The Otago Central Rail Trail is one of our most famous and beloved cycle trails, and for good reason – but is it doable with young kids? Absolutely, writes Maria Grace. Thought about a multi-day cycling trip with your primary-aged kids, but worried about how it would pan out? A month ago, we were too. … Read more
Some people have an ‘appreciate from afar’ approach to nature. But this summer, with all the encouragement for New Zealanders to explore Aotearoa, more of us are biting the bullet and heading into the great outdoors, writes the Department of Conservation’s ‘anonymous DOC blogger’. First published on DOC’s Conservation Blog. It’s not that I don’t … Read more
Get wild, get cultured, get fed and then get to bed: the essential guide to a perfect few days in the southern city. There’s one thing that preoccupies the staff of The Spinoff almost as much as arranging popular food items into arbitrary lists, and that’s Dunedin. A quite remarkable number of us were either … Read more
Having recently walked much of the South Island stretch of Te Araroa, Kirsten O’Regan reflects on the magnificent landscapes and interesting characters she encountered along the way. On our 36th day of walking, we climb through the fire-blackened hills above Ohau, stopping to examine heat-disfigured trail markers. Fresh green shoots have pushed through the sooty … Read more
After hearing how much Jetstar charges if you try to travel with a heavy carry-on bag, Stewart Sowman-Lund gets good and mad on behalf of those who have been forced to fork out. There’s nothing more satisfying than beating the system at its own game. Not paying for parking and not getting a ticket, not … Read more
After the second lockdown came to Auckland, Nick Atkinson dusted off and spruced up his bicycle, touring from Pukekohe to Otorohanga. Two bikes slowly rusted in the back yard. One seized up completely, the other possibly salvageable. The traffic had dried up for periods this year and many Aucklanders took to their pedals on the … Read more
Tara Ward takes a trip back in time with this classic 1980s New Zealand tourism video. Be warned, it contains bare buttocks. Covid-19 has made us tourists in our own country, so there’s no better time to wrap your optic nerves around the classic tourism film Come On to New Zealand. It was a 34-minute … Read more
After lockdown, Leisha Jones and her family packed up the car and started driving south from Auckland, with no real agenda other than to escape. What ensued was an enriching, and delicious, reintroduction to this great nation’s cuisine. A few years ago, I took a course in New Zealand wine to become a more educated … Read more
What should you expect when you touch down in New Zealand, bound for your temporary hotel home? It all depends on the luck of the draw, writes the NZ Herald’s Isaac Davison in this Herald Premium article. SCROLL DOWN FOR THE GUIDE TO THE 32 HOTELS It is the lottery of managed isolation: Some returning … Read more
The health arguments are sound, and the economic and cultural imperatives are clear. The Pacific islands need to be prioritised post-Covid over the trans-Tasman bubble, writes public health expert Collin Tukuitonga. Much has been made about the need to open a trans-Tasman travel bubble as a priority. This is despite the fact that Australia continues … Read more
Only one is really easy, but most of them make sense, in a bleak way. Envious of New Zealand progress in campaigns against things like viruses and armed police forces, Americans have been visiting the Immigration NZ website again, and alighting on enticing official messages on the Immigration NZ website newzealandnow.govt.nz. It turns out these … Read more
There’s widespread appetite for domestic tourism, while public support for the alert level two shift is high. New Zealand tourism could be handed a lifeline if New Zealanders take the domestic holidays they say they will in the next three months. In a new Stickybeak survey, 42% said they intend to holiday in New Zealand … Read more
Budget 2020: The tourism sector was holding out hope for a lifeline to come in the form of yesterday’s budget. It didn’t come, and now its leaders say they’re drowning. Members of the beleaguered tourism industry say the support they’ve been offered is a drop in the bucket compared to what is necessary given the … Read more
As New Zealanders await the end of alert level four and the chance to escape their homes, some are in such scenic lockdown refuges they won’t want to leave. Every morning, the 11 residents at the Lake Tekapo Holiday Park wake up to silence. It’s dense and thorough – the kind that presses on your … Read more
Missing international travel? At a loose end? It’s time to learn a language, the easy way. These are hard times for lovers of travel. Even if you weren’t unlucky enough to be forced to cancel a trip, there’s no getting around the fact that, for the foreseeable future, international travel is over. The winter trip … Read more
On Monday, the government warned that tourists could be deported or detained if they failed to self-isolate on arrival. One problem for all those who want to comply by the rules: there aren’t many places they can do so. The Spinoff’s coverage of Covid-19 is funded by Spinoff Members. To support this work, join Spinoff Members … Read more
Should you stay, or should you go? Your burning questions on travelling in the time of coronavirus, answered. Should I cancel? If you’re planning on travelling to China, Iran or some regions of South Korea and Italy, yes you probably should. All of mainland China and Iran have now been officially designated ‘do not … Read more
You may not be punching strangers’ seats, but there’s plenty of other behaviour that is guaranteed to make your fellow passengers seethe with rage. Here’s how to travel by plane without making people hate you. You’ve probably seen the video: a woman leans back in her reclined seat as a man punches the back of … Read more
With more than a thousand locations in 250 cities worldwide, UK company Stasher allows travellers to store their luggage while offering local businesses a way to earn extra cash. Having recently launched in New Zealand, co-founder and CEO Jacob Wedderburn-Day explains how the business works. How did Stasher start and what was the inspiration behind … Read more
Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he talks to Jimmy Hayes from Minaal. This week’s podcast guest is a Kiwi making a big impact on the global … Read more
Summer journeys: In the fourth of a special travel writing series, Anjum Rahman recounts a return to her place of birth at the age of 12, and reflects on how the history of Muslims in India is being rewritten. The Spinoff Summer Journey series is entirely funded by The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming … Read more
Summer Journeys: After touring the world with his band The Phoenix Foundation, Samuel Flynn Scott has figured out the real reason we travel – to nosy around where humans buy snacks. The Spinoff Summer Journey series is entirely funded by The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member and supporting The Spinoff’s journalism, click … Read more
Writer and actress Michelle Langstone reflects on loneliness on a trip to Singapore. The Spinoff Summer Journey series is entirely funded by The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member and supporting The Spinoff’s journalism, click here. Three days in Singapore as a step-down converter from the bougainvillea-stained Greek holiday that has left my … Read more
Summer reissue: Dreamed of travelling long term, but at a loss about how to afford it? Here’s how Kristin Hall and her partner managed it (spoiler: involves a lot of brown rice and cabbage). This was originally published on 17 July, 2019 * Scroll to the end for an important note about privilege I’m not … Read more
Summer journeys: FOMO drove Kristin Hall to join her adventurous partner on a road trip from Ireland to South Africa, wending their way through the back blocks of some of the least explored countries in the world. The Spinoff Summer Journey series is entirely funded by The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member … Read more
In the third instalment in a three-part series on the Great Journeys of New Zealand, Madeleine Chapman completes her odyssey by travelling from Christchurch to Greymouth (and back) on the TranzAlpine. Read part two here. After 20 hours of travelling with an abundance of personal space, someone sat next to me. I shouldn’t have been … Read more
In the second instalment in a three-part series on the Great Journeys of New Zealand, Madeleine Chapman travels from Wellington to Christchurch on the Interislander and Coastal Pacific. Read part one here The young man behind the counter on the Interislander laughed at me when I asked for a glass of red wine. He turned … Read more
Lily Richards takes an epic trip to the setting of Captain Corelli’s Mandolin – the book that saved her from herself. It takes 23 hours to journey from Auckland to Cephalonia, Greece, island home of the fictional Captain Corelli, Dr Iannis, and his daughter Pelagia. For those 23 hours I was filled with a deep … Read more
In the first instalment in a three-part series on the Great Journeys of New Zealand, Madeleine Chapman travels from Auckland to Wellington on the Northern Explorer. I watched a cow give birth. The cow, standing alone on a hillside, was facing away from me when it happened. She looked like every other cow, and as … Read more