Treasure hunt

Whether you’re searching for rare birds, colourful coral gardens, sites of military significance or unique cultural experiences, you’ll find them on this 18-day New Zealand Geographic and Heritage Expeditions voyage in 2026 through Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu with a soon-to-be-announced special guest....

Walk on water

Designed for more active travellers looking to explore the remote waterways, coves and coastlines of the Marlborough Sounds, this special five-day New Zealand Geographic and Heritage Expeditions voyage on the 18-berth Heritage Explorer gives guests the opportunity to trek sections of the Queen Charlotte track, discover the rich whaling history of Perano, and learn about […]...

Home on the range

Three pot plants, a barbecue and four bikes—we load up Toyota’s fully electric car for a classic southern summer roadie....

Ivory Lake Hut

This alpine hut on the West Coast was set up to house glaciologists, but as the ice has melted, it has been sought out by intrepid trampers....

Shutes Hut

This four-bunk stone hut in the Ruahine Forest Park is unique and full of stories....

Tunnel Creek Hut

This small six-bed hut on the West Coast of the South Island offers intrepid trampers a welcome respite....

The swim of her life

On February 17, 2020, 16-year-old Caitlin O’Reilly became the youngest person to claim the triple crown of marathon swimming in New Zealand. She had swum Cook Strait at 12 and crossed Lake Taupō at 14. All that remained was Foveaux Strait. O’Reilly set off from Rakiura/Stewart Island at 10.40am and powered north under the watchful […]...

Lake Dunstan Trail

Connecting the Central Otago towns of Clyde and Cromwell, the Lake Dunstan Trail skirts the water. Its final section, through the Cromwell Gorge, is set to open at the end of this summer, featuring bridge sections cantilevered from the sheer schist faces and suspended over the artificial lake. The track is a feat of engineering, […]...

Mount Humdinger

“To an outsider it may seem like some kind of climber’s secret society in which everyone knows the real name of the mountain,” says Gavin Lang, “as the name ‘Mount Humdinger’ won’t be found on any map.” Perhaps the name is a play on its neighbour, Mount Haidinger, or a reference to its high-quality rock. […]...

Into the vortex

Something out of the ordinary has been unfolding above the South Pole....

Cecil King’s Hut

Once, trampers emerged from the bush on the Wangapeka to the offer of a cuppa and a yarn....

Plant-based feast

Why it’s a boom year for kākāpō and rodents alike....

Roaring lion, hidden gold

By the time Choie Sew Hoy arrived in Dunedin, Otago’s first gold rush was sputtering out. The supply of alluvial gold that could be extracted by pans, cradles and sluice boxes was gradually dwindling, yet large deposits remained, buried in river gravel. Sew Hoy was a merchant rather than a miner—his Dunedin store imported and […]...

Occupy the forest

The 40th anniversary of a turning point in New Zealand conservation....

Waingaro Forks Hut

The historic Kill Devil Pack Track leads to a restored miners’ hut....

Cape Brett Hut

Where lighthouse keepers once held watch....

Asbestos Cottage

The legendary recluses of Cobb Valley....

Brewster Hut

A short day’s walk with a large reward....

Adelaide Tarn Hut

Off the beaten track in Kahurangi National Park....

Syme Hut

The North Island’s second-highest hut is perched on Fanthams Peak....

Magazine

Issue 200

Jul - Aug 2026

Solar power
Horses of Huntly
Forget me not
Whaling
Red admirals

Issue 200 Jul - Aug 2026

Trending

On December 10, 2024, a juvenile bottlenose dolphin was reported tangled in fishing line near Riverhead, in the upper reaches of the Waitematā Harbour. The dolphin couldn’t flex its tail properly, or dive, or chase fish. Its pod headed elsewhere. One larger dolphin stayed behind, and for the next month it stuck close, spending almost […]...
Tongariro is by far the most popular national park in the North Island, attracting tens of thousands of skiers, walkers and trampers every year. The park centres around three active volcanoes: Tongariro, Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu, all of which are considered by local Maori to be sacred ancestors. In 1887 the chief of the local iwi Ngati […]...
He could have retired years ago, but there’s still so much to do....
On January 23 1863, the German-born geol­ogist Johann Franz Julius von Haast reached the mountain pass that bears his name; a momentous occasion as he believed his par­ty of five to be the first Europeans to traverse the 564 m crossing....
I grew up with a mainsheet be­tween my teeth, and every sum­mer as the mercury rises, the salinity of my blood seems to in­crease in anticipation of another dousing. There is nothing, in all the world, more satisfying than hoisting a rag, casting off from the tangle of civilisation and sail­ing towards a beckoning horizon. You […]...
Seafood is healthy and the world wants more. Too bad that most wild fisheries are overfished and collapsing. Over the last few dec­ades, aquaculture has begun to offer a solution to this difficulty, but it’s not a solution that wins universal acclaim. In New Zealand, the black floats that mark mussel farms (above)—our main form […]...
The age of fossil fuels is ending, and the world is entering the era of solar power. What matters now is how fast we make the shift....
Auckland fungi obsessive Jay Lichter documents the tiny rainforest that flourished during 2023’s warm, wet winter....
A claustrophobe goes caving...

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