Whisking your loved one to one of these romantic retreats will impress. Moorea in Tahiti has the amour of France without the long flight to Paris. Photo / Thinkstock Valentine’s Day is upon us and although some have no time for its commercialism, romantics have been planning something sublime. If you’re in the latter team, [...]

A tropical family holiday with an autistic child can be successful if you plan ahead, writes Laurilee McMichael. Seaside activities helped keep nine-year-old Hamish, who has Asperger’s syndrome, busy on Fiji’s Plantation Island. Photo / Laurilee McMichael The minute the cat went into the box, the cat was out of the bag. “Why is Skittles [...]

Expand With beaches covered in brilliant white sand, uninhabited Modriki is one of more than 300 Fijian islands peppering the Pacific Ocean. Photo / Creative Commons image by Christian Haugen Tom Hanks spent the best part of two hours trying to stay sane while devising a way to escape a deserted island in the feature [...]

Expand Graphic / Herald on Sunday A Kiwi missing off a yacht in the Pacific is under suspicion of faking his death to escape sex charges. The man called for help from a yacht about 20 nautical miles south of the Cook Islands on January 3. Rescuers found the 36-foot sloop adrift and abandoned. Details [...]

Expand New Zealand’s top cop Peter Marshall is a ‘very inspiring man,’ deputies say. Illustration / Rod Emmerson The police are laying their ghosts to rest with different methods and a fresh culture, report Catherine Masters and Jared Savage The country’s top cop, Peter Marshall, was out with the rank and file on the late [...]

Expand Pitcairn Island visitor numbers have fallen since a shipping lane change rerouted valuable sea traffic. Photo / Supplied It’s bare of white sandy beaches and about as far away as you can get from anywhere – but that hasn’t stopped super-remote Pitcairn Island from marketing itself as a holiday paradise in a newly embraced [...]

Lucy picking beans on Heilala Vanilla’s plantation on Vava’u Island in Tonga. Photo / Supplied Tauranga-based Heilala Vanilla has taken on investors famous for making cheese and vodka in a bid to accelerate export growth of its premium-priced vanilla products. The company has signed an investment deal which will see the New Zealand Venture Investment [...]

Expand Prime Minister John Key is dismissing accusations of cronyism in the Government’s choice of appointments to boards and working groups. Photo / Greg Bowker Prime Minister John Key is dismissing accusations of cronyism in the Government’s choice of appointments to boards and working groups, adding that he gave the country’s biggest diplomatic post to [...]

Immerse yourself in South Pacific cuisine at the inaugural South Pacific Food & Wine Festival on Fiji’s Denarau Island in March. Danielle Wright finds out what to expect. The Hilton hotel’s Nuku Restaurant. Photo / Robert Clark Fiji is not usually at the top of a tourist’s list as a foodie destination, but the supporters [...]