Earthsea in Aotearoa
NZ is to act as ‘best supporting location’ for yet another cult fantasy series; this time for an adaptation of Ursula Le Guin’s acclaimed Earthsea novels by the creative team behind Dune. The miniseries will screen…
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
Off the Beaten Track
NZ is one of 30 “hot spots for switched on travellers” recommended by Lonely Planet for 2004. To avoid the inevitable horde of Rings fans, LP suggests taking the Pacific Coast Highway down the Coromandel Peninsula, stopping…
Alternative Slopes
Scotsman feature urges snow bunnies further afield than the Alps and Rockies, recommending NZ alongside Iran, Alaska and Chile as a desirable alternative. “The Alps that run spine-like through the South Island are dotted with ski resorts. Mt…
Sleeping Outside the Square
The Hotel off the Square in Christchurch featured in the Guardian‘s ‘What’s Hot’ travel section. “The Hotel off the Square … proclaims itself a ‘hotel with attitude’ with 38 rooms decorated in a quirky style. The most quirky…
Road-tripping in Style
Condé Nast writer takes a “wholly enchanting” tour of the North Island behind the wheel of a BMW 745Li – dubbed the All Black “in honour of New Zealand’s brutal and beloved national rugby team.” Highlights on…
Blown Away
Scotsman takes a bracing tour of Wellington, “New Zealand’s Windy City.’ Highlights include Te Papa (“spacious and informative, an emporium of knowledge”), Old St Paul’s (a cosy bijou of splendour”), a 4WD circuit of the coastal seal…
Southern Exposure
Guardian writer takes one of NZ’s iconic road trips: the State Highway 73 from Christchurch to Greymouth, across the Southern Alps. “The road begins to climb sharply, and in just a few miles, via a series of…
X-treme for the Faint of Heart
Washington Post reporter goes tandem skydiving in Queenstown, one of the “softer” sports on offer in the home of X-treme: “somewhere between hot-air ballooning and needle-pointing … I survived without a scratch, or a grass stain. How’s…
Hunters and Gatherers
Baltimore Sun writer, Maureen Conners, accompanies her brother on a hunting trip to Shane Quinn’s Alpine Hunting Adventures, just out of Taupo. While brother bags deer, Conners wines and dines, shops, and takes in the local scenery:…
Glisten Like a Pearl …
NZ locales and services scored points with international tourists in the annual Condé Nast Readers Choice Awards, the most prestigious and comprehensive poll of its kind. Christchurch and Queenstown ranked highly on the friendliness test, with 90.5 and…
Fujinaki Tours Ltd.
29 October 2003 – Hoping that The Last Samurai will do for Taranaki what LotR has done for its various NZ locations, local guide James Heremaia has added the ‘A Mountain Like Fuji’ tour to his…
Go West … to the Edge
“There is another great shining land out there across the Pacific, far from the madding crowd. And it is all the things the Golden State once was. Onward then, to the New Eden, the New California!” LA…
The ‘Rapa’s Best Kept Secrets
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…
Sideline Action
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…
East Midlands Look to the South
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…
Back to the Nest
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…
The Real Deal
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…
Walks, Wine & Weka
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…
AJ Hackett: Boucing Tiger, Dancing Dragon
King of all things extreme, AJ Hackett, has led the first dragon dance walk across China’s 233m high Macao Tower. Hackett and a Chinese bungy enthusiast each led a team of dancers around the outer rim of…
Zealand of Approval
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…
Charting the Edge
Sydney’s Morning Herald publishes its 2003 top-10 lists for global rovers with Aotearoa again destination du jour. The chart toppers – Wine: Marlborough (“with its combination of bush, mountains and coastline … Cloudy Bay, Cairnrae and Allan…
You Won’t Need a Blanket
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…
Waterbabies’ Paradise
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…
Where the Wild Things Are
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….
Life on the (Geological) Edge
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…
Whistle-stop NZ
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…”
The Quiet Life
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…
Island for Hire
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…
It’s a Dirty Job, but Someone’s Got to Do It.
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…
Screen-worthy Scenery
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…
Fact and Fantasy Collide in The Remarkables
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.
Clean and Clear?
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.
Auckland: An Urban Paradise
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,…
Blown Away by Windy City Styles
“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,…
Harper’s Hot List
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.
Get Thee to a Nunnery
Detroit Free Press recommends Marlborough’s Old Saint Mary’s Convent in a feature on romantic getaways “off the beaten track.” “Lavender, vineyards and olive groves surround the property, and there’s a pond you can putter in with a…
Best Beach
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…
More of Southland’s Finest
“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,”…
Inside information
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…
Rolling With It
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…
Out of the Primordial Mud
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…
Scuba-duper
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…
Pleasure Island
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…
When Fact and Fantasy Collide…
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 Jump City
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…
Superior Slopes
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…
NZ: Lonely Planet Hot Spot 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….
Satisfaction Guaranteed
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…
Shacking Up in Macetown
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…
Keeping Up Appearances
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…
Eichardt’s en Vogue
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…
Trans-Tasman Trippers
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…
Edenic Eye Candy
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…
Canterbrian Miss October
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,…
Co-host Clark
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…
“What a Beauty”
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…
