{"id":246,"date":"2013-12-30T20:44:17","date_gmt":"2013-12-30T20:44:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.globalbuzz.net\/nz\/?p=246"},"modified":"2013-12-31T07:40:21","modified_gmt":"2013-12-31T07:40:21","slug":"new-zealands-blockbuster-2013","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.globalbuzz.net\/nz\/news\/new-zealands-blockbuster-2013","title":{"rendered":"New Zealand\u2019s blockbuster 2013"},"content":{"rendered":"

International awards, blockbuster movies and outstanding Kiwis have all put New Zealand on the world stage during 2013.<\/p>\n

Incredibly varied landscapes, people and culture helped New Zealand earn the title of \u2018favourite country\u2019 for the second year running in The Telegraph travel awards.<\/p>\n

The UK broadsheet described New Zealand as a “mix of old-fashioned Englishness, stunning alpine scenery [and] vibrant Polynesian culture” before adding that New Zealand\u2019s biggest tourism asset is “surely its people”.<\/p>\n

Other cities, regions and activities around New Zealand were also highlighted by one of the world\u2019s most trusted travel bibles – The Lonely Planet.<\/p>\n

The cultural-melting pot of Auckland, on the North Island, was named one of the top cities to visit in 2014. Auckland, New Zealand\u2019s largest and most cosmopolitan city was recognised for its food, culture and coastline with black-sand west coast beaches, regenerated city hotspots like the Wynyard Quarter and Britomart and the \u2018coastal hinterland\u2019 all receiving a big thumbs up.<\/p>\n

Cool West Coast<\/strong>
\nThe West Coast on New Zealand\u2019s South Island, or \u2018Mother Nature\u2019s playground\u2019 as it is often called, was named as a Top 10 region to visit in 2014 by Lonely Planet, owing to its diverse natural attractions, historic significance and thrilling outdoor activities, ranging from walking, hiking, cycling and exploring the Fox and Franz Josef glaciers – two of the most accessible glaciers in the world.<\/p>\n

Tourist mecca Queenstown, a luxury year-round resort town and adventure-lovers\u2019 paradise, made the Lonely Planet list of best honeymoon locations for 2014.<\/p>\n

“Adrenaline is as important for bonding as the love drug oxytocin and there’s no better place to get it pumping than New Zealand’s South Island,” the guide said.<\/p>\n

Closer to nature<\/strong>
\nNature and New Zealand are intrinsically linked which is one of the reasons why the country was voted \u2018Best Destination for Nature\u2019 by readers at the inaugural Lonely Planet Traveller Thailand Destination Awards. The variety of experiences allowing visitors to get closer to nature also saw two New Zealand tourism ventures win big.<\/p>\n

Seal Swim Kaikoura was named one of Lonely Planet\u2019s \u2018Best Marine Encounters\u2019. The family-run eco-tourism wildlife experience allows visitors to swim with New Zealand fur seals in the clear Kaikoura waters.<\/p>\n

Further south, Black Cat Cruises operating in Akaroa Harbour – an ancient volcanic crater on Banks Peninsula – celebrated the top 10 inclusion of their dolphin swimming tour that takes small groups out on the water to swim with diminutive and rare Hector\u2019s dolphins.<\/p>\n

Love of adventure<\/strong>
\nNew Zealand\u2019s love of adventure and extreme sports was highlighted as it won the Lonely Planet Magazine India travel award for adventure for the second year running.<\/p>\n

But it is perhaps the county\u2019s growing affinity with the finer things in life that is starting to gainer increasing attention.<\/p>\n

Lap of luxury<\/strong>
\nNew Zealand was named the \u2018World\u2019s Best Luxury Destination\u2019 for affluent Chinese travellers by the influential Shanghai Travelers Club in 2013.<\/p>\n

The country\u2019s developing network of boutique lodges and luxury accommodation fanning out from the top of the North to the bottom of the South Island also won big on the world stage.<\/p>\n

The exclusive Eagles Nest retreat won world acclaim after being named the \u2018World\u2019s Leading Boutique Villa Resort\u2019 at the 2013 World Travel Awards in Doha.<\/p>\n

The multi-award-winning private retreat, styled as “somewhere between seven stars and heaven”, is located within 27 hectares (75 acres) of lush estate near the historic seaside village of Russell, in the Bay of Islands and is a favourite with Hollywood celebrities and high-end business clientele.<\/p>\n

World of awards<\/strong>
\nSet on 6,000 acres of lush the Northland golfers\u2019 haven of Kauri Cliffs came in joint first place out of 100 on the Cond\u00e9 Nast Traveler 2013 Readers Choice Awards, while Eichardt’s Private Hotel in Queenstown took out the World Luxury Hotel Award as the global winner in the \u2018Best Luxury Ski Hotel\u2019 field, followed by the title of \u2018New Zealand Best Ski Boutique Hotel\u2019.<\/p>\n

Huka Lodge, famed for its location of great natural beauty, within 17-acres of grounds listed as a Garden of National Significance, was chosen as second runner up in \u2018The Greatest Outdoors\u2019 category of the inaugural Smith Hotel Awards.<\/p>\n

Perfect wine climate<\/strong>
\nNew Zealand\u2019s favourable wine growing climate has seen the awards continue to flow for many of the region\u2019s wineries. Two Central Otago wineries won Champion in Class trophies in the Wine of the Year Awards from leading Australian publication Winestate.<\/p>\n

Stoneleigh Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2012 wine wowed judges at Asia\u2019s largest wine competition, where it took home the Sauvignon Blanc International Trophy – the competition\u2019s top honour – at the Decanter Asia Wine Awards 2013.<\/p>\n

Middle-earth magic<\/strong>
\nThe Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit Trilogy director Sir Peter Jackson has continued to plant the diverse vistas of New Zealand firmly in the minds of the movie-going public. New Zealand was given a touch of Hollywood glamour with sets and locations from the second film in the Trilogy – The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug brought to LA for the Book of New Zealand.<\/p>\n

Middle-earth it seems is the gift that keeps on giving as thousands of visitors continue to flock to the country in search of their own Middle-earth adventures.<\/p>\n

With a songstress tearing up the worldwide charts, a sapient virtuoso winning the hearts and minds of the literary world and a teenager golfer gaining international acclaim there has never been a better time to be a Kiwi.<\/p>\n

Lorde of song<\/strong>
\nIn 2013 teen singing sensation Lorde (Ella Maria Lani Yelich-O’Connor) became one of New Zealand\u2019s most famous exports. – Lorde – read more<\/a><\/p>\n

New Zealand novelist Eleanor Catton made history when her 832-page sophomore novel The Luminaries – read more<\/a><\/p>\n

All Black perfection<\/strong>
\nAs usual, sport continues to play a major role for New Zealand. The All Blacks, with a perfect 14 wins from 14 games in 2013, have continued to be a force to be reckoned with on the world-stage.<\/p>\n

Stand-in All Blacks skipper Kieran Read won the IRB (International Rugby Board) Player of the Year award. All Blacks coach Steve Hansen won Coach of the Year while the All Blacks were named Team of the Year for the fourth year running.<\/p>\n

Sport world buzzing<\/strong>
\nTeenage golfer Lydia Ko is the latest Kiwi creating buzz in the world of sport. Ko Kiwi Power – read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

International awards, blockbuster movies and outstanding Kiwis have all put New Zealand on the world stage during 2013.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":250,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[99,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-246","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.globalbuzz.net\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.globalbuzz.net\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.globalbuzz.net\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalbuzz.net\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalbuzz.net\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=246"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalbuzz.net\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":252,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalbuzz.net\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246\/revisions\/252"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalbuzz.net\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/250"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.globalbuzz.net\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=246"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalbuzz.net\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=246"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalbuzz.net\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=246"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}