Aotearoa NZ 2026
(Jan-Mar)
“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.”
Our Changing World: Insect vibes
In a small room in the Bioeconomy Science Institute in Lincoln, Dr Mark MacDougall refocuses a laser so that the beam is centred on a piece of metal tape on a tomato plant leaf. He's using it to detect miniscule motions. The source of this movement? A tiny glasshouse whitefly on the underside of the leaf, trying to communicate in a type of insect language, one we can't sense or speak - a language of vibrations.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 03.02.2026
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'It's me': Statue model comes face-to-face with younger self 60 years later
The muse for an iconic Dunedin statue has come face-to-face with her bronzed younger self nearly 60 years later and half a world away. Catherine Lee was 9 when she posed as Wendy from Peter Pan for British sculptor Sir Cecil Thomas OBE in London. The statue has been a beloved part of the Dunedin Botanic Garden since the 1960s, and Lee shared her experiences during a public talk before fairies and pirates descended for a Peter Pan.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 02.02.2026
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Otago Peninsula on the verge of being possum-free
Conservationists expect to officially declare the Otago Peninsula possum-free soon and put more pest species in their sights. There have been years of mahi from residents, community groups and the Predator Free Dunedin collaboration to remove the pest from about 9000 hectares on the peninsula. Otago Peninsula Biodiversity Group led community possum control on the peninsula for more than 15 years, laying down the foundations.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 29.01.2026
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Ockham Book Awards 2026 longlist revealed
Nine debut authors appear on the longlist announced today, including Dame Jacinda Ardern for her recent memoir. Forty-four titles have been announced for this year's Ockham New Zealand Book Awards longlist. Nine debut authors appear in the list - three in each of the poetry, illustrated non-fiction and general non-fiction categories - including Dame Jacinda Ardern for her memoir, A Different Kind of Power.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 29.01.2026
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A derelict quarry transformed into a thriving arboretum
It's taken 30 years of hard graft, but the inspired couple "could see that we could make it into something extraordinary if we tried hard enough". The transformation of a quarry just outside of Hamilton is the culmination of 30 years’ hard graft by landowners John and Dorothy Wakeling. The couple bought the quarry in the mid-1990s, Dorothy told RNZ’s Nine to Noon.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 28.01.2026
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World first as Kākāpo lays egg on livestream
Conservation lovers glued to a black and white livestream from a remote island off the coast of New Zealand on Sunday can safely claim to be the only people to have seen a critically endangered kākāpō lay an egg in real time. The images beamed to the world from a large cavity beneath a rātā tree on Whenua Hou/Codfish Island showed 23-year-old Rakiura laying her second egg of the season, the product of a dalliance with Kōmaru.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 27.01.2026
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Taranaki man hopes to break a Guiness World Record by unicycling around the world
A New Zealand man is hoping to break a Guinness World Record with a hobby he picked up during the Covid-19 lockdown. Norm Joe - from the Taranaki town of Stratford - is planning to unicycle around the world, beginning with the length of New Zealand. He set off from Bluff on 16 January, hoping to reach Cape Reinga by May.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 25.01.2026
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World Buskers Festival returns to Christchurch
Acrobats, juggling and flying trapeze artists will fill Christchurch's CBD for the next ten days as the World Buskers Festival returns to town. From circus acts to street theatre and comedy, performers from 12 countries would converge on the city's streets for the 33rd year of the festival. Festival co-director Drew James said the annual event on Otautahi's Summer calendar always brought in crowds, and about 100,000 attendees were expected.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 23.01.2026
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New world record in South Otago blazes trail for more female shearers
Four female shearers have established a new world record, shearing 1938 lambs in eight hours in a South Otago woolshed. Rose Lewis, Ariana 'Missy' Te Whata, Te Atakura Crawford and Pagan Rimene set the four-stand women's eight-hours strongwool lamb record on Tuesday at Melrose Station, near Owaka. No previous record existed for the category, which is recognised by the World Sheep Shearing Records Society.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 21.01.2026
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Massive solar storm fires up aurora in New Zealand skies
Rays from the biggest solar storm of the last couple of decades hit the Earth overnight, causing aurora visible in both the north and south extremes of the globe. The lights were caused by a storm that nearly hit the highest level on the scale used by space weather monitors to measure magnetic disturbance.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 21.01.2026
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One children's author sweeps Gisborne's most-borrowed books list
A favourite children's author, whose books have spanned generations, has topped the charts for most loaned-out books at Gisborne's HB Williams Memorial Library. Gisborne's top five library loans in 2025 were all stories written by American author and illustrator of children's fiction, Dav Pilkey. Pilkey is well known for his Adventures of Captain Underpants series, the first of which was published in 1997.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 14.01.2026
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Auckland scientists hope to develop melanoma treatments with million-dollar boost
Scientists at the University of Auckland hope a $1 million grant will help them develop groundbreaking new therapies for deadly skin cancers. New Zealand has the world's highest melanoma death rate, with almost 300 people losing their lives to the cancer each year.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 14.01.2026
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Centuries-old enormous black coral found in Fiordland
A large black coral believed to be centuries old is one of the largest ever found in the waters of New Zealand, researchers say. The coral, measured at 4m high and 4.5m wide, was found in the waters of Fiordland. It was likely to be 300-400 years old. Victoria University marine biologist Professor James Bell said the coral was "absolutely huge".
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 13.01.2026
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Sir Tim Shadbolt has died at age 78
"Tim was a kind-hearted man who cared deeply about the people around him. He was a champion for the underdog and an active political campaigner from his student days of anti-war protest, his activism for Māori rights, and his fight to keep the Southern Institute of Technology and Zero Fees autonomous. "Tim will be remembered with gratitude, respect, and affection for his commitment to the south and his passion for life.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 09.01.2026
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Island recycling centre rebuilt and booming after blaze
A year after a fire tore through it, an essential recycling centre on Aotea/Great Barrier Island is thriving like never before. A blaze in December 2024 at the Aotea Community Recycling Centre damaged most of the contents of the Anamata shop, its main shed and the solar power system. "It was the opportunity to rebuild better, and change some systems for the better," said Brett O'Reilly who co-manages Anamata with his wife Jo.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 08.01.2026
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How poo-detecting dogs are helping native birds return to Waiheke Island
Sniffing out the last stoats on Waiheke Island is all in a day's work for springer spaniel Parker and dog handler Tilde Sorensen. Five boxes lay on the ground in front of Parker. Four were decoys and one held what he was supposed to find. All he had to do was sniff out the correct box and lie down with his nose pointing at it.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 09.01.2026
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'Yeah boy': Meet Pleakley, Ōtorohanga Kiwi House's talking tūī
A cheeky tūī named after the Lilo and Stitch character Pleakley is literally turning heads at the Ōtorohanga Kiwi House. If you wander past his innocuous-looking enclosure on your way to the exit, he's likely to call out "hey buddy" or perhaps just guffaw at you. While it is not unheard of for tūī to mimic car alarms and the like, birds that talk are relatively rare.
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Source. rnz.co.nz, 08.01.2026
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