Photos, travel stories, reportage and random stuff from New Zealand and around the world by Peter de Graaf
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.
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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.
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More than 900 years after it was built Angkor Wat is still the world’s biggest religious monument — but this resilient, vibrant country offers much more than temples.
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Destroyed factories, looted manhole covers, stunning scenery and staggering generosity: That was Albania in 1999.
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Snow-covered landscapes, peeling plasterwork and views from my window: A sentimental selection of photos from Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic in the early 1990s.
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A global pandemic, iwi-led Covid checkpoints, Waitangi Day festivities, politics, record-breaking rainfall, floods and fires — 2020 had it all.
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An ancient land sprinkled with 1000-year-old stone churches, Armenia is sliding back to war with its neighbour Azerbaijan over a disputed territory.
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Laos doesn’t have the big tourism drawcards of its better-known neighbours — but that’s all the more reason to visit this slow-paced, smile-filled land.
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Unspoiled mountain villages where time stands still and mind-boggling environmental devastation left by the oil industry — you’ll find both in exotic, welcoming Azerbaijan.
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Straddling cultural and geographic boundaries between Europe and Asia, Georgia is one of the most fascinating — and scenically diverse — countries on Earth.
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Images of the dizzyingly diverse former Yugoslav republics of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo and Macedonia.
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Unspoiled beaches, decrepit ferries, spontaneous schoolkids and a slow-paced way of life in one of the world’s last absolute monarchies.
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A wonder of modern architecture, a spectacular mountain range, one of Europe’s deepest canyons, and the charming city that gave port wine – and a country – its name.
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Former US President George W Bush called it part of “the Axis of Evil”. I call it one of the most fascinating and welcoming places I’ve been.
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A snow-bound palace, a ruined city, welcoming locals, a shipwreck and a fabled mountain — those are just a few of the things I photographed in Turkey in 2004.
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In 1995 I spent three unforgettable weeks in Syria. Now, after almost 10 years of civil war, many of the places I visited are no more.
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For once picking my favourite photo of the year was easy.
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The 500th anniversary of the death of one of history’s most original — and macabre — artists deserves a parade. But an ordinary parade just won’t do.
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Every two years the International Bagpipe Festival draws pipers from all over Europe — and occasionally from as far away as New Zealand — to a small town in the Czech Republic.
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A selection of my favourite images from Waitangi Day, the anniversary of the signing of New Zealand’s Treaty of Waitangi, taken since 2010.
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