New Zealand
SA vs. New Zealand in Rugby: 360-Degree Photo View
August 23, 2010 by Fred Hatman
Saturday. Springboks v All Blacks. Soccer City (or whatever they call it now), Soweto. Historic event. The first time the Boks play a Test in the most famous “township” on the planet.
It also happens to be Springbok captain John Smit’s 100th test for his country. Our beloved country. Barney Smit, widely considered the best rugby skipper in the world. And you all saw the pictures of him standing alone in the centre of that phenomenal calabash of a stadium, holding his son and daughter. Ninety thousand fans waving The Flag. The captain was almost blubbing, wasn’t he? Quite acceptable.
If ever a stage was set for the under-performing Bokke to find their redemption, this was it.
But you all know, or should know, what happened next. Sickening. Especially for our Captain Fantastic. Even All Black captain Richie McCaw graciously said that “rugby can be a cruel game”.
But we move on. A year away from the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand. There could be no sweeter redemption than to retain our World Cup in the backyard of the mighty All Blacks.
But let’s have a slightly unusual look at Saturday’s Tri-Nations heartbreaker. I’ve been playing with the 360…
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Fear, Loathing, Flying – Hat Tip to David Sedaris
August 10, 2010 by Kathy Drasky
On my recent 13+ hour flight from San Francisco to Sydney, brief layover in an Air New Zealand lounge (score!) and a short hop to Melbourne I carried on board the last five print editions of the New Yorker (yes, I do need an iPad!). And what a treat as a snuggled into my seat on the first leg – a David Sedaris original piece about the joys of air travel, “Standing By – Fear, Loathing, Flying”.
Respecting that the New Yorker prints an excerpt of the piece, and requests that you subscribe digitally, I won’t quote over-liberally. In fact, for a daily dose of Sedaris, you can hook up on Twitter with @DailySedaris – which is in constant receipt of Sedaris quotes from this piece, including this one:
I should be used to the way Americans dress when travelling, yet it still manages to amaze me. It’s as if the person next to you had been washing shoe polish off a pig, then suddenly threw down his sponge, saying, “Fuck this, I’m going to Los Angeles!”
That was an LOL’er for sure, but I wonder if Mr.…
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Nathan Torkington: NZ vs the U.S. (consumption, consumption)
August 6, 2010 by Haegwan Kim
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| Photo Credit to James Duncan Davidson |
Haegwan Kim (HK); When and why did you decide to get involved in the world of computer science?
NT; I was a kid growing up in New Zealand and I was in a very small fishing village.
And it’s not where you would expect there to be a lot of computers and, sure enough, there weren’t a lot of computers, but my parents saw that I was mathematically, wordy, smart. And my uncle was a computer programmer, so they said to him, what should we get him? He said, buy the boy a Commodore 64. I got my sister and my first computer when I was eight, and although I love my sister, I think I spent a lot more time with my computer in those first couple of years.
HK; Hahaha.
NT; It was one of those love at first sight things where I was lost and disappeared into the computer. That set me on my course. It just seemed to be the natural progression from there to…
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New Zealand: History, Culture and Economy
July 31, 2010 by Victoria Levy
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island), and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands.
The indigenous Māori language name for New Zealand is Aotearoa, commonly translated as The Land of the Long White Cloud. The Realm of New Zealand also includes the Cook Islands and Niue (self-governing but in free association); Tokelau; and the Ross Dependency (New Zealand’s territorial claim in Antarctica).
New Zealand is notable for its geographic isolation: it is situated about 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) southeast of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and its closest neighbours to the north are New Caledonia, Fiji and Tonga.
During its long isolation New Zealand developed a distinctive fauna dominated by birds, a number of which became extinct after the arrival of humans and the mammals they introduced.
The majority of New Zealand’s population is of European descent; the indigenous Māori are the largest minority. Asians and non-Māori Polynesians are also significant minority groups, especially in urban areas. The most commonly spoken language is English.
New Zealand is a developed country that ranks highly in international comparisons on many topics, including education, economic freedom, and lack of corruption. Its cities also consistently rank among the world’s most livable.
Elizabeth II, as the Queen of New Zealand, is the country’s head of state and is represented by a Governor-General,…
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Touring New Zealand
July 26, 2010 by Bob Skinstad
I’ve just finished traveling in and around New Zealand and Australia on tour with the Springbok Rugby team and commentating on the overseas leg of the Tri-Nations Rugby tournament, and with the upcoming Rugby World Cup taking in place in New Zealand next year, we thought it would be a fantastic idea to showcase some of the more exciting tourist attractions that are available to those of you who will be flying across the ocean to visit this beautiful country during the tournament.
New Zealand is very much the adrenaline junkie’s ultimate dream, from skiing and bungee jumping to extreme fishing and sailing. There is loads of fun to experience in this amazing country. They have been great hosts and I look forward to spending some more time here next year.
I have attached a short video highlighting some of the activities of my trip. Let me know what you think.
Best,
Bob
Rugby Legend Gets Kick Out Of Queenstown NZ
July 20, 2010 by Bob Skinstad
During a whirlwind two-day visit to Queenstown, South African rugby legend Bob Skinstad threw himself – literally! – into experiencing firsthand what the resort has to offer Rugby World Cup visitors next year.
The former Springbok captain turned sports presenter, entrepreneur, blogger and tweeter is touting Queenstown as a “must-see, must-do destination” after skiing, jet boating, golfing, and doing a 134m bungy jump.
Mr Skinstad, who left Queenstown today (20 July), is in New Zealand as part of a Tourism New Zealand-led initiative to film mini-documentaries showcasing what the country has to offer South African visitors considering coming to RWC 2011.
His experiences have been aired on South Africa’s leading sports broadcast channel ‘SuperSport’ before the Tri-Nations games and footage will also be used on popular rugby blogs, YouTube and on Tourism New Zealand’s website.
Destination Queenstown hosted Mr Skinstad while he was in town and CEO Tony Everitt believes it’s a fantastic way of getting New Zealand and Queenstown directly in front of key rugby audiences.
“South Africa is a great rugby nation and, as defending Rugby World Cup champions, is an important target market.
“It doesn’t get much better than having a rugby legend like Bobby…
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Travel Like a Human: Hotels Be Gone
July 18, 2010 by Renee Blodgett
The New York Times has an interesting piece about traveling the ‘human way’ – in other words, find houses, apartments and various other dwelling variations rather than stay in a hotel.
I learn about a short-term rental service called AirBnB.com, their tagline btw is: travel like a human. Called the “Ebay for space” by Time Magazine, Airbnb is an online marketplace allowing anyone from private residents to commercial properties to rent out their extra space. The reputation-based site allows for user reviews, verification, and secure online transactions. Listings include vacation rentals, private rooms, entire apartments, bed and breakfasts, boutique hotels, castles, treehouses, and many other traditional and non-traditional accommodations.
I have to admit, a treehouse definitely sounds more compelling than a cold, lifeless motel room providing there’s mosquito nets if in more tropical areas. Then again, I doubt I’d get wifi in a treehouse or a hot shower with great water pressure, but you most certainly would have ambience and surrounded by nature on all sounds.
You can find a studio apartment for as low as 65 Euros a night in Paris only ten minutes away from the Louvre. Other sites such as
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Fishing with the Best in the World
July 15, 2010 by Bob Skinstad
I am currently in New Zealand and Australia for the Tri-Nations Rugby Tournament and on Tuesday, Matt Watson – a serious rugby fan, myself and The Ultimate Fishing Show crew jumped on a helicopter and flew into an undisclosed gem of a fishing spot, off the coast of New Zealand.
The action was intense, and good fun and if you have never watched or heard of the The Ultimate Fishing Show, then now is the time.
Their philosophy is simple – It’s fishing television made by fishermen for fishermen. Check out some photos from the action yesterday.
Photo of the Week – Milford Track
June 24, 2010 by Sherry Ott
Colorful Carpet - Milford Track New Zealand
The Milford Track (Kiwi speak for hike) is called the most beautiful hike in the world. It received this accreditation when an English journalist walked it and wrote about her journey titling it “Milford Track, Possibly the Most Beautiful Walk in the World”. Her editor looked at it and crossed out the word “Possibly”. After that Frommers, Lonely Planet, Rough Guides as well as many marketing brochures has used the quote to describe it.
I hiked this 3 day 32 mile trek in November of 2006; certainly one of the most beautiful walks in the world! Waterfalls and colorful landscapes surrounded us making one feel that they had been transported to another world.
Like what you see? View and purchase my other New Zealand photography!
Mrs Mac’s Launches New Meat Pie for Winter Down Under
June 1, 2010 by Kathy Drasky
You may be thinking summer is just around the corner, but if you were in Australia today, it would officially be the first day of winter. (And if you’re in San Francisco, it just feels like winter has never left.)
Can’t think of a better way to welcome the cold weather than with an Aussie meat pie. Mrs Mac’s, a family-owned and operated manufacturer and distributor of savory pies and pastry products, based in Perth, Western Australia, has been churning out meat pie goodness for more than 50 years. As part of their “It’s All about the Pie” campaign, they have introduced a new meat lovers pie to coincide with that chilly first day of winter Down Under, when yes, temps can go below freezing (at night).
“Mrs Mac’s Meat Lovers pie contains a tasty blend of chunky steak, bacon, cabanossi and pepperoni, in a rich, wholesome gravy encased in tender golden pastry,” according to a press release.
The Meat Lovers pie rounds out a year-long marketing campaign by Mrs Mac’s which also saw the introduction of the Tex-Mex pie late last year (and sent KazzaDrask Media chasing after the taxi with this advertisement on its…
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