New Zealand Geographic

Measuring impact: Here’s the difference NZGeo makes What would New Zealand be without kiwi? Without Fiordland rainforest, or the haunting call of kōkako? If we run down our ecosystems, and thin out the ocean, is the weight of that loss not greater than...

What would New Zealand be without kiwi? Without Fiordland rainforest, or the haunting call of kōkako? If we run down our ecosystems, and thin out the ocean, is the weight of that loss not greater than the commodity value of the timber or tonnage of fish?

The 196th issue of New Zealand Geographic is out in stores and online now!
In stores and online at nzgeo.com

We’re in this together now Like last year, we are presented with a stark set of choices: survive, grow, or die.

Like last year, we are presented with a stark set of choices: survive, grow, or die.

We loved hāpuku too much. Now we have a second chance. For over a century, we hammered hāpuku. We hit the huge fish so hard that in five decades of underwater exploring, filmmaker Andrew Penniket had encountered them only once. Oceans photographer Richard...

Andrew Penniket and Richard Robinson have spent decades diving in New Zealand, always hoping to see a hāpuku. No joy. The giants were gone. Until this winter, when we caught wind of an extraordinary rumour…

Magic flora Philip Garnock-Jones has spent more than a decade photographing our native flowers as they’ve never been shown before: in luscious, three-dimensional detail.

Remember the Magic Eye books of the 90s?? Now, you can have a crack at viewing New Zealand’s native flowers in 3D. Clematis, orchid, ngutukākā, korukoru, oioi… this is a luscious, spectacular feature by @rebekahwhite.bsky.social, based on the new book He Puāwai by @theobrominated.bsky.social

Chasing ice For a fleeting spell each winter, ponds and dams across Central Otago freeze—and the chase for wild ice begins.

You start flying,” says Aqua Reekie. “There’s the sound of the ice popping beneath you, and beyond that, silence.” Alexandra’s obsession with wild ice skating, documented by Becki Moss and @ellenrykers.com

Rise of the noble false widow Lots of spiders are very good at one or two things. Stalking, maybe. Setting traps. Biting. But Steatoda nobilis, the invasive spider now spreading in New Zealand, has an arsenal of tactics—including ...

Fangs! Leg hairs! Venom profiles! Writer ‪@michelleduff.bsky.social‬ and photographer @robsuisted.bsky.social take a closer look at the noble false widow, the exotic spider that’s quietly set up home in New Zealand.

Let's find a mate for Ned One in 40,000 snails have the spiral on the left side of the shell, and they can only mate with other lefties. Can you help Ned find true love?

A tiny silly fun thing in the midst of all the chaos... We're on the hunt for a mate for Ned, a 1 in 40,000 left-spiralling snail. www.nzgeo.com/stories/lets...

Radio genius Claire Concannon turned my @nzgeo.bsky.social albatross story into a much cooler albatross podcast. It’s out today! www.rnz.co.nz/programmes/v...

We know that some plants are less likely to catch ablaze than others. Can we use them to help slow or stop wildfires? www.nzgeo.com/stories/how-...

After Gabrielle, volunteers are salvaging homes and lives | New Zealand Geographic After Gabrielle, volunteers are salvaging homes and lives

A year on from Cyclone Gabrielle ... this is an absolutely stunning piece by @rachelmorris.bsky.social and Lottie Hedley @nzgeo.bsky.social
www.nzgeo.com/stories/cycl...

Twelve months on from Cyclone Gabrielle, many people are still fighting to return home. Our investigation: www.nzgeo.com/stories/cycl...

What are little blue penguins trying to tell us? | New Zealand Geographic What are little blue penguins trying to tell us?

Honestly, it probably has something to do with fish.

COP’s over. What does it mean for New Zealand? | New Zealand Geographic COP’s over. What does it mean for New Zealand?

A quick overview from me on the latest international climate agreement we just signed up to

Did we put takahē in the wrong place? | New Zealand Geographic Did we put takahē in the wrong place?

@alexverry.bsky.social & I had fun talking with Bill Morris @nzgeo.bsky.social about our #ancientDNA mahi on takahē & moho (onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....), & why the #fossil record is key to informing evidence-based conservation management of these taonga www.nzgeo.com/stories/did-...

Too tasty for its own good | New Zealand Geographic Too tasty for its own good

Even as far away as #Antarctica, the news arrived that ngutukākā is Aotearoa's favourite plant of the year! Here's my @nzgeo.bsky.social story about the quest to save it in the wild www.nzgeo.com/stories/too-...

Palaeontologists ask for help preserving fossils | New Zealand Geographic Palaeontologists ask for help preserving fossils

Extreme weather is revealing ancient relics all around New Zealand, and our experts can’t get to them all in time.

Palaeontologists ask for help preserving fossils | New Zealand Geographic Palaeontologists ask for help preserving fossils

I had fun talking to @rebekahwhite.bsky.social for this @nzgeo.bsky.social piece. Such an important message about the help we need from private collectors, the public, & tangata whenua to be our fossil forecasters so we can save our biological heritage before it is lost www.nzgeo.com/stories/pala...

We could forecast floods better. Why don't we? | New Zealand Geographic We could forecast floods better. Why don't we?

Scientists have created a flood-forecasting system for New Zealand, but can't put it into practice without free access to MetService weather data.

The mystery of the colourblind cephalopods | New Zealand Geographic The mystery of the colourblind cephalopods

If octopuses are colour-blind, how do they camouflage themselves?

And why do cuttlefish make better lab subjects?

Kina-nomics | New Zealand Geographic Kina-nomics

There are just too many kina, tipping marine ecosystems out of balance. Could we solve the problem by eating them?

One start-up is betting we can. But first, they're trying to improve the flavour...

Land of the bright white light | New Zealand Geographic Land of the bright white light

Two scientists mapping New Zealand's light pollution have found our nights became a lot brighter over the past decade, reports @naomiarnold.bsky.social

Most of our public lighting is now bright blue-white LEDs, which negatively affect human and animal health. But there are other options...

The grief bird | New Zealand Geographic The grief bird

Bitterns are so hard to find that this story took us longer to make than every other story we've published (except one).

It took a few years, but finally, @ellenrykers.bsky.social and Craig McKenzie tracked the birds down.

And yes, they always look this weird.

Thank-you!

A clean sweep? | New Zealand Geographic A clean sweep?

Earlier this year, we published an investigation into trawling:

New Zealand vessels drag trawl gear across nearly 100,000 square kilometres of our seafloor every year. Can we make bottom trawling better? Or should we ban it altogether?

The seafloor stores carbon, but trawling releases it | New Zealand Geographic The seafloor stores carbon, but trawling releases it

A new study reveals that New Zealand’s huge ocean territory contains two billion tons of carbon, locked in the seafloor—but trawling releases it.

New Zealand also happens to be the only nation still trawling on the high seas of the South Pacific.