When it comes to Covid and tourism, there are two stats I’m certain I’ll never forget: The West Coast of New Zealand’s South Island – a densely forested, sparsely populated, mountainous slice of world-beating scenery – has seen a whopping 16-percent of all businesses close since the beginning of the global Covid-19 pandemic. 16-percent. That’s…
Tag: NZ Herald
The 5 Unmissable Must-Do’s Of South Taranaki – My Latest NZ Herald Feature
Last Sunday the New Zealand Herald published an article of mine about the awesomeness of Taranaki, specifically the sights of South Taranaki. While I may not have used the word “awesomeness” in the feature, I hopefully gave a sense of why this province – and in particular its less-visited southern district – is so rewarding….
The Bay Of Plenty’s Best Hidden Gems – My NZ Herald Feature
A huge part of the entire ethos of the Roxborogh Report is writing about hidden gems – be they in travel or music. Sometimes, those gems are hiding in plain sight. As in, the Bay Of Plenty already happens to one of the best known holiday regions in New Zealand – especially for Kiwis travelling…
Luxury With A Conscience: Fiji’s Refurbished Shangri-La – 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…
My Top 50 Sydney Photos + Unforgettable Exhibitions On Star Wars & The Rolling Stones
“Do you want to go to Sydney to cover a Rolling Stones exhibition and a Star Wars exhibition?” So came the question from my editor and if memory serves me correctly, I gave my first ‘yes’ at “Sydney”, my second ‘yes’ at “Rolling”, and was up to about ‘yes’ number six or seven by the…
12 Months Of NZ Herald Concert Reviews, Incl. Paul McCartney, Queen, Katy Perry, Shania Twain, Cat Stevens & Cher.
12 months ago I started reviewing concerts for the New Zealand Herald. Not every week and not even every month, but on average, every couple of months I’d find myself with pen and notepad at a gig by one of the biggest artists of all time. Tough job but someone has to do it! So,…
The Night That Elvis Saved His Career & Sealed His Legacy – My NZ Herald Tribute
Today the New Zealand Herald published my tribute to Elvis on the 40th anniversary of his death. How do you sum up the career of arguably the most important figure in the history of popular music in 800 words? Well, I gave it my best shot. And the angle for me was that the famous 68…
Travel Bugs – My Weekly NZ Herald Column About The Joys Of Moaning About Your Holiday
From getting chased by wild animals to crying during in-flight movies, my weekly New Zealand Herald column Travel Bugs is about all the things that can go wrong on holiday. There’s the time I came down with altitude sickness in the Guatemalan Highlands and sought refuge at a hotel overrun by squawking parrots and an indefatigable steel-drum…
Road-Tripping The Florida Keys + The Best Of South Beach, Miami – My Latest NZ Herald Article
Yesterday the Herald On Sunday published my article about Miami and the Florida Keys. Click here to link to it and find out my picks for where to stay, which beaches to visit, what architecture to see and most crucially, whether or not Kokomo (as sung about in the 1988 US #1 hit of the…
Walking In Memphis – My NZ Herald Article + My Top 60 Memphis Photos, Including A Brand New Elvis-Themed Hotel
Outside Graceland with Aimee Palmer. This week the New Zealand Herald published my article on Memphis, focusing on my stay at a brand new Elvis-themed hotel called The Guest House At Graceland. Click here to link to the article which explains all the cool things about the hotel (TVs on the ceiling! Soap with Elvis’s…
My NZ Herald Room Check Article: Royal Mail Hotel, Dunkeld, Rural Victoria
Royal Mail Hotel, Dunkeld, Victoria* Almost a year ago I stayed in a town in rural Victoria so small that the hotel is essentially the entire town. With only 461 people calling Dunkeld home, a substantial chunk of that number have some connection to the historic Royal Mail Hotel. If you click here you can…
My Trio Of NZ Herald Articles About Intrepid Travel’s 16-Day ‘South India Unplugged’ Tour – Top 15 Photos From The Trip
Mayhem. I always think of “mayhem” as a positive word and if there’s one word that sums up my time in India on Intrepid Travel’s 16-day ‘South India Unplugged’ tour then it would have to be that. Mayhem to me is thrill of riding a tuk-tuk at night through the crowded, narrow alleyways of Madurai….