Aotearoa NZ 2025
(Nov-Dec)
“In some ways I believe I epitomise the average New Zealander: I have modest abilities, I combine these with a good deal of determination, and I rather like to succeed.”
Kiwi paralympic swimmer Joshua Willmer gunning for gold and world records
One of New Zealand's young paralympic stars, Joshua Willmer, has set his sights on swimming past what some may think is possible. At just 20-years-old, Willmer is preparing to defend his gold at next year's Commonwealth Games, compete at the 2028 Los Angeles Paralympics and eventually break the 100m breaststroke world record, all while finding enough time to fish.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 25.11.2025
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'It's another limit to push' - Motueka teens prepare for non-stop endurance event
The world's largest expedition race is returning to the South Island after a two-year hiatus, and some of the youngest competitors are a group of past and present students from Motueka High School. Godzone Chapter 12 will see teams of four hike, bike and paddle through remote parts of Marlborough for up to nine days, covering up to 700 kilometres, in a test of navigation and survival.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 24.11.2025
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Hawaiian waka makes historic return to NZ
A Hawaiian waka will be on display for people to see at Mangonui's main wharf in Northland on Sunday. Hikianalia is accompanying waka Hōkūleʻa to take part in celebrations to mark 40 years since Hōkūleʻa visited. It sparked the revival of building ocean-going waka and traditional navigation, led by the late Sir Hek Busby. Hikianalia will be on display between 10 and 2pm, and will then head to a dry dock in Auckland for maintenance.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 23.11.2025
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Why does New Zealand keep disappearing from world maps?
Has anyone ever asked you whether New Zealand is part of Australia — or where exactly it sits on the world map? From the famous Universal Studios globe in Florida to a 2019 IKEA wall map, New Zealand has been cropping up as a glaring omission. But why does it keep happening, and what does it reveal about the way we read maps?
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 23.11.2025
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Opera superstar Joyce DiDonato says music has the power to heal
One of the biggest names in opera US mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato lands in New Zealand for two concerts and two of her world famous master classes. American opera singer Joyce DiDonato grew up in a house full of music, she says. “There was a lot of noise. There was a lot of music.” She told RNZ’s Concert of her childhood home in Kansas.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 23.11.2025
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Te Matatini champion Kereama Wright on power of kapa haka
Kereama Wright (Te Arawa), senior member of haka rōpū Ngāti Whakaue and Te Matatini 2025 champion, says kapa haka is a form of rongoā - healing body, mind and spirit - and one of the strongest expressions of Māori culture. "It's a vehicle for us to tell stories - stories of triumph, stories of oppression, stories about the birth of our children - but it's a vehicle to continue our history, our stories and our legacy, and pass it on to our future gen.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 22.11.2025
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Country Life: Breeding the kiwifruit of the future
Thousands and thousands of kiwifruit pass between the gloved fingers of research technologist Megan Wood, and she reaches for them just as a consumer might. "Essentially, I just feel them, and I think I would eat that one. We've been doing it for years, so my best guess is usually pretty good." She's a dab hand at analysing the fruit inside and out, working in the sensory lab at the Kiwifruit Breeding Centre (KBC) in Te Puke.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 22.11.2025
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20 years of Fat Freddy's Drop celebrated in new Wellington exhibition
In 2005, the now-iconic New Zealand band released their first studio album, Based On A True Story. The tale behind it is now being told in a new museum show. In 2005, Wellington Museum senior curator Ian Wards bought the Fat Freddy's Drop album 'Based On A True Story' on CD. Now, two decades later, he's put together an exhibition based around the band's foundations, and the making and production of the album.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 21.11.2025
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