With sunshiny days flooding into the southern hemisphere, New Zealand is getting ready to host a whole bunch of sporting events that will no doubt attract a few tourist-fans too. Whether you're into tough endurance sports, sedate strolls or hitting the waves, there is an event to suit your New Zealand plans.

The Moa Beer Moa Hunt attracted us pretty easily just through the sponsor's name in the title, but then we found out it's hard work: a 40 kilometer (25 mile) mountain bike race on a course they describe as "stunning," which we can only guess means "very mountainous and hard on the legs." But if you're fitter than us, the good news is it's not too late to enter online for the November 28 race. ]]> amandak 2009-11-02T16:34:20-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/9/21/161640/019

The Hobbit, the prequel movie to the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, is expected to start filming in March 2010 in New Zealand. While the exact locations in Kiwi country are still up in the air, redevelopment has begun at Hobbiton, according to a company spokesperson.

If you're not familiar with Hobbiton, don't worry, we won't judge you. It's a very geeky, middle earth kind of thing to be acquainted with.

For those who aren't Bilbo Baggins fanboys, Hobbiton is a private farmland in Matamata, New Zealand where the Hobbit Village was created and filmed for the Lord of the Rings movies. After filming, most of the farm was returned to its original state but 17 Hobbit holes and structures have been kept open for two-hour guided tours. ]]> juliana 2009-09-21T17:28:57-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/7/13/33229/3968

What is going on with Air New Zealand these days? They are releasing one gimmicky promo after the next. First, there was the group of people who wore body advertisements for the Kiwi airline, then came airline employees covered in body paint, followed by the announcement of a matchmaking flight and then some more body paint.

This time, the matchmaking flight from Los Angeles to Auckland has decided to bring onboard a successful love match to inspire hope in the other singletons on the flight—Jason Mesnick and his girlfriend, Molly of the ABC show, "The Bachelor."

The October 13 trip is all about finding love (and filling up Air New Zealand planes), with a plane load of singles heading down to Auckland for a major party. And we're expecting at least a few Kiwi-American marriages to come out of this.

Since everyone else will be single, we're not sure that inviting Jason and Molly along is quite the right thing to do, but there's definitely one good side to it – to celebrate this announcement, Air New Zealand is offering tickets at $200 off. If you book by Wednesday with the LOVE200 code=, you'll get your return Los Angeles to Auckland flight plus all the attached partying for $580, which is a pretty low price to pay for the prospect of some Kiwi love.

Related Stories:
· The Matchmaking Flight [Official Site]
· From Body Paint to Matchmaking: Air New Zealand is Feeling Frisky [Jaunted]
· Air New Zealand Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: thetruthabout] ]]> amandak 2009-07-13T12:11:39-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/5/15/85217/3218

Just in case the sexy painted bodies of Air New Zealand staff aren't enough to get you hot and heavy with booking a ticket, there's yet another little marketing strategy coming out from the Kiwis this week: the world's first Matchmaking Flight.

Sadly the flight of fancy is still months away; you'll need to be free on October 13 to get involved in this Kiwi love-in. On that date, an Air New Zealand flight will leave Los Angeles full of singles making the trip to Auckland for the Great Matchmaking Ball.

Air New Zealand will even help you to get through the butterflies by opening up chats on their website by posting your profile and linking up with either Americans or Kiwis who plan to turn up at the ball too.

Round-trip tickets for this romantic route start at $780, which includes a party at LAX before you leave, special in-flight food and entertainment (games, even), and the singles-only ball in Auckland. This is all well and good, but they're leaving out the most important information: will any of those body-painted flight attendants be on board?

Related Stories:
· The Matchmaking Flight [Official Site]
· Air New Zealand Offers Singles Only Matchmaking Flight [The Australian]
· A New Paint Job for Air New Zealand … Body Paint [Jaunted] ]]> amandak 2009-05-15T09:31:11-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/4/6/71223/27553

We love getting some good Airport WiFi tips and what better way to let us know of a decently-equipped airport than by someone in the airport using Twitter. That's what @SEKeener did recently. Sean was in Christchurch and Twittered this:

#Christchurch newzealand airport has 15 min free wifi. Overall, Internet access difficult and exp as traveler in NZ. My only neg about NZ.

When we checked the details, the WiFi coverage at Christchurch Airport might be free for fifteen minutes but it's not that easy to find--there are just a couple of relatively small hotspot areas, although the smart thing is they are centered on departure lounges.

So basically Christchurch Airport gets a reasonable thumbs up but WiFi in New Zealand deserves only a thumbs down from Twitterer Sean. Given that this is the land where airplanes have to wait until traffic controllers finish eating, you can't be too surprised that it's a tricky place to log on.

Related Stories:
· Christchurch International Airport [Official Site]
· You Can't Land Now, We're Eating [Jaunted]
· New Zealand Travel Guide [Jaunted] ]]> amandak 2009-04-06T14:01:33-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/3/30/51324/8743

Thought about taking a trip around New Zealand soon? Feel free, but don't expect to be able to catch a plane around lunchtime. The air traffic controllers will be easy eating their sandwiches.

After years of working flexible hours to accommodate aircraft movement, the control tower staff will now be taking fixed breaks at particular times, and towers at five regional airports--Gisborne, Napier, New Plymouth, Rotorua and Invercargill--will be closed for half an hour twice a day. Air New Zealand is furious because it means the cancellation of 25 of its flights; regional airlines Air Nelson and Eagle Air might end up having to cut staff.

We definitely don't doubt the importance of satisfied air traffic control staff in keeping our flying experiences safe, but we're not convinced fixed lunch breaks will keep us out of danger. We'd suggest the infamous Kiwi company Hell Pizza just delivers up to the towers. See, Jaunted solves problems.

Related Stories:
· Air NZ Forced To Cancel Flights Due To Lunch Breaks [The Age]
· No Boundary This Kiwi Pizza Chain Won't Cross [Jaunted]
· New Zealand Travel Guide [Jaunted]

[Photo: superciliousness] ]]> amandak 2009-03-31T11:11:30-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/3/19/75840/6033

Today is the official day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere but we can't seem to shake our powder lust.

While we thought we still weren't quite rich enough for heli-skiing, a recent Age review of heli-skiing down near Queenstown in New Zealand caught our eye, we've discovered you can hit the adventurous slopes for less than we thought.

The whole idea of a helicopter dropping us into a tricky spot in the mountains so we can throw ourselves down some untouched snow is not only decadent, but pretty tempting, although our ski skills probably need some refreshing first. ]]> amandak 2009-03-20T09:41:24-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/