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!
DoC starts voluntary booking system for New Zealand's busiest day walk
DoC urges trampers to book ahead this summer, to protect the popular national park.
Ruapehu the winner of school holidays ski forecast as Aussies end disastrous season early
Skiers are heading to the slopes for the start of the September holidays. Will the snow?
Sky Waka’s no-refund policy leaves Ruapehu visitors hanging
Opened in 2019, the Sky Waka is a 1.8 km cable car in the Tongariro National Park.
Ruapehu ends extraordinary lift pass sale after rocky start to NZ ski season
Season pass holders to be far fewer following last-minute doorstep sale.
Tongariro Great Walk opens for booking: Is DoC's IT system back on track?
Great Walk bookings reopen four months after “incredibly frustrating” IT meltdown.
Ruapehu’s late ski sale a ‘shot in the dark’
'The move from despair to elation was so fast'.
Ruapehu to open tomorrow, after last-minute snow and Govt grant
Winter is back on at Ruapehu after a flurry of snow and an eleventh-hour government grant.
Ruapehu ski passes on sale as soon as next week following $1 bid for mountain
Lift passes could be on sale as early as next week under the new ownership.
Great Walk bookings cancelled as DOC website crashes
DOC apologises and asks trampers to wait for updates.
North Island ski fields make remarkable Covid rebound
North Island ski fields report visitor numbers up, in spite of Covid 19 hardship.