Auckland

As Emirates Team New Zealand and Alinghi set sail in the final stages of the inaugural Louis Vuitton Pacific Series, the chances of the international yachting event happening again – and in Auckland - are growing stronger by the day.

Auckland’s Viaduct Harbour is hosting a celebrity line-up – not all famous yachties – during the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series races on the Hauraki Gulf.

The world’s top yachtsmen have begun arriving in New Zealand for the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series, a friendly summer regatta that will bring top sailing teams together for the first time since the 2007 America’s Cup.

A summer art exhibition that combines dramatic outdoor sculpture with spectacular coastal scenery – all in a short ferry ride from Auckland – has opened to the public for a three week season.

Top New Zealand entertainers will strut their stuff alongside some of the world’s best street acts during coming weeks as two major busking festivals come to town.

High tea has taken on a whole new meaning in New Zealand with the country’s world famous tree house restaurant now serving afternoon tea to cope with demand.

Five of New Zealand’s top hotels have made it onto the list of 500 best hotels in the world just published by international magazine Travel & Leisure.

Forget the current ‘man drought’, an Auckland luxury hotel has come up with a new strategy for Kiwi single girls feeling a little lonely around St Valentine’s Day.

Waiheke - a little island in Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf celebrated for its beaches, artists, award-winning wines and olive oil - gets the tick of approval and no. 2 placing on Frommer’s top destinations list for 2009.

Sir Edmund Hillary’s Everest conquering ice axe will go on display at the Auckland Museum tomorrow (10 January 2009) marking the first anniversary of his death.