Thomas Bywater is a Travel Journalist and Multimedia Producer for New Zealand's Herald, specialising in New Zealand adventure travel and Antarctic tourism
I’m Thomas Bywater, Travel Writer and Digital Producer for the NZ Herald. Traversing ice fields in Patagonia and diving the Great Barrier Reef in an electric submarine - there have been a few life-changing trips since joining the NZ Herald in 2018. I graduated with a degree in English from the University of Aberdeen in 2012, which has taken me to a variety of places including a stint working as a digital editor for The Sunday Times in London. I got into travel writing in a roundabout way. After roles with a radio station in Leipzig, theatre restorations and film productions in Prague and Jaipur - it was clear, I don’t stand still for long. Since 2021, I’ve been based out of Christchurch and a bit closer to New Zealand’s Antarctic Gateway. It’s an adventurous part of the world, which I love, and an endless inspiration for stories. Its influences have fed into my podcast Detour: Antarctica, for which I interviewed the first person born on the continent and explorers who were victims of a prank involving two 500-year-old arrowheads. Adventures for your earbuds, go check it out!
Auckland restaurants top table of world's best diners
The two Kiwi diners topped the tables of best restaurants in Australia and the Pacific.
Copenhagen vegetarian diner crowned best place to eat in the world
A vegetarian restaurant with a $700 taster menu has put Denmark on the culinary map.
Olé: Top Spanish chef arrives in New Zealand (via Melbourne)
The Spaniard first ignited Australia's love-affair with tapas food in 2003.
Salt Bae's Nusr-et ranked worst steakhouse in London
It's hard to take reviews this brutal with a pinch of salt.
A sticky end: UK PM's lasting legacy? A Ukrainian cream cake
Imitations of the bouffant pastry have begun appearing elsewhere in Ukraine and abroad.
Elephant dung gin helps safaris beat travel downturn
Elephant dung and G&Ts are key ingredients for safaris, but rarely in a cocktail.
I'm no Jerk: Jamie Oliver hires cultural appropriation advisors
Essex pasta or cultural appropriation?
Auckland's 16 favourite Iconic Eats revealed
The city's 16 all-time favourites foods have been named.
What a catch: Your ultimate guide to Kaikōura's crayfish
There's no shortage of places to sink your claws into a crayfish.
Michelin Tsars: Nine Moscow restaurants earn Russia's first awards
'There are a lot of stars in Moscow, but there have not been any Michelin stars yet'
Oktoberfest: How do you solve a 7million litre beer surplus?
The Coronavirus put a stopper in festivities for a second consecutive year.
A small-town bar crawl through New Zealand's best country pubs
At the centre of gravity in regional New Zealand you will find a public house.