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!
Kākāpō wild in Waikato for first time in 60 years
Four of the world's rarest flightless parrots have been rehomed on mainland New Zealand.
DoC ups licence fees on ‘world's finest trout fishing’
The department is increasing fees for trout fishing sites that are among the world's best.
Why the Island Hills Station walking track is your next backcountry adventure
Whether two legs or four, this historic high country station welcomes walkers.
Cancelled flight forces 13 strangers into hired minivan for 10 hours
A flight cancellation throws thirteen strangers into a hired minivan - hilarity ensues.
Lake Dunstan Trail smashes expectations as cyclists flock to Clyde
The trail saw as many riders January, hoped for in a year, as cyclists flock to Cylde.
$100 handout for tourists visiting West Coast this summer
This isn't the first time the Coast has offered cash incentives to tourists.
First spring kiwi chick 'Hope' born as Alert Level lowers
Hope was born at 8.20am, hours after the South Island lowered Covid Alert levels.
DOC: What Kiwis really think about the 'great' outdoors
DOC feels pressured by growing appetite for limits on natural places.
Belgian farmer almost sparks new Napoleonic war
"We take responsibility for all," said Macron.
Dig This: Invercargill's digger theme-park
The digger-based theme park is part construction site, part playground sandpit.