Features

Kapa haka - or traditional Māori performing arts - forms an intrinsic element of the New Zealand cultural experience.

As sunshine hours lengthen and the annual school and work calendar winds down in preparation for Christmas and the long summer holidays, New Zealand swings into outdoor mode with feasts, festivals and fun on the programme.

Like all best kept secrets word eventually gets out, so it's no surprise - with luxury travel now one of the country's fastest growing tourism sectors - that the world is waking up to New Zealand's luxury travel possibilities.

Begun by European migrants, New Zealand's wine industry has grown rapidly, achieving great international success and a fine reputation in a relatively short time.

Rare and endangered New Zealand birds - including takahe, kiwi and kaka - are among the first introduced inhabitants of the new Maungatautari Ecological Island.

Keen on whale watching and seal spotting? There’s no better time than winter and New Zealand’s extensive coast offers endless opportunities.

Move over kiwis – if zoologists have their way, the famous New Zealand flightless bird will have to share its national icon status with the country’s native frogs.

An uninhabited island just 30 minutes from Auckland city has become the latest New Zealand ecological restoration success story.

It’s the buzz word of the New Zealand tourism industry but what is kaitiakitanga? If you don’t know then tread carefully because it could hold the key to the future of the world.

Written and directed by New Zealander Roger Donaldson, and starring Oscar-winning Sir Anthony Hopkins, it seems New Zealand is taking the world's centre-screen again.