Magazine Articles
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Ode to Port Emo
Fringe dwellers, story tellers, and a used-to-be-bar that somehow still is. At the bottom of a small staircase, in a low-ceilinged basement, the darkened space is lit by candles and the flickering of an open fire. People in coats swarm the bar. There’s a microphone stand in the corner. It feels intimate, familial even. The
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Sparkles like the day it went in
In search of the General Grant’s gold. There was no raging storm when a lookout on the General Grant sighted Disappointment Island. The evening of Sunday, May 13, 1866 was almost completely still. There was a dense fog. At 10.30pm, Captain William Loughlin ordered all hands to “square the yard” — set the sails so
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Flare – A Ski Trip: A NZ ski film by Sam Neill
Laura Williamson looks back at Flare, a classic New Zealand ski film directed by Sam Neill. Warning: Contains ski ballet. “FREESTYLE,” THE NARRATOR TELLS US, “BEGAN AS AN EXUBERANT REACTION TO THE CONSTRAINTS OF CONVENTIONAL SKIING. NOW IT HAS STRETCHED THE LIMITS OF WHAT’S POSSIBLE ON SKIS.” It’s 1976. Six skiers (five Kiwis and one
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Where can I take my dog?
How to avoid the pound when you hike with your hound. THE WORDS “DOG” AND “WALK” GO TOGETHER LIKE “BARK” AND “BITE”, SO IT’S PRETTY FRUSTRATING TO ARRIVE AT A TRACK WITH YOUR BEST MATE, ONLY TO REALISE YOUR MUTT IS NOT PERMITTED. A SIGN ANNOUNCING THAT IT IS LAMBING SEASON, OR THAT THERE’S BEEN
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Licensed to ride: the story of the Southland cycling scene
How the six o’clock swill helped make Southland the cycling capital of Aotearoa New Zealand. Every time you crack open a Speights in Invercargill, you help a cyclist. This is because every drop of alcohol purchased between the intersection of SH6 and West Plains Road in the north to Waimatua / Duck Creek in the
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A manor house for rats
What’s in a hut. Hut. Three letters that might serve as a blueprint for purpose and composition: roof, walls, floor / cover, warmth, rest. Three letters in a singular combination, signifiers of an ancient need for shelter and security, and for something of our own. H-U-T. It could even be an acronym. History. Every hut
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Lost and found
How a Mount Aspiring mystery was solved. 2016 A PAIR OF BOOTS, COMPLETE WITH GAITERS, CRAMPONS, AND SOCKS. A FEW LONG BONES SCATTERED ACROSS THE ICE. THIS KIND OF THING MAY BE SO COMMON ON SAGARMATHA / MT. EVEREST THAT CLIMBERS ARE INURED TO IT, BUT THIS WASN’T NEPAL. IT WAS AOTEAROA. THE LAST THING
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Let the good times roll
The 1964 guide to the small town cheese rolls of the South Island. THE CHEESE ROLL IS AN EMBLEM OF SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY. CAFES AND DOMESTIC DEITIES HAVE BEEN CLAIMING THEY MAKE THE ULTIMATE ONE FOR DECADES. IT’S A DIVISIVE DEBATE. DO YOU ALIGN WITH THE CLASSIC (GRATED CHEESE FILLING WITH A BIT OF EVAPORATED MILK
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What’s the story with puffas?
On four types of puffer and why the down jacket does not mean the same thing to all people. WHAT’S THE STORY WITH G AND THE PUFFA JACKET? I ASKED MY FRIEND S. She worked with G when we started dating back in 2011. S and I had immigrated from the same small town in