Story Angles

New Zealander Anna Paquin has been extraordinarily successfully since her Academy Award-winning performance in Jane Campion's The Piano (1993).

The annual Taihape Gumboot Throwing Festival highlights New Zealand's rural lifestyle, with the country well known for its agricultural products worldwide.

Karen Walker is New Zealand’s best-known designer, whose designs are sought by everyone from everyday New Zealanders to Hollywood stars.

The Ellerslie Flower Show in Auckland is one of the largest floral exhibitions in the southern hemisphere.

The World of WearableArt Awards Show is a two hour theatrical spectacle held each spring in New Zealand’s capital, Wellington.

With the Internet, satellite television and cheaper air travel, many see New Zealand as being a fashion season ahead of the rest of the world.

Mountain biking is bigger than road cycling in New Zealand and there are many council-maintained tracks that cater for bikers, from Whangarei to Invercargill.

Riders can travel on their bikes from one famous New Zealand tourist destination to another, in the Diamondback Rotorua to Taupo 100km flyer.

If cyclists have plenty of time but little money and want to see the New Zealand countryside, they could try WWOOFing, Willing Workers on Organic Farms.

The best-known bungy jumping is in Queenstown, but there are also thrills to be had in the North Island.