Who are they? Exhibition aims to identify people in Ans Westra’s famous photos
The organisers of an exhibition by acclaimed Dutch-New Zealand photographer Ans Westra are hoping visitors will recognise people in her images.
Read more
Author: pdg
Farewell faithful servant: Obituary for a Toyota Corolla
No object has served me better, or given me a greater ticket to freedom, than a 1987 Toyota Corolla.
Read more
Hīkoi mō te Tiriti: A new generation rises up
A photo essay capturing the start of one of New Zealand’s biggest-ever protests, the nine-day Hīkoi mō te Tiriti (‘March for the Treaty’).
Read more
Northland’s ‘Tarara’ reconnect with Dalmatian roots on Croatia rugby tour
More than a century after their forebears left what was then an impoverished corner of Europe, a Far North rugby team is using sport to rekindle old family ties.
Read more
Māori elder’s vow to stay on Moturua Island: ‘I have a job to do’
Matutaera Clendon is determined to stay on the island where he was born and raised, despite orders to dismantle his illegally built tiny home.
Read more
‘This must not happen again’: How a nation’s photographic history was lost, and found
The loss of the Fairfax archive is one of the great debacles of New Zealand history-keeping. Here’s how I found a small part of it back.
Read more
The island with too many kiwi
An island’s overpopulation problem turns out to be a blessing for a mainland conservation project.
Read more
Mueller Hut, Mt Cook National Park: Is this NZ’s best overnight walk?
Perched 1800 metres above sea level in the Southern Alps, Mueller Hut is surely one of the best places in New Zealand to spend the night.
Read more
How to ride New Zealand’s Timber Trail without blowing your budget — or busting a gut
Ancient podocarp forest, soaring suspension bridges and oodles of history make the Timber Trail one of New Zealand’s best cycling experiences.
Read more
‘We can hear ourselves think again’: Stillness descends on Mangamuka as highway closes for the second time in two years
Two years ago a massive slip wiped out a highway and turned Mangamuka into a ghost town. Now it’s happened again.
Read more
“We were starving”: How my aunties saved their family from famine
In the Hunger Winter of 1944-45 Dutch families faced a terrible choice: Risk starving to death or walk hundreds of kilometres in sub-zero temperatures to find food.
Read more
Ukraine revisited: Invasion rekindles memories of long-ago trip
Towering monuments, vibrant cities, and a national identity which has somehow survived Soviet oppression and a turbulent history — those are a few of my memories from a trip to Ukraine long before the Russian invasion.
Read more
Jordan in pictures
Proud desert dwellers, extraordinary hospitality, and the ancient, rock-hewn city of Petra: Just three of the reasons you need to visit Jordan.
Read more
Auckland’s island escape: Great Barrier’s Aotea Track
The island boasts spectacular beaches, hot springs, raucous birdlife and lush forest — and it’s just half an hour from Auckland by plane.
Read more
Fiordland’s Hollyford Valley: A walk back in time
Where experiencing one of New Zealand’s wildest places doesn’t mean you have to go without fine food and lodgings.
Read more
The Hunger Diary: My father and the Dutch famine
A chance discovery sheds light on the last famine in Western Europe: The Hunger Winter of 1944-45.
Read more
The Bone Church of Kutná Hora: Final resting place of 40,000 people or macabre tourist attraction?
The monks of Sedlec Abbey, in what is now the Czech Republic, turned a problem into a morbid masterpiece.
Read more
Egypt in pictures
Best known for its ancient wonders, Egypt also boasts biblical sites, superb snorkelling, stoner hangouts, trips down the Nile on traditional sailing boats, and — best of all — sleepy oases of date palms and mud brick homes deep in the desert.
Read more
Portmeirion of the south: How the most remarkable village in Wales was almost built in New Zealand
Village’s creator had a “serious flirtation” with an island in Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf before choosing a bay near his home in Wales instead.
Read more
Being Dutch: What my heritage means to me
What does it mean to be a New Zealander of Dutch descent? And what if the country of my ancestors decides I no longer belong?
Read more