NZ Life & Leisure

A 45-year-old Aussie eye-catcher has added colour to its owner’s life.

As a champion of the health and happiness benefits of rich, rotting compost, nothing makes Ben Elms more content than the multitude of microscopic critters squirming in his compost.

Scaling the heights of success is becoming almost commonplace for a couple who became engaged on Mt Everest and steer a company that just scooped New Zealand’s most prestigious tourism award.

Ruth Pretty's name is synonymous with having a good time: meet the well-loved caterer who is bringing her special brand of deliciousness to your dinner table.

While she wasn’t immediately sold on the tiny house movement, 20-something Amanda Chapman has now jumped on board, boots and all, building her own.

Otago winemaker Duncan Forsyth agrees it's almost counter-intuitive a top pinot noir producer should start making vermouth.

Chef Josh Emett introduced Ruth Pretty to the beauty of this style of ceviche. Ruth uses tuna but kingfish, trevally, snapper or salmon would all be great substitutes.

Entries close Friday 2 March  for the Outstanding NZ Food Producer Awards.

With roots too deep to easily move, the Hart family found a temporary fix - two transportable cabins beside the estuary at Point Wells.

A gentle walk in the Japanese countryside is an intriguing introduction to the country’s spiritual and cultural heart.

Three generations of one family ride the tides of change on an East Coast beach saturated with history.

The latest instalment in a story that began 170 years ago sees a historic estate earning its keep in a very modern way.

Graphic designer Glenn Jones burst onto the T-shirt scene with a bang and has gone on to create a global business from the spare room of his Auckland villa.

Coming into a great deal of money isn’t a guarantee of an easy life. It takes tenacity and planning to live well, says someone who knows.

You’ll know when your digestive system is working the way it should.

Some people have fairies at the bottom of their garden; the Jacob family of Mt Eden have a cave.

When everybody knows your name, a private space becomes a treasure and Jools Topp has found hers in a country caboose.

Southerly gales invigorate the Hills family life in a holiday house by the sea.

This dish can be cooked at a leisurely pace in a lidded barbecue or pizza oven.

Multi-roomed tents with real furniture make communing with nature a very smooth operation at Wainamu.

Iron deficiency is common. How much do you need, and why? Dr Libby sums up a vital mineral.

The journey has been every bit as important as the destination for two farming families behind New Zealand’s longest-running private walk.

A bach at the beach yields vintage holidays for one of New Zealand’s best-known wine-making families.

One of Australasia’s most successful bagpipe players, plays a triumphant tune that drifts from the flat plains of Palmerston North to the Scottish Highlands.

A couscous perfect for summer with spring onions, dates and feta.

Hula girls, grass skirts and a pineapple ice bucket... the only thing missing from this Hawaiian homage is a coconut palm swaying in the warm Waiheke breeze.

There was a young girl who dreamt of faraway lands, who saw roads stretching ahead filled with never-ending stories. Thankfully, it became it reality.

Kith and kinship are at the heart of the happiness found in a tiny holiday community on the South Island’s south coast.

Unwanted waste might disappear from the immediate environment, but it has to go somewhere.

Fifty private huts, hidden in native bush in the Orongorongo Valley near Wellington, have played an important role for generations of families.

Doing up a vintage or retro caravan is a bit like doing up a vintage car. Not only is it addictive, but you are also faced with a number of very similar decisions to make.

Don Jessen shares his experience restoring a rusty 1958 14-foot (4.2 metre) Liteweight Kiwi caravan, one of only 28 built, to her former glory.

The more we demand organic foods and reject pesticides, the more available organics will become.

Drought, ferocious winds and extreme temperatures aren’t ideal conditions to create a garden, but Penny Zino has done it.