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 ...

Feijoas have become a New Zealand emblem. So how did they end up in Aotearoa, and how did we end up adoring them—to the point of obsession, for some—when feijoas have not really caught on anywhere ...

In December 2023, Environment Canterbury’s Heath Melville counted around 3800 red-billed gulls at Kaikōura. Some birds may have been at sea feeding, but that’s still a dizzying drop—through the 1980s ...

The invasive seaweed Caulerpa brachypus was discovered in New Zealand just over a year ago, and it promises to ruin everything. On Aotea/Great Barrier Island, people are sacrificing their way of life ...

In the late 19th century, news of a strange antipodean bird with beautiful tail feathers, orange wattles, and a long curved beak spread around the British Empire. To Māori, it was a tapu bird—a sacred ...

Society Tokelau, Islands of the wind. Homesickness and uncertainty show on the faces of Tokelauans returning to the islands. Although Tokelau is counted as part of New Zealand, living conditions in ...

The bird watches me with an inquisitive eye. She’s huge, nearly a metre from top-of-head to tail-tip. Her curved hook of a beak looks thick and strong enough to break my finger, so I refrain from ...

New Zealand’s forests were once the home of the largest eagle in the world. This enormous bird had claws as big as a tiger’s, and could strike its prey with the force of a concrete block dropped from ...

Although nikau occur naturally from North Cape to about the latitude of Akaroa, nowhere are they a more striking part of the landscape than on the South Island West Coast. Standing tall like giant ...

At sea, the feasts are grand and impromptu—and everyone’s invited. It begins with the dolphins. A school of striped commons in grey and gold, swimming in purposeful array. When they find the fish—the ...

Legend has it that the first person to cross the Southern Alps from Hokitika to the Rakaia was a woman travelling alone. The pass she discovered became an important route for war parties and trade. In ...

In 2024, Naomi Arnold slogged her way up Te Araroa, walking from Bluff to Cape Reinga over about nine months. Here, 100 kilometres into her odyssey and deeply unsure about her capacity to finish it, ...