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Viewing all entries for 'February 2012'
Mudhouse Wines find favour
The Mud House Wine Group marketing manager Cathy Wansink says SAS-Scandinavian Airlines will be serving the celebrated 2010 Mud House Sauvignon Blanc to its business
class guests from June this year. The same wine has also been selected for Singapore Airlines business class flights, she says. Wansink says the company is thrilled to have also found favour with Australia’s national carrier, with Qantas choosing the 2009 Mud House Swan Pinot Noir for its business class. The company’s wines are also a huge hit with Air New Zealand, which chose to serve its popular 2008 Waipara Hills Waipara Chardonnay on international business premier class flights recently. “The 2010 Mud House Central Otago Pinot Noir has been selected by Air New Zealand for international economy class flights and will be available in the near future, while the 2009 varietal can be enjoyed in Koru Lounges throughout the country already,” says Wansink.
Manawatu joins New Zealand Cycle Trail
Manawatu joins Nga Haerenga, The New Zealand Cycle Trail this weekend with the opening of a new touring route on The Country Road. The 126km Manawatu Cycleway weaves its way from Mangaweka to Palmerston North City, providing cyclists with a two-day trip set against the region’s unique rural landscape.
Read the full postAuckland visitor numbers up 10%
Auckland visitor numbers up 10% Auckland has capped off an impressive year of strong visitation with a 10% annual increase in guest nights, against an overall national decline of 0.7%. Auckland’s international guest nights jumped 11% and domestically they were up 9%. According to the latest figures from Statistics New Zealand Auckland secured 6.26 million guest nights in 2011 and enjoyed the largest annual rise of any region in the country. Auckland also led the way with its monthly result of a 12% increase in guest nights for DEC11.
Read the full postOld-fashioned flowers to steal the limelight at Ellerslie
Carnations, daisies, roses and delphiniums return to the limelight at next month’s Ellerslie International Flower Show, the flowers taking to the Project Runway catwalk in the feature exhibit in the City Care Floral Art Marquee. Award-winning international designer Franca Logan from Auckland is creating a whimsical fashion display staged as a runway set in a rambling ethereal summer garden. It will explore some of the latest trends, fashion and techniques in floral design and decoration. She says the colour palette will be delicate, summery and playful, the style open, light and airy, with some old-fashioned floral favourites making a comeback to reflect fashion’s vintage revival.
Read the full postTornado hits Auckland
A large tornado has been spotted near the Auckland Harbour Bridge. A police communications spokesman said emergency services had only been made aware of the tornado and they had so far not received any emergency calls or sightings of damage.
Read the full postElton John delivers $15 million to Dunedin
Elton John delivers $15m to Dunedin The Elton John concert at Dunedin’s Forsyth Barr Stadium is estimated to have pumped $14.9 million into the city, a survey reveals. According to the Otago Daily Times, the survey revealed the average expenditure of visitors to Dunedin was $526, while visitors outside the Otago region spent an average of $558. The largest proportion of their money was spent on retail shopping (31%), food and beverage (27%) and accommodation (23%), petrol (8%), other expenditure (4%), travel (4%), tourist activities (3%) and entertainment (2%).
Read the full postWairarapa balloon festival star attraction
The star attraction of next month’s annual hot air balloon festival in Wairarapa will be a giant panda bear, making its first trip outside of the United States to fly exclusively in New Zealand at the Wairarapa event. ‘Pandy’, the big boy from Texas will fly alongside approximately 25 other hot air balloons in the fourday event 08-11MAR. Built in Brazil, Pandy stands as tall as an eight-storey building. www.nzballoons.co.nz
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