The Australian Today Show filming in Akaroa as part of a campaign to promote New Zealand to Aussies. Photo / George Heard
Channel Nine's Today Show is in New Zealand this week in a bid to promote the country to Aussies.
Starting in Queenstown overlooking Lake Wakatipu last Friday, hosts Karl Stefanovic and Allison Langdon hosted the programme live from the city.
Stefanovic took on the HydroAttack experience, tasted Fergburger's delicious creations and met some locals, with Six60 making a guest appearance.
This week the team will take a trip to Akaroa to explore the harbour and wildlife and broadcast from Christchurch's Mt Hutt ski field.
The trip will wrap up with a visit to Nelson's Abel Tasman National Park before exploring Wellington's city streets.
Tourism NZ has contributed $187,665 to the project.
General manager Australia, Andrew Waddel said it all went to production costs and Air New Zealand provided flight support for the crew.
"Through the partnership with the Today Show, viewers across Australia have been able to witness the breadth and depth New Zealand has to offer, and how easy it is to experience a New Zealand holiday."
He said the hosts have experienced a range of activities across several regions to showcase the diversity of a New Zealand holiday.
The Weekend Today Show broadcasted live from Wanaka on Saturday with hosts Richard Wilkins and Leila McKinnon exploring the lake with Paddle Wanaka.
They also met local operators from Cardrona Distillery and Wanahaka, learnt about the significance of Matariki and crossed live to weather presenter Lauren Phillips at Wildwire Wanaka.
Reporter Lara Vella also travelled to Dunedin and Fiordland to showcase both regions in a pre-recorded story on tourism in the South Island.
Waddel said they have seen strong numbers of Australian visitors since the opening of the transtasman bubble.
"Specifically, we've seen friends and families on both sides of the Tasman reconnected.
"Ahead of the ski season, we've noted strong bookings for ski regions including Queenstown, Wanaka and Christchurch. Ski season marks a big opportunity for New Zealand as we know it is a major driver of Australian visitation."
The trip comes after the release of the "Stop Dreaming about New Zealand and Go" campaign earlier this year.
How a resilient Kiwi village hopes to bounce back from a big drop in visitors.