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The chainsaw safety tips and tricks you need to know
Make sure you have all the gear and the right idea.
A Motueka couple's long road to importing adorable Valais Blacknose sheep
They’re often mistaken for stuffed toys, but Valais Blacknose sheep are real and spreading their cuteness around New Zealand.
Exploring the natural world with illustrator Ned Barraud
An illustrator and author gives children an insight into Aotearoa’s extraordinary natural world, from extinct monster birds to modern backyard beasts.
Watch Willy Coenradi manoeuvre an 1880 Columbian printing press
Step back in time and watch a 19th-century printing press in action.
DIY: How to make a cute macramé keychain
Learn how to make this cute macramé keychain before moving on to larger projects.
Explore the country's most extraordinary tree collection
The planting layout of the country’s national arboretum, Eastwoodhill, near Gisborne, is undergoing a reshuffle to a 100-year plan.
Great Gardens: 12 of New Zealand's Best
Great gardens and great gardeners star in the latest collector’s edition from NZ Life & Leisure.
A tram to call home in a rainbow flower garden
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.
Passengers participate in conservation work
An entrepreneurial couple have built a Fiordland-based business that takes New Zealanders out of their daily lives and back in time.
This performer jumped through hoops to join the European circus
A young contortionist knew her working life wouldn’t be spent cooped up behind a desk in a nine-to-five job.
Bostock Brothers named Supreme Champion at 2020 Outstanding NZ Food Producer Awards
A family-run business producing premium poultry is the Supreme Champion in the 2020 Outstanding New Zealand Food Producer Awards.
Exploring Mount Aspiring National Park in the all new Jeep Gladiator
The new Jeep Gladiator is put through its paces in scenic Central Otago.
Video: Watch Ben Foster create his faceted sculptures
Between the mountains and the sea, sculptor Ben Foster and environmentalist Sabrina Luecht have found the best of nests.
Forging ahead at the Iron Ridge Sculpture Park
Canterbury sculptor Raymond Herber has carved out a true niche for his life and work in an abandoned quarry.
The land before time: A road trip through the Chatham Islands
Friendly people, wild landscapes and ancient treasures are to be found exploring the remote Chatham Islands in the new Holden SUV range.
A midwinter Matariki road trip
As the Matariki star cluster emerges in the crisp mid-winter dawn sky, the time is right to jump into the new Holden Equinox for a trip on some of New Zealand’s oldest roads.
Meet the NZ couple finding love on a 350,000 km road trip
A shared passion for four-wheel traveling has this New Zealand couple chasing all seven continents.
Portraits of Myanmar: A peek into the lives of three locals
Troubled, isolated and breathtaking, Myanmar is opening its doors to the world. A visit to its interior reveals a country in development and an almost haunting beauty.
Video: Sustainable living in a tiny house on wheels
A tiny house that includes upcycled parts of a state home is the first step towards sustainable living for an Auckland couple.
Video: Take a tour of Rory Harding's Dunedin Food Forest
A wild orchard in the heart of Dunedin is planted with more than 60 fruit trees.
Watch: NZ's first flock of cute Valais Blacknose sheep
Valais Blacknose must be the cutest sheep in the world. We meet Sally and Lindsay Strathdee on their piece of paradise in Motueka, and meet their friendly flock in an exclusive video.
Watch: Brooke & Maggie Noonan find true north in Mangonui
Brooke and Maggie Noonan left jobs at Auckland Zoo to build an off-grid, eco-friendly house in the Far North.
A blockbuster adventure in Hawai'i
A cinema-lover discovers a world beyond the familiar attractions of the movie-esque Hawai’ian island of Kaua’i.
DIY Project: Build your own Pizza Oven
A comprehensive step-by-step guide to building a pizza oven for your backyard.
Behind the scenes at Hortensia House
Behind the scenes at the September/ October issue of NZ Life & Leisure cover shoot at Hortensia House.
Video: A special poem for National Poetry Day
Wellington poet Chris Tse delivers a special poem for National Poetry Day from his collection He's So MASC.
Video: Home sweet tiny home
A young Wellington couple talk about designing and building their first home, a tiny house on wheels, and reveal what it’s really like to live in a whare iti in winter.
Video: 21-year-old NZ mandala artist with worldwide fanbase
Meet 21-year-old fine arts student and artist Lizzie Snow who is winning fans around the world with her intricate geometric mandala designs. Watch our exclusive video.
Entries close soon for the NZI Rural Women New Zealand Business Awards
The NZI Rural Women New Zealand Business Awards 2018 celebrates innovative women in the rural sector who illustrate success through their rural business.
How I went plastic-free for a month (it’s not as hard as you think – promise)
Nicole Barratt shares easy everyday swaps you can make to ditch plastic.
Video: Wellington's characterful boat sheds
These Wellington boat sheds – some of them important local landmarks – mean many things to many people.
Exploring South East Asia by cruise ship
A cruise passenger speed-dates destinations along the south-east Asian coast, and hopes to meet some of them again.
10 adorable guinea pig facts
Nothing prepares you for the special challenge of caring for these pigs.
A Pink Ribbon Mocktail
The clever team at the Cocktail Collective have put on their mixing aprons to create a pink mocktail worthy of the Breast Cancer Foundation's Pink Ribbon Breakfast.
"Make me a supermodel"
Lisa Scott goes backstage at iD Dunedin Fashion Week, tries on an androgynous face and rediscovers her inner Milla Jovovich.
How to make the perfect sourdough bread
Pandoro co-founder turned viticulturist Richard Tollenaar shares a video on the secrets of baking a perfect sourdough loaf.
Video: 138 kg of food harvested from 15 sqm in 6 months
When NZ Life & Leisure editor Kate Coughlan left behind her vast veggie beds at the Rocket Ranch for city life, she called in the experts to create a 100% edible courtyard garden.
Lisa Scott goes cage diving with great white sharks
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.
Dunedin to Queenstown: A road trip to remember
A road trip through iconic southern scenery spins the wheels and the twangs the heart-strings.
Watch: How to make wild sauerkraut
The founder of Forage & Ferment demonstrates gives a lesson in fermenting 101, demonstrating how to make her wild sauerkraut with turmeric, ginger and marigold.
Water Cooler: DIY marbled paper
This week in the water cooler: Cheree gets crafty making marbled paper gift tags, Nadene has some handy advice ahead of the hot summer and Emma says, 'Yes, cheese'.
Debra Cruickshank named supreme winner of Enterprising Rural Women Awards
A boutique winemaker has taken out the top prize at the Enterprising Rural Women Awards.
An unforgettable drive
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.
Video: Watch Amelia Ferrier transform a cake into a work of art
Cakes are a blank canvas for a talented baker and author of Melie's Kitchen.
What Carolyn Ferraby learned creating Barewood Garden
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.
We try riding an electric bike through Auckland
Electric bikes are popular in Asia and Europe, but will they catch on in Auckland? We see what the buzz is about.
Living and filming the good life in a 20 sqm home
The pair behind Happen Films spends their non-shooting time living and working in an unplumbed house that’s as small and perfectly formed as their short documentaries.
Behind the scenes at the NZ Chocolate Awards
Being a chocolate judge would be many children’s dream. thisNZlife goes behind the scenes at the NZ Chocolate Awards to discover how to taste chocolate like a pro.
Video: Botanist Philip Simpson shares his love of totara
Our native trees are some of the most unique in the world, and so is the man who has dedicated his life to studying them and telling their stories, including his latest on the king of them all.
Video: Hitching a ride on a rubbish truck
thisNZlife’s Emma Rawson and Sarah van Boheemen from Love Food Hate Waste hitch a ride on an Auckland Council food waste collection truck and see, firsthand, how much food New Zealanders throw away.
Video: Locals fighting to protect the waterways that feed Lake Wanaka
Water, a precious resource, is at its most pristine in a spring-fed stream chuckling its way through the heart of Wanaka
Growing a family business on the Wanaka Lavender Farm
Two brothers have turned a patch of Wanaka into a lavender business in full bloom.
How Monique Fiso is raising the bar on Maori cuisine
Monique Fiso is one of the most innovative young chefs in Maori and Pacific cuisine, but it took a job halfway around the world for her to discover her true passion.
Lunch hour workout
Fitness coach Mat Lewisham shares his 20-minute workout designed to elevate the heart rate using body weight resistance training.
How to make Green Tea Smoked Beef
The Pitches Store chef shares his award-winning recipe for Green Tea Smoked Silver Fern Farms Reserve Beef with Beetroot Mustard.
Make your own pizza oven this summer, and learn to cook in it
Step away from your screens and eat under the stars with NZ Life & Leisure’s new outdoor cooking and DIY book: In Your Backyard: FOOD & FIRE, on sale now.
We test 'The world's most comfortable shoes'
Allbirds shoes, made of New Zealand merino, have been named the 'world's most comfortable shoe'. Co-founder Tim Brown shares his story, and thisNzlife's Yolanta Woldendorp puts them to the test.
Finding work/life balance
A personal quest for work/life balance is at the core of a new restaurant and wellness centre run by a top chef and his yogi wife.
Things to consider when buying a ride-on mower
If you’re tired of pushing yourself to do the lawns get our tips on how to buy possibly the biggest investment in a single product you’ll make when you live on a lifestyle block.
Does this piglet think it's a dog?
A West Auckland pig breeder reveals it's easy to train a piglet to follow commands.
We try... racing a WRX
Cheree Morrison puts pedal to the metal on the Highlands Motorsport Park course in Cromwell.
Life on a container ship
26 days on a container ship puts life on dry land in perspective for a photographer.
A life less ordinary at the Fox River Commune
The times may be a changing but the Fox River Commune on the West Coast still attracts a colourful group of thinkers, dreamers and creators.
Video: Behind the scenes at Clachanburn Country Garden
What does it take to create a garden of national significance in a remote place with an extreme climate and heavy clay soil? A body made of strong bones and a soul full of magic is a good start.
