Our Travel

When Sam met Jess on a ski field in Turkey, neither guessed they’d end up running a yacht-support business together in Vanuatu.

Swapping pavlova and sunshine for European waterways and cuckoo clocks helps one voyager realize the festive spirit she never knew she had.

Characters, curiosities and intrepid opportunity lie around every corner of one of New Zealand’s longest rivers.

A cinema-lover discovers a world beyond the familiar attractions of the movie-esque Hawai’ian island of Kaua’i.

The food was exquisite, the sake was flowing and the conversation was filled with colourful travel stories at the NZ Life & Leisure and Walk Japan reader lunch.

For those planning a visit to Mid Canterbury be sure to pick up the phone and chat to some of the region’s collectors.

Not every baby is born with the ability to smile. Cleft palates are a heartbreaking but treatable condition. In Kenya, one photographer documents the mothers and children that make their way to surgery as they embark on a journey of hope.

Stewart Island is a flawless microcosm where the fish is fresh, seeing a kiwi is likely and the genuine welcome also makes it special.

These five historical pubs have have survived the gold rush and the six o'clock swill. They are well worth a visit for those who wish to soak up some New Zealand  history with a cold one in hand.

Discover a region where the sunshine hours are unrivalled and the beaches are shared with sunbathing seals.

Whales and wild waters, sugared beaches and dramatic landscapes, kangaroos and convict chronicles are all wrapped into the story of this isolated coastal stretch made accessible when explored by small ship.

Jim Kayes is egged on by a 12-year-old and gives a terrifying ride in Rotorua a swing.

There are few places one can land a plane on a lake, creep through treetop canopies, dangle feet in geothermal waters and explore the pockmarked landscape left by an enormous explosion.

What better way to get to know a region than by doing a little retail therapy? Treat yourself to a little something special in these four Manawatu stores - a souvenir of sorts.

A long ride on a spine-cracking rickshaw and ten days of excruciating, immobile silence lead to a place of slow-and-surprising recognition.

A cruise passenger speed-dates destinations along the south-east Asian coast, and hopes to meet some of them again.

There are secrets to discover in the Cook Islands by following the road less traveled.

Trying to make sense of South and East Auckland is like peering into a kaleidoscope. Every twist reveals a new scene – there’s the colour of Otahuhu, the calm of Clevedon, the mana of Mangere, the solitude and beauty of the regional parks and the history of Howick.

Sabine Ruijters guides NZ Life & Leisure's Yolanta Woldendorp for a horseback ride to remember in Crete.

Discover "real New Zealand like it was 100 years ago" on Otago's cavalcade, the high country horse ride of a lifetime.

In the monasteries and churches of lower Bavaria, spiritual and secular pleasures go hand in hand.

They say the only way to conquer a fear is to confront it, but Lisa Scott discovers singing “la la la” and completely ignoring it might be less psychologically damaging in the long run.

A New Zealand bibliophile discovers the pleasures and pitfalls of running a bookshop in a small Scottish town.

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

There are three excellent multi-day walks on Stewart Island and one of them is officially Great.

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

Visiting Golden Bay - the Insider's Guide has got you covered.

The earth moved for the Feckless Miss Scott on her first three-day tramp high in the Naumann range north of Lake Ohau.

From a very cool bar with a DC3 plane out back, to a cafe where the homemade crumpets have a fan club: here are four places to eat in sun-soaked Gisborne.

'Tis the season for a bit of present shopping. With food, retail, homewares, fashion and entertainment under one roof, everything the heart desires can be found in The Colombo in Christchurch.

Kelly Gillbanks drives the Holden Equinox SUV through the Forgotten World Highway and discovers some colourful New Zealand history  including the feline vice-president of the 'Republic of Whangamomona' and a brand new private museum.

The decommissioned Stratford-Okahukura line covers some of the most isolated country in the North Island making it home to the tunnels, bridges and townships that time forgot.

A visitor to Dublin meets Molly Malone, Oscar Wilde and Handel, and downs his first-ever Guinness in the embrace of a local pub-goer.

Every vista in this world-class garden, photographed through the seasons, tempts visitors down a path laden with promise. Barewood Garden's creator shares how she's grown alongside her garden.