Tag Archives: Taranaki

How the Motunui Epa Returned to Rightful Owners

How the Motunui Epa Returned to Rightful Owners

Throughout its reign, the British Empire stole a lot of stuff, Marc Fennell and Simon Leo Brown report for ABC Radio National. Stuff the British Stole podcast is a series about the not-so-polite history…

Taranaki One of the Most Underrated Destinations

Taranaki One of the Most Underrated Destinations

New Zealand’s Taranaki has been featured in INSIDER as one of the 40 most underrated travel destinations worldwide alongside other places including Bergen in Norway and Hobart in Australia. “Situated between Auckland and Wellington on…

Toast of Taranaki

Toast of Taranaki

Arts, culture, hiking and fine dining abound in New Plymouth, on the west coast of New Zealand. The Australian’s Jane Nicholls recommends some highlights. “New Plymouth is festooned in festivals, including the world music festival…

Taranaki, New Zealand: One Of Lonely Planet’s Top Regions For 2017

Taranaki, New Zealand: One Of Lonely Planet’s Top Regions For 2017

Taranaki, New Zealand has placed second in Lonely Planet’s Top Regions for 2017, reports Glory Moralidad for Travelers Today. “Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2017, the world’s celebrated travel publisher has given it’s…

Taranaki One of Lonely Planet’s Top Regions 2017

Taranaki One of Lonely Planet’s Top Regions 2017

Taranaki has been named as one of the Top Regions to visit in 2017 in Lonely Planet’s annual Best in Travel ranking. “The joke goes that most travellers who reach Taranaki have just…

The Best of Taranaki

The Best of Taranaki

“Tucked away on the central west coast of New Zealand’s North Island, the Taranaki region is both overlooked and under-appreciated. But for more intrepid travellers, the area dubbed ‘the ‘Naki’ is definitely worth a…

New Zealand Final – Rip Curl GromSearch 2014-2015 New Zealand Series

New Zealand Final – Rip Curl GromSearch 2014-2015 New Zealand Series

The final stop of the Rip Curl GromSearch saw plenty of action in clean waves at Fitzroy Beach, New Plymouth, Taranaki with six new champions crowned, and two international…

Living A Kiwi Life – Ep.27 – Elephant Rock

Living A Kiwi Life – Ep.27 – Elephant Rock

This time the couple took some time to go on a trip, and find New Zealand’s only wild elephant. Elephant Rock, as the name suggests, is a monstrous elephant shaped…

Living a Kiwi Life – Summiting Mount Taranaki – Ep. 26

Living a Kiwi Life – Summiting Mount Taranaki – Ep. 26

This time the couple took on Mount Taranaki in New Zealand. It’s a 2,518m dormant volcano that is intimidating enough to look at and even more insane to climb. Their…

Ben Shewry Invites the World to Tasmania for Lavish Dinner

Ben Shewry Invites the World to Tasmania for Lavish Dinner

Australia’s best chefs, our own Ben Shewry (pictured, right) and locals Peter Gilmore (centre) and Neil Perry, recently hosted one of the most lavish meals in the country’s history, designed to convince international visitors…

Solitude

Solitude

Part 3 of 4 of an absolutely stunning timelapse series through the always changing landscapes of New Zealand. Shot over a 4 month period this video takes you on…

Activist Paddling

Activist Paddling

New Zealand-born Billabong surfer Dave “Rasta” Rastovich, 32, has paddled 350km from Taranaki to Piha to raise awareness about seabed mining off New Zealand’s coast. Rastovich, who lives in Australia, has been drumming up…

Oily Attractions Off Shore

Oily Attractions Off Shore

Three New Zealand exploration blocks, owned by Anadarko Petroleum, could hold up to 150 million barrels of crude oil or trillions of cubic feet of natural gas, according to a company executive. “There’s significant…

Thinking woman’s crumpet

Thinking woman’s crumpet

Taranaki-born editor of women’s erotic magazine Filament Suraya Singh, 30, has succeeded in publishing an image of a sexually aroused man in the publication’s second issue and now claims to be “the…

The News with an Accent

The News with an Accent

Working as a presenter for BBC World news, Taranaki native Lucy Hockings says her New Zealand accent “is a good reflection of the newsroom, which is very international.” When she became a presenter for…

Killer Waves

Killer Waves

A New Zealand man spent one recent Saturday surfing alongside three orcas near a beach on the Taranaki coast, enjoying the perfect waves. Craig Hunter, who has been surfing off the North Island for…

Out on a Win

Out on a Win

Champion Taranaki jockey Greg Childs, 46, is retiring from a 30-year career which began in New Zealand in the 1970s as an apprentice and ended with a win in the Bounty Hawk Handicap on…

Surf Up-and-comer

Surf Up-and-comer

Oakura teen Paige Hareb has been ranked fourth in the world in women’s under-18 surfing since the junior world championships in May. The 17-year-old was also the first New Zealander ever to compete…

Guilt-free Luxury

Guilt-free Luxury

Taranaki’s Eco Inn comes highly recommended in the Guardian. The lodge is constructed from untreated macrocarpa wood and recycled materials, and is entirely powered by solar panels, wind turbines and a water wheel….

Taranaki’s Hollywood ambassador

Taranaki’s Hollywood ambassador

Tom Cruise sang the praises of Aotearoa to the US on his promotional tour for The Last Samurai, the Japanese military epic filmed largely in Taranaki. As well as the beautiful scenery and friendly…

Fujinaki Tours Ltd.

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…

Tom cruises off

Tom cruises off

Actor Tom Cruise has bid farewell to Taranaki, the place he called home for the past 4 months. The Hollywood A-lister was on location filming The Last Samurai; an epic-scale production which has proved…

Samurais & Surfers: The World Comes to Taranaki

Samurais & Surfers: The World Comes to Taranaki

The inaugural Foster’s World Masters Surf Titles were held in Taranaki over Easter weekend, attracting over 450 local and international competitors. The International Surfing Association-sanctioned event was open to any rider over 35. Says organiser Wayne Arthur; “What’s…

Saint Cruise of Taranaki

Saint Cruise of Taranaki

Tom Cruise – Taranaki’s favourite adoptive son – has come to the financial aid of a local school. The Edge radio station had offered $5,000 to whoever could get the Hollywood star on air….

Mount Taranakiyama

Mount Taranakiyama

Taranaki’s eponymous mountain is a suitable double for Mount Fuji, or so thinks Edward Zwick (Glory, Legends of the Fall) who will direct Tom Cruise in The Last Samurai later this year. New Zealand’s…

Eco-powering Taranaki

Eco-powering Taranaki

Small-scale mixed-source energy generation at Pioneer Village “brings a little closer the prospect of freeing consumers forever from rising power bills and the guilt of contributing to pollution and climate change.”

Te Rangi Hiroa/Sir Peter Buck Remembered

Te Rangi Hiroa/Sir Peter Buck Remembered

The Sunday Times remembers the birthday of Sir Peter Buck – a pioneering and internationally renowned anthropologist, the first Maori medical doctor, a politician, administrator, soldier, and leader of the Maori people. Born in…