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…

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…

Smoking Hot Tourism

“Geo-thermal activity is everywhere ,” Ritu Singh writes for The Times of India. “Pits steam, holes smoke and water boils wherever you look – inside hotels,…

Korean Influx Boosts Coffers

Auckland is projected to be the new hot destination for Koreans in the upcoming months with Korean Air increasing capacity on Auckland flights by 30 per cent, injecting a…

Dangerous Driving for Kicks

“There are, perhaps, 20 people wedged into a small bus that’s winding its way down a dirt road in one of the steepest canyons I’ve ever seen,” the Toronto…

Breathtaking Safe Danger

“The only thing crazier than bungee jumping itself might be setting up a business helping other people to fling themselves off high surfaces,” Time’s Nick Carbone writes…

On the Bus on the Cheap

New Zealand is a popular backpacking destination for Canadians with its relaxed beaches, spectacular scenery and reputation for extreme fun. The Calgary Herald’s Sarah Deveau gives advice about how…

Plan for Luxury Moving Hotel

Businessmen John Johnston and Dave Nixon are behind a planned luxury Orient-Express-style luxury train that would travel the length of New Zealand catering to foreign tourists with a big…

Views Up-Front and Horse-Back

“There’s no finer way to experience the pristine New Zealand countryside than riding horses at Rangihau Ranch, in the Coromandel,” according to Lost at E Minor’s Zac in an…

Rakiura Impressions

In 2002, 85 per cent of Stewart Island was designated as Rakiura National Park, named for the Maori word meaning “Land of the Glowing Skies.” The Atlanta Journal Constitution’s…

Geothermal Goodness

“When I first see Shane Beattie engulfed in clouds of steam, sweat running in rivulets from beneath his white chef’s cap,” Wanda Hennig writes in an article for South…

New Zealand a Travel Success

New Zealand has won five awards at the 18th World Travel Awards in the Australasia category, with Air New Zealand voted as the region’s ‘leading airline’ and…

Baronial City Still Impressive

“A plan for was laid out on paper in Scotland and given the old Gaelic name for Edinburgh, Dun Eideann,” The Independent’s Adrian Mourby explains. “There were high…

Dorsal Fin Encounters

“Kaikoura is not a name that trips off the tongue when you list those lucky places that offer encounters with nature and a touch of luxury,” The Independent’s Jonathan…

Big Doses of Epinephrine

“If careening downriver at 50 miles per hour in a boat that came within inches of jagged cliff walls hadn’t woken me up and floating backwards through a swirling…

Elements Emblazoned

Its beauty is dazzling enough by day, but when the sun goes down New Zealand’s seas, caves and starlit skies are another world Jonathan Freedland describes in a Guardian…

Gulls Lift Off Over St Clair

Seagulls take off in the early at morning St Clair Beach in a photograph included in the Guardian’s ’24 hours in pictures’ series. St Clair Beach, located ten minutes…

Serene Silence by Turquoise

“What I was really looking forward to over the next few days was this: jet-boating across the freezing Rakaia river and visiting Lake Tekapo, one of the most beautiful…

Wellington Makes a Point

“Once a flyover city for tourists as they jetted between the thermal regions of the north and the cloud-scraping mountains of the south, or at best a pass-through destination…

Bungee-Roped Canyon Beast

New Zealand is home to the world’s largest and highest swing. Located in scenic Queenstown, the Nevis swing is a “bungee-roped beast swings in a 3m…

Like No Place on Earth

“The South Island is a lazy paradise of rolling green hills, craggy, glacier-clad mountains and rugged wind-swept beaches,” describes the Mark Johanson for the International Business Times. “You’d be…

For Explorers at Heart

New Zealand is the focus of CNN’s weekly Destination Adventure series “for the explorer at heart” featuring favourite regional foods, secrets from the locals and the best photos and…

Chinese Tourists Flock

The number of Chinese tourists visiting New Zealand rose 22 per cent year-on-year to 133, in the 12 months that ended 31 July. Associate Tourism Minister Jonathan Coleman said…

Topping Life Lists

New Zealand features in Washington Post series ‘Going Our Way’ which this week describes the best way of working to see the sights of the country. Orlando traveller Dara…

Surge of Visitors for World Cup

Despite a strong New Zealand dollar, international rugby fans haven’t been deterred from organising travel to New Zealand for this year’s Rugby World Cup. The most recent figures forecast…

Cheap and Cheerful

Auckland is the seventh-cheapest tourist-friendly city in the world, cheaper than Marrakesh in Morocco, rated eighth. The website Tripadvisor has launched TripIndex, which compares the cost of 5 tourist…

Walking on the Moon

Tongariro Alpine Crossing has been included in the online travel adviser Cheapflights’ top ten hiking destinations list alongside the Appalachian Trail and Mount Kilimanjaro. “New Zealand continuously…

Finding Solitude in the North

New Zealand is American musician Moby’s favourite place on the planet to holiday. “My fear is that every person you talk to is going to give that answer, because…

Parking up at Home

Native Parks is an ingenious scheme that lets you park up at the home of a regular New Zealand family, free of charge. The Guardian’s Jonathan Freedland…

Ever-Changing Glacial Beauty

Franz Josef’s remote location on the wild West Coast of the South Island makes it the perfect place to hide away, and it’s one of the few places in…

Après-Ski in Queenstown

While New Zealand towns generally don’t have a reputation as nightlife hubs, the South Island’s adventure capital, Queenstown is a vibrant exception according to The Australian’s Susan Kurosawa. “My…

Out of the Blue Accolades

Akaroa lodge Maison de la Mer has been named fourth-best bed and breakfast to stay in the world by leading online guide Tripadvisor. Owner Bruce Hyland said that after…

Living in a Postcard

There are no cars in New Zealand according to the Telegraph’s Tarquin Cooper, on holiday experiencing “a country unlike any other on Earth.” “As someone who is…

Roadside Mussels the Best

Green-lipped mussels, or Perna canaliculus are indigenous and exclusive to New Zealand, and they’re a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids, The Australian’s Susan Hurley writes. The molluscs are almost…

Reverence for Heritage

A more “tranquil” New Zealand adventure is sought by the Wall Street Journal’s Paul Baylis, who takes a kayaking daytrip on Lake Taupo to see the Maori…

Pioneer Territory Emerges

The sumptuous depiction of New Zealand in the 195s and ‘6s trumps the weepy story at the heart of one of the most expensive Dutch films ever made…

Auckland in the Spotlight

Food writer Simon Farrell-Green is the Guardian’s tour guide about Auckland ahead of the Rugby World Cup. Auckland’s life is “all in the suburbs” according to writer Rachel Dixon….

Wellington in the Spotlight

Wellington journalist and blogger Nick Churchouse takes the Guardian about the capital on a culinary tour of where to find the best food and drink between Rugby World…

Coronet Peak Effects

“I’m at the base of New Zealand’s Coronet Peak,” The Sydney Morning Herald’s Marissa Calligeros writes. “I’m seeing and touching snow for the first time. I’m soon jumping…

Dunedin in the Spotlight

Dunedin tourist consultant James Hacon and iD Fashion Week organiser Merrin Bath show the Guardian round their favourite haunts in the city that is hosting three of…

Heavy on the Wonders

The South Island may be spectacular, but the North Island’s got its share of amazements too according to International Business Times’ travel writer Mark Johanson. “The North…

Living Up To Its Nickname

Crewing an America’s Cup 8-foot yacht, NZL41, on Auckland’s Waitemata Harbour is the crowning glory of Edmonton Journal travel editor Karen Booth’s North Island trip. “With more…

City on the Edge of the Pacific

“Nestled in tree-covered hills at the head of a spectacular harbour, Dunedin’s rise to prominence as the gateway to the Otago region came with the discovery of …

Left Past the Fumaroles

After a 2-minute helicopter ride from Whakatane airport to White Island, Sydney Morning Herald journalist Keith Austin’s “first aerial impression is of a volcano from a movie,…

Weathering the Storm

“This picture was taken on our way to Saint Arnaud, but it could have been the west coast of Ireland, as the weather kept changing from sun to lashing…

Sans Guide in Wine Country

“I’ve travelled to New Zealand about a dozen times from the US and one of my favourite areas is Marlborough, aka wine country (natch), which is found on…

Positively Bucolic Township

Russell is a town of some 8 permanent residents, tucked into a beautiful, protected cove in the Bay of Islands, a stunningly beautiful stretch of rocky islets…

Limitless Adventure

“If hurling yourself off of a bridge is not your thing, then how about jumping out of a plane from 15, feet?” Malaysia Star reporter Wayne Johnson suggests. “You…

Luxurious Isolation

By helicopter to the Southern Alps, The Sydney Morning Herald’s Tricia Welsh discovers Minaret Station, a soft landing in a luxury tent on a sheep and cattle station. “We’re…

Auckland’s Own Nantucket

“Once a hippie haven where forested blocks sold for a few quid, Waiheke is today dotted with multi-million-dollar holiday homes and slick cellar doors (although it remains a firm…

Taiwan Looks to Closer Relations

The number of Taiwanese visiting New Zealand has increased by 4 per cent since Wellington granted Republic of China passport holders visa-free privileges last year, Taiwanese representative to New…

Fabled Serenity Endures

Despite the tragedy of February’s catastrophic earthquake, New Zealand still delivers sublime travel experiences, writes Chris Leadbeater for The Independent. “Since 1884 has played a role as…

Kind and Gentle Comparisons

“If some folks felt a few years back that Canada was the kinder, gentler nation America wanted to be, I felt New Zealand was the kinder, gentler nation we’d…

Epic Voyage Via Bora Bora

Cunard’s newest ship, the 292-passenger Queen Elizabeth, will sail an epic, 36-day voyage from Los Angeles to New Zealand and back in early 213, the historic line has announced….

Legendary Friendly

“We here in the ‘west island’ like to cling to that old cliché of New Zealanders being slightly simple sheep-botherers, so it’s a bit of a shock when you…

Taking the Tube

“Taniwha Cave Tubing, embraces much of what makes the New Zealand West Coast so special, with its combination of wild rivers, unspoiled forest, turbulent mining history … and an…