New Zealand | New Zealand Herald | Sydney Morning Herald (The)
18 October 2003
Herald writer, Tim Dick, extols the many virtues of his Wairarapa homeland – which have thus far escaped the notice of Wellingtonian wine tourists. High on his list of recommendations are having a “three-scoop ice-cream from the…
New Zealand | Observer (The) | Times (The)
12 October 2003
With all eyes on Australasia for the Rugby World Cup, an Observer travel feature looks at new attractions on offer in the region. Included is the West Coast’s Wave Watchers Retreat (“a romantic bolthole with great…
New Zealand | BBC News
8 October 2003
England’s East Midlands are looking to NZ for inspiration in their bid to become a leading holiday destination. “In the world of tourism, NZ spent many years as the poor cousin to neighbouring Australia. But thanks…
New Zealand | Time Magazine
3 October 2003
According to Time Asia Pacific, globetrotting NZers are returning to their native shores in record numbers. 2002 saw a 13% increase in Kiwis coming home and a 28% drop in numbers leaving. Analysts believe both economic…
New Zealand | Times (The)
20 September 2003
The Times ran a lengthy travel feature on “the real Middle Earth” to mark the opening of the LotR exhibition at London’s Science Museum. “Never mind whether Frodo manages to destroy that ring we’ve all…
New Zealand | Financial Times
19 September 2003
Financial Times travel writer Nick Haslam heads to Marlborough, where he walks the famed Queen Charlotte Track, meets a weka, sips wine at Furneaux Lodge, and circumnavigates Mabel Island via kayak. The journey ends on a…
New Zealand | Wallpaper* Magazine
1 August 2003
Waiheke retreat gets relaxed raves in Wallpaper: “There should be more lodges like Delamore. Abandoning the servere straight lines of urban architecture, this four-suite sanctuary is deliciously organic, setting off the rugged surroundings of Waiheke Island. All…
New Zealand | Telegraph (The)
27 July 2003
Australia’s Sunday Telegraph stays at a hi-end bach: “Welcome to Blanket Bay, a spectacular lakeshore lodge hideaway 40 minutes’ drive north from Queenstown. It’s the paradise dream retreat of Tom Tusher, former worldwide president and CEO of…
New Zealand | Financial Express (The)
1 June 2003
Financial Express piece on watery escapes recommends canoeing the Tongaririo River, sea-kayaking in Doubtful Sound, and riding the Shotover Jet down south. Of special note is Fiordland’s “fairy tale like Hall Arm, where 4,000-foot vertical walls rise…
New Zealand | Boston Herald
18 May 2003
Boston Herald travel writer recommends the South Island to all thrill-seeking tourists, “whether they prefer their adrenaline rush natural or manmade.” An extensive tour includes Tairoa Head, Arthur’s Pass, Otira Gorge, and the Fox and Franz Joseph glaciers….
New Zealand | Times of India
27 April 2003
Times of India lists NZ as its readers’ third most popular summer holiday destination. “The ice age carved the exquisite fretwork of Fiordland and the Marlborough Sounds, huge tectonic forces pushed up the Southern Alps and volcanism…
New Zealand | Lonely Planet | Observer (The)
27 April 2003
Lonely Planet experts offer Brits-in-need a two week itinerary of NZ. Reader response: “A two week(!) trip to NZ? We’re UK bird-watchers who have just spent three months there. It’s far too short a time…”
New Zealand | Observer (The)
20 April 2003
Observer recommends Paua Cottage in Russell to Britons seeking a seaside escape. “Wake up in wondrous solitude to the sun rising from the Pacific Ocean at Paua Cottage … At the foot of a cliff sits…
New Zealand | Observer (The)
13 April 2003
Observer‘s guide to rock-star living suggests hiring your own island getaway. Featured is Forsyth Island, Marlborough Sounds. “This is a great one for the active – the 2,100 acre island has 35 kilometres of pathways for…
New Zealand | Sydney Morning Herald (The)
12 April 2003
SMH travel writer tours NZ in the lap of luxury, reviewing the likes of Huka Lodge, Okiato, Kauri Cliffs and Whare Kea. The verdict? “Lodges provide some of the country’s finest accommodation … They are…
New Zealand | Baltimore Sun | Moscow Times
28 March 2003
Baltimore Sun travel writer discovers the joys of the South Island road trip. “Driving on the South Island is not just to get you from one highlight to another – the whole blessed island is a…
New Zealand | Post-Gazette (The)
23 March 2003
Post-Gazette travel special includes NZ in its homage to Oscar-worthy locations. Special mention is given to The Remarkables, site of Dimrill Dale in The Fellowship of the Ring.
New Zealand | Business Standard (The)
6 March 2003
New Zealand has been ranked third best in a United Nations survey of global water quality. Ironically, New Zealand was also fingered as one of the leading water-wasters in a recent (un-related) study.
New Zealand | BBC News
3 March 2003
Leap-frogging Sydney, Auckland is the fifth-best city in the world to live in, according to an annual survey by Mercer Human Resources Consulting. The ranking takes into account a variety of political, social and economic factors,…
New Zealand | Australian (The)
1 March 2003
“Dull (never)” The Australian takes in the sights, sounds and tastes of Wellington in a glowing weekend feature. On a “perfect summer’s day” they breeze through cultural institutions (Pataka Museum and Te Papa), funky fashion (House of Hank,…
New Zealand | Andrew Harper | Yahoo! News
27 February 2003
New Zealand destinations feature strongly in veteran resort-rater Andrew Harper’s recommendations for 2003. Huka Lodge (Taupo) and Blanket Bay (Glenorchy) crop up in both the Top Ten International Resort Hotels and Top Ten International Resort Hideaways.
New Zealand | Scotsman (The)
4 February 2003
Waikiki, Daytona, Copacabana … 90 Mile Beach. Northland’s prized stretch was voted one of the world’s top 20 beaches in an Expedia poll of thousands of British travellers. Winning poll-participant Pete Shannon now has the arduous job…
New Zealand | Times (The)
1 February 2003
“If the landscape above the Okaka mountain hut had been the work of a garden designer it would have won Chelsea.” Times writer roams the “enchanted forest” of the Tuatapere Hump Ridge Track, Southland’s latest “Great Walk,”…
New Zealand | Observer (The)
26 January 2003
The best supporting location features in the Observer‘s list of 20 dream holidays for the 21st century. “Hobbit fever has made NZ one of the hottest destinations of the new century, and there is still one…
New Zealand | New York Times (The)
26 January 2003
NY Times travel writer witnesses first hand the impact of Cup-fever on the cosmopolitan City of Sails and the hotel, restaurant, and entertainment legacy it leaves behind. “Auckland feels like a younger, fresher, smaller version of…
New Zealand | Observer (The)
26 January 2003
NZ waters crop up three times in the Observer‘s list of the world’s best scuba spots. Hauraki Reef and Kaikoura Canyon are recommended for mammal enthusiasts, while a night-dive at Rikoriko Cave (Poor Knights Islands) comes with…
New Zealand | Boston Globe
26 January 2003
Harvard’s popular Let’s Go series has updated its NZ guide to include such hidden gems as Wanaka’s Cinema Paradiso. Writer Mark Kirby: “In the new feature ‘The Local Story,’ was able to give readers a feel…
New Zealand | Scotsman (The)
25 January 2003
Scotsman travel writer leaves the Southern Alps to Frodo and heads for the sunny shores of Waiheke Island, where bach culture and Gucci collide. “All kinds of homely structures are clinging to the hillside All have…
New Zealand | Age (The) | Yahoo Travel
22 January 2003
Confused travellers the world over are trying to book holidays to Middle Earth’s fictional locations. According to popular internet site Yahoo Travel, Rivendell and Mordor are frequently entered as search commands. Yahoo Travel’s Morgan Williams: “Personally I’d…
New Zealand | Observer (The)
19 January 2003
AJ Hackett Bungy is soon to open the world’s first harbour bridge jump site. The latest addition to the Hackett franchise will be located on Auckland’s harbour bridge – already a tourist hot-spot thanks to the…
New Zealand | Guardian (The)
11 January 2003
Mt Ruapehu makes the top five in pro-boarder Neil McNaab’s list of favourite descents. “While most people head to the South Island and the areas around Queenstown, the snow-clad volcano Mount Ruapehu makes the North Island…
New Zealand | Lonely Planet | Sydney Morning Herald (The)
11 January 2003
Proving that NZ is not only destination of choice for Louis Vuitton carrying America’s Cup acolytes, Lonely Planet, bible of the young and Birkenstocked, picks NZ as the grand winner in its annual survey of hot spots….
New Zealand | Detroit Free Press
5 January 2003
NZ was voted third most popular holiday destination in the NFO Plog 2002 American Travel Survey of over 9,000 U.S households. The report gages the most rewarding vacation experiences, as opposed to a head-count of visitors. The…
New Zealand | Times (The)
4 January 2003
The Times takes a tour of the world’s ghost towns and stops off in Macetown, NZ. You could be forgiven for not knowing the name: all that remains of Otago’s 1860’s gold-rush town is the old…
New Zealand | International Herald Tribune | New York Times (The)
3 January 2003
New York Times heads to NZ to find out if the hype is for real and are pleasantly surprised. “Always seen as ‘clean and green,’ NZ is enjoying a special premium at the moment as Americans…
New Zealand | Vogue
1 January 2003
Australian Vogue‘s A-Z of deluxe travel destinations includes the historic Eichardt’s Private Hotel in Queenstown. Built in 1873 and recently refurbished by new owners, Eichardt’s contains “a series of luxurious interiors, with a clever melange of…
New Zealand | Sydney Morning Herald (The)
30 December 2002
SMH‘s summary of Australia and her people for the year 2002 notes a 14% rise in holidays across the Tasman. The dramatically increased figure made NZ the most popular travel destination for the year, ahead of…
New Zealand | Philippine Star
29 December 2002
In-depth spread on NZ in The Philippine Star dubs us “the adventure playground that thinks it’s a country”: “The beauty, the serenity, the vivacity of the greens, the freshness of the blues and the translucency of…
New Zealand | Lonely Planet | Observer (The)
29 December 2002
NZ takes out the October slot of Lonely Planet‘s year planner for 2003. “Take one of the world’s great train journeys, the Tranzalpine, across the southern alps the varied scenery takes in the Canterbury Plains,…
New Zealand | Travel Channel
14 December 2002
Helen Clark appeared on America’s top-rating Today Show to promote an upcoming Discovery Channel program on NZ. New Zealand: The Royal Tour sees the PM take American presenter Peter Greenberg on a guided tour…
New Zealand | Sydney Morning Herald (The)
14 December 2002
Confessions of a (former) one-eyed Aussie: “Abandon all those negative clichés. NZ has changed To go to a country so deeply etched in the Australian consciousness by cliché and misinformation is to spend most of…
New Zealand | GEO Saison
1 December 2002
44-page cover spread on NZ in December’s GEO Saison – Germany’s premiere travel magazine. The article, “New Zealand – Setting out into the Big Freedom,” focuses on ex-pat Germans in Aotearoa, from Northland to Stewart Island. The…
New Zealand | Independent (The)
8 November 2002
The South Island was ranked fourth on the BBC‘s “50 places to see before you die,” clocking in behind the Grand Canyon, Great Barrier Reef, and Disney World. The list was compiled via a phone…
New Zealand | Los Angeles Times
3 November 2002
“On the South Island, it’s fun and games with Kiwis on a privately operated trail that delivers fine coastal scenery, rustic lodgings and, happily, no crowds.” LA Times writer discovers the joys of NZ tramping the…
New Zealand | Los Angeles Times
13 October 2002
LA Times‘ Youth Beat offers tips for the budget traveller. “NZ has a reputation for having the world’s best hostels, and one thing that helps to keep the hostel owners on their toes is the Blue…
New Zealand | New York Times (The)
6 October 2002
Turning conventional wisdom upside down New York Times finds that:”isolation, long an obstacle to international tourism, has become a plus in the post-Sept. 11 world. New Zealand, long promoted as clean and green, is now adding “safe.”…
New Zealand | Sydney Morning Herald (The)
1 October 2002
In the Sydney Morning Herald: “New Zealand’s most uplifting tourist attraction, a brassiere-hung fence in the Cardrona valley in Otago is being restored. Farmer John Lee will wire 400 bras – sent to him by women…
New Zealand | Travel and Leisure
1 October 2002
Spurred by the America’s Cup (“couldn’t be in a more fabulous setting”) Travel + Leisure checks out the evolving new world styles of Auckland: “The city has evolved over the past two decades from…
New Zealand | New York Times (The)
8 September 2002
Writer Luba Vangelova takes a road trip up the “stunningly beautiful” east coast of the North Island – a journey described as “temporal as well as geographical.” Vangelova muses over the locals who ” the lost days…
Education | Guardian (The)
3 September 2002
A letter penned by Captain Cook announcing his return from Australasian waters has been discovered stuck behind a picture frame at Brancaster Hall, England. The 200-year old missive “recalls the grim hardship of what is now considered…
New Zealand | Conde Nast Traveler
1 September 2002
US Conde Nast Traveler’s influential “hot list” names the Auckland Hilton, Eagle’s Nest in the Bay of Islands, and the lodge at Kauri Cliffs as the premier places to stay in NZ. Auckland’s
New Zealand | Sydney Morning Herald (The)
10 August 2002
NZ slopes get the thumbs up from Oz ski-buffs. The Southern Alps: “bigger than the Swiss, French and Austrian Alps combined” – are praised for their variety, beauty, and value for the dollar in a comprehensive SMH report.
New Zealand | Vogue
1 August 2002
Vogue Living (Australia) visits the gardens of the exlusive Huka Lodge, designed by Suzanne Turley. “With brilliant green lawns punctuated by conifers, native trees and sub-tropical plants, the serene garden of New Zealand’s Huka Lodge encapsulates nature’s…
New Zealand | Financial Times
20 July 2002
“Adrenalin, who needs it?” John Westbrooke discovers the secret to an enjoyable Queenstown holiday for over-60’s, recommending cheese-tasting, wine tours, and gondolier rides over the ubiquitous bungee jump. Not an extreme sport in sight!
New Zealand | Guardian (The)
3 July 2002
“They can visit Lothlorien They can smell the smells and see the sights that Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee felt.” After months spent ferrying cast and crew around NZ, Milford-based Glenorchy Air is now offering Tolkein…
New Zealand | Independent (The)
23 June 2002
“Tinkling ivories, crashing waves, visit volcanoes, rainforests and surf-pounded beaches where you can re-enact scenes from The Piano.” The Independent’s “one hour from …” series spreads its compass around Auckland and as well as soulful beachscapes in…