2 days on and I stand by my initial take on Gladys Knight live in the year 2020: there isn’t a greater soul singer alive, and nor is there a pop star I’ve seen in my 30 years of gig-going capable of a more flawless in-concert vocal performance. The fact all of this is delivered by someone aged…
USA For Africa: When Lindsey Buckingham Bumped Into Michael Jackson In The Bathroom
USA For Africa. It’s 35 years today since USA For Africa’s We Are The World was recorded. The perennially cool Lindsey Buckingham (Fleetwood Mac) was part of the all-star chorus and I remember him telling me that one of his defining memories of that day was bumping into Michael Jackson in the bathroom. For the…
How The Bee Gees Got Me My Start In Radio (& Other Cracking Yarns) – Being Interviewed On Newstalk ZB’s ‘Real Life’
Last month I was interviewed on the Newstalk ZB show ‘Real Life With John Cowan’ where I got to indulge in my multiple obsessions with things like cricket, Malaysia and the Bee Gees. Specifically, how a childhood in Malaysia still shapes me as an adult, how cricket was crucial in making me love New Zealand, and how…
Don’t Know Where To Stay In Fiji? Check Out The Shangri-La’s $50m Refurb – My NZ Herald Review
Last week the NZ Herald published my ‘Room Check’ article about one of the oldest and largest luxury resorts in the South Pacific, Shangri-la’s Fijian Resort & Spa on the Coral Coast. Fresh from a US $50m refurb, the property – as located on its own causeway-linked private island – has everything from stunning white…
Riley Roxy’s First Trip Away! Cambridge’s Stunning Henley Hotel
Less than two-hours from Auckland lies a mansion in gorgeous Secret Garden-like surrounds with no less than six different locations you could choose for your wedding day. Or you could be like us and be in search of your first trip away as new parents and want somewhere awesome and special but also easy – oh…
A 5-Star Eco-Resort In Untouched Malaysian Jungle – Japamala On Tioman Island
I’ve lost count, but I’m pretty certain it’s rained all but three or four days in the past six weeks in Auckland. As the final month of an admittedly mild, but oh-so-wet winter limped to its depressing, soggy end, my mind’s been drifting back to the tropics and my favourite island in the world. Malaysia’s Tioman Island lies…
Flying 600m Through Pristine New Zealand Rainforest – Rotorua Canopy Tours Latest Zip-Line
To be consistently ranked the number one outdoor activity in a city famous for exactly that is no mean feat. It’s even more impressive when you consider this is one of the most-touristed areas of one of the most bucket-list worthy destinations on the planet. So yes, it’s a big congratulations to Rotorua Canopy Tours…
See Inside The Top Suite At The Chateau Tongariro, + The Stunning Walks Surrounding The Hotel
There aren’t too many countries where you could quite safely and without too much debate name the absolute most famous hotel. Which is not to say there wouldn’t be some serious contenders. Perhaps the Ritz in London, maybe something like the Chateau Marmont in LA and certainly the Raffles in Singapore. But for every Ritz and Chateau Marmont…
Why Whanganui Is New Zealand’s Most Misjudged City – My Top 50 Photos
There are underrated towns and cities in New Zealand and then there’s Whanganui. Part of the entire reason for the existence of the Roxborogh Report is to highlight the overlooked and the underrated, but I’m not sure I’ve ever written about a destination quite as misjudged as this city of 45,000 in the western lower…
Is This NZ’s Prettiest Boutique Hotel? – Our Return To Tauranga’s French Country House
My first visit to Tauranga’s French Country House was as a bachelor who was about to have a eureka moment, the second was a year later for the marriage proposal and the third was another couple of years after that with a baby on the way. Now that’s clearly the short version of the story, but…
Cloudy Bay Celebrate The Opening Of ‘The Shed’ In Central Otago: My NZ Herald Article + Top 60 Central Otago & Fiordland Photos
Forgive me. I’m not sure if there’s any other travel writing trip I’ve taken that’s had me apologising to so many people, so let me start by asking your forgiveness from the get-go! Once you read my NZ Herald article and see the photos below it will make sense – this was a very jealous-making little adventure….
For Christchurch: U2’s ‘One’ And Why It Matters About The Word In The Song So Many Get Wrong
There’s a line in U2’s One that people always get wrong: “We’re one but we’re not the same / we get to carry each other…” “Get” being the key word. I remember Bono explaining this some years ago, pointing out that it’s a subtle but significant difference. If “we’ve got to carry each other” rather…