The Carnival of Chocolate
Dunedin. New Zealand’s first city. A lot of people don’t know, but it was home to our first art gallery, first street lighting, and first phone call. What a lot of people do know is that it has the world’s steepest street and a chocolate factory, and every July Dunedin-ites manage to combine these two […]
Railways Reborn
Railways were once the heart of a country. Both socially and commercially they were vital links, often the only links. In 19th century New Zealand thousands of settlers laboured for years, even decades on a single route, chiseling through horribly uneven terrain and dense native bush with picks, shovels, and an occasional blast of TNT. […]
Shot In NZ – Part II: Lord Of The Rings
New Zealand’s cinematic output has been a mixed bag. After all, we’re a long way from Hollywood – geographically, socially, financially, you name the yardstick. In spite of this, we do have a history of making mostly good, sometimes excellent movies. My take is that all those degrees of separation from the showbiz capital […]
Dolphins We Have Loved
Dolphins are perhaps the most loved and respected creatures in the sea. Considered by marine biologists to be highly intelligent, they have a brain-to-body mass ratio second only to humans. They are also very sociable mammals, and almost always swim in pods, or groups. Lone dolphins are extremely rare and most likely orphaned, and of […]
Shot in New Zealand – Part I
Part one in our series on movies filmed here in NZ. This time last year filming was underway on a new Disney movie, Pete’s Dragon, at Stone Street Studios in Wellington. It’s one of the latest in a long procession of major overseas productions filmed here in NZ, and happily, these movies have drawn […]
Auckland Heritage – Queen Street’s Oldest Building
Whilst looking for something else I found this photo. It was taken in 1922, in Lower Queen St, Auckland. Among other things, it’s a snapshot of technology in transition: jaywalking pedestrians, electric trams, cars, and even a horse and cart. The Guardian building is on the right, home to NZ Insurance as it was […]
Hub of Wonder – Auckland’s Western Springs
Auckland is New Zealand’s busiest city. Home to one-third of the country’s population, demand for housing is constant and real estate prices climb faster than incomes. It’s something of a miracle then that we have two very substantial green areas within a few kilometres of the central business district. One is Cornwall Park/One Tree Hill […]
Happy Birthday Dear Cable Car
The iconic Wellington Cable Car celebrates its 114th birthday today. This milestone in Kiwi engineering began service in 1902 and was devised to connect the then-new suburb of Kelburn with the CBD below. The track was 785 metres long, and climbed 120 metres from Lambton Quay to Upland Road, passing over three bridges and through […]
En Nouvelle-Zélande Nous Utilisons des Toilettes
Ahhh, France. The very mention of it conjures up so many romantic images: its legacy of exquisite wines and fine cuisine, the Eiffel Tower and Louvre Museum, fashionable ladies with sensual accents, and the dashing young men… …urinating out of moving cars. Last week Angela Chilton was traveling on SH6 toward Milford Sound behind a […]
Up Your Grill Game: Recipes For A Better BBQ
If you live in New Zealand, and it’s summer, hosting a barbecue is considered almost a civic duty. And luckily it’s not too hard to do – some packs of sausages and chops, a couple of trays of beer, and you’ve fulfilled the obligation. But for those who aspire to slightly higher culinary heights, the […]
