A forest is a place of peace. We go there to soak up the stillness, the quietude. But even the most Zen of gardens is in fact a frenetic trading floor, abuzz with an exchange of commodities and ...

The filling of Lake Dunstan to supply water for the Clyde Dam will change the face of the Clutha River forever. Here we portray the Clutha that was, and salute those who fought to save the river ...

How did I ever get caught in a trap like this? No way up and certainly no way to climb back down. A wall of vertical granite fell away beneath my feet and gravity, so deftly defied until now, returned ...

Every year between January and May the East Australian Current delivers an influx of unusual marine visitors to New Zealand waters. Among them are several species of marine turtle, sightings of which ...

Lampreys have done without bones—even jaws—for 360 million years, making do instead with a mouthful of rasps designed for shredding. But those teeth are no match for a new and invisible enemy. Are ...

The tradition of kava has brought people together and consummated important social occasions in the Pacific for 3000 years. The use of kava is growing in New Zealand, with some 25,000 drinkers ...

Some say they are the finest oysters in the world. Grown slowly in the cold, clean waters of Foveaux Strait; flushed by strong tides bringing a daily intake of plankton and nutrients; plucked from the ...

The distant and remote Minerva Reefs—the closest coral atolls to New Zealand—have been the subject of political intrigue, a failed libertarian state and a naval showdown. Scientists believe they may ...

The planting of Russell lupins as sheep feed in the Canterbury high country is triggering a clash between farming and conservation values. In early summer, photographers jostle for space on the ...

In spite of a widespread belief that their race and culture are extinct, Moriori people have survived on the Chatham Islands and are undergoing a cultural revival similar to that of their mainland ...

I can still remember the night I first saw her. Her skin was the palest alabaster, her lips the soft­est camellia pink. My sister and I were allowed to look at her as she sat safely on my mother’s ...

Ever felt the urge to hunt for treasure in the grounds of Buckingham Palace? Or dreamed of rediscovering a lost medieval priory, or lifting and conserving the earliest evidence of ‘basketry’ in ...