By Hook or by Jetski
New Zealander Jeremy Burfoot has begun a 32,000km journey on a jetski, setting off from London’s River Thames on August 1 and aiming to be in Auckland by November. Burfoot, an airline pilot, is…
Blog Archives
Star Dancer Touring
Christchurch-born Dancing with the Stars judge Brendan Cole was recently in Scotland touring with his own theatre show Live and Unjudged. The professional dancer, known for his snake hips and equally venomous…
Green and Whites Fan
New Zealand forward Ali Williams, who has been working his way back to full fitness playing with Nottingham the past month, says he has been won over by the club. “I’m definitely a Nottingham…
Spaghetti Sensibilities
Writer-director Mike Wallis’ western Good for Nothing was given its world premiere at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) in February. Santa Barbara Independent reviewer writes that Good for Nothing “is a strange…
Back Row Quality
North Harbour back rower Auckland-born Richard Mayhew, who has been attracting interest from several English sides, has joined Esher Rugby in the UK and has a clause in his deal stating he could leave…
Dignity for Relics
“For decades, New Zealand has campaigned for museums to repatriate the mummified and heavily-tattooed heads of Maori warriors held in collections worldwide — now it must decide what to do with the gruesome but…
On the Back of the Game
A general election has been called for November 26, after the Rugby World Cup 2011. Campaigning is expected to begin in the week of the final, which is to be held at Eden Park…
Berlin Screenings
Outrageous Fortune actor Tammy Davis’ directorial debut Ebony Society screens at this year’s 61st Berlin International Film Festival in the Generation 14plus section, which is aimed at a young audience. Go the Dogs by…
1981 Every February
Thirty years on New Zealand batsman Brian McKechnie remembers the infamous underarm bowl delivered by Australian Trevor Chappell at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. It’s an image permanently ingrained in the minds of almost every…
Exhilarating Rehabilitation
Aucklander Alan Wallace, who suffered a stroke in June 28 and was left partially paralyzed and unable to speak, has been able to find joy through harness racing, which involves people riding in two-wheeled…
Adventurous Outlook
“Gain a new perspective on the world as you loop-the-loop, twist, turn and feel g-forces unlike ever before while zooming along at more than 3km/h,” Carol Driver writes for TNT Magazine in an article…
Beneath the Kahungunu Flag
Nga mihi. It’s a bit late to be saying Happy New Year and all that, but take my best wishes anyway. Well another sparkling Waitangi Day has passed with the synergy sapping ‘Harawira factor’…
Liberating Spray-Tan
Star of cult HBO show True Blood, Anna Paquin tells Elle that “once you’ve been spray-tanned, bleached, and given the correct push-up bra, it’s like playing dress-up — it’s liberating.” Paquin features in a…
Anticipation Sky High
Peter Jackson’s film adaptation of JR Tolkien’s classic The Hobbit “is already one of the most talked about before shooting,” according to Christopher Wright writing for the site Film Industry Network. “Controversy surrounded the…
Entrepreneurs Abound
New Zealand has begun 2011 as one of the most entrepreneurial countries on the planet — “an entrepreneurial powerhouse,” according to The Economist. With a recent study by The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation finding…
New Face of League
Wests Tiger Benji Marshall “is the new face of rugby league” according to The Sydney Morning Herald, having been “chosen as the man to front the code as the game prepares for a new…
Nice Uppercut
In a unanimous points decision Sonny Bill Williams has won his third professional boxing bout in six-rounds against Sydney forklift truck driver Scott Lewis at the Gold Coast Convention Centre. Williams took the first…
Field of Dreams
Mangatainoka farmer Neil Symonds has taken his fanaticism for rugby to a new level. There are Test centuries and famous tries scored in many a backyard but not many play host to actual sporting…
Trail-blazing Tomatoes
Auckland-based Status Produce is New Zealand’s largest tomato supplier producing 10 million kilograms of tomatoes each year. Status Produce began as a vision in 1993 by John Becroft, a second-generation tomato grower and Garry…
Colours of Aotearoa
Whanganui-born composer Douglas Lilburn’s overture ‘Aotearoa’ and ‘Symphony No. 2’ were recently performed by the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra in Charleston; the conductor was New Zealander Grant Cooper, who is also the orchestra’s artistic…
Princely Role
Wellington actor Nico Evers-Swindell will play the part of Prince William in a television movie about the royal couple, William & Kate, which is due to start production in Los Angeles in February. Evers-Swindell’s…
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…
Young Blood Take Scroll
Auckland five-piece band Naked and Famous have won the Silver Scroll prize for their smash hit “Young Blood” at the Australasian Performing Right Association’s awards held in Auckland on 8 September. Alisa Xayalith, Thom…
Retiring From the Pitch
Former New Zealand opening batsman Dunedin-born Matthew Bell has announced his retirement from all forms of the game, after struggling with injuries over the past two seasons. “It’s a decision that’s been coming for…
Difficult News to Hear
Chief coroner Judge Neil MacLean has ruled that the 29 men killed in the Pike River mine disaster died almost immediately and had no hope of rescue. The men died when a methane explosion…
Springboard for MLS
Auckland football player Michael Boxall has made the first pick in the supplemental draft for Vancouver team the Whitecaps. Boxall said of his selection: “Vancouver’s a great place to come to, and I’m excited…
Ladyhawke at Laneway
“For an artist with such a fierce-sounding moniker, award-winning New Zealand singer-songwriter Ladyhawke — whose name conjures up anything from female shaman warriors to an Academy Award-nominated fantasy film — is surprisingly shy,” Asia…
Shirtless in Character
“As Dr Ben Keeton, the head of a South American jungle clinic, actor Martin Henderson has finally found a role that not only maximizes his ruggedly handsome good looks, but also jives with the…
Manhattan Ambition
New Zealand fashion photographer Regan Cameron who is based in New York, has shot some of the world’s biggest celebrities including Brazilian model Gisele Bundchen, Madonna, Kate Moss and Cameron Diaz; this month he’s…
Dancing Success
A New Zealand dancer took out one of the top accolades in the dancing world at this year’s Critic’s Circle National Dance Awards. Following in the success of her dance company, Rambert Dance, Pieter…
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…
Self-Controlled Success
A study by an international team of researchers who looked at 137 children in Dunedin born in the early 197s, observing their levels of self-control at ages 3 and 5, has found that those…
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,’…
Singer of the World
Dame Kiri Te Kanawa is the new patron of the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition following the death of Dame Joan Sutherland last year. Chairman of the jury John Fisher said they…
Relief for Black Caps
The New Zealand Black Caps ended their 11-game losing run in one-day internationals thrashing Pakistan in Wellington to take a 1-0 lead in the six-match series. Seamer Tim Southee took a career best 5-33…
Home Made in Nelson
A Nelson family of six achieved their dream of home ownership recently with the help of Habitat for Humanity International and 11 American volunteers. Oregon Live reporter and volunteer DK Row writes: “The Jeffrieses…
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…
Pursuit Win for Trio
New Zealand’s women — Rushlee Buchanan, Kaytee Boyd and Jaime Nielsen — took gold in the pursuit event in Beijing to strengthen their position at the top of the World Cup rankings. The New…
Adjusting to Change
In 21, New Zealand journalists Rebecca Todd and Kirk Hargreaves travelled to Nepal and visited Sanischare and Beldangi II, two of seven camps that housed 1, Bhutanese refugees for two decades. Todd and Hargreaves…
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…
High-End Drama
Director Lee Tamahori’s new Sundance film The Devil’s Double, a violent glimpse at Saddam Hussein’s notorious son Uday and his unwilling body double, is a chance for the 60-year-old, he says, to prove once…
Song of the Day
Tim Finn’s ballad “Persuasion”, from his 1993 album Before and After, was named ‘Song of the Day’ on January 20 by the New Jersey Star-Ledger’s Tris McCall. McCall declares Before and After “one of…
Shameful Shortfalls
The New Zealand Herald reports that the United Nations committee on the rights of the child has expressed concern over shortfalls in the rights of New Zealand children, including “staggering” infant and…
Exciting Nano Potential
Victoria University PhD graduates Dr Fern Kelly and Dr Kerstin Burridge have completed parallel research projects pioneering a way of embedding tiny nanoparticles of gold and silver in New Zealand wool. When the precious…
Young Guns Qualify
The Young All Whites have qualified for the FIFA U-17 World Cup Mexico 211 beating Tahiti in Auckland 2-. Cameron Howieson had coach Steve Cain’s side off to a dream start with a long-range…
Keat Makes a Splash
“ midfielder Daniel Keat looks to join the ranks of those En Zedders who first made a splash playing in Major League Soccer,” Bleacher Report’s Jo-Ryan Salazar writes. “And he gets to do it…
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…
Contemporary encounters
New Zealand artist Lisa Reihana is one of three New Zealand artists participating in an exhibition called Close Encounters: The Next 500 Years on at an “unprecedented number” of venues throughout Winnipeg until May…
Burry’s Glorious Gaudi
Melbourne-based Mark Burry, executive architect and researcher on the Temple Sagrada Família project in Barcelona, “is lost for words to describe how he felt at the consecration by Pope Benedict XVI” in November 2010….
Weighing in on the Buzz
“For the first time, probably ever, a band from is poised for huge success in the States,” The Huffington Post’s Jon Chattman predicts. “The Naked and the Famous have already taken their…
Oh For a Lamington
“The use of fresh and organic produce is what defines modern New Zealand cuisine, and it is this feature that chef Clinton Cooper believes will draw health-conscious Indians towards it,” Shweta Mehta writes for…
Utopian Tech Mecca
New Zealand is a newly discovered “utopia” for American entrepreneur Peter Thiel, famous for co-founding PayPal and being an early investor in Facebook, buying 5.2% in 2004 (the scene is in The Social Network)….
The Promiscuous Hihi
A team of researchers has found that reintroductions of a small New Zealand bird, called the hihi (Notiomystis cincta), onto the tiny islands around the North Island and into reserves on the mainland have…
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…
