What to Do in New Zealand
21-year-old Taylor Gleason has travelled to 65 countries, “documenting it all — in classic millennial fashion — on an Instagram account that has amassed an impressive 65,800 followers,” writes Brittany Kriegstein in…
Tag Archives: Auckland
‘Pete’s Dragon’ Stars Love New Zealand Locations
Chances are that by the time you leave the theatre after watching “Pete’s Dragon” you have not only fallen in love with Elliott the dragon, but also New Zealand, where the movie was filmed,…
NZ Is the Hottest New Spot for Vacation Homes
“Auckland has replaced Toronto as the most popular luxury market for wealthy individuals who are looking to buy a second home, according to a report from Christie’s International Real Estate,” writes Christopher Tkaczyk in…
Three NZ Cities Included in World’s Friendliest Cities Ranking
Three New Zealand cities have been ranked in the Top 20 of Condé Nast Traveller’s annual World’s Friendliest Cities ranking. Queenstown has been ranked the fourth, Auckland the 15th friendliest and Wellington 17th friendliest…
Obama Picks Gin Wigmore for Summer Playlist
New Zealand musician Gin Wigmore’s “Man Like That” has made President Barack Obama’s “hand-selected” summer playlist, alongside classics from Aretha Franklin, Miles Davis and Prince, and more recent artists Common, Jay Z and Wale. The…
Parris Goebel Gets the Planet on the Dance Floor
World-famous choreographer Parris Goebel, 24, is making her own music now, because she can. ELLE magazine goes behind-the-scenes on the Auckland set of her new music video, “Friday.” You’ve definitely seen her in…
Human Dolphin William Trubridge
William Trubridge “is easily the greatest freediver to ever live, a multiple time world champion and holder of two of the three most significant world records in the sport,” writes Don Rowe for
Mad Mike Whiddett Drifts into Swindon
If you are a hesitant driver, if T-junctions make you shudder and merging makes you quail, New Zealander Mad Mike Whiddett’s antics are not for you, warns Scotland newspaper the Daily Record. The notorious
Rhys Darby Gets Wrecked
Rhys Darby is keeping busy. When IndieWire got the Aucklander on the phone, he was in Vancouver filming an unspecified role in the upcoming series adaptation of A Series of Unfortunate Events. It was…
New Zealand’s ‘ATM for Mood Deposits’
A cash machine-like terminal that asks people about their feelings instead of dispensing money has been installed in New Zealand city Whangarei as part of an art project called Moodbank, as reported in an…
DJ Zane Lowe Queues Up His Summer Faves
From a moody duet to a Mac Miller joyful four-on-the-floor groove, Auckland-born DJ, producer and poptimist Zane Lowe shares the songs he’s got queued up this summer for the Guardian’s regular column, The Playlist. Lowe,…
Top Local Eateries Make International List
Auckland restaurant Ortolana and Wellington’s Olive are included in Monocle’s annual journal The Escapist’s 2016 Restaurant Awards, a list of 50 establishments from around the world. “Tucked away in downtown Auckland, Ortolana is…
MAALA Rolls out Debut Album Composure
The past few years has seen Aucklander Evan Sinton, better known as MAALA, transform from New Zealand’s Got Talent star to brooding, mysterious electronic artist. With his debut album, Composure just out, Rolling Stone…
‘Accidents, Blunders & Calamities’ Wins Best Animated Film at Comic-Con
Kiwi short film Accidents, Blunders and Calamities produced by students from Auckland’s Media Design School, has taken out the prize for Best Animated Film at the 2016 Comic-Con International Independent Film Festival…
Nine Wonders of New Zealand
“With natural splendours that include stunning marine wildlife and geothermal springs, to culinary adventures taking in cutting-edge restaurants and tours of award-winning vineyards, New Zealand is a country that knows how to amaze the…
Real Women on Film for Karen Walker’s New Campaign
New Zealander Karen Walker’s latest campaign celebrates the art of film photography and women of all ages, with the designer and her 8-year-old daughter Valentina in front of the camera for the SS16/17’s Magnetic…
Huffman’s Wins at World Hot Sauce Awards
Wellington-based Huffman’s Hot Sauce has been named World Champion in the Pepper Blend category at a ceremony held in Louisiana. Auckland’s Culley’s and Kaikohe’s Fire Dragon Chillies were also named world champions in the…
Conservation Dogs on the Pest Warpath
One of New Zealand’s greatest conservation accomplishments, our so-called 100 “island sanctuaries”, are entirely pest- and predator-free, allowing endangered animals to thrive without threat. Conservation dogs like Piri the terrier ratter, a specially trained…
Rose McIver on Her Early Acting Days
Kiwi actress Rose McIver, who plays lead character Liv Moore in the iZombie series, recently said she wasn’t satisfied with her early acting performance. When the actress, who is required to take on an American…
A New Zealand Winter
“You could go to Europe this summer, overpay for plane tickets and stand in line for three hours waiting to get into the Louvre so you can see the Mona Lisa.” Or you could…
Getting to Know Thomston
Auckland-based musician Thomas Stoneman, aka Thomston, 20, is gearing up to release his highly anticipated debut album, which is “shaping up to be a really interesting, emotive release”, according to Australian entertainment site Howls…
Nelson St Cycleway Shortlisted for World Architecture Awards
Auckland’s pink Nelson Street Cycleway, designed by Monk Mackenzie architects and landscape architecture firm LandLab, has just been shortlisted for the World Architecture Awards. “The 0.37-mile offramp turned bike path cuts through the…
Waiheke One of World’s Best Islands
Waiheke has placed forth in Travel + Leisure magazine’s annual top ten best islands in the world survey for 2016, ahead of Bali, Hawaii and the Greek islands. It was also named the top…
Top NZ Firm Fletchers Seeks British Building Pros
“Fletcher Construction, is calling out for senior British construction leaders to help it deliver the largest infrastructure programme in the nation’s history,” as reported in the Global Construction Review. “I have never seen so much…
Lydia Ko Cruises to 3rd Title of Season in Arkansas
Sparked by a stretch of four birdies in her first five holes at the NW Arkansas Championship, New Zealand world champion golfer Lydia Ko, 19, opened an early four-shot lead and was rarely challenged…
Why New Zealand Should Be at the Top of Your Bucket List
New Zealand is one of the countries that find their way to the top of people’s bucket list again and again. In a post on travel website Matador Network, Jessica Elliott shares…
The Experience of a Lifetime
“A trip to New Zealand might just be the experience of a lifetime.” Queenstown and Christchurch are widely known for their extreme sports and cultural attractions, but New Zealand’s North Island also “has a…
Courtney Sina Meredith Doing What She Loves
Fear can block our creativity or turn our creative practice mediocre. So what makes some artists “fearless”? New Zealander poet, playwright, fiction writer and musician Courtney Sina Meredith, 30, has a reputation as a…
James Blick Devouring Spain one Bite at a Time
As part of their regular “Spanish Career” column, The Local chats to New Zealander James Blick and Lauren Aloise who run Devour Spain food tours in Madrid, Seville, Barcelona and Malaga. Blick says…
Jeweller Jessica McCormack Packs for Waiheke
Christchurch-born London-based jewellery designer Jessica McCormack talks with Harper’s Bazaar UK for the magazine’s monthly “Travel Notebook” column about what she packs and her favourite places to stay when she heads homeward to Waiheke…
24-Hours in Auckland
“I still feel an urge of excitement whenever I head back to the city of sails,” writes Beck Wadworth in her 24-hour Auckland guide in Vogue Australia. After arriving she “ventured straight into…
NZ Scientists Make Beef-Based Chocolate
Mustafa Farouk, a senior scientist who works for the AgResearch institute, has partnered with Auckland-based Devonport Chocolates to create a confection made with 50 percent beef, as reported on Munchies – Vice’s…
Smoothly Shot Tickled Undeniably Compelling
“About half an hour into the queasily entertaining documentary Tickled, we’re introduced to a Florida man named Richard Ivey, who runs a lucrative video website catering to those who share his highly specific fetish,”…
Jono Rotman’s Mongrel Mob Portraits
Photographer Jono Rotman’s most recent series “Mongrel Mob Portraits” – “depicts a unique vein in the tissue of New Zealand society, bringing up questions about national narrative and the perspectives of its inhabitants,” as…
Greg Semu Restages Colonial Raft Art with Actors
In a new exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) called, The Raft of the Tagata Pasifika (People of the Pacific), Auckland-born photographer Greg Semu presents a series of powerful photographic works, using…
World Champion All Blacks Beat Wales
New Zealand’s All Blacks have beaten Wales 39-21 in the first test at Eden Park on Saturday, as reported in Fox Sports. The win “was achieved by a team beginning a new era…
Auckland Start-Up Cleans Up Post Part Mess
New Zealand founded start-up Morning-After Maids, “has been inundated with requests for their services, from home and abroad,” as reported in an article in The Guardian. The cleaning service that picks…
Emilia Wickstead – Air New Zealand Inspiring Voices
Have you ever wondered how Emilia Wickstead started her business? Watch this #Inspiring Voices clip by Air New Zealand to find out. Emilia Wickstead is a New Zealand fashion…
Yashili NZ Launch Fundraising Campaign for Heart Kids
Yashili New Zealand Dairy Company have partnered with Chinese master pianist Lang Lang as part of a fundraising campaign for Heart Kids to support children living with congenital heart conditions. As the event…
Evelyn Marsters Reflects on Her Move to Berlin
“It’s typical of the psyche of those born in a small island country to want to spend time overseas, to absorb firsthand the life we have been exposed to in our books and across…
Rare Drone Footage of Whales Off the Coast of Auckland
Watch this unique drone footage of a Bryde’s whale feeding off the coast of Auckland in this clip captured by an AUT University research team. A young calf can…
Kiwi Teen Creates Ball Gowns Using Rubbish Bags
Pukekohe teen Havilah Koledoye has created elaborate ball gowns using plastic bags, as reported in The Daily Mail. Plastic “is quite durable, you can stretch it to anything, it doesn’t rip or tear…
Singer Tiny Ruins Earning Noted Admirers
Since alternative-folk singer-songwriter Hollie Fullbrook’s debut as Tiny Ruins in 2010 with the Little Notes EP, the Aucklander has forged both an identifiable sound and a career built on faithful and growing followings in…
McLaren Lauds Its Hero 50 Years On
McLaren is celebrating its Formula 1 heroes and history with a 50th anniversary campaign. An online video charts some of the pivotal moments in the team’s history kicking off at one of McLaren’s earliest…
Auckland – The Greatest City on Water
Auckland has been ranked the greatest coastal city by Chicago Line Cruises, followed by Barcelona and Vancouver. The rating highlights Auckland’s two harbours, its many beaches and diverse wildlife as well as cultural…
NZ Artist’s Airbrushed Tattoos Give Sick Kids a Smile
New Zealand artist Benjamin Lloyd is helping to airbrush (temporary) sleeve tattoos for sick kids following a pledge on Facebook that he would paint all the sick kids at Auckland’s Starship Children’s…
Joe Naufahu Looks to next Role after Thrones Stint
We all know that Game of Thrones keeps its secrets even from its own cast members, but when it came to episode 4’s fiery finale involving New Zealander Joe Naufahu, 38, there were some…
Kiwi’s Genius Solution to London Jams
Fancy speeding down the Thames in London to get to your hotel? “Your speedy dream could be about to come true, thanks to Kiwi entrepreneur Alan Gibbs whose amphibious vehicles are being tested this…
Duo Wins Film Rights to Bestselling Capital
New Zealanders Matthew Metcalfe and Justin Pemberton have acquired the film rights to French economist Thomas Piketty’s 2013 global bestseller Capital in the Twenty-First Century. In Cannes, the pair unveiled their plans for the…
Martin Henderson Talks on Grey’s Anatomy Role
New Zealand actor Martin Henderson, 41, who plays Dr Nathan Riggs in the long-running popular medical drama Grey’s Anatomy, is profiled in Singapore’s Straits Times. The handsome neurosurgeon Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey) had been dubbed…
Joseph Parker Defeats Carlos Takam
“Joseph Parker defeated Carlos Takam via unanimous points decision in Saturday night’s IBF heavyweight title challenger eliminator in New Zealand,” as reported in an article on News.com.au. “We’ve trained very hard and Takam came…
On a Culinary Discovery in New Zealand
New Zealand has much more to offer than lamb and seafood, according to Straits Times food critic Wong Ah Yoke, who travels to Auckland, Waiheke Island, Hawkes Bay and Wellington sampling food cooked in…
Emilia Wickstead’s California Dreaming
New Zealand fashion designer Emilia Wickstead hit California this week to celebrate her new collection for London’s Matchesfashion.com, stopping in San Francisco firstly, where she and Matches co-founders Tom and Ruth Chapman mingled with…
More to Come from Brilliant Bundee Aki
Auckland-born Bundee Aki, 26, has been crowned both Connacht Player’s Player and Fans’ Player of the Season, as well as Guinness Players’ Player of the Season after a poll of all of the Pro12…
Gin Wigmore – Man Like That
Listen to Gin Wigmore’s track ‘Man Like That’. The song opens Shonda Rhimes’ new show ‘The Catch’, which follows a private investigator who is defrauded by her own fiance….
Violinist Amalia Hall Wins Young Artists Comp
Auckland violinist Amalia Hall, 27, has won the Tunbridge Wells International Young Concert Artists Competition, taking both the string section and the overall award. Hall received cash prizes of £2500, and concert opportunities with the…
