New Zealand is a global hotspot for dune lakes, and nowhere has more of these freshwater gems than Northland. It’s here, in our country’s northernmost reaches, that iwi are reconnecting with these taonga and the stories that surround them.

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Eyes in the land

The war on koi

Earlier this month, bow hunters from around the North Island spent a weekend shooting koi carp in the Waikato River and its tributaries.

Koi carp are an invasive pest fish. They writhe through wetlands from Auckland to Marlborough, displacing native species and destroying freshwater habitats. Over the last three decades, bowhunters in Waikato have ministered their own brand of pest control, the World Koi Carp Classic, resulting in prizes... and 70 tonnes of puréed fish. Keep reading...

Why do birds eat plastic?

Red, green and blue: albatrosses prefer these colours when selecting plastic debris from the ocean to feed to their chicks back at the nest. Albatrosses are more likely to choose brightly coloured plastic, according to a New Zealand study looking at which types of plastic were being consumed by different seabirds. Keep reading...

The sensation of 1902

When the No 3 Company of Vaudeville Stars arrived in Auckland in November 1902, its headline act, “the world-famed athlete and exponent of physical culture” Eugen Sandow, was already a star.

Schools teaching the Sandow method of systematic exercises were active in a number of cities. Hundreds of students had attended classes and bought Sandow’s training equipment.

What's more, before his arrival, Sandow had circulated studio photos of himself striking heroic poses in revealing leopard-skin pants. Keep reading...