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NZ Life & Leisure

Inside a designer's 10sqm eco cabin in Central Otago

A Dunedin designer’s beautiful bespoke garments incorporate wild pest fur. No wonder Central Otago’s plentiful rabbits steer well clear of Jane Avery’s tiny Earnscleugh holiday cabin.

On the BBQ: Sesame-Crusted Beef Fillet Steaks with Barbecued Zucchini and Chilli Butter

The difference between a good steak and a great steak is the marinade.

Exploring the Hurunui district on the hoof

When a gaggle of gardeners get together to make something happen, an entire district can reverberate with the result for years.

Catching crayfish and pāua to order in South Wairarapa

This couple hit the water, rain or shine, in a new venture bringing fresh kaimoana to plates while respecting the ocean’s resources.

Lake Hawea's dreamy stone glasshouse

So she said: ‘I’d really like a stone glasshouse.’ And he said: ‘Sure, I know exactly what you mean. I’ll build it.’ And he did.

 

A clever family takes a pioneering idea from the Waikato to the world

A mad idea sown in a tin shed has grown into a bountiful business, taking this go-getting family from the Waikato to the world.

Meet the Tauranga duo behind eco-cloth business Good Change

Combining friendship with work can be risky but two go-getting Tauranga women, each with a desire to create a more sustainable world, have chosen to join forces.

How to make solid beeswax perfume

If you are sick of paying hundreds of dollars for a tiny bottle of celebrity-endorsed fragrance, these solid perfumes made from beeswax and essential oils are the answer.

Explore the country's most extraordinary tree collection

The planting layout of the country’s national arboretum, Eastwoodhill, near Gisborne, is undergoing a reshuffle to a 100-year plan.

This couple has protected Goat Island for more than 20 years

The sea, land and people reward this couple — in more ways than one — for their years of dedication to the Matakana Coast.

How a Papamoa couple grew their house tree by tree

A couple, seeing the wood within the trees, set out with a long-term vision for a new home and an alternative forestry industry.

Glamping at historic Clifton Station

The sixth generation of a Hawke’s Bay farming family is bringing style to an historic landscape.

Whangamata business owner can work 20 days in a row over summer

Boutique owner Karan Gregory has an eye for business based on experience earned, not learned.

A fabric upcycler Sarah Lancaster's cute tiny house

A sewing teacher with a superhero-like enthusiasm for saving the planet packs a heap of personality into her tiny house.

Retro caravan called Roxanne restored to heyday looks

Summer holidays for a Hamilton family mean a beach on the wild Waikato west coast with a small dog called Rosie and a retro caravan called Roxanne.

Playing it forward at the Taranaki Toy Library

A New Plymouth mum pours her heart into a global movement, bettering the planet one toy at a time.

Mary Biggs and the Country Cooking School

Mary Biggs started with Le Cordon Bleu, detoured into lemon cordial and is now back to basics with a country cooking school, sharing the bounty of her beloved farm.

A tram to call home in a rainbow flower garden

If this green-fingered Dunedin landscape architect had her way, the entire world would be a massive garden with flowers bursting into bloom all year round.

International cheese expert's food and wine tours in the Hawke's Bay

Global cheese aficionado Juliet Harbutt hosts foodie tours from her home with vineyard views.

A life saving houses

Despite growing up on the cutting edge of the minimal Modernist movement, this interior and architectural designer’s heart is in the past.

Recipe: Lavender lemonade cordial or cocktail mixer

This refreshing cordial also makes a terrific base for a cocktail – just pour with gin over ice, then top up with soda water.

The Auckland couple transform dried flowers into beautiful floral artworks

To cement their partnership, Antonia de Vere and Mark Seeney got married. Now they combine their talents in one very creative business, Markantonia

Sara McIntyre captures life in small town Kākahi

In her new book Observations of a Rural Nurse Sara McIntyre combined her nursing work with pleasure capturing, photos of the town of Kākahi where she practised.

A life lived large: artist Deidre Copeland

Central Otago artist Deidre Copeland's paintings are immediately recognizable. Big canvases. Hyperrealism.

We're going on a truffle hunt

Hunting for truffles is not for the impatient or the olfactorily impaired. Success calls for a sniffer-out of buried bounty – in other words, a dog.

PurePod glass cabins are a partnership with NZ farmers

A stay at these all-glass cabins on the outskirts of Kaikoura is to step into a magical realm where the world is reframed and time works in mysterious ways.

Growing Mexican limes in New Zealand

How to keep a lime happy, even in the cold.

Recipe: Serena's Spiced Apple Punch

This recipe comes from Ruth Pretty's good friend Serena Bass, a cooking-school teacher and caterer based in New York.

A new take on the classic NZ sheepskin

A Wanaka couple’s enthusiasm for natural-fibre products weaves essential purpose into their business, warmth into their home, and ties them to a very personal pioneering past.

In Your Backyard: Sustainability Tools

Further reading and additional online resources for our special edition In Your Backyard: Sustainability Through the Seasons.

Recipe: Gingerbread Kisses

These little individual cakes are very, VERY good. You can keep a stash of unfilled cakes in the freezer for emergencies.

 

The Perry family on how to "Raglan-afy" a bach

A universal truth is the power of three. In the coastal township of Raglan, three adored baches subscribe to that hypothesis.

Inside a 1960s pinked-out retro caravan

Happy days are forecast when the owner of a rosy-hued vintage caravan takes to the road.

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