Tourism News

Skiers and snowboarders are clapping their gloved hands and kicking up their snow boots – kei te heke te hukapapa (it is snowing) and the New Zealand ski season is underway.

A New Zealand homecoming that’s been 130 years in the making will see a famous wharenui or carved meeting house returned to its rightful place in one of the most significant Māori cultural happenings of modern times.

The last of the tickets for Rugby World Cup 2011 have gone on sale and are going quickly as New Zealand continues to ramp up preparations for hosting the major event.

Tourism New Zealand’s giant rugby ball will stand on home ground for the first time – alongside The Cloud in the heart of Auckland’s party central on Queen’s Wharf during Rugby World Cup 2011.

It took a while but the snow has finally arrived, dusting off Coronet Peak ski area in time for the concluding days of the 2011 Queenstown Winter Festival.

Teams arriving in New Zealand for Rugby World Cup 2011 will be embraced by the warmth of the local culture from the moment they arrive in their host regions.

‘Happy Feet’ – the Antarctic emperor penguin that made New Zealand visitor arrival history by finding its way to a North Island beach – continues its fight for life under the watchful eye of Kiwi medics and conservation experts.

Kaikoura – New Zealand’s southern whale watching capital – has become the first destination in the world to achieve gold in a new global green benchmark for community sustainability efforts.

Shrek the New Zealand sheep that lived a hermit’s life in South Island high country and died an international celebrity, is likely to find a distinguished resting place at Te Papa – Museum of New Zealand.

New Zealand’s adventure capital, Queenstown, is being painted in a different light with a new soft tourism experience that combines art and the outdoors, and gives visitors something special to take home.