Last October, Chris and Jorinde Rapsey and their two children set off from Cape Reinga to walk Te Araroa, the 3000-kilometre track that runs the length of New Zealand. They lived outdoors for five months and walked an average of 20 kilometres a day. For nine-year-old Elizabeth and six-year-old Johnny, it was an immersive education—a form of learning increasingly absent from the lives of young New Zealanders, even as international research affirms the importance of children spending time in nature.


	Meet the family who walked the length of New Zealand Last October, Chris and Jorinde Rapsey and their two children set off from Cape Reinga to walk Te Araroa, the 3000-kilometre track that runs the length of New Zealand. They lived outdoors for five months and walked an average of 20 kilometres a day. For nine-year-old Elizabeth and six-year-old Johnny, it was an immersive education—a form of learning increasingly absent from the lives of young New Zealanders, even as international research affirms the importance of children spending time in nature.

A park a day...

New Zealand children's rates of anxiety have surged by 875 per cent over the past decade, and that’s just for kids under 14. But there’s something that can help, and it’s free.

The road goes ever on and on

New Zealand has a national trail, a long-distance track that runs from Cape Reinga to Bluff, all because of a story Geoff Chapple wrote 25 years ago.

Cecil King's Hut

Once, trampers emerged from the bush on the Wangapeka to the offer of a cuppa and a yarn.


	Dive the Kermadec Islands from your armchair Below the waterline, the Kermadec Islands are close to pristine, and brimming with sharks—the ultimate indicator of a healthy ecosystem. Galapagos sharks are a constant presence, lurking like hungry dogs around every corner. They won't worry a diver, but do keep smaller predator fish under control, maintaining a healthy balance on the reef. Check out all the NZ-VR experiences here.

Marine ecologist Roger Grace at his tiny house in Warkworth, May 2018.


	A tōtara falls... Roger Grace was one of New Zealand’s underwater pioneers. He and his contemporaries changed the way we thought about the sea.