Viva experiences the very best of Wellington in the VIP style we could easily become accustomed to.

As NZ skifields delay opening because of unseasonably warm weather, some Aussie resorts are blanketed...

A hotel near Auckland Airport advertised as four star has been slammed for being filthy and having no hot water.

Mangawhai has always been beautiful. Now, with fine food and art, it's cultivated too, finds Liz Light.

If you want to know the best places to check out when you're visiting a foreign country you're often best advised to ask a tourist rather than a local.

There's more to Karangahake Gorge than the view from SH2, as Danielle Wright discovers on a weekend break from Auckland.

Paparoa has had a makeover and offers plenty for visitors, writes Susan Edmunds.

Australia's "silver nomads" holidaying in New Zealand will enjoy discounts on goods and services under a new reciprocal arrangement for SuperGold Card holders.

Vicky Jayne finds plenty to see on Route 35 - and all at an enjoyable pace.

It may not be the first place that springs to mind when you're after an art fix, but Waikato is home to two exhibition spaces that will have culture seekers revelling, writes Libby Nicholson-Moon.

Despite a fruitless search for great coffee, Diana Clement finds plenty to do and see in the warm and welcoming Bay of Islands.

The Foveaux Strait ferry is not for the faint-hearted, says Chris Samsara.

Liz Light takes a walk up Mt Taranaki.

We baby boomers seem hell-bent on dashing off around the world gaining notches in our money belts. Everyone has been, or is going, to Europe or Asia.

Danielle Wright discovers a day at the races, wild west-coast style.

Easing his bones in natural hot springs and filling up with a hearty meal in an old colonial hotel is Phil Parker's idea of a great weekend in Waikato.

Pictures speak a thousand words, but for rookies the first word is "m for moron", finds Kate Roff.

From plains to peaks to rainforest, the TranzAlpine offers a taster of the striking south.

This water park is a scream for young and old, finds Alex Tully.

An expanded, updated and improved new edition of the book which won deserved acclaim - and an award - when it was first published 11 years ago.

If you're keen for a spot of luxury and pampering, Rotorua's Peppers on the Point may be just the place, says Diana Balham.

Cate Foster gets on her bike and enjoys the trails of Woodhill Forest - and the refreshment waiting at the end of her journey.

No time for a full game of golf? Practise your swing at one of these spots.

So close to Auckland, and yet a world away, is a hotel tucked into an area of unsurpassed beauty. Nikki Birrell heads into the heart of the Waitakeres.

Julie Symons and her fiancé take to the air in magnificent flying machines.

Liz French paddles beneath the Whanganui River's Bridge to Nowhere.

The Ruapehu region is a great place to get on your bike.

Colin McCahon's house reveals another side of Titirangi, says Liz Light.

The trip to Riverhead Tavern is all part of the experience, writes Cate Foster.

From half-hour family rambles to full-day tramps, explore Auckland's finest green space.