s one of those places where you would like to take a…
Black in the sky
Air New Zealand’s chief executive Rob Fyfe revealed images of the company’s design for a black domestic jet aircraft in Sydney this month. Fyfe said: “In celebration of Air New Zealand’s long running support…
Cycling the Peninsula
The Otago Peninsula was recently included in a Lonely Planet list of the world’s top ten cycling routes, alongside the San Juan Islands in Washington, The Luberon and Mont Ventoux in Provence and…
More the merrier
The number of overseas visitors arriving in New Zealand has hit an August record, with strong growth from China who more than doubled from 46 in August 29 to 97 this August, exceeding the…
Heavy duty crush
Christchurch tourism company Tanks for Everything is “New Zealand’s latest adrenalin adventure that takes you to the edge and then charges over it, literally,” reporter Rebekah Devlin describes. Created by former IT manager…
Otago tourism mined
The Otago Rail Trail is New Zealand’s first dedicated long-distance cycleway, following part of the course of a former railway 15km into Central Otago from Dunedin, and used by some 2, cyclists a year….
Distance makes special
New Zealand “is the ideal destination to gain maximum distance from everyday life” describes German magazine Geo in a special edition about this country, which includes stunning photographs of Fiordland, Nugget Point and Hoopers…
“Tramping is a Way of Life in New Zealand”
and we wear grass skirts … Michigan’s mlive.com looks at New Zealand’s “love affair with tramping”, falls for the guide’s gospel, and admires our extensive National Parks system, including ‘the finest walk in the world’: the…
Rugby and Much More
The arrival of a 25 metre-long New Zealand rugby ball on Circular Quay “within cooee of the Sydney Opera House” marks one year until the 211 Rugby World Cup kicks off. As a conspicuous…
Ride of Your Life
Heli-biking in Queenstown is “an exhilarating experience and a must for anyone visiting” the southern city, recommends the Telegraph’s Tarquin Cooper. “Visit New Zealand for rest, relaxation and rugby; unless, you’re a die-hard who…
In search of the real deal
“When you’re a New Zealander, or ‘Kiwi’, as they like to call themselves, you seem to take that rite-of-passage world trip for a year or two — sleeping in hostels and living out of…
Buckle up team
A number of All Blacks, coach Graham Henry and rugby commentator Tony Johnson feature in Air New Zealand’s latest in-flight safety video. Henry, a former secondary school headmaster, playing the role of captain,…
World Cup Promotion
Ambassador to Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay Darryl Dunn is promoting Rugby World Cup 211 holiday packages in New Zealand. The concept the New Zealand Embassy is trying to instil in the Argentine market is…
Pure Advice for Coast
Former CEO of New Zealand Tourism and creator of the 100% Pure New Zealand campaign, George Hickton, was the keynote speaker at a gathering of 3 tourism sector operators making up the new Australian…
Fear the Cone
“The big daddy of New Zealand’s South Island fields has a reputation for being big, bad and nasty — in a good way,” Rachael Oakes-Ash writes for The Sydney Morning Herald. “Some whisper about…
