Our Life
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How to fight the office slump
Looking down at iPhones and computers is damaging our spines. To relieve back pain, try out physio Steve August's quick-fixes.
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Canoe polo is "basketball in boats"
Whether competing in NZ's national canoe polo team or working with sharks, this sporting talent is paddling her own path.
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Sweet Country Western is anything but
A new Western starring Sam Neill makes beautiful but confronting viewing.
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Lost piece of NZ history discovered in Wairoa
An amateur art-world detective has discovered a dozen important public murals after years of digging.
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Sustainable packaging firm driving change
A company formed by two childhood friends is helping New Zealand businesses reduce their waste.
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How this family reduced their power bill to $30
Inside the life of a sustainable family who only need to work part-time and eat from a permaculture pantry that grows right up to their back door.
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Four generations' memories at Rangitikei's Tyrone farm
For more than 100 years, a Rangitikei farm has been home to one family. Now the fourth generation is putting its own twist on tradition.
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Make this cute crochet possum bookmark
Mark our words, there’s nothing better than a squished possum. This cute, comical bookmark is just the fun craft project to remind you of that.
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Film review: Tomb Raider
It may not be the female action-hero film you’ve been hanging out for, but a new movie starring Alicia Vikander breathes new life into the relic-hunting character Lara Croft.
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Novelist Tanya Moir's double life
Our heroine casts a dashing figure as she marches across the Banks Peninsula. And like all good dramatic characters, her past holds a compelling secret.
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How a dry garden and lavender farm helped Karen Rhind start again
For a lavender enthusiast and landscape designer, crafting a wild and beautiful garden in one of the country’s most inhospitable environments was an expression of letting go.
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Dunedin to Queenstown: A road trip to remember
A road trip through iconic southern scenery spins the wheels and the twangs the heart-strings.
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Tickled pink by a 1973 Holden LJ Torana
A 45-year-old Aussie eye-catcher has added colour to its owner’s life.
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Andrea Bosshard on filming her father for new doco
Kobi – a Life Work documents the story of film-maker Andrea Bosshard’s father – an unassuming goldsmith and mountaineer who became known as New Zealand’s grandfather of contemporary jewellery.
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Dr Compost's recipe for the good life and top composting tips
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.
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The tiny guide to building tiny
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.
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Free downloadable seed saving envelope
Make your own seed saving envelopes using our downloadable pdf.
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One family's experience with deer velvet farming
The Inch family farm red deer with a velvet hand and a soft touch, but it has been a learning curve for his city-born-and-bred wife.
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Relocation, relocation: Two portable homes make a perfect Point Wells retreat
With roots too deep to easily move, the Hart family found a temporary fix - two transportable cabins beside the estuary at Point Wells.
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11 tips to marketing a successful food business
Three experts share their wisdom on how to create a profitable food product.
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The Off-Topic Book Club: Lincoln in the Bardo
The Off-Topic Book Club can't agree about whether George Saunders' Man Booker winning novel lives up to the hype.
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Gourd-geous craft projects
If you’ve ever grown gourds you’ll know just how prolific these cucurbits can be, but do you know how to turn them into an art form?
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Dr Libby: What your gut is telling you
You’ll know when your digestive system is working the way it should.
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Make money from honey (without being a beekeeper)
Here’s how to profit from bees without becoming a beekeeper.
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Take a tour of Jools Topp's cute-as-a-button caboose
When everybody knows your name, a private space becomes a treasure and Jools Topp has found hers in a country caboose.
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How the southerly winds inspire Mark Hill's amazing sculptures
Southerly gales invigorate the Hills family life in a holiday house by the sea.
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Taking camping to the next level
Multi-roomed tents with real furniture make communing with nature a very smooth operation at Wainamu.
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How much iron do you actually need?
Iron deficiency is common. How much do you need, and why? Dr Libby sums up a vital mineral.
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A caravan suffering from a mid-life crisis
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.
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9 secrets to turning your artisan product into a supermarket star
Food product developer Martyn Atack looks at why you need to start with pen and paper in your office, not the kitchen.
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Think global, act local - and hurry up!
Unwanted waste might disappear from the immediate environment, but it has to go somewhere.
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Lisa Scott... goes tramping
The earth moved for the Feckless Miss Scott on her first three-day tramp high in the Naumann range north of Lake Ohau.
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Orongorongo Valley's 50 private huts
Fifty private huts, hidden in native bush in the Orongorongo Valley near Wellington, have played an important role for generations of families.
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Video: The buzz about Kelli Walker's booming business
Kelli Walker felt a business was brewing inside her, and found one that can’t stop bubbling, burbling and babbling about itself.