News of New Zealanders via Global Media

Helli Vacation

Helli Vacation

Jean-Michel Jefferson heads Ahipara Luxury Travel, offering personalised helicopter tours of New Zealand, custom-fitted to a ‘”clients’ interests, tastes, and aspirations.” The tours typically start at the Cavalli Island Retreat and Spa, in the…

Divine Dwellings

Divine Dwellings

Nelson’s Lodge at Paratiho Farms is on the market for $14,500,000 and features alongside a $16,000,000 Coromandel property, both properties included as part of a New Zealand promotion in the autumn edition of Century…

Lodge One of the Top

Lodge One of the Top

Five New Zealand hotels and resorts have been included in Travel and Leisure’s list of 500 World’s Best Hotels for 2009 with Rotorua’s Treetops Lodge and Estate the highest rated. “This is the list…

Dipping into the Serene

Dipping into the Serene

The Whanganui River Great Walk features in the December issue of online magazine InTheFray, which writer Aaron Richner describes as a “river is so peaceful that can stretch into infinity, and time, a…

For Sale in Central Otago

For Sale in Central Otago

Queenstown’s 3,000-acre Closeburn Station features in The New York Times international property listings this week. “This six-bedroom three-bath contemporary home has a master suite with views of Cecil Peak. The home’s family wing…

With Loppers at the Ready

With Loppers at the Ready

Conservation Volunteers New Zealand is joined by British gap-year blogger Ruth Holliday who writes about her time spent with the group in the Telegraph, “doing what is best described as heavy gardening in the…

Walking the Wet

Walking the Wet

Fiordland’s Hollyford Track “lacks the traffic of Milford Sound” according to The Sydney Morning Herald’s Jenny Tabakoff who tramps the Valley in a guided tour on a particularly damp three days. Delivered by…

One Visitor at a Time

One Visitor at a Time

New Zealand has been judged to have the most responsible tourism practises on the planet at the Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards in London. The judges declared New Zealand the overall winner of 2008…

Home with Benefits

Home with Benefits

New Zealand is the favoured country for British expatriates to live because of its low property prices, mild weather and favourable tax rates. Having the lowest average property price at £105,750, low fuel, food…

Lakeside Hedonism

Lakeside Hedonism

Blanket Bay luxury lodge on the shores of Lake Wakatipu is the starting point for any adventure a guest can imagine, but it is also home to some very fine cuisine, according to The…

The Wild Edge

The Wild Edge

New Zealand’s dramatic scenery is the backdrop for an 11-day “fall” fashion shoot in the latest issue of National Geographic Adventure, which takes the writer/photographer and his models from Auckland to Te Anau. “This…

With Comforts, Without Pack

With Comforts, Without Pack

Opened in 1992, the 71km Queen Charlotte Track is located between Queen Charlotte and Kenepuru Sound, and Los Angles Times’s reporter Amanda Jones ó who considers herself “an outdoorswoman” but for who the “appeal…

Relaxed in the South

Relaxed in the South

There is more to Queenstown that diving off bridges and screaming down slopes on snowboards. There is, according to the Irish Independent’s Mary O’Sullivan, a “super holiday destination” leaving the visitor “perpetually awestruck.” Queenstown…

Through Cloud and Snow

Through Cloud and Snow

From Wellington Railway Station – “a symphony of towering columns, vaulted ceilings and marble terrazzo floors” – travelling by train north up the west coast “the track squeezes between wild, rocky shoreline and precipitous…

Holiday on Kauri Coast

Holiday on Kauri Coast

On the Coromandel Peninsula Metro UK reporter Kieran Meeke catches the Driving Creek Railway, a narrow-gauge railway line set up by local potter and conservationist Barry Brickell, who over the last 27 years has…

Tramping Pick N’ Mix

Tramping Pick N’ Mix

New Zealand’s Department of Conservation has designated nine tramping tracks as “Great Walks”, which include the Tongariro Northern Circuit, the Kepler Track and the ever popular Abel Tasman Coast Track. “Fresh air, exercise and…

Over the Alps

Over the Alps

On the TranzAlpine, India’s Economic Times reporter’s travel from Canterbury, taking in mesmerising views of the Waimakiriri, through the Otira tunnel and on to Punakaiki and Greymouth. “The highest viaduct, 73m above the river,…

Dream with Opera

Dream with Opera

Auckland five-star boutique hotel Mollies– owned by opera fanatics Frances Wilson and Stephen Fitzgerald– has received a coveted ‘Hideaways of The Year Award’ and is one of Harper’s ‘Longtime Favourite Hideaways…

Oriental’s Ohtel

Oriental’s Ohtel

Wellington’s latest accommodation option, the 10-room boutique Ohtel, is ‘Hotel of the Week’ in The Independent on Sunday. Situated on Oriental Parade, a wooden Victorian house was removed to give the Ohtel its central…

Capital Connections

Capital Connections

Wellington’s green belt, its educated populace and diverse economy is comparable to an extent with Ottawa, Canada’s capital, in that both are ideal illustrations of “younger new-world” cities. “Wellington shares more with Ottawa than,…

The American Dream

The American Dream

New Zealand is an enticing destination for American property developers and investors because the populace speaks English, there are minimal restrictions on ownership and land is still relatively cheap. There are also no property…

Sheep Farm Vogue

Sheep Farm Vogue

The Farm at Cape Kidnappers has made the third annual 2008 Travel + Leisure ‘It List’, one of 30 best new hotels in the world featuring alongside “Europe’s most stylish recent opening” J.K. Place…

Trend-setting in the Capital

Trend-setting in the Capital

Wellington, according to travel newspaper South African, “manages the fine balancing act of city slicker affluence and small town charm deftly.” “The undisputed cultural centrepiece of New Zealand packs a lot of punch in…

Legacy Well Spent

Legacy Well Spent

In a helicopter from Queenstown and beyond, over Lake Whakatipu and the Remarkables and then down through Milford Sound, The Mail’s John Stapleton is spending his son’s inheritance on New Zealand scenery. Queenstown is:…

Worth the Air Miles

Worth the Air Miles

New Zealand could be the most “luxurious destination of all” according to Canadian newspaper The Vancouver Sun in an article which promotes Rotorua’s Treetops Lodge and Estate, Waiheke Island and Peter Gordon’s Dine. “In…

NZ’s Hottest Beaches

NZ’s Hottest Beaches

New Zealand’s four most “sizzling” beaches feature in a Forbes Traveler’s ‘Sexy Beaches Downunder’ slide show. These are: Piha, Hot Water Beach, Onetangi Bay, and Abel Tasman National Park, which receives a “’10’ rating…

Competing with Green

Competing with Green

New Zealand has a reputation for its responsible ecotourism practices; it is a country committed to connecting conservation, communities and sustainable travel, as ecotourism defines. But keeping up with these practises…

Tour of Auckland

Tour of Auckland

The Flight of the Conchord’s manager Murray Hewitt, Aucklander Rhys Darby, introduces the Guardian‘s Sarah Bourn to New Zealand’s largest city and his favourite place, One Tree Hill. “I used to go there a…

Twain’s Tramping Track

Twain’s Tramping Track

Motatapu Track, which cuts across a Central Otago high country property owned by Canadian country singer Shania Twain, has officially opened. The 28km track is part of Te Araroa/The Long Pathway – a walkway…

Abel Tasman Charms

Abel Tasman Charms

Sea kayaking in the Abel Tasman National Park is “just gorgeous”, “picture perfect” and definitely not short on assets”, writes travel editor Jeanti St Clair about her three-day paddle around New Zealand’s smallest Park….

West Coast Purity

West Coast Purity

Sydney Morning Herald writer Anthony Dennis travels to the South Island’s West Coast and marvels the glow-worms  beneath a “pristine sky … so starry it looks as if it’s been attacked by a…

Indian Love Affair

Indian Love Affair

More Indian tourists than ever are coming to New Zealand for the expansive scenery, favourable weather conditions and a bit of romance. In 2006-20007, as many as 20,946 Indians spent an average of 13.8…

Written on the Edge

Written on the Edge

Duncan Fallowell’s latest travel book Going As far As I Can about a trip to New Zealand, is a candid account of three months spent in the country in 2004. And though many…

On Top of the World

On Top of the World

New Zealand has been voted Top Country for the second year running in a UK-based travel magazine readers’ poll. Almost 30,000 travellers voted in the annual Wanderlust poll, with New Zealand receiving a…

Gourmands Flock to Matakana

Gourmands Flock to Matakana

The New York Times heads to Matakana Village, a thriving boutique wine town an hour north of Auckland City. Matakana Village is a gourmand’s delight, boasting an award-winning artisanal bakery, scores of boutique…

Worthy Splurges and Brilliant Bargains

Worthy Splurges and Brilliant Bargains

Two NZ luxury lodges feature in Tatler’s annual hotel guide for 2008. Otahuna Lodge, Christchurch, and Matakauri Lodge, Queenstown, were named two of the world’s 101 Best Hotels by the British society…

Hollywood Holidays in Aotearoa

Hollywood Holidays in Aotearoa

NZ was allegedly the holiday destination of choice for a slew of A-list celebrities over the summer. Bill Gates spent Christmas quad-biking at Ahipara with his son, while actors Jack Nicholson and Charlize Theron reportedly spent time…

Trans-seasonal Vistas

Trans-seasonal Vistas

A Toronto Star travel piece likens NZ’s famous TranzAlpine train journey to the Crowded House hit Four Seasons in One Day. Star: “In half a day, it travels from summer-like warmth in the farmlands…

The Complete Package

The Complete Package

NZ’s largest city is described as having “new wind in its sails” in a US travel feature. Once the jumping-off point for further exploration of NZ, Auckland has become a worthy destination in its…

Third Time at the Top

Third Time at the Top

NZ has been voted the world’s best holiday destination by readers of Britain’s Daily Telegraph. Around 30,000 readers took part in the annual survey, which is the largest independent analysis of British travellers. Second and third…

Spoilt for Choice

Spoilt for Choice

An Australian travel guide to NZ’s top 30 lakes covers the length and breadth of Aotearoa, from world-class trout fishing at Lake Turangi, to the “perfectly still bush reflections” at Lake Ianthe, near Mt…

NZ in Three Speeds

NZ in Three Speeds

A Guardian travel article offers a three-pronged approach to seeing NZ. The first writer covers the entire span of 90 Mile Beach by Blokart, a NZ-designed sailing dinghy on wheels. “So much power without an engine…

Guilt-free Getaway

Guilt-free Getaway

Travel writer Caroline Hendrie neutralised the carbon footprint she incurred flying to NZ by staying at the south island’s Wilderness Lodges. Run by ecologist Dr Gerry McSweeney, the Wilderness Lodges scored top marks for eco-credentials…

Deluxe Digs

Deluxe Digs

NZ has added another luxury lodge to its collection this month, with the opening of The Farm at Cape Kidnappers. The Hawkes Bay property is set on a 6,000-acre sheep and cattle farm, and…

Life in the Crosshairs

Life in the Crosshairs

Man Booker nominee Lloyd Jones talks up his home town of Wellington in a travel article for The Times. He describes the city’s world-famous wind as a source of both embarrassment and pride for its citizens….

Hidden Treasures and Rugged Escapades

Hidden Treasures and Rugged Escapades

The London Times ran two travel articles on NZ last weekend. The first asked past and present All Blacks Richie McCaw, Anton Oliver, Reuben Thorne, Tana Umaga and Sean Fitzpatrick to “divulge their secret hot spots”….

Promise Kept in Bay of Islands

Promise Kept in Bay of Islands

Conde Nast Traveler‘s November edition includes a piece on “the most beautiful place on earth”: the Bay of Islands. UK writer Colin McCabe tells of finally fulfilling a 10-year-old promise to his son, by taking him…

Tauranga on the Make

Tauranga on the Make

Monocle magazine devoted a five-page spread to Tauranga in its November issue. The article charts the Bay of Plenty city’s rise from sleepy retirement village to boom town, courtesy of a new wave of…

Six Spots Bluelisted

Six Spots Bluelisted

Six NZ tourist attractions made Lonely Planet’s 2008 Bluelist, an annual collection of the world’s “hottest trends, destinations, journeys and experiences.” Jetboating Queenstown’s Shotover River is featured as one of the great river trips,…

Auckland Gets Guided

Auckland Gets Guided

Auckland is one of nine new international locations to earn a Wallpaper City Guide. Released in November, the Auckland guide features Wallpaper‘s customary mix of criticisms and accolades, as well as the odd backhanded compliment. The introduction…

Car-boot Camaraderie

Car-boot Camaraderie

With its own spring carnival brought down by horse flu, the Sydney Morning Herald sent writer Rachel Oakes-Ash across the Tasman to check out NZ’s racing season. Oakes-Ash headed south for the Christchurch Casino Cup and…

Three Ways to See NZ

Three Ways to See NZ

Three travel articles on NZ appeared in North American newspapers this month, each offering a different way to experience Aotearoa. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writer Naomi Koppel chose to tramp around the South Island, taking in “one breathtaking vista…

Been There, Done That

Been There, Done That

A selection of readers’ NZ travel tips appeared in the Guardian‘s travel pages this month. The information was gathered from the newspaper’s “I’ve been there” website, which features six pages of travellers’ suggestions for Aotearoa. The tips…

Lock-up Lodge

Lock-up Lodge

A Napier prison-turned-backpackers features in a Guardian travel story on jail-themed hotels. Decommissioned in 1993, the Napier Prison was reopened in 2002 to offer tours and budget accommodation. Guardian: “You can have it the easy way -…

True Romance

True Romance

Ponsonby Road’s Harrowset Hall was featured in the New York Times travel section this month. Described as “a romantic den of feminine clutter”, Harrowset Hall stocks cotton nightwear, robes and bed linen. The shop…

Après Vous

Après Vous

Queenstown has been named one of the world’s top ten après ski destinations in the Sydney Morning Herald. “The 120 licensed establishments in this lakeside town are brought to you by the letter ‘B’ where…