Carino Wildlife Cruises operating out of Paihia. They and Barefoot Sailing Adventures rated a mention on Travalyst, the sustainable tourism website founded by Prince Harry.
Carino Wildlife Cruises operating out of Paihia. They and Barefoot Sailing Adventures rated a mention on Travalyst, the sustainable tourism website founded by Prince Harry.
Two sustainable tourism businesses operating out of Paihia have received a mention on Travalyst, the not-for-profit travel organisation founded by Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex. He is Executive Patron.
The Travalyst Coalition is made up of the founding partners Booking.com, Skycanner, Trip.com Group, Tripadvisor, Visa and partners Google andExpedia Group. Its mission is to encourage travellers to put sustainability at the heart of their holidays.
From their website they said of Aotearoa that although the country's borders were closed New Zealanders were lucky enough to get out and about. Now that the borders are reopening, it's time for everyone to reflect on how they could travel better.
The first to get a mention was Barefoot Sailing Adventures from Paihia, who operate a 33ft Tennant Turrissimo catamaran called Kopiko. They do Island Hopper, Lagoon Bay and Sundowner cruises and the boat is available for charter.
Also mentioned in dispatches on Travalyst was Carino Wildlife. They share data collected from their wildlife encounters with the Department of Conservation and universities and research agencies.
"Guests are even involved in the data collection, which is helping to build a better picture of the marine environment and inform more successful management policies," said Travalyst.
New Zealanders have access to a holiday rating tool on the website in a pilot initiative which encourages travellers to consider sustainable options when planning their next holiday. www.travalyst.org
Joe Howells, winner of the Race Unity speech competition and part of the winning team in the Northland Debating competitions.
Year 12 Kerikeri High School student Joe Howells has won the Race Unity speech competition held in Whangārei.
He was first equal with Takaimaania Ngati-Henare, a Year 12 student from Huanui College in Whangārei. Both are off to Auckland to compete in the national finals, which will be held on June 25/26.
Howells also won the Northland Debating Team competition along with Nicolas Powell, Year 13 Kerikeri High School, and Giverny Miedema, a Year 12 student at Huani College. They are all off to the nationals this weekend.
The nationals are normally held in Wellington but due to Covid they are being held mostly online, although the Northland team is going to Auckland to be with other teams from around the region and to compete with the rest of New Zealand.
The coaches for the Northland Debating Team are from Auckland, Liam Silverwood and Umbar Sandu. Judging the Northland competition were representatives of the New Zealand Police, who were a major sponsor, Northtec and the Baha'i Centre.
Sponsoring the team was Henderson Reeves, a legal company from Whangārei, and there's a serendipitous connection. Emily Henderson is the Labour MP for Whangārei and her father, Stuart, is a founder of the company. Howell's mother, Victoria, and Emily used to debate together at Tikipunga High School in the Eighties.
The first recital at the Turner Centre features Lorelle McNaughton, a specialist in Spanish piano music.
Two recitals at Turner Centre
The Kerikeri International Piano Competition Trust is formally winding up this year. The curtain has closed on the competition, which has had an impressive 35-year history.
It brought pianists and judges from around the world to Kerikeri every two years but by 2019 three of the seven trustees retired and the search for replacements proved unsuccessful. Furthermore, costs were going up and the Trust didn't have a permanent financial backer. Then along came the Covid lockdowns, which forced the decision.
The closure milestone will be marked by two recitals by former contestants in conjunction with the Aroha Music Society as part of their concert series.
The first recital is by Lorelle McNaughton. She is a specialist in Spanish piano music and her programme will include works from this repertoire.
She has performed extensively throughout New Zealand, Australia and Europe, and is one of a small number of pianists worldwide to have performed Isaac Albéniz's complete Iberia suite, one of the most complex and challenging works of the piano literature.
Recent appearances include performing as a special guest at the Oceania Exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts in London, playing Michael Parekowhai's carved grand piano.
Sylvia Jiang is giving the second recital at the Turner Centre in July. She was seconds in the Kerikeri International Piano Competition in 2014.
Her appearance will be followed by a recital by Sylvia Jiang, who won second prize in the 2014 Kerikeri International Piano competition at the age of 18 before taking up a scholarship at the prestigious Juilliard School of Music in New York.
She has given solo recitals in New Zealand, the UK, Australia, Indonesia, South Korea and the US. She currently serves as the artistic director of a non-profit organisation, Muffin Music.
Sylvia was invited to be a featured soloist in The Kennedy Center's Ballet Across America with Dance Theatre of Harlem and Miami City Ballet.
The Lorelle McNaughton recital is on June 12 at 4pm, while the Sylvia Jiang recital is on July 10 at 4pm, both at the Turner Centre.
An interactive exhibition acknowledging voyaging to and from Aotearoa is at the temporary exhibition gallery at Te Kōngahu Museum of Waitangi at the Treaty Grounds. Photo/Sam Hartnett
Celebrating waka voyaging and Matariki at Waitangi
An exhibition has opened in the temporary exhibition gallery at Te Kōngahu Museum of Waitangi at the Treaty Grounds.
Star Waka is by Ngā Turuturu o te Tara (Coromandel Weavers Collective), with Chris Charteris and Lizzy Leckie, and is toured by Te Uru Waitakere Contemporary Gallery.
The exhibition comprises a framework waka and stars that hang from the ceiling. The stars reflect navigation patterns over time and space, and together with the waka they symbolise the universe and the binding together of ira atua (the realm of the gods) and ira tangata (the realm of humans).
It acknowledges past, present, and future voyaging to and from Aotearoa in all directions. Curatorial Manager Caitlin Timmer-Arends said the interactive nature of the exhibition means families can make stars in the gallery and take away a tangible reminder of the first Matariki public holiday.
The exhibition first began in Whitianga for Tuia 250 commemorations, sponsored by the Ministry for Culture and Heritage Tuia 250 programme.
The Star Waka exhibition opened on May 28 and runs through to August 28. It's free for Friends of Waitangi and Experience Pass holders to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds.
