Our People

On the best of days, the grueling sport of race walking feels like dancing to New Zealand’s top-ranked female competitor Alana Barber.

A boat builder with itchy feet, huge ideas and a young family finds his spiritual home in a tiny-but-mighty King Country town.

Love them or loathe them, Lothlorien Winery’s founders believe their beloved feijoas have a budding future as more people grow to love them here and abroad – starting with their sparkling feijoa wines.

She never expected to be a radio newsreader, nor the voice of a mobile network. But these days Mary-Jane Tomasi is broadcast far and wide.

Helping people to find their “why” is the life purpose of a Wānaka-based couple who find answers in the mountains.

Helping a tribe navigate a Treaty of Waitangi settlement can be long and tumultuous, says the chief executive for Tauranga iwi Ngāi Te Rangi, Paora Stanley.

This couple has built a first-rate life among the drylands of north Canterbury, spiced up — as if it were needed — with classic cars and a cottage with a view that rolls on forever.

Originally designed in late-1950s communist Czechoslovakia, the Czeta was rebranded to NZeta when it reached Aotearoa. One, now meticulously restored, helped this bike-lover through a mid-life crisis.

Food writer Kristina Jensen celebrates a special couple and their favourite tomato.

Two management consultants have exchanged the corporate world for a country life dedicated to sharing the joy of mushrooms.

Two Nelson farmers are keeping things local, churning their A2 milk into ice cream produced just minutes down the road from their milking sheds.

A ballad of birdsong, rushing water and rustling kauri caused this photographer to swap the crowded streets of inner-city Auckland for the gravel roads of Donnellys Crossing.

The nut butter industry, known to be tough to crack, didn’t unnerve this health-conscious couple. Four years later, their nut buttery stocks more than 400 retailers nationwide.

Valuing Women in Aotearoa

Dame Marilyn Waring is one of New Zealand’s most influential women – a feminist, author, academic, former politician, human rights activist and environmentalist – and is this year’s inspiring speaker at the Zonta Ashburton International Women’s Day Breakfast.

Allan Oldfield – A Champion of Blades

From an early age Allan Oldfield felt the call of blade shearing – and now he’s a world champion.

A nostalgic summer activity reaches new heights in the hands of a Bay of Plenty performance artist.

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

Two of Valda Poletti’s ancestors arrived from England, settled on land near New Plymouth and burned the bush and forest to make way for pastures of ryegrass and clover. Valda has done precisely the opposite.

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

A Rotorua falconer takes flight, spreading his love for Aotearoa’s native birds of prey.

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

At a time when many young Māori were heading to Australia, Brisbane-born and raised Jeremy Tātere MacLeod bucked the trend by moving to Hastings to immerse himself in Māori culture.

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.

An Eye for Detail with Not Just Events owner Sheree Stevens

From bridal shows, wine and food festivals and book launches to marathons, cycle races and sporting events, Not Just Events owner Sheree Stevens (or Sheree Haugh if she’s at home) has organised them all, with a focus on local, personal flavour.

Marie Pourcel wakes each morning to goats bleating outside her tiny home in Burkes Pass. It feels like a million miles from the apartment and office job she left behind in France’s fourth-largest city.

A 2 billion year old organism is the hot new food trend, and a gourmet business opportunity.

A walker recovering from illness took the chance to clean up his local area. Both are now in good health.

A secondary school art teacher scolded his students for being “plum puddings” and told them to get on with their art. One of them took this admonition to heart, his words inspiring her since.

When her life went off-script, writer Lauren Keenan did something new – 52 of them, in fact, in only 52 weeks. Her new book, The 52 Week Project, covers her discoveries as she writes new chapters for herself.

They moved to the country to live off the land. But it took a few odd years to find the right animal for their block.

A lifetime love affair with apparel enters a new phase with the collector becoming the creator.

Four young entrepreneurs want to promote and protect the country's native environment while growing their sparkling drink empire.

They live off-grid in a log cabin, drive an electric car, and measure their progress in toilets. Meet a pair of earth nerds living their great adventure.

This Whāngārei-based maternity activewear brand reached 14 on the Deloitte Fast 50 list within five years of shipping its first bras.