NZ Life & Leisure

Worlds Away from the Everyday

In the rugged upper reaches of North Canterbury, where the hills meet the coast, a new chapter is being written on a fourth-generation family farm.

My Corner of NZ … Hauraki Coromandel

The Coromandel Cure is grounded in a simple idea: that time spent in the area measurably reduces stress and restores wellbeing. Locals have long understood this instinctively, but winter sharpens the remedy. With fewer visitors and a slower rhythm, the region offers something rare – stillness without isolation, indulgence without excess.

Pick Your Lane

As electric and hybrid vehicles become the new standard on New Zealand roads, a trusted global name is pulling up alongside local workshops to take the unknown out of maintenance.

An Ethereal Bond

Sophie Bayly’s photography embodies the quiet strength of winter with our equine friends.

A True Taste of Central Otago

In the back blocks behind Earnscleugh Castle, amongst the schist and thyme, is a group of kindred friends who have created an award winning Gin and Vodka inspired by the land they call home.

Driven by Curiosity

As Antipodes launches a haircare range ten years in the making, founder, Elizabeth Barbalich, reflects on the curiosity that has shaped her global skincare brand – and why understanding how things work still drives everything she creates.

Age Like a Girl

What if everything you’ve been told about getting older is wrong?
Not slightly off or outdated, but fundamentally, completely wrong.
Dr. Mindy Pelz, a two-time New York Times bestselling author, functional health expert and host of the The Resetter Podcast, says it’s time to trust your body.

Words Dr. Mindy Pelz

Tradition Refined

In a small cabin, tucked behind the Matakana Village Butchery, a family-led collective is turning a traditional, often overlooked ingredient into simple, natural skincare, building a distinctly local narrative along the way.

The Perfect Accessory

Just like accessories are the comforting, classy finish for an outfit, dessert and port style wines provide the same to an amazing winter meal. Jo Cribb inspires our tipples of the season with picks that are full of personality, grabbing your attention and remaining memorable.

Tying the Best of Life Together

A breast cancer diagnosis hooked the “full-on Auckland city girl”, on fly fishing. Unknowingly, Louise Stuart found her peace on a hushed street within earshot of the Tongariro River.

Winter in Love

Every season, dependent on your ability to get away, is an opportunity for a reset. Winter is a wonderful time to reconnect with a loved one, switch off and just be.

The Enduring Spirit of Dame Robin White

Grace: A Prayer for Peace is a journey into the creative heart of visual artist Dame Robin White, one of New Zealand’s most significant living artists.

Exploring Identity Through Dance

Two of Aotearoa’s most revered dance companies come together to ask one of the most fundamental questions of our time: what does it mean to belong?

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.

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

A Life too Good Not to Share

What can New Zealand farmers learn from Academy award-winner Matthew McConaughey? That ‘nature as a service’ is a billion-dollar industry that both parties can cash in on. We uncover the perfect fit between the aspirations of higher-value, sustainable tourism and the opportunity for Canterbury farmers to leverage agritourism to tell their stories better.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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