I learned about Paul Smith, known as the Twitchhiker, who has made an impressive 11,000-mile trip from Newcastle in the North-East of England to New Zealand, using only donations from people who use the social networking site Twitter; completing the journey in just under a month.
Paul hopes his adventure will raise thousands of pounds for charity. Read more about Paul and his journey.
Nowdays, Youth Hostels Associations worldwide have opened their doors to independent travellers of all ages and the Youth Hostels Association of New Zealand follows this trend in catering for the budget backpacker. They have a network of more than 50 hostels throughout New Zealand, many of which offer 5-star accommodation and you don't even need to be a member of the association to stay at one their hostels, although members benefit from a discount.
Read a great review of one of Queenstown's hostels written by Angela Walker. The review also covers some of the adrenalin charged activities on offer, in the region that bills itself as the world capital of extreme sports.
Norfolk Island, a subtropical paradise, is considered to be the South Pacific's best kept secret. There is such a lot to do on Norfolk Island, noted for its history, culture and spectacular scenery. There are walking and mountain bike trails, great opportunities for scuba diving, swimming and snorkeling, surfing and skateboarding, to mention just a few of the interesting activities on offer. Visitors will also find a golf course, bowling green, tennis courts, museums, art galleries and the lovely Camelot Gardens.
Norfolk Island is only 1 hour 55 minutes from Auckland, New Zealand and less than 3 hours from Australia's east coast. Download a comprehensive, 28 page, pdf brochure, full of some wonderful images.
Earthrace, the power boat trimaran, fueled entirely by biodiesel, has smashed the previous round-the-world record for a powerboat.
New Zealander, captain Pete Bethune and crew have arrived back at Vulkan Shipyard, Sagunto, Spain, just 60 days after departing on their circumnavigation record attempt, which takes 14 days of the previous record set 10 years ago. Earthrace has accomplished its remarkable feat running only on renewable biodiesel fuel, and leaving a net zero carbon footprint.
New Zealand is enjoying a bumper crop of cherries and apricots, thanks to the hot dry summer, which has created near perfect conditions for growers; cherry yields might be twice the harvest record, and the prospects for the apple and kiwifruit harvest also looks great.
However the bumper crops must be picked and the shortage of labour in some areas is said to be critical. Tourists on Working Holiday Scheme visas are being urged to head to the fruit growing regions, in order to help get the fruit of the trees. Read more.
James Castrission, and Justin Jones, landed safely but their condition makes the feat of New Zealander, Colin Quincy, even more extra-ordinary; he became the first person to row across the Tasman solo, taking 67 days to make the crossing in 1976.
An Australian foursome completed the journey in the opposite direction in half the time, 31 days, arriving in Sydney Harbour on December 30, 2007.
People are massing at Ngamotu Beach, New Plymouth in New Zealand, to greet Australian kayakers, James Castrission, and Justin Jones, who are expected to make landfall in about 4 hours time, completing an epic crossing of the Tasman Sea.
The crossing will also enter the record books as the longest recorded two-man Kayak journey; the pair have spent 62 days at sea.
Speed riding is a mix of skiing and paragliding, a bit like kiteboarding on snow. It was popularised by a group of French paragliders and is said to be the fastest way to get down a mountain, at least in one piece.
It still seems like a pretty extreme way to get an adrenaline rush though. World champion Liox Jean-Albert, saw in the new year at a New Zealand Hospital after crashing at Treble Cone a few days earlier. He had been hoping to compete in the New Zealand Airgames.
Two adventurers from Sydney, James Castrission, 25, and Justin Jones, 24, have set off from Forster on the Australian, New South Wales coast in an attempt to become the first kayakers to paddle 2200km across the Tasman Sea to Auckland, New Zealand.
The attempt occurs just nine months after Andrew McAuley tragically died while attempting a solo kayak crossing. More.
The 24-hour version of the New Zealand 'three-day Classic Southern Traverse' adventure race on the Southern Lakes, comprising trekking, paddling and mountain biking, is scheduled for November 17 and 18, 2007. This will be its second year and organiser Geoff Hunt is keen to see it become a regular event.
Next year will see the return of the Classic Southern Traverse to the Southern Lakes region. Would be competitors in the 24 Hours of Southern Traverse are encouraged to get their entries in as soon as possible because entries close in about three weeks. More.
This beautiful place is where the Godwits choose to spend the southern hemisphere summer. Christchurch City Council organises an annual spring celebration to mark the arrival of the first Godwit migrants. The sighting of the birds is signalled by the bells of Christchurch Cathedral, which ring for 30 minutes when the first birds are seen on the Avon-Heathcote Estuary.
The highlight of the New Zealand winter calendar has to be the The Burton New Zealand Open snowboarding competition and once more, Snow Park in the Cardrona Valley gets to host the event, which this year runs from 7th - 11th August, 2007. In 2007, it's bigger, better and longer than ever; the Cardrona Valley and Wanaka township will again be transformed as more than 5000 spectators, a record 230-plus riders from around the world, film crews and journalists descend on their community.
Half Pipe, Quarter Pipe and Slopestyle disciplines are featured in the Burton New Zealand Open, which forms part of the Burton Global Open Series of international snowboarding competitions, playing out in six countries throughout the course of a year.
It isn't too soon to be planning your next snowboarding break and we have plenty of snowboarding breaks to choose from in our database.
Everyone likes swings, right? However, as you might have guessed, Canyon Swings are just a little bit bigger than your average garden swing and now someone plans to build a monster. Big Daddy Adventures Ltd are to build a 200m high and 1000m long Canyon Swing at John Bull Creek, near Tarras, Otago, New Zealand. Currently, the world's highest swing is also in Otago, it is the Shotover Canyon Swing at Queenstown. This swing is only half the height of the proposed John Bull Creek swing, but sitting 109m (360ft) above the Shotover River participant can reach speeds of nearly 150kph (that's about 90mph). Co-owner Hamish Emerson said with a mischievous grin, "The greater the initial terror, the feeling you're going to hit the dirt, the greater the resultant joy when you realise you're going to make it after all!"
Set up a hairdryer to blow your hair, put on some soiled underpants and this end of week video from adamdpage, taken on the Shotover Canyon Swing, should give you a fair idea of what it is like to ride a Canyon Swing.
Disturbances in the weather patterns due to global warming are not confined to the northern hemisphere. Many of New Zealand's boarders and skiers are finding that their winter sports activities are being curtailed by a lack of snow close to home.
Bethany Marett, writing in the The Timaru Herald, reports that the the slopes around Canterbury and Mt Hutt in South Island, are bare of snow and snow boarders have been forced further south in search of the cold white powder.
Each year, on the first Saturday in March, the people of Taupo, New Zealand, are used to their towns population doubling as 20,000 visitors descend on the town for the worlds oldest international Ironman event, on and around Lake Taupo. Actually, things kick off the weekend before, with the annual Cross the Lake Swim (4.2 km) and an Ironkids Triathlon, then there is a week of related events.
This year's Ironman New Zealand is 3 March, 2007, and features more than 1400 competitors from 39 countries. The race format is a 3.8km (2.4 mile) swim in the warm, clean, fresh waters of Lake Taupo, followed by a flat to undulating 179.2km (112 mile) cycle ride through spectacular scenery and then a 42.2 km (26 mile) marathon run to finish.
Lake Taupo is the largest lake in New Zealand and is a centre for all sorts of adventure sports. The lake contains rainbow and brown trout up to six pounds in weight, so is a magnet for trout fisherman; 30 rivers flow into the lake and fly fishing is a popular option with many companies organising fishing trips.
In Christchurch, New Zealand, there is an annual event which is described as organized pandemonium, uncontrollable laughter, non-stop chaos and absolute fun. It is the World Buskers Festival, one of the largest performance festivals in the world.
This year's festival runs from January 18 through to January 28, 2007 and offers visitors more than 450 street and stage shows presented by performers from Canada, USA, Brazil, Portugal, Japan, Italy, Netherlands, UK, Australia and, of course, New Zealand.
There is such a lot to do on Norfolk Island, noted for its history, culture and spectacular scenery. There are walking and mountain bike trails, great opportunities for scuba diving, swimming and snorkeling, surfing and skateboarding, to mention just a few of the interesting activities on offer. Visitors will also find a golf course, bowling green, tennis courts, museums, art galleries and the lovely Camelot Gardens.
Currently, the world's highest swing is also in Otago, it is the 
