World Magazine - issue 27

Expect the exceptional

Magazine

World 27

SkyCity’S Celebrity Chefs Summer 2013

Al Brown Sean CoNNoLLy Peter Gordon Nic Watt

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Because Because regardlessregardless of the of the cent of the cent leather of the straps leather once straps usedonce to secure used to thesecure body the work, body while work, while era, the one era, thing the one thatthing counts thatwhen counts youwhen get into you aget racing into car a racing is car is the dial features the dialthe features same the circular samegraining circularas graining the Silver as the Arrow’s SilverdashArrow’s dashboard. When board. we When come we to the come technology, to the technology, however, the however, watchthe is atwatch the is at achieving the achieving the best time. the best time.

I WC . E N G I WC N E E. REENDG IFO N ERE M RE ED N .FO R M E N .

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For more information For more information on Australian onstockists Australian please stockists call +61 please 2 8215 call +61 55772 or 8215 contact 5577 info@iwc.com or contact info@iwc.com

ENGINEERED ENGINEEREDFOR FORMEN MEN WHO WHOBELIEVE BELIEVE ININTIME TIMEMACHINES. MACHINES.

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IWC-manufactured The IWC-manufactured 89361 calibre 89361 with calibre its efficient with its efficient IngenieurIngenieur Chronograph Chronograph Silberpfeil.

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Ref. 3785:Ref. Not3785: cutting Not double-pawl double-pawl winding powers windingnot powers only the nothour, only the minute hour, and minute seconds and seconds everyone everyone gets the chance gets thetochance sit in the to driving sit in the seat driving of a Silver seat ofArrow, a Silver Arrow, hands on hands the dial, onbut the also dial, abut totalizer also aattotalizer 12 o’clock, at 12the o’clock, date display the date display but anyone butwho anyone doeswho will does confirm willthat confirm it’s like thatbeing it’s like transported being transported to to and a small and hacking a smallseconds. hacking seconds.

What’s more, What’s it comes more, with it comes an impreswith an impresanother age. another It has age. a wooden It has a steering wooden wheel, steering analogue wheel, analogue instruments instruments sivepower 68-hour reserve. powerUsed reserve. withUsed the central with the seconds central hand, seconds the hand, the and bodywork and bodywork made of gleaming made of gleaming aluminiumaluminium – hence the – hence name the of the name of sive the 68-hour tachymeter tachymeter scale on scale the bezel on the enables bezel the enables wearer thetowearer calculate to calculate his his racing carracing that became car that abecame legend between a legend the between 1930sthe and1930s 50s. and Opti-50s. Optispeed over speed a measured over a measured distance of distance 1,000 metres. of 1,000Interestingly, metres. Interestingly, the the cally, the cally, Chronograph the Chronograph Silver Arrow Silver conforms Arrow conforms to the same to the classic same classic original Silver original Arrow Silver hadArrow just three had just displays: three displays: a rev counter a revand counter indi- and indiimage. The image. blackThe rubber black strap rubber withstrap its brown with its calfskin browninlay calfskin is reminisinlay is reminiscators forcators the oilfor and the water oil and temperature. water temperature.

Because Because regardlessregardless of the of the cent of the cent leather of the straps leather once straps usedonce to secure used to thesecure body the work, body while work, while era, the one era, thing the one thatthing counts thatwhen counts youwhen get into you aget racing into car a racing is car is the dial features the dialthe features same the circular samegraining circularas graining the Silver as the Arrow’s SilverdashArrow’s dashboard. When board. we When come we to the come technology, to the technology, however, the however, watchthe is atwatch the is at achieving the achieving the best time. the best time.

I WC . E N G I WC N E E. REENDG IFO N ERE M RE ED N .FO R M E N .

I WC S C H AI WC F F HS AU CH SA EN F FBHO AU U TI S EQNU B E S: O UPA TI Q R IUSEIS: V IPA E NRNI S A II V RIO EM NE NA I M IO RO S COW ME I M IO NS ECOW W YO IRN KEI W B EYO I J IRNKG I I BDEUI JBIA NIGI IHD OUNBGAKO I I H NO G NI G GE KO N ENVA G I IGZU E NREI VA C H I ZU R I C H I WC .CO M I WC .CO M

For more information For more information on Australian onstockists Australian please stockists call +61 please 2 8215 call +61 55772 or 8215 contact 5577 info@iwc.com or contact info@iwc.com

WWRRAAI TI THH And the Andworld the world stoodstood still still

Introducing Introducing Wraith. A Wraith. car with A car the with power, thestyle power, andstyle drama and drama to make to themake world the stand world still. stand Experience still. Experience the darker theside darker side of Rolls-Royce of Rolls-Royce for yourself. for yourself.

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Motor Auckland, Cars Auckland, 11-15 Great 11-15 South GreatRoad, South PORoad, Box PO 9718, Box Newmarket, 9718, Newmarket, AucklandAuckland Tel: +64Tel: 9 969 +643350 9 969Fax: 3350 +64Fax: 9 969 +643354 9 969www.rolls-roycemotorcars-auckland.com 3354 www.rolls-roycemotorcars-auckland.com Š Copyright Rolls-Royce Š CopyrightMotor Rolls-Royce Cars Limited Motor 2013.

Cars Limited The Rolls-Royce 2013. Thename Rolls-Royce and logoname are registered and logo are trademarks. registered trademarks.

WWRRAAI TI THH And the Andworld the world stoodstood still still

Introducing Introducing Wraith. A Wraith. car with A car the with power, thestyle power, andstyle drama and drama to make to themake world the stand world still. stand Experience still. Experience the darker theside darker side of Rolls-Royce of Rolls-Royce for yourself. for yourself.

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Motor Auckland, Cars Auckland, 11-15 Great 11-15 South GreatRoad, South PORoad, Box PO 9718, Box Newmarket, 9718, Newmarket, AucklandAuckland Tel: +64Tel: 9 969 +643350 9 969Fax: 3350 +64Fax: 9 969 +643354 9 969www.rolls-roycemotorcars-auckland.com 3354 www.rolls-roycemotorcars-auckland.com Š Copyright Rolls-Royce Š CopyrightMotor Rolls-Royce Cars Limited Motor 2013.

Cars Limited The Rolls-Royce 2013. Thename Rolls-Royce and logoname are registered and logo are trademarks. registered trademarks.

Fromthe publisher

A

s the name of this magazine suggests, the world is our oyster. But it’s always nice to come home, and New Zealand features large in this issue as we take a fresh look at some of the people, places, interests and indulgences that make us special.

Speaking of indulgence, food and drink are especially well represented, which I guess is fair enough with the festive season around the corner.

We begin at SKYCITY – celebrating its 16th anniversary this year – with a look at the host of new bars and eateries there. Peter Gordon, Nic Watt, Al Brown and Sean Connolly are among the celebrated names in a culinary precinct boasting everything from bagels to haute cuisine.

At the other end of the country, Queenstown is challenging Auckland and Wellington as a food and wine hub, a fact not lost on some big-name restaurateurs, as Patrick Smith found when he headed south.

In other stories, we look at world-beating New Zealand cheeses, profile Elephant Hill winery and restaurant in Hawke’s Bay and a conservation-inspired venture making super-premium vodka and gin. Thomas Hyde has a weekend away in Taupo and chats to Auckland-born Julie Biuso about her new cookbook, while local wine trade personality Clive Weston is the subject of our regular My World feature.

Anyone interested in New Zealand fashion, meanwhile, will want to read Patrick’s search for the Dunedin Look.

Jewellery? See our stories on Hartfield’s beautiful French and Italian creations and RDG’s fabulous pink diamond ring.

Elsewhere in this bumper issue, actor Peter Elliott shares his experience of a mass workout weekend in Stockholm; Thomas discovers President Obama’s Hawaii; we take you to Fiji’s luxurious Likuliku Lagoon Resort and peep inside The World, the planet’s largest privately owned residential yacht, heading our way in 2014.

Travel, cars, boys’ toys, international spas and wellness retreats, beauty, fine watches, fascinating people… You’ll find a WORLD of good stuff in the following pages.

Enjoy the issue...

Don Hope

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Publisher Don Hope Ph +64 9 358 4080 donhope@paradise.net.nz Advertising Debra Hope Ph +64 21 930 717 debrahope@paradise.net.nz Art Director Desmond Frith Features Editor Thomas Hyde Travel Editor Patrick Smith Wine and Food Editor John Hawkesby Timepiece Editor Bani McSpedden Motoring Editor David Linklater Proofreader Frances Chan Prepress Debbie Curle PRODUCTION MANAGER Sara Hirst

SKYCITY CELEBRITY CHEFS FROM TOP:

Sean Connolly Nic Watt Al Brown Peter Gordon

Advertising Co-ordinator Holly Norriss Ph +64 9 909 6855 Distribution Netlink Distribution Company Printing PMP Limited World is published quarterly by Fairfax Magazines, a division of Fairfax Media, 317 New North Rd, Kingsland, Auckland, New Zealand (PO Box 6341, Wellesley Street).

Advertising within this publication is subject to Fairfax Magazines’ standard advertising terms and conditions, a copy of which is available online at www.fairfaxmedia.co.nz or by calling 09 909 6800.

Subscriptions: Ph +64 9 926 9127 worldsubs@fairfaxmags.co.nz ISSN - 1176 9076 © 2013 Fairfax New Zealand Limited.

No part of this magazine may be reproduced without the written permission of the publisher. All rights reserved.

Website: www.worldmagazine.co.nz

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ISSUE

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CONTENTS 25 34

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THE DUNEDIN LOOK – Like the Dunedin Sound of the 1980s, fashion design in this southern city today is distinctive and influential.

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COMING UP ROSES – The Royal New Zealand Ballet adds fizz to its 60th anniversary celebrations.

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PINK & PRECIOUS – An Auckland jeweller has created an extraordinary ring with a rare pink diamond at its centre.

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GLITTERING VISION – Michal McKay finds exquisite French and Italian jewellery in a Parnell boutique.

49

THE SCENT OF A WOMAN – Oscar-winning actress Cate Blanchett is the face of the new Giorgio Armani fragrance, Sì.

52 59

THE ART OF ARTDECO – The pursuit of beauty: faultless make-up, flawless face, fabulous effect.

WORLD GIFT GALLERY – Reward yourself or significant other with something fabulous from our all-occasion wish list.

59 75

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FANTASIA OF TIME – Welcome to fabulosity, femininity and finesse in the finely tuned world of 21st-century timekeeping.

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World Motoring – David Linklater reviews the latest offerings from some of the greatest names in motoring.

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CONTENTS 132 144

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FIT TO BUST – Thousands of buffed bodies converge on Stockholm for Les Mills’ Super Saturday workouts.

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SKY’S THE LIMIT – We check out new developments at Auckland’s SKYCITY, where celebrity chefs are cooking up a storm.

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MY WORLD – Wine merchant Clive Weston has watched the New Zealand industry grow from 100 wineries to more than 700.

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AMONG THE VINES – John Hawkesby lingers over lunch at a Hawke’s Bay winery with a growing reputation.

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APPETITE FOR ADVENTURE – NZ excitement capital Queenstown is no slouch when it comes to thrilling food and wine.

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COFFEE WITH JULIE BIUSO – The Aucklandborn celebrity chef has just released her 16th cookbook.

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SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS – Our cheeses are winning high praise on the world stage, but are we tasting them at their best?

149 154

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A ROLLS-ROYCE COGNAC – The local launch of the 2014 Rolls-Royce Wraith was celebrated with the world’s most expensive cognac.

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CONTENTS 158 180

156

FOR THE BIRDS – New super-premium brands of vodka and gin are helping to preserve endangered native birds.

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OVER THE SEA – Karen Halabi falls into the dreamy embrace of a couples-only Fijian island sanctuary.

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PLEASURES OF THE PLATEAU – Thomas Hyde enjoys a perfect weekend away from the city at Lake Taupo.

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NOT FOR PROFIT – A new private property development near Wanaka takes a unique approach to the environment.

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HOME ON THE OCEAN WAVES – The planet’s largest privately owned residential yacht is heading our way in 2014.

178

SMOOTH SAILING – After a nerve-racking America’s Cup, a friendly regatta for superyachts promises calmer entertainment.

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OBAMA’S HAWAII – The US President grew up in Hawaii and still holidays there. We explore his favourite haunts.

189 195

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THE ART OF PACKING – Luggage icon Louis Vuitton offers a few pointers for the modern traveller.

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LOOK THE DUNEDIN

Like the Dunedin Sound of the 1980s, fashion design in this southern city is distinctive and influential. Patrick Smith went south to find out what’s in the water.

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‘‘D

unedin fashion is like Dunedin itself. Not everyone gets it but the ones that do absolutely love it.” I’m not sure who said that but it captures the essence of “New Zealand’s underground fashion capital”, as Dunedin is now being billed. What is it about this Scottish-bred university town that inspires so much creativity and originality in its fashions?

Well, it depends who you ask. Some say it’s the weather, which in winter encourages folk to pile on the clothes and might be said to have influenced the layered look. Others talk about op shops – penniless students making a fashion statement with pre-loved tat. The landscape, the city’s diverse architecture, the world of the intellect… I heard quite a few theories during my recent stay in the city. But it seems things have been changing. Though there is still plenty of black about, there’s more colour, too, and more flowing, feminine designs alongside those dark or layered looks.

“The internet has changed things,” says Jessica Gleeson, a final-year student at Otago Polytechnic’s School of Design. “It’s a window on the world, we’re open to other ideas. It wasn’t like that when NOM*d started.”

You can’t talk about Dunedin fashion without mentioning the School of Design, which has strong links to the annual iD Dunedin Fashion Week (iDFW) and turns out young designers, such as Charmaine Reveley, who

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go on to launch their own labels or who find work with fashion houses here and overseas. iDFW, meanwhile, offers students invaluable work experience.

“I’ve helped out backstage at iD for three years,” Jessica told me. “Last year I was Tanya Carlson’s assistant and helped to organise the models. It’s such a great experience for us... It also teaches you a lot about working under pressure.” Next year she’ll be in the show.

And what of Dunedin’s established designers, what’s their take on the Dunedin Look – if it exists at all?

I hiked around the city’s ateliers, workrooms and some very classy boutiques to find out. I even went to Auckland to talk to a designer who still thinks of Dunedin as home. There are many other designers and more than a few opinions in the city, but here’s a handful of thoughts:

Donna Tulloch, MILD-RED “I’d rather close up before manufacturing anywhere else,” says Donna Tulloch, designer and director of MILD-RED, who works and has a gallery/showroom in a converted Dunedin church. “We do samples and prototypes inhouse and have wonderful manufacturers here that we outsource to.”

Tulloch, who launched MILD-RED in 1995, sells through stockists around New Zealand (though not currently in

Bouquet of Barbed Wire, MILD-RED’s Summer 13/14 collection, features Donna Tulloch’s trademark layering in garments like the Barbed Wire open knit top and Short Fall shorts (right) and blue Metal Affections singlet dress (bottom left).

“A woman’s dress should be like a barbed wire fence, serving its purpose without obscuring the view.”

Sophia Loren

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Garments from Charmaine Reveley’s Royal Summer 13/14 Collection include Filigree shirt, worn with matching skirt (left) and with Zowie jean (below).

At bottom is her Morrissey frock.

“quite simple and wearable; classic but feminine and with a real focus on fabrics”.

Charmaine Reveley

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4 Charmaine Reveley 3 Tanya Carlson

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2 Donna Tulloch

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1 Margi Robertson

Auckland), in Australia and through a gallery in Yokohama.

“I know the gallery in Japan wouldn’t accept MILD-RED garments if they were made in China,” she laughs.

Her clothes attract descriptions like “architectural”, “structural” and “textured”. Black may or may not be Dunedin’s traditional fashion motif, but Tulloch embraces it anyway. “I love black because there are so many colour effects in it. And you can accessorise with colour… I’ve always been drawn to darker tones.”

Each year she decides on an annual theme. This year it has been “Bouquet of Barbed Wire”. For her capsule collection at the iDFW show, she quoted Sophia Loren: “A woman’s dress should be like a barbed wire fence, serving its purpose without obscuring the view.”

Tulloch has spent most of her life in Dunedin and loves the city.

“We have wonderful designers here,” she says. “We’re all different but I think we can complement each other and that’s what iD is all about: Dunedin… It’s such an amazing, creative city and it’s all in this little hub. Who said you have to be in Auckland to make it?” www.mild-red.com

Charmaine Reveley Charmaine Reveley is a great advertisement for Otago Polytechnic’s School of Design. The 31-year-old Dunedin designer studied fashion there and launched her eponymous label immediately after graduating.

Reveley describes her clothes as “mid- to high-fashion womenswear, quite simple and wearable; classic but feminine and with a real focus on fabrics”.

“I think my customers know that they can put [my clothes] on and feel glamorous and feminine and not feel overdressed,” she says. “It’s a simple look; you don’t have to buy three or four pieces to complete the look.”

The natural environment influenced her early creative work, but these days, she says, “fabric is my medium; fabric and textiles”. She uses only natural fibres, mostly silks for summer and wool blends for winter – and if she can’t find the right colour she has it dyed to her specifications. “It’s quite a labour of love.”

And is there a Dunedin Look?

“I think there used to be a Dunedin Look but there’s a lot of variety now. A few designers probably carry on that offbeat, underground look.”

Selling to boutiques up and down the country and from her “wee shop” beside her workroom, Reveley stays in Dunedin because she loves it there. “All my customers are so supportive and I have a great wee team down here.

I couldn’t have started up in Auckland.” www.charmainereveley.co.nz

Margi Robertson, NOM*d Margi Robertson, founder and designer of NOM*d, describes her clothes as “dark and wittily sombre”.

NOM*d was born in the 1980s, a very creative period for Dunedin, and Robertson admits the culture of the time had an influence on the rookie label.

“We had some quite ground-breaking things going on with the whole Dunedin Sound and Flying Nun [Records],” she says, “and the subculture – which often comes in a university city, too – was part of our environment at the time when NOM*d was developing.”

But the woman whose clothes have been most associated with Dunedin over the years admits her “noirish aesthetic” owes more to place than time.

“I think the [Dunedin] atmosphere can at times be described as being dark… I think dark certainly suits me. I wouldn’t put every Dunedin designer into that category but, obviously, I have a leaning towards that sort of feeling: a slightly sombre approach but always with a little bit of wit involved; a little bit tongue-in-cheek.”

And what does Robertson think of the new breed of Dunedin designers?

“I always find the Emerging Designer part of iD really, really intriguing… And being 60, I find what 20-year-olds are coming up with is pretty amazing.”

NOM*d clothes are sold in 36 stores in New Zealand,

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feminine fabrics juxtaposed with immaculate tailoring.”

Carlson has had a shop in Auckland since 1998, but in her home town, where she has another store, she’s still thought of as a Dunedin designer. It’s the place that formed her and sustained her fledgling fashion enterprise.

“Dunedin is a very nurturing place if you’re starting a label,” she says. “It’s also a good place to establish your identity, to find yourself creatively; there’s less looking over your shoulders at who’s doing what.”

She believes being in Auckland allows her to “spread the word a bit” about Dunedin design and in particular iDFW, of which she’s a board member and serves as a judge for the week’s Emerging Designer Awards.

ABOVE: NOM*d Spring-Summer 2014 collection, FANS, draws on two of Margi Robertson’s signature design directions: punk and military.

RIGHT: From Tanya Carlson’s LA Dreaming 13/14 Collection, Helmut jacket with Picture skirt (left) and Illusionist top with Director skirt.

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Australia and Japan, but apart from her bi-annual trips to Paris, Robertson remains resolutely in Dunedin, where she has her workroom and a striking multi-brand shop called Plume. www.nomd.co.nz

Tanya Carlson, CARLSON Tanya Carlson grew up on the Otago Peninsula, although these days she lives in Auckland and works out of a studio above her Ponsonby Road shop. But, she admits, “My heart will always be in Dunedin; I won’t live here forever.”

The wild landscapes of her childhood fuelled her romantic imagination, shaping influences that are still visible in the flowing gowns and rich fabrics of her recent collections.

So what is Carlson’s take on the Dunedin Look?

“Probably when people talk about Dunedin fashion they’re thinking dark, layered, unstructured,” she says.

“But there are a lot of other looks. My garments are generally tailored, structured. Because I often use a lot of lace, people call it romantic. But to me it’s always been

E xpect the exceptional

Photos: Karen Inderbitzen-Waller

www.tanyacarlson.com

iDXV

iD Dunedin Fashion Week celebrates its 15th anniversary at the end of March and big things are planned for the occasion.

“We’re looking really strong for our 15th anniversary,” iD committee chair Susie Staley says. “Part of this is looking at future international collaborations, including developing our relationship with Shanghai, which makes iD even more global in its outlook.”

After attending the 2013 event I can report that fashion, passion and a fine sense of theatre are alive and kicking in this charming – and, dare I say, stylish – southern city.

The week, which attracted some 3,000 people, included professional theatre, a designer group sale, lectures, workshops, cocktail soirées, fashion parades, iD’s annual International Emerging Designer Awards and, of course, the iDFW runway shows. These, unlike those at NZ Fashion Week, are for the public rather than buyers and fashion writers: most of what you see on the catwalk is in the shops.

The 2013 shows brought together an exciting line-up of established and emerging designers on the platform of the elegant old Dunedin Railway Station – the longest catwalk in the southern hemisphere. It was a brilliant setting for a parade of clothes ranging from the quirky and futuristic to the glamorous and chic.

The shows featured full or capsule collections from the likes of CARLSON, NOM*d, Tamsin Cooper, MILD-RED,

Charmaine Reveley, Company of Strangers, DADA Vintage, MisteR, DEVàL, Jane Sutherland, UNDONE and newcomers Storm and Moodie Tuesday. Celebrity UK milliner and awards judge Stephen Jones, meanwhile, showed 33 of his spectacular hats, one for each year of his career.

The iD International Emerging Designer Awards, now in its 10th year, is unique in New Zealand and attracts young creative talent (like winner Rakel Blom, whose clothes are pictured above) from around the world. Entries are limited to 30 and Staley says standards are high. Entrants have to be in their final year [at a design school] or have graduated within the past five years.

Next year’s awards will be held on 3 April, when finalists will be judged by a panel of fashion industry leaders. Up for grabs is a first prize of $10,000 and priceless kudos for the winner: past finalists have gone on to work for the likes of Burberry, Vivienne Westwood and Benetton.

The iD runway shows take place on the Friday and Saturday nights. Dunedin and Kiwi designers will be presenting their collections, along with an international guest – although Staley wasn’t letting on who that might be. Previous celebrities, though, have included Zandra Rhodes, Stephen Jones, Akira Isogawa and Lutz Huelle. iD XV runs from 30 March to 6 April. For more information visit www.idfashion.co.nz

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THE THE ART ART OF OU OFTDOOR OU TDOOR LIVING LIVING

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THE THE ART ART OF OU OFTDOOR OU TDOOR LIVING LIVING

AucklandAuckland Showroom Showroom · 106 St ·Georges 106 St Georges Bay Road Bay · Parnell Road ·· Parnell Ph (09)· 921 Ph (09) 5574921 5574 Mon – FriMon 9 – –5.30 Fri 9· Sat – 5.30 9 –· 4Sat · Sun 9 – by 4 ·appointment Sun by appointment · info@domo.co.nz · info@domo.co.nz · www.domo.co.nz · www.domo.co.nz

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COMING UP

ROSES

The Royal New Zealand Ballet adds fizz to its 60th anniversary celebrations with a limited-edition wine from Nautilus Estate that’s as pink as a ballerina’s tutu.

T

he accomplished Royal New Zealand Ballet (RNZB) began its 60th anniversary celebrations this year with three new works, collectively entitled Made to Move, one of which was the first original piece for the company by its American artistic director, Ethan Stiefel.

That was followed by a critically acclaimed tour of China performing Giselle. And through December the company will perform in no fewer than 47 centres around New Zealand, from Kaitaia to Stewart Island, taking dance to audiences that often don’t get the chance to see professional performances.

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This year’s 60th anniversary celebration has meant an especially busy year for the ballet offstage too, with alumni weekends, book launches and a host of functions that Stiefel, who’s been with the company since September 2011, said had been very successful, adding: “Sixty years is a great foundation to build on and all in all the company is dancing very well.”

The celebrations have included a limited-edition release of one of New Zealand’s pre-eminent sparkling wines from Nautilus Estate in Marlborough. The Nautilus Cuvée Rosé 2011 is a vintage Rosé with a ballerina-pink hue. The wine, and its elegant packaging, suggest the same qualities that go into creating the finest dance performance: delicacy, precision, grace and, most

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of all, passion. The wine is made from a blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay employing the Méthode Traditionnelle process.

This year has been a special one for the Royal New Zealand Ballet and 2014 promises to be just as eventful.

The company will undertake a major US tour that will include performances in Minneapolis and New York City, followed by three domestic tours featuring the comic ballet Coppelia, a programme of short ballets called Mixed Grill, which includes George Balanchine’s Allegro Brilliante and Johan Kobborg’s Les Lutins and finally the ever-popular Christmas Carol, staged by choreographer Daniel de Andrade. www.nzballet.org.nz

ABOVE: Classical ballet and Nautilus Cuvée Rosé 2011 - delicacy, precision, grace and passion.

Below: Royal New Zealand Ballet’s, Antonia Hewitt, among the vines at Nautilus Estate of Marlborough.

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PRECIOUS An Auckland jeweller has created an extraordinary ring with a rare pink diamond as its centrepiece. By Thomas Hyde.

I

f there were a single gift that captured the attention of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II during her Diamond Jubilee in 2012, it might have been – well – a diamond.

Namely, a pink diamond set in the centre of a flowerspray brooch created by Cartier.

Historically speaking, the pink diamond has been treasured by kings and queens, magnates and Hollywood celebrities for its rarity and sheer beauty. The problem was that production was notoriously sporadic because pink diamonds were hard to find.

But in 1979 that changed when geologists surveying the remote northwest corner of Australia happened upon a pink diamond, glittering in the most unlikely of places: an anthill. Ants had apparently brought it up and tossed it aside. What do they know, anyway?

The pink diamond is the world’s rarest diamond, so it was with some excitement that more surveys were carried out. Rough diamonds of many shades were uncovered, but, most importantly, they found enough pink diamonds to justify opening the Argyle Diamond Mine in 1985.

Today, the Argyle mine is the world’s largest producer of pink diamonds. But to put this into perspective, pink diamonds make up just a tiny fraction of the millions of carats of diamonds that come out of the mine every year. In fact, the total annual production of Argyle’s pink diamonds after cutting and polishing, ready for tender, can be held in one hand.

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Pink diamonds tend to be much smaller than white diamonds, defying the notion that the bigger the stone the more valuable it is. The special exhibition for the Queen’s Jubilee at Kensington Palace featured just 60 pink diamonds, but their total value was more than $70 million.

Pink diamonds are rare worldwide and even rarer in New Zealand. That’s why World accepted an invitation from RDG (Robinson Designer Goldsmith) in Takapuna to view the Argyle Lotus, a pink and white diamond ring designed and made on site by the talented Robinson brothers, Michael and David.

The diamond was bought by an atelier that represents jewellers like RDG at diamond tenders. If a jeweller has the money, buying a pink diamond is the easy part; what to do with it requires some thought. A diamond is one thing, what two of the country’s best designers and technicians do with it is quite another.

Robinson Designer Goldsmith specialises in art-based jewellery design. Each piece is designed and manufactured at its Takapuna studio. All of its pieces are handmade and one-off. Depending on the degree of complexity, a single work can take up to eight weeks and total annual production is limited to between 50 and 80 pieces.

In this instance, Michael and David Robinson used a .58-carat pink tender diamond to create the Argyle Lotus ring based on their own original watercolour drawing.

The pink diamond is set on platinum with 18ct rose-gold detailing, supported by white diamonds totalling 4.10ct and a lily pad of coloured diamonds totalling 1.40ct.

The total weight of the ring is 6.08ct. It took eight weeks to produce, is presented in a stylish handmade box in the form of a travel trunk and is for sale at $365,000.

“We chose the lotus flower,” Michael said, “because it too is rare and beautiful and, just as lotus flowers grow out of muddy water, the pink diamond comes from alluvial soil that in the same way defies the beauty of the stone contained within it.”

Robinson Designer Goldsmith was founded by the brothers’ father, Ken Robinson, who is today the company’s general manager.

Visit www.rdgnz.com or phone (09) 489 9948.

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Photo: by John S. / Fount & Verse

Exquisite Gems, quality award winning craftmanship and

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VISION GLITTERING

Michal Mckay is seduced by exquisite French and Italian jewellery collections in a Parnell boutique.

P

art of the charm of Auckland’s Parnell Village is that many of the trendy establishments that helped shape its high profile as a shopping mecca some three decades ago are still there. And these bastions of style have subtly moved with the moment, so their appeal to fashion lovers who know what investment dressing is all about is as strong as it ever was.

Jewellers Hartfield is a perfect example. Nestled into a former Parnell villa transformed into beguiling retail boutiques, its old-world exterior is stylishly understated. Cast an eye to the right as you enter and the discreetly beckoning bay windows offer a glittering suggestion of what lies within: a modern-day Aladdin’s cave of sparkle, scent and superb design.

Margaret Foley, a teacher by profession, found herself at Hartfield close to 40 years ago, persuaded by the then owners, who knew little about precious stones, that the shop needed her talents. She bought the shop 34 years ago and, with her daughter Rebecca and husband Brian Hough, she has built it into one of the best jewellery boutiques in New Zealand.

“Though I don’t come from a business background, instinctively I felt jewellery was my vocation,” she says. “I have a strong artistic appreciation, I like people and have a good memory for faces, which is very important in this industry.”

What she doesn’t mention is that she also has a remarkable ability to assess where fashion is moving and what women (and men, too) want when preparing to invest in high-end jewellery from the crème de la crème of European designers and manufacturers.

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Sissi io Amo collection

by Pasquale Bruni.

Photo: Giovanni Gastel.

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RIGHT: Rebecca and Margaret Foley.

BELOW: Hartfield, a long-established part of Parnell Village.

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It wasn’t always so. “When I started, we had many talented, creative but somewhat hippy-type jewellers creating pieces for the shop,” she says. “We’d buy an ounce of gold on a Friday and next week it became jewellery for selling.”

As time went by, Margaret developed a dream of where Hartfield should be going – which was towards high-end established jewellery brands with a global reputation. She started visiting Baselworld in Switzerland – “the jewellery fair” – and through contacts developed an eye for top names she knew would suit the Hartfield clientele. The resulting bond she has built between two very different but also extremely desirable jewellery houses has provided Hartfield with a unique perspective; and a pulling-power which has attracted people who appreciate beautiful jewellery, believe in her ability and have built up a trust in her judgement.

Chaumet is jewellery aristocracy. Arguably the bestknown jewellery and watchmaking design house in France, it was founded by Marie-Etienne Nitot, who in 1802 became the official jeweller to Napoleon I. It was Chaumet’s jewellery that Josephine de Beauharnais wore for her marriage to Napoleon. The French emperor’s crown was his creation, too.

From these auspicious beginnings, the Chaumet name grew and in 1907 the workshops and boutique were set up at 12 Place Vendome, where they remain today – the goldcolumned Louis XVI salon is now an historical monument.

There is also a Chaumet museum in Paris.

After the war, the name became synonymous with Parisian taste and creativity, which spawned such fashion icons as Christian Dior and Yves Saint Laurent. Chaumet employed future luminaries Cartier and Lalique. Breguet became part of Chaumet in 1958, adding a prestigious watchmaking name to the house.

During the 1970s, a period of originality and unconventional design, the Liens ring emerged. The now famous (and favoured by Carla Sarkozy) ring has had many guises: adorned with diamonds, yellow, white and pink gold versions have materialised; even a bull’s head of lapis lazuli and a cross.

Chaumet’s royal commissions, meanwhile, have included more than 2,000 tiaras, one of which was made for the future Queen Elizabeth II. In 1987 Chaumet became part of LVMH and in 2005 the house was appointed the 10th member of the Responsible Jewellery Council in France. It still controls all the design and production processes for its pieces, each of which is sold with an individual number so it can be easily traced to its original commission.

Luxury without ostentation is the way Margaret defines Chaumet. She admits to a very real love for France, although she also has a passion for Italy, the home of another much-loved brand, Pasquale Bruni, a design house she discovered at Baselworld. It caught her eye, she says, because of the very large but exquisitely designed pieces

that emphasise femininity, fragility and finesse. “Jewellery for the modern woman,” as she puts it.

Pasquale Bruni himself was drawn as a very young boy to the workshops of Valenza, the “city of gold”. Rapidly mastering the techniques and secrets of the goldsmith trade, his keen eye for detail saw a realisation of his new business venture, Gioielmoda, in 1978. In 1997 the company took on the designer’s moniker and became Pasquale Bruni – now regarded as one of the greatest fine-jewellery designers in the world; a man whose inimitable taste has changed the face of jewellery both in terms of style and technique. Each creation blends noble metals and precious stones with cutting-edge techniques.

Continual experimentation gives rise to new shapes and forms, colours and design. The result? Refined creativity and the ultimate in quality.

Margaret and daughter Rebecca have developed a deep friendship with Pasquale Bruni and his daughter, creative director Eugenia and visit Italy at least once a year, “when we are really part of the family”. During 10 years of daily dealings, they have grown to regard Bruni as “the Picasso of jewellery today” and their admiration for Eugenia’s

Pasquale Bruni Mandala earrings and necklace.

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1 Chaumet Premiers Liens rings in white, pink and yellow gold.

2

Chaumet Liens bangles in white, pink and yellow gold.

Pasquale Bruni rose quartz and diamond Bon Ton Bonheur ring.

3

4 Pasquale Bruni diamond Sissi ring.

BELOW: Interior of Hartfield, Parnell, with showcase

by Jean-Michel Wilmotte and David Chipperfield.

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taste and style is palpable. Eugenia, who names designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana among her great friends, works with Hartfield developing special events and visiting New Zealand to help in their promotion.

Among the many designs that are handcrafted in the Pasquale Bruni factory, Margaret has particular favourites.

The Bon Ton collection, which uses rose quartz and other coloured stones; Atelier rings, with their seductively coloured precious stones; and the joyous Mandala, inspired by the lotus flower.

For Margaret, Hartfield has become more than a full-time job. “It’s six days a week,” she says, “but I couldn’t possibly run it without Rebecca.” Rebecca, a lawyer who has been admitted to both the New York and Hong Kong bars, joined Margaret in 2001 and looks after administration and marketing.

She loves the association. “It is a privilege for me to be able to work with my mother and help to take the business forward from here,” she says. “We always buy the newest collections each year so that our clients can choose from the latest designs. It also ensures the small New Zealand market doesn’t get saturated with any one particular design.”

Together they make certain the shop fully represents the qualities inspired by their top-name jewellery houses. The interior design blends the unexpected but

E x pect the e x ceptional

spectacular neon lacquered Pasquale Bruni counter (designed by British talent David Chipperfield) with the sumptuous Chaumet displays by interior architect JeanMichel Wilmotte.

“Attention to detail in absolutely everything is the ultimate,” Rebecca explains. “Eugenia comes out and does the merchandising for Pasquale Bruni. All the images created by both houses for their advertising and marketing campaigns we use for ours.” Top photographers and muses are used to create these and have included Sophie Marceau, Lou Doillon, Zoe Cassavetes and Stéphane Sednaoui for Chaumet, and the new blackand-white mood photographed by Milanese celebrity Giovanni Gastel for Pasquale Bruni.

Margaret and Rebecca acknowledge that Hartfield has changed enormously over the past 35 years, although some things have not changed. The very gifted jeweller who worked with Margaret when she originally bought the company is still with her to take care of client needs, although major work is sent back to the factories in France and Italy. But there is no question that Margaret’s original vision – to bring in top European jewellers with a worldwide reputation for inspiration and quality – was what made Hartfield’s name. It is the jewellery boutique of choice for discerning men and women who realise that a significant piece can only add richness to the story of their lives.

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SCENT THE

OF A WOMAN Oscar-winning actress Cate Blanchett is the face of the new Giorgio Armani fragrance, Sì.

Why Blanchett? Let’s ask Mr Armani…

‘‘I

have admired her performances in so many films,” says Giorgio Armani of the luminous Cate Blanchett, the face of his new fragrance, Sì.

“I love her gaze – it expresses both coldness and tenderness – and her modern-looking face with its unique lines, and her way of moving and walking that is so elegant and natural. I thought that she would be able to express the complexity and the originality of a different type of perfume; one that is intense, sweet and light all at the same time.

“I have known and admired Cate Blanchett for a long time. As I was developing the Sì project, defining the fragrance and imagining the bottle, I instinctively thought of her and of the zeal and passion that can be perceived behind her impeccable manners and confident look – a seductive combination that fully reflects the complex, unique character of my perfume.”

The multi-talented Blanchett ticks many of Armani’s boxes in terms of the perfect “Sì woman” as well as those who would characterise Giorgio Armani’s personal vision of the feminine ideal: “A presence that you don’t forget. She represents the contrasts of a strong and gentle personality – she is both seductive and reserved,

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Giorgio Armani and his perfect “Sì woman” Cate Blanchett, whom he chose for “the zeal and passion that can be perceived behind her impeccable manners and confident look”.

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spontaneous and refined. A woman that stands out and stays in your memory because of her spirit, gestures and her look.”

Véronique Gautier, director of Giorgio Armani Fragrances & Beauty, says the idea behind the “Sì woman” was “to express the richness and creativity of a woman who is capable of being moved by her emotions, who knows how strong this makes her and who is courageous enough to say ‘yes’ to life... Her secret is her inner strength. She is committed, independent and free. She is a perfect mix of masculine strength and feminine grace.”

Gautier says Blanchett is “perfectly in line” with the portrait of the woman they had in mind to represent the fragrance.

“She is committed in her personal and professional life. She is honest, moved by her emotions and intuition.

Being the great actress she is, she knows how important it is to listen to herself and be confident. In terms of allure and beauty, there is something indescribable about her.

She recalls those actresses from the past with divine, spectacular eyes and a pure presence.”

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Sì, of course, is Italian for “yes” and, as Gautier puts it, expresses the power of being a woman today. “The two letters create a logo, which is strong because it is simple.”

Armani adds that “Sì” was chosen for the new scent “because it is decisive and determined, optimistic and strong”. Just like the Sì woman, who “has the courage to say ‘yes’ to love and freedom. ‘Yes’ to herself!”

In Cate Blanchett, Armani has certainly found a Renaissance woman: brilliant actor of stage and screen and winner of the Oscar, BAFTA, Golden Globe and numerous other acting awards and nominations; coartistic director and co-CEO of Sydney Theatre Company for the past five years; patron of the Sydney Film Festival and an ambassador for the Australian Conservation Foundation and the Australian Film Institute; recipient of the Centenary Medal for Service to Australian Society and France’s Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres; one

of TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People for 2007; dedicated wife and mother of three.

Her film roles are too numerous to mention but include Katharine Hepburn in Martin Scorsese’s The Aviator, Queen Elizabeth I in Shekhar Kapur’s Elizabeth, the title role in Joel Schumacher’s Veronica Guerin – and, of course, Galadriel in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

Her peerless performance in Woody Allen’s recent Blue Jasmine received rave reviews. Next up is a starring role in George Clooney’s The Monuments Men (tipped for 2014 Oscar contention), Disney’s live-action Cinderella and two as-yet untitled Terrence Malick films.

Among her stage roles was Blanche Du Bois in a travelling production of Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire, a tour de force the New York Times judged the “Performance of the Year”. In June and July this year she co-starred with Isabelle Huppert in the Sydney Theatre Company’s adaptation of Jean Genet’s The Maids.

A woman who says “Sì” to life? We think so.

And what of the fragrance itself?

“Sì is a concentration of Italian elegance that you discover on a thrilling journey,” says Véronique Gautier. “It is chic, as it is built with a chypre structure, the fragrance family that best embodies elegance in perfumery. It has a woody, masculine base faceted with very feminine notes such as rose, flowers, vanilla, etc. This masculine and feminine balance is the trademark of chypre. It is also Mr Armani’s favourite signature. To reinvent this family, he searched for an innovative blackcurrant note.

Once again, this is a timeless and classic structure in which he added an innovative and surprising note.”

Created by Christine Nagel, from a brief by Armani, the key ingredient, is “a specific blend of blackcurrant, which is crafted like a rich, juicy, exhilarating and syrupy nectar”. The scent also features a high-quality vanilla absolute and, “for the feminine, flowery part”, the traditional Centifolia rose from Grasse was counterbalanced with a lighter freesia.

Armani himself loves the blackcurrant tones.

“The blackcurrant is like a prohibited fruit,” he says, “and thanks to a special extraction method, we have managed to conserve all the warm intensity of a black fruit. It is the first time that it has been used in one of my fragrances, enriched with May rose and freesia,

with a masterful touch of patchouli. The result is an original fragrance with a timeless touch. Like a distant memory, or a dream.”

The fragrance sits in a simply elegant glass bottle with a heavy base that’s “neither truly square nor truly round”, as Armani says, and which “draws the eye to its tapered curves and deep-black cap… A game of masculine/feminine reflection, the Sì bottle plays on the duality between strength and lightness. Transparency, deep black density and nude rose are thus combined in perfect harmony.”

The two colours, “nude pink” and black stone, he adds, work together well “to express the duality of this modern woman”.

“Sì,” says Armani finally, “is my tribute to modern femininity, an irresistible combination of grace, strength and independence of spirit.”

Cue Cate Blanchett…

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ART ARTDECO

THE

OF

The pursuit of beauty has kept many scientists, entrepreneurs and make-up artists in business for decades as theyendeavour to fulfil every woman’s dream: faultless make-up, flawless face, fabulous effect. By Michal McKay.

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T Cosmetics like never before.

More than just a cosmetics brand, ARTDECO combines numerous collections into one integrated concept, making it unique to the beauty market.

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wenty-five years ago Helmut Baurecht realised that if his vision of a cosmetics brand were to reach the heights of success he envisaged, his concept had to capture the hearts and minds, needs and wishes of all women and combine it with uncompromising quality and reasonable pricing. Not an easy prospect in a burgeoning market that was, even then, highly competitive.

Today, Baurecht’s ARTDECO is a global make-up brand sold in 15,000 cosmetic institutes, 6,000 perfumeries, 350 exclusive department stores and 150 duty-free shops worldwide. No small achievement, especially when that includes being listed in the Beauty Top 100, ranking 79th of the largest companies in the industry and with its founder and owner being awarded the Beauty World Cup for his unique brand concept.

E x p ect the e x ce p t i ona l

What is the secret? Well, actually, there are many. First of all, following the German reputation for precision and perfection, every facet of the company is incorporated into the 18,000-square-metre ARTDECO headquarters in Karlsfeld, on the outskirts of Munich. And that means everything from sourcing materials right through to production and even an in-house advertising agency.

Secondly, a strong ecology policy covers all aspects of environmental preservation, reaching even to the selection of suppliers. Then a prudent pricing structure ensures the brand is widely accessible yet focuses strongly on maintaining product purity. And whatever the beauty objective, the range is cutting-edge when it comes to following trends, colour forecasting and state-of-the art technology.

But there are also special qualities that make ARTDECO stand out from the crowd. The forecasters within the

company collaborate with the recognised trendsetters to ensure all products are at the forefront of the fashion and beauty arenas. The high-quality make-up collections are continually updated and added to to keep them abreast of trends and innovations. Similarly, the superb nail lacquers that shimmer and shine; secret formulations working their spectacular effects. Celebrity figurehead Dita von Teese, who has a definite eye for what’s new, works closely on new launches. And renowned design duo Talbot Runhof, a label that has its roots in Munich, also collaborates closely. The resulting colour collections can be relied upon to complement the very latest in style direction.

Face, fingers and feet are enhanced with a positive panorama of imaginative tints and textures. Specifically targeted foundations, powders, blushers, lipsticks and absolutely everything for eyes cater to individual skin types and age groups, a true indication that the folk behind ARTDECO truly understand the important role these factors play in a woman’s maquillage.

What’s more, the scientists in the laboratories have worked hard to produce particular products aimed at counteracting problem areas and these special camouflages, fixatives and bases all help ensure a long-lasting and professional finish to make-up.

Within this vast line-up lies the ultimate – Pure Minerals – which was introduced in 2007. Ingredients such as zinc, magnesium, potassium and sodium are acknowledged to have a significant influence on the skin’s metabolism and regeneration. Pure Minerals is a constantly evolving state-of-the-art brand

that utilises these highly effective elements to support the skin’s natural functions, whatever the age.

But most importantly, at the heart of ARTDECO make-up is the unique Systeme Mosaique, with its interchangeable colour combinations that are portable and easily popped in a purse or overnight bag. These magical beauty boxes and their eye shadows, blushers and powders, all have magnetic strips so they can be switched around in a minute for new palettes, replacements and mixing of shades. No more wasting unwanted and unused shades from a colour set. The pleasure of being able to customise colour according to personal preference really sets ARTDECO apart from the competition.

Little wonder then that ARTDECO is so highly coveted by beauty aficionados around the world. Fortunately, it has just reached New Zealand shores and is now available at Farmers’ cosmetic counters nationwide.

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SUPPLY 6205W

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SUPPLY 6205W

Poliform is world renown for contemporary design classics: Italian-made furniture that creates inspirational spaces in which to live and play.

Auckland + 64 9 523 2105 96E Carlton Gore Rd, Newmarket

Queenstown + 64 3 442 7659 The Junction, Cnr Gorge Rd & Robins Rd

www.studioitalia.co.nz info@studioitalia.co.nz

Skin Hydration in a capsule

EnvironŽ’s most luxurious treatment, Hydrating Oil Capsules contain vitamin A and antioxidants including: Green Tea Extract and Lipochromalin (a form of vitamin E), in an easily absorbable oil-based formula.

The capsules assist with reducing uneven skin tone and fine lines and improving the general health and hydration of the skin.

Ideal for a skin hydration boost when travelling.

Available through professional skincare therapists.

For stockists visit www.psb.net.nz.

giftgallery

GUCCI Women’s cruise collection 2014. www.gucci.co.nz

Christofle Jardin D’eden Teaspoons The radiant decoration covers the handle of the teaspoon in a single engraving. Silver-plated, shiny finish. www.thestudio.co.nz

Christofle Jardin D’eden Picture frame Jardin d’Eden, designed by Marcel Wanders. The pattern is sheer poetry, the decoration spanning the entire flatware in a single engraving. The interlaced leaves, flowers and curls are inspired by a lush garden, a fine tracery dancing over each piece. Silver-plated, shiny finish. www.thestudio.co.nz

Jimmy Choo Flash Eau de Parfum Introducing FLASH, the second fragrance from Jimmy Choo.

Embodying the thrill of the red carpet and the glamour of dressing up, it is the latest must-have accessory for the Jimmy Choo woman.

Andrew Martin Da Gamma Campaign side table Shiny steel and brown leather trim.

Size: 600mm x 450mm x 600mm. www.trenzseater.com

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Cartier PARIS NOUVELLE VAGUE RING White gold, diamonds, coloured stones: this playful blend of materials and colours offers a bold display of movement, an array of contrasts that creates a unique energy. A spiral of diamonds and scalloped gold is paired with onyx and lapis lazuli. www.cartier.com

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RUBY and DIAMOND RING A 1.67ct oval ruby, with four yellow-gold claws, is flanked by two smaller rubies and surrounded by 20 round brilliant diamonds, all in a setting of white gold. The band is yellow gold. www.timmermansjewellers.com

Christofle JARDIN D’EDEN Letter opener From cutlery to home accessories, the Jardin D’Eden theme adds a luxurious touch to your deskware. www.thestudio.co.nz

Cartier L’Odyssée Bracelet White gold, rock crystal, a brilliant-paved motif. The central motif can be replaced with a 63.66-carat pear-shaped DIF diamond. www.cartier.com

Lalique Flacon Hirondelles Perfume Bottle Aligned with the light of the crystal, these birds are synonymous with sheer refinement. www.cavitco.com

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Boucheron Jaipur Bracelet Eau de parfum Perfect for all occasions, a soft fresh feminine floral fragrance.

Jane Iredale Glamour Eye & Lip Palette The Jane Iredale Glamour Eye & Lip Palette is packaged in a decadent rose gold case, and features 15 PurePressed eyeshadows, 10 PureMoist lipsticks and five PureGloss lip glosses, along with a lip brush.

Cartier Paris nouvelle vague ring Pink gold, diamonds, coloured stones. Minimalist, bold, graphic lines. The distinctive geometry reveals the outline of an unfettered, modern spirit and plays on the juxtaposition of pink opal, smoky quartz, haematites, amethysts and diamonds. www.cartier.com

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Christofle Champagne flutes Six delicately beautiful champagne flutes in black, grey, red, green, amber and blue. www.thestudio.co.nz

La Prairie Skin Caviar sleep mask Skin Caviar Luxe Sleep Mask is a delicious hybrid that instantly melts into the skin, where it works its magic overnight.

Lanvin Jeanne Couture Eau de Parfum Perfect for all occasions. A floral, fruity fragrance for modern women: fresh, sweet, juicy, feminine and tempting.

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Ashoka diamond collection Available for the first time in New Zealand, the cut has 62 facets and is believed to reflect more light than any other diamond. www.partridgejewllers.com

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Theophany Rhapsody LoudspeakerS The Rhapsody is the flagship of Theophany Loudspeakers’ extensive range of speakers, which are all handmade in Christchurch. The elegantly proportioned curved cabinet has absolutely no parallel surfaces and is designed to cut internal standing waves and resonances down to vanishingly low levels. Add in the custom-made drivers and high-quality crossover and you’ve got a recipe for audio excellence.

CHRISTOFLE IRIANA DECANTER Stylish crystal decanter from Christofle’s Iriana collection is 25cm tall and holds almost 1 litre of your finest tipple. www.thestudio.co.nz

Google Glass Google Glass might just be the first sign of the new wave in online interaction. Always in your field of vision, always connected and always ready to record, share, translate, guide or answer questions. One thing is for sure; this device will change the way we think about privacy.

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Diesel Diesel Fuel for Life Spirit is citrusy on top with a floral heart and a woody base. Vital and fresh, this is a sophisticated fougère oriental ambery scent for sensual men.

Hennessy Very Special Cognac Hennessy Very Special endures through the ages and always pleases connoisseurs searching for a very special moment. Available at fine liquor retailers nationwide.

Christofle IRIANA DOUBLE OLD FASHIONED Crystal tumbler to match the Iriana decanter. www.thestudio.co.nz

Polo Red The latest fragrance by Ralph Lauren, Polo Red is a fiery blend of spicy red saffron, fresh red grapefruit and deep redwood.

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Apple iPhone 5S Smartphone The iPhone 5S is the latest and greatest in a long line of Apple phones. With a faster 64-bit processor and a better camera, the 5S is more evolution than revolution, although the fingerprint reader might just change the way we interact with our phones (again).

LG G2 Smartphone The G2 is LG’s take on the high-end Android smartphone.

Featuring a big, bright, highresolution IPS screen, a superfast processor and a long-life battery, the G2 is designed to perform, but, with a stack of advanced features and control buttons cunningly placed on the rear, it also promises to be a joy to use.

LG 55” Curved OLED TV LG’s stunning new 55” TV may well be the most innovative, cutting-edge model available today. The curved OLED panel is thinner than a smartphone but it offers a massive contrast ratio and astonishingly bright colours that have to be seen to be believed.

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$1739 DUTY FREE

PERFECT TRAVEL COMPANIONS

Leica D-Lux 6 and Leica 10x25 Ultravid Compact.

The Leica D-Lux 6 and Leica 10x25 Ultravid Compact; light, compact and stylish - the perfect travel companions.

These high performance Leica products are now available together as a special limited offer only to DFS customers.

Leica 10x25 Ultravid Compact: brighter, more functional and more robust than other binoculars of this lens size – and it fits in any jacket pocket. Furthermore, it is waterproof to 16.5 ft/5 m and features eyepieces that are comfortable for spectacle wearers. Leica D-Lux 6: new and extremely fast lens design, a new image sensor, and full-HD video. Capture moments of inspiration in brilliant images of exquisite quality, and let manual setting options and accessories expand your creative freedom.

Offer only available from: DFS Customhouse, cnr Customs and Albert Streets, Auckland Central and DFS Auckland International Airport

Lacklands LP I 09 6300753 I www.lacklands.co.nz I sales@lacklands.co.nz

Leica M Camera Decades of Leica rangefinder camera experience has culminated in the M. With a brand-new full-frame sensor and a high-performance image processor, along with the M-System’s legendary handling and build quality, the M is Leica’s most advanced and capable camera ever.

Samsung 85” 4K TV Samsung’s biggest, boldest and most distinctive TV may look like a piece of art but it’s also one of the best sets the company has ever produced. This stylish 85” TV is based on a state-of-the-art 4K Ultra HD panel with eight times the pixels of a Full HD panel.

It’s backed up by upgradable electronics, a powerful built-in sound system and Samsung’s advanced Smart TV functionality.

B&O Beolab 14 Surround Sound System B&O is famous for its stylish yet minimalist design, but the company is also respected for its focus on sound quality. The BeoLab 14 surround sound system continues this tradition, using innovative adaptive technology to generate big sound from discrete, yet beautiful speakers, and to allow the subwoofer to be placed wherever the homeowner prefers. The system is scalable from 2.1 to 5.1 and works perfectly with non-B&O TVs.

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Beefeater Signature SL 5 Burner BBQ The Kiwi summer is for baches, beaches and barbecues.

When you’ve got the whole family around, plus friends, kids and dogs, and it feels like you’re cooking for an army, then Beefeater’s Signature SL 5 Burner BBQ is just the thing. With five separate burners and a side cooker, this symphony in stainless steel can cope with any number of hungry mouths.

Its super-tough, high-quality construction means this is probably the last barbecue you’ll ever buy.

Devialet D240 Integrated Amplifier Devialet’s D240 integrated amplifier is a marvel of French design. Not only is it simply stunning to look at, it’s also a world-class reference audio component.

Devialet has implemented some highly innovative technology, so the amp is future-proofed, wireless compatible, App controllable and can be used in a home theatre environment or with a turntable.

It can even be wall-mounted, and it comes with a remote control that’s nothing less than a thing of beauty.

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Glenmorangie Original Two Glass Pack This gift pack comes with a 700ml bottle of the celebrated Glenmorangie Original and two branded tumblers.

Welcome to fabulosity, femininity and finesse in the finely tuned world of 21st-century timekeeping. By Bani McSpedden.

H

ow times change. From a trusty tool telling us the time of day, who could have guessed how the humble watch would morph into something of breathtaking beauty and devastating desirability. Who would have imagined the choice we have of timepieces that bring together skilled handcrafting, complex algorithms and clever creativity in one tiny package. These examples of horological art bring something special – fantasia even – to the forearm, male or female. For openers, something special from watch royalty Patek Philippe…

Patek Philippe Calatrava 5227

No brand in the watch world is more revered than Patek, and 2013 saw the launch of this Calatrava model, the latest in a long line that’s the foundation of Patek’s offering. The 5227 is distinguished by a so-called officer’s caseback, an invisibly hinged affair you can open to reveal a sapphire inner caseback with the fine (and hallmarked) cogwork visible underneath. If that’s a sight for sore eyes, the face of the watch is a beautiful statement of simplicity and Patek style, with dauphine-shaped hands offering outstanding clarity in a 39mm case, slightly larger than previous Calatrava offerings. Yes, collectable, but could you resist wearing it every day?

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Louis Vuitton Tambour Spin Time Regatta Pink Gold The Tambour Spin collection is distinguished by a genuinely unique feature: the hours are revealed by little rotating cubes. This innovative and complex movement makes telling the time entertaining, but in this version there’s also serious functionality: a chronograph and five-minute countdown for yacht racing. The latter is visually indicated on the dial by five rotating cubes that click, one by one, into place as time elapses, “allowing skipper and crew to position themselves in the best possible way on the starting line”. One suspects it’s as much fun to play with as to use on the water, especially given that it’s presented in pink gold and mounted on a grey alligator strap – although the push buttons are “overmoulded” with rubber, producing a rated water resistance for the 45mm case of 100 metres. So, safe for that post-victory dunk.

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Hermès Arceau H Cube Hermès, like its bedfellows in haute couture, is getting serious about haute horology. This artistic treat features a dial woven in bright colours from straw.

Yes, straw. According to the brand, “The straw is cultivated on a single farm, delicately scythed by hand and then dyed through. Successive baths followed by [more] drying reveal brilliant and profound colours with subtle highlights.”

It’s then assembled piece by piece by craftsmen into the geometric and almost three-dimensional cube motif you see here. The resulting mini-marquetry is framed by a 41mm white gold case, while behind the compelling canvas sits an in-house mechanical movement visible through a sapphire caseback. Nice, but it’s the face we think you’ll spend most time admiring.

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Girard-Perregaux 1966 Lady 38mm Manufacture movement, motherof-pearl dial and more than 100 diamonds – what’s not to love?

Girard-Perregaux has taken the circle motif as the basis for this 38mm pinkgold piece they proudly describe as “a hypnotic ballet of curves”. Indeed, it’s subtle yet striking. The round shapes you can see “bind and unbind, from the case to the dial, from the mother-of-pearl to the diamonds, to the rhythm of its oscillating weight, visible through the sapphire caseback, which leads the hours in their dance”.

The mechanics behind this poetry – or dance to the music of time – showcase the brand’s watchmaking tradition with the main components bevelled, pearled and decorated with Côtes de Genève striping. The icing on the cake, so to speak.

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Chanel J12 Moonphase Chanel’s distinctive J12 has spurned a thousand copies thanks to its iconic design and use of high-tech ceramics for cases and bracelets.

Now, 10 years on, the brand reaches to the sky to refresh the range.

Yes, the J12 now comes in a galaxy of beguiling moon-phase versions.

“As feminine star of complication watches, the moon phase is a complex mechanism that displays the different phases: new moon, first quarter, full moon and the last quarter. Unlike classic moon-phase watches where the phases appear through an aperture, those of the J12 Moonphase watch are displayed on a deep-blue aventurine disc sparkling like a summer’s night.”

A central hand tipped with a little crescent moon indicates the date, and you can choose from cases in black or white ceramic with varying degrees of jewelled ornamentation.

Heavenly.

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Cartier Frog Décor Watch Cartier keeps lifting the bar with timepieces that straddle the disciplines of high jewellery and watchmaking. Precious metals, stones, diamonds and intricate enamelling are harnessed to bring to life exotic tableaux, or as they describe it, “imaginary journeys” – in this case featuring a frog in its milieu. There’s nothing imaginary about the result: it’s stunning. The frog is white gold, set with diamonds, moonstones and eyes of emerald.

Similar treatment is afforded the surrounding leaves and lotus flowers, while another surprise awaits: not only is the piece here designed to add life to your wrist, but the decorative frontispiece can be removed to function as a brilliant brooch. Just 60 will be made, so alert your prince.

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REINVENT YOURSELF RENDEZ-VOUS NIGHT & DAY Discover the Jaeger-LeCoultre jewellery watch line at ladies.jaeger-lecoultre.com

VINTAGE 1945 XXL Pink gold case, sapphire case back, Girard-Perregaux automatic mechanical movement.

Hour, minute and small second.

Partridge Jewellers 112 Queen Street, Auckland +64 9 309-8925 JR/Watch Co Auckland International Airport +64 9 255-4254 For further information please visit www.girard-perregaux.com or contact +61 2 9363-1088

VINTAGE 1945 XXL Pink gold case, sapphire case back, Girard-Perregaux automatic mechanical movement.

Hour, minute and small second.

Partridge Jewellers 112 Queen Street, Auckland +64 9 309-8925 JR/Watch Co Auckland International Airport +64 9 255-4254 For further information please visit www.girard-perregaux.com or contact +61 2 9363-1088

IWC Portuguese Hand-Wound Eight Days Hard to improve on a classic – and the Portuguese is indeed that – but here they’ve done it with a svelte statement in steel or red gold with silver-plated dial and railway-type chapter ring evoking fine timepieces of another era. With 10 out of 10 for style, the Portuguese backs things up with a movement that can run for 192 hours before it needs rewinding – a pleasure to look forward to once a week then, depending what the power reserve indicator – visible through the sapphire case-back - tells you.

Completing this picture of elegance, the 43mm watch is mounted on a strap from luxury Italian house Santoni, famed for leather with a softly aged patina. In essence a watch that’s a gentle giant all round.

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Rolex Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona Rolex needs no introduction to horology’s hall of fame, boasting a range of models that feature on everyone’s wish-list, not to mention on the wrists of rich-listers. This year they’ve gone one better with their iconic Daytona chronograph model, announcing this 40mm version in 950 platinum with ice-blue dial and Cerachrom chocolate-brown ceramic bezel. If you think it looks good here, wait to you see it in the metal. Rolex’s forté is attention to detail, from the architecture of the movement – in this case an in-house calibre with fewer parts than most chronographs, meaning added reliability – to the etching of the tachymeter scale on the bezel. On the latter, the numerals and graduations are PVD-coated with a thin layer of platinum for extra legibility. In other words, here’s a watch that’s more than the sum of its parts.

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Panerai Radiomir 8-Days GMT Oro Rosso If you thought there was just one Panerai “look” here’s cause to think again. This special edition Radiomir PAM 538 has a cushion-shaped case of red gold with a deep-blue dial with “satine soleil” finish – in other words, a restrained sunburst effect. If this combination is hardly from Panerai’s usual chest of tool-watch drawings, the design of the dial does have historical ties, the dash-and-dot hour markers first appearing on a rare late-1930s model. We call it the “morsecode” dial and here it’s augmented with a power indicator for the machine’s mighty eight days reserve, plus day/night and GMT displays. A see-through back reveals the mechanicals, featuring skeletonised bridges and barrels. Three hundred pieces will be available through the brand’s boutiques. Your nearest is Singapore.

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Breguet Chronométrie 7727 Breguet has an unparalleled history in watchmaking, with inventions from anti-shock protection to the tourbillon. Recent years have seen the brand garner more than 100 patents, including one for harnessing magnetism to aid precision and reliability.

In this watch the magnetic pivot results in workings that are insensitive to gravity, more stable and resistant to shocks. A frequency of 10 hertz, made possible with the use of specially prepared silicon springs, levers and wheels, means the 7727 delivers not only enhanced accuracy, but more than double the regulating power of most chronometers. That’s impressive. Then there’s that unmistakable Breguet “look”, with engine-turned dial – in six patterns, no less – presented in the typical fluted gold or silver case, with unique number on the dial. It could be yours.

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Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Grand Tourbillon Enamel This dramatic timepiece features something unprecedented – a miniature painting on the sapphire glass of the watch. While the gold-based dial features a colourful rendition of cranes, pieces of the surrounding bamboo are enamelled directly onto the sapphire crystal, a dramatic presentation enhanced further by jewelled embellishments on the sides of the 43mm white-gold case and bezel. These are set with a total of 94 baguette-cut diamonds, eight carats-worth in all. Beneath the gem setting beats the in-house calibre that won Jaeger first prize in the 2009 International Timing Competition organised by the Watch Museum of Le Locle, Switzerland. Its titanium tourbillon carriage is visible at the six o’clock position, competing with the cranes for your attention. Turn the watch over and you can admire the gold oscillating weight through a sapphire caseback. Eight will be produced, meaning you might need luck getting one.

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Uniquely powerful and versatile Uniquely powerful and versatile The FF: the Ferrari Four. Four as in four seats. Four as in four-wheel drive.

The FF: the Ferrari Four. Four as in four seats. Four as in four-wheel drive.

OFFICIAL FERR ARI DEALER OFFICIAL FERR ARI DEALER

Continental Continental Cars Cars

Continental Cars Continental Cars 21 Great South Road, Newmarket 21 Great South Road, Newmarket Auckland 1543 Auckland 1543 Tel: (+64) 9 526 6962 Tel: (+64) 9 526 6962 Fax: (+64) 9 526 6965 Fax: (+64) 9 526 6965 www.ferrari.co.nz www.ferrari.co.nz

Motoring

Motoring editor David Linklater looks at the latest offerings from some of the greatest names in motoring.

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FERRARI 458 SPECIALE

T

he name says it all: the new Speciale joins the current 458 Italia and Spider as a more focused super sports car that is equally at home on road or track.

A range of advanced technology sets the Speciale apart from the rest of the 458 range. The 4.5-litre engine is the most powerful naturally aspirated V8 Ferrari has ever produced, with 445kW/540Nm – enough to thrust the car to 100km/h in three seconds. The power plant is produced using the same machinery and processes as the marque’s Formula One engines.

A wealth of enhancements have been made to the Speciale power plant compared with the standard 458 – everything from piston geometries to low-friction internal components. This engine is actually 8kg lighter, mainly due to changes around the intake and exhaust, which incorporate redesigned carbon and aluminium components.

With such extreme performance potential, aerodynamics play a major part in the Speciale’s exterior design. There are flaps in the front of the car that stay closed at lower speeds to direct cooling air into the radiators, but open at high speed to reduce drag. Tuning vanes at the front and fins at the back increase downforce.

Active aerodynamics are also employed in the rear

diffuser: sensors and a specific algorithm allow flaps to alter their angle by as much as 17 degrees.

The 458 Speciale marks the introduction of Side Slip Angle Control (SSC), using sophisticated new software that enables the driver to experience smoother, more controllable oversteer. It controls torque management and the differential to make the car much more responsive in oversteer situations.

Also available is an advanced telemetry system that records data from track driving, using GPS sensors. The data is then available through the car’s own multimedia system, or an external device such as an iPad or laptop computer.

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AUDI RS6

A

udi’s RS brand needs no introduction: the German maker’s high-performance division has been cranking out some of the world’s most exciting machines for over 30 years – more often than not combining supercar acceleration with nocompromise family car practicality.

No model exemplifies the breed better than the RS6.

In keeping with the times, the latest RS6 has downsized from a V10 engine to a V8 with cylinder-on-demand technology (meaning it can run as a four-cylinder under light throttle), improving fuel economy by 30 per cent compared with the previous car.

But that’s not to say the RS6 has become less aggressive. In fact, the new model is considerably faster

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than the old, serving up 412kW/700Nm and rocketing to 100km/h in an incredible 3.9 seconds.

The twin-turbo V8 used in the RS6 is substantially different to that in the less specialised S6 models, despite the shared capacity. The transmission – an eight-speed automatic instead of the seven-speed dual-clutch unit in the S6 – is uniquely calibrated for the RS, as is the quattro four-wheel drive system. Dynamic steering, which adjusts its ratio automatically to match vehicle speed, is standard.

So the RS6 is still a hard-edged performance machine – albeit one with station wagon levels of space. Not to mention luxury car levels of standard equipment. It features sumptuous leather upholstery, adaptive cruise control and, of course, Audi’s Multi Media Interface (MMI), which allows you to input information (such as phone numbers or navigation instructions) using handwriting on a finger touchpad.

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RANGE ROVER SPORT

T

he new Range Rover Sport completes a revitalised three-tier portfolio from the iconic marque.

Sitting between the entry-level Evoque and the full-size Range Rover, the all-new Sport benefits from the ground-breaking construction technology and engineering work carried out on its bigger brother.

The Sport is based around the latest “premium chassis and lightweight aluminium architecture” developed by Land Rover. This brings massive savings in weight and advantages in strength. Compared like-for-like with the previous model, the new Sport TDV6 is 420kg lighter, resulting in superior performance/handling and a 15 per cent reduction in C02 emissions.

The Sport certainly shares styling DNA and a

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technology base with the larger Range Rover, but it’s far from being simply a scaled-down version. Over 75 per cent of parts are unique to the Sport and the aim is to offer the broadest range of abilities in the SUV market: dramatically improved on-road dynamics without compromising the legendary off-road capability for which the brand is famous.

The car’s fifth-generation air suspension now provides 115mm of regular movement, from its lowest access setting to the off-road mode. However, there’s another extension that can be triggered to add a further 35mm.

The off-road mode is now available at a much high speed than before: 80km/h, an increase of 30km/h.

High-tech turbo-diesel engines dominate the line-up, although a ferocious supercharged-petrol V8 still tops the range: the 5.0-litre model can hit 100km/h in 5.3 seconds.

LEXUS ES 350

I

t’s been absent from some markets for a generation, but the Lexus ES is back. In fact, globally ES is one of the longest-running single models from Toyota’s luxury brand – second only to the flagship LS. Think of ES as a foil to the current IS and GS ranges: while those rear-drive models put more emphasis on driver appeal, the front-drive ES is specified to provide optimum space and ride comfort for its segment.

The new ES picks up new-generation Lexus styling cues – including the now-trademark spindle grille and “arrowhead” daytime running lights – and the latest hightech cabin equipment.

This model also marks the introduction of hybrid power into the ES line – a technology now offered on every Lexus model except the LX. So in addition to the ES

350, with its 204kW 3.5-litre V6 engine, Lexus now offers the ES 300h – with 151kW combined output from its petrol engine and electric motor.

The cabin is dominated by a high-resolution eight-inch display and the Lexus Remote Touch controller. In higher-grade models, the Touch interface is used for satellite navigation input and the premium Mark Levinson audio system.

The ES also features the haptic climate controls from the latest IS range. These allow the user to adjust the temperature by simply sliding a finger up and down the controller.

Various interior colour and wood combinations are available, including the striking option of crafted bamboo accents in the flagship ES 300h Limited model.

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PORSCHE 911 TURBO

his is wind-in-the-hair motoring at its extreme: Porsche has unveiled a cabriolet version of its stunningly quick 911 Turbo. The Turbo is available with a 3.8-litre flat-six engine making 383kW in standard form or 412kW in the powered-up Turbo S version. Zero to 100km/h acceleration ranges between 3.5 and 3.2 seconds, with a top speed of 317km/h.

The 911 Turbo coupé and cabriolet models both drive through a PDK dual-clutch transmission and a new Porsche Traction Management (PTM) four-wheel drive system. The chassis also features rear-axle steering and active aerodynamics, making the new Turbo a true technology leader. Rear-steer is beneficial to the vehicle’s handling across the board, while at the touch of a button

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the active aerodynamics can be configured to assist with either fuel efficiency or high-speed stability.

The 911 Turbo has always been known for its dramatic exterior style and the new model is no exception. The widely flared rear wheel arches are 28mm wider than those on the Carrera 4 models – which in turn are 44mm wider than the rear-drive 911. A near-level surface of approximately a hand’s width now extends from the C-pillar to the outside of the arch, a dramatic visual feature that is especially obvious in the cabriolet with the top down.

The 911 Turbo cabriolet is also fitted with Porsche’s panel bow top, a lightweight magnesium structure that allows a coupé-like shape for the fabric when the roof is raised. The roof can be opened or closed in just 13 seconds, at speeds of up to 50km/h.

For more information on the Boxster contact Continental Cars or visit www.porsche.co.nz

Life’s better unleashed.

The Boxster Cabriolet.

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40 Great South Road, Newmarket Phone 09 526 8991 Email porschesales@continentalcars.co.nz www.continentalcars.co.nz

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BMW i3

B

MW’s new i3 is described by the company as being “born electric”: it’s one of the very few cars in the world to have been developed from the ground up as a zero-emissions vehicle, sharing virtually nothing with other more conventional production models.

The i3, which will be launched in New Zealand and Australia in 2014, is the first model from BMW’s new i-brand. What M is to high performance for the company, “i” is to sustainability.

The i3 is based on a new architecture called LifeDrive, with the main structure made of carbon fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP) and extensive use of aluminium elsewhere.

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This new construction method eliminates one of the biggest problems with electric vehicles: weight. The i3 weighs just 1,195kg.

The lithium-ion battery pack is mounted in the centre of the car under the floor. It makes 125kW and can power the car for 130–160km depending on driving style, before a recharge is required. The i3 is available as an electric-only model, but many models (including those for Australasia) will come equipped with a range-extending two-cylinder petrol engine. The petrol engine acts as generator only (it keeps the battery charged rather than powering the wheels) and increases range to 300km.

Sustainability is the theme for the vehicle’s production, too. The carbon fibres for the passenger cell are manufactured in the United States using only hydro power, while all of the power required for production at the main plant in Germany comes from wind turbines.

PEUGEOT 2008

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rossovers are burgeoning in every market segment and Peugeot has its bases covered better than most: joining the flagship 508 RXH, 4008 and 3008 is the new 2008. It’s a small wagon based on the architecture of the 208 hatchback

(with which it shares 67 per cent of its parts), but with off-road styling cues and extra ride height.

Peugeot makes no claims towards the 2008 being an off-roader – it shares its 1.6-litre petrol engine with the 208 and remains front-wheel drive. Instead, it’s a stylish road car with the features that make SUVs so appealing: a higher seating position and spacious cabin layout.

All models feature Peugeot’s seven-inch touch screen, which gives access to everything from satellite navigation to Bluetooth audio functions. A digital music player, Smartphone or flash drive can also be connected to the USB port and information from the storage device is then displayed on the screen.

There’s a splash of avant-garde style in places, including the blue LED instrument dial surrounds and light guides in the panoramic roof fitted to top-specification versions.

Functionality is key to the 2008 as well: the boot has a low loading height (600mm) and the modular back seats allow you to vary the boot volume in relation to passenger space. Five rails are integrated into the load floor, as well as six lashing points to allow for the safe storage of heavier luggage.

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CITROËN C4 PICASSO

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itroën’s C4 Picasso is synonymous with an avant-garde take on the multi-purpose vehicle concept. The latest model is just as advanced underneath as it is on the outside.

This is the first model to be based on PeugeotCitroën’s new Efficient Modular Platform 2 (EMP2), which allows it to be more compact on the outside than previous generations but more spacious on the inside – as well as being lighter overall.

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The exterior styling is incredibly futuristic for what is still primarily a functional vehicle. Citroën characterises the interior as having a “loft-style” ambience, with a great deal of light through a panoramic windscreen and even a full-length glass sunroof on some models. The materials take some of their inspiration from those outside the automotive world, with high-gloss finishes and sparkleeffect surfaces.

The dashboard features two individual digital screens: a tablet-style seven-inch touchpad and a panoramic 12-inch high-definition unit. The smaller screen controls vehicle settings and climate, navigation and audio functions. The larger one can be configured for a variety of functions, including speed and cruise control functions, and personalised with different themes and photographs (including the user’s own).

Innovative storage options inside include LEDilluminated compartments, spaces under the floor and a variety of power outlets and ports – including both USB and auxiliary for music players.

Citroën says the EMP2 architecture has allowed it to place new emphasis on driveability. Reduced weight over previous models, a lower centre of gravity and a new modular rear suspension design all contribute to better roadholding, but also superior ride comfort and refinement.

www.citroen.co.nz

SMOOTH OPERATOR

Introducing the New CITROËN C5 Tourer from $57,990

SEE MORE OF CITROËN C5 TOURER WATCH THE MOVIE

CITROËN delivers European motoring at its very finest. The stunning new CITROËN C5 Tourer is available with either 2.0 litre or 3.0 litre V6 high performance Diesel engines. Innovative standard equipment includes automatic Bi-Xenon directional head lights, satellite navigation, electric rear tail gate and intuitive Hydractive 3+ self-levelling suspension which delivers a ride so smooth and comfortable, it must be experienced to be believed. *RRP for the C5 Tourer 2.0 litre Diesel Auto, excludes on-road costs. Model shown is the C5 V6 Tourer 3.0 litre model.

CRÉATIVE TECHNOLOGIE

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hat was once the Continental Flying Spur is now known simply as Flying Spur. Bentley’s super-luxury sedan has taken on a more individual identity in its latest generation – while still based on the platform of the Continental GT coupé, the Flying Spur now has a singular look, interior ambience and even a different dynamic character.

Changes for the new model are focused on even more extreme levels of luxury and refinement. The cabin has more than 600 new elements. As ever, the interior is handcrafted using leather and wood unique to Bentley.

The wood is cured for 72 hours and hand-lacquered; in

BENTLEY FLYING SPUR

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the car, the veneer on the dashboard matches that on the doors perfectly.

Technology too, is smarter, especially in the rear seats with a new feature called the Touch Screen Remote (TSR), a smart phone-like device that can be used to view vehicle information (speed, for example), control climate settings and even operate the Rear Seat Entertainment (RSE) system.

The TSR can even be downloaded as an application to the owner’s iPhone, giving exactly the same functionality.

The car can also operate as a Wi-Fi hotspot.

The Flying Spur is the fastest, most powerful fourdoor Bentley ever. Its 6.0-litre W12 engine can propel it to 100km/h in 4.3 seconds and it is capable of 320km/h. On the way to terminal velocity, the car automatically lowers itself in two stages to improve aerodynamics and stability.

To harness all that power, the Flying Spur is full-time four-wheel drive – as all Bentley models have been since the launch of the modern Continental series a decade ago.

For more information on the new Panamera contact your Official Porsche Centre or visit www.porsche.co.nz

Thankfully, renders backseat drivers speechless.

The new Panamera.

The dream of a sports car, but without compromise in terms of everyday driving.

These claims couldn’t really be further apart, yet the new Panamera models incorporate them seamlessly. With a sporty saloon offering 4 seats and extraordinary comfort.

Amalgamating the power of contradictions to create something utterly distinctive: a Porsche – for every day of the year.

See the range at porsche.co.nz

GILTRAP PORSCHE Auckland Ph 09 92 00 911 CONTINENTAL CARS PORSCHE Auckland Ph 09 52 68 991 ARMSTRONG PRESTIGE Wellington Ph 04 38 48 779 ARCHIBALDS Christchurch Ph 03 37 75 200 MAG15429/W

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raith has arrived. Mere months after its global debut, Rolls-Royce is delivering the first examples of this highly anticipated car around the world.

Wraith might be one of the world’s most exclusive cars, but it’s also been highly visible since launch, thanks to the intense amount of interest among the public. What other luxury car could possibly do justice to a window display at Harrods? That’s where Wraith appeared in May – finished in Midnight Sapphire paintwork with an upper two-tone in Cassiopeia Silver.

The Wraith fastback is the fastest and most powerful model ever produced by Rolls-Royce. Its V12 power plant

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produces 465kW (compared with 420kW for Ghost) and it can reach 100km/h in 4.4 seconds. The eight-speed automatic gearbox has Satellite Aided Transmission (SAT) technology, which uses global positioning data to read the road ahead and anticipate which ratio might be required next, based on the terrain ahead and individual driving style.

Occupants enter the Wraith through coach doors.

The interior is finished in grades of wood and leather equivalent to those in the flagship Phantom. Wraith features wood known as Canadel Panelling – named after the cove in the South of France where Sir Henry Royce and his design team spent their winters.

Wraith is also the first model outside the Phantom to be available with the Starlight Headliner, a roof lining with 1,340 fibre optic lamps woven into it to give the impression of a glittering night sky.

Rolls-Royce Bespoke The sky’s the limit Like a luxurious private jet or superyacht, you don’t just buy a Rolls-Royce, you commission one. From the smallest detail to the boldest statement, there really is no limit to what can be achieved. So whatever you dream of to create your perfect Rolls-Royce, we’ll find a way to make it a reality.

Contact us to experience a car with endless possibilities; a car bespoke to you.

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Auckland, 11-15 Great South Road, PO Box 9718, Newmarket, Auckland Tel: +64 9 969 3350 Fax: +64 9 969 3354 www.rolls-roycemotorcars-auckland.com © Copyright Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited 2012. The Rolls-Royce name and logo are registered trademarks.

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BUST

Actor Peter ELLIOTT looks on in admiration as thousands of buffed bodies converge on Stockholm for the Les Mills Super Saturday workout experience.

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ABOVE: Phillip Mills is at the helm of today’s Les Mills fitness empire, which has expanded into more than 15,000 gyms worldwide.

lthough King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia didn’t invite me personally into their rather forbidding castle on the eastern edge of Gamla Stan in Stockholm, it was pleasing that some sort of ceremony noting my arrival seemed to be in order. A horse and guards parade and Royal Carriage procession was just the ticket.

Queen Silvia personally waved and smiled at me from inside her gilded carriage as she and her husband, (a surprisingly perfect doppelganger of Jim Broadbent, the English actor) slid past to the blare of a single trumpet and whinnying horses. Very nice.

It was September, at the end of a golden European summer and the first tendrils of Arctic chill were wreathing the Nordic capital. Sun was sporadic and a gentle grey gloom dulled the shine from the waters round

the islands that make up the beautiful city of Stockholm.

It is a stony, ancient, forbidding and extraordinary city, but also tree- and park-filled – leafy and vibrantly green. Truly lovely. And Stockholm’s history oozes from every wall.

Stumbling upon a “Royal occasion” had been a bonus.

I was really here to witness a modern-day phenomenon – a fitness convention called “Les Mills Super Saturday”.

Every year around 2,500 of our planet’s best physical specimens descend on Sweden’s capital city and take part in a series of group fitness classes that sizzle with energy, passion and excitement.

To ordinary mortals a gym class is something to be endured, sweated over and then showered off and forgotten – rather like a dirty day’s work. But not for these exceptional beings. For them, this is Valhalla. They whip themselves, fervent and fevered, at the Temple of Pain.

The question is, why?

We all know the benefits: the rippling pecs and abs, buns that could break walnuts, the tans, the sheer perfection of bright Lycra over bronzed, edible beauty, and shining eyes with whites of snow. It is the perfection of youth, realised and maintained by a strict enforcement of rigour, action and pernickety eating regimes.

It is extraordinary to witness this mass call to action of huge numbers of the startlingly fit. Depressing, too.

No amount of effort, no Herculean, rabidly adhered-to regimes will ever bring me closer to joining these Olympian ranks. Ever.

But, in spite of feeling inferior on every level, it was great fun to watch, albeit with an avuncular eye. My wife, Susan Trainor, a former professional dancer, is heavily involved at the sharp end. She’s a Program Director and teaches two programs for Les Mills International (LMI).

She is very fit. It is also her first Super Saturday.

And while the nerves are under control, we are all too aware they’re present.

The modern Les Mills company is the brainchild of one of New Zealand’s great achievers, the redoubtable Phillip Mills, son of the eponymous Les. The Les Mills success story is often cited as a model of business intelligence, verve and a highly principled, values-driven excellence.

The business world has seen that quite clearly. In 2004 Phillip Mills won huge plaudits when he was became the outright winner of the coveted Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. It recognised both him

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and his efforts, and the achievements of his company, its ethos and growing global success.

Since then the Les Mills-branded product has expanded into more than 15,000 gyms worldwide. More than four million people a week do a Les Mills class somewhere on earth.

The program directors who craft and deliver these classes are at the pinnacle of their industry and are worshipped like rock stars in the fitness world.

They aren’t merely fit, though – that’s like saying a Bugatti Veyron is a nice car. These stars are fanatically dedicated to fitness, grace, skill and health, and they are at the top of their game year in, year out.

At the core of a Les Mills class are the gym goers; people whose aim is to improve their well-being through exercise. Then there are the 100,000 instructors who teach those classes, many of whom are world-class athletes and proven performers.

Then there are the Master Trainers – around 1,000 of them – who train the instructors. And above all these are the 10 Program Directors who train the Master Trainers.

These are extraordinary people for whom a body-busting, brain-melting class is just one of up to three they may devise and teach that day. This is the group that everyone who is coming to Sweden for Super Saturday is hoping to meet, aching to be photographed with and – possibly, just possibly – be invited to be part of the filming of new programs.

This year it is expected 5,000 people will attend – double previous numbers.

The Ericsson Globe is suddenly a hive of activity: a gigantic white, steel-skinned ball holding 20,000 watchers in the stands and about the same on the floor. On Saturday this is heaving. The music is pounding, while those on stage exhort the sweat-soaked faithful towards utter endorphined exhaustion.

The Globe itself is a phenomenon, the world’s largest spherical building. At 605,000 cubic metres it is a gargantuan space. To put this into perspective, it would take a household tap running at full volume 40 years to fill it.

And yet, on Super Saturday in Sweden in 2013, even this vast space is not big enough to contain all the activities planned for rest of the weekend. As well as the massive undertaking of running classes and clinics and delivering instruction, LMI has also swung an international film crew into place to incorporate their quarterly filming. With 13 programs delivered fresh on video, four times a year to more than 15,000 clubs around the world, this is a major operation. And the first time in 33 years of filming that it has ever been contemplated offshore, let alone on the opposite side of the world in a country where English is not the first language. Logistically this is an Everest of an undertaking, but undaunted, the LMI crew pull it off perfectly.

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Over a few days, many hundreds of people arrive, and Globen, the area around the Ericsson Globe, is rapidly filling with people. Rehearsals are under way for classes, and participants are wrangled and rehearsed in choreography and vocals.

There are three venues for use on Super Saturday: the Globe itself, a hockey stadium next door and a huge convention centre room with a massive 3m-high circular stage.

The doors are locked before the classes begin and the pressure to get inside and get a good place upfront early is astonishing. Access is hard won. The tension is electric.

Released, the masses flood madly down the stairs, then wash up against the stage eager to scream, jump, strain and push.

Over the Saturday and Sunday, more than 5,000 participants lift weights, pump bars, dance, twist, shout, heave, sweat and party.

Their behaviour is impeccable, the joy palpable, and the result is another stunning success for LMI and its relationship with its new major clothing and footwear supplier, Reebok.

The international heads of various LMI territories are present as Phillip walks them from room to room, their grins a testament to the success of the entire operation.

At one point I corner Phillip and ask him how it’s going.

He turns in his seat, fixes me with a lazy grin and nods towards the sea of excitement swirling below. I follow his gaze, and there’s his son, Les Jnr, on stage, taking a class of hardened jocks through their paces in Grit, his latest program. Beside the stage is daughter Diana, also bopping with pleasure and encouragement, still hyped after her own set on stage.

Phillip’s grin is deeply infectious. The pride is obvious and he doesn’t need to say anything more. The company and its future are safe.

At one point I tell Phillip that, according to a website I found, McDonald’s has 33,000 restaurants worldwide. It took 61 years to get there. It is considered one of the world’s greatest branding success stories. Les Mills, I point out, is already in almost half that number of clubs and it has been done in just 20 years. Phillip just looks at me and shrugs: that’s nothing; he wants to grow the brand in America.

As I get up, he turns back to me. “Sixteen years, actually.”

I stand corrected. He laughs again. The future is bright indeed. Hundreds of brilliant lights reflect off thousands of sweating backs, bouncing in perfect time while shouts of excitement ring over the music. It’s infectious – an odd word for a health regime, but accurate. They’re so vibrant, alive and happy they make it look almost inviting.

Almost. There’s a very nice dark, quiet, oak-panelled bar in the Mall that needs investigating. A Lagavulin and a small Cohiba, perhaps. I wonder idly what Carl Gustaf and Silv are up to...

Over the Saturday and Sunday, more than 5,000 participants lift weights, pump bars, dance, twist, shout, heave, sweat and party.

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L i f e c a n b e p e rf e c t

EHTTHE

SKY’S LIMIT Auckland’s SKYCITY is 16 years old, but it continues to evolve in a way that makes each visit, whether for gaming, fine food, the latest cocktail or a cup of coffee, feel new.

World caught up with the latest developments.

SKYCITY ADVERTORIAL

WELCOME

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t’s Auckland’s landmark. The Sky Tower, that definitive point on the city’s skyline, 328 metres tall, was completed in 1997 at a cost of about $85 million. Today it’s as much a symbol of Auckland as the Opera House is of Sydney.

It’s the tallest man-made structure in New Zealand and the view from the main observation level is spectacular, day and night. On a clear day, it does seem as if you can see forever. For out-of-town guests it ought to be their first stop after arriving in the city, if only to get their bearings.

And on a fine day the city and harbour below have never looked so compelling.

From our inner-city office we watched it being built.

The design and engineering was mind-blowing. But as familiar as it is today, it always seems fresh and we think

a lot of that has to do with the occasional lighting of the tower. Sky Tower illuminations are a delight, always changing to match the occasion. Red, white and pink for Valentine’s Day; green for St Patrick’s Day; red on ANZAC Day; blue in support of the birth of the royal baby, and in support of Blue September…

The tower is a post-modern totem rising from a complex of plush hotel rooms, a casino, 14 restaurants and eight bars known as SKYCITY. There’s a theatre for films and live shows. And come 2017, a new convention centre is targeted to join this ever-evolving hive of activity.

SKYCITY has a collection of restaurants and bars that rival Viaduct Harbour. But where that waterfront locale tends to be busiest on weekends, SKYCITY is a high-energy crossroads 24/7. Where the Viaduct tends to attract more local residents like families and couples out for the day, SKYCITY has a more international clientele.

Walk in the doors and you’ll hear a half a dozen languages being spoken at any given time.

At SKYCITY something is always going on. Take Federal Street, for example. It’s currently being transformed into a shared space of the kind we’ve seen elsewhere in the city (think Elliott or Fort streets), where cars and pedestrians no longer compete for right of way. Drivers and pedestrians co-exist in a more deliberate way that brings civilisation to the urban jungle.

Driven by the popularity of SKYCITY, Federal Street, once a gloomy backstreet, is becoming one of Auckland’s most popular dining precincts and being turned into a cobblestoned lane and pleasant thoroughfare. Since the opening of Al Brown’s Depot, The Grill by Sean Connolly and Peter Gordon’s Bellota tapas bar, the street has become a hugely successful hub for eating and drinking – especially when you add to the mix SKYCITY Grand Hotel’s food and beverage offerings, a brand-new New York-style deli and MASU by Nic Watt.

A NEW LOOK

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t’s as if constant change is a theme at SKYCITY. One day we stopped by the office for an arranged tour of SKYCITY Grand Hotel, a recipient of a 2013 TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence and, as recently announced, named New Zealand’s Leading Business Hotel in the World Travel Awards 2013. That announcement coincided with the start of renovations to the hotel’s guest rooms.

We were fortunate enough to have a look at the Grand Presidential Suites before viewing a newly renovated room. On entering the suite the new modern décor and the sweeping view of the city’s skyline and Waitemata Harbour grabbed our attention.

The entry, lounge and dining areas are superbly appointed, with soft furnishings and elegant fixtures, while contemporary works by leading New Zealand artist Don Binney hang on the wall. We opened one wall cabinet to find a stack of black metal boxes – a sophisticated, fully remote entertainment system that includes complimentary home cinema and Wi-Fi. The master bedroom, with its king-sized bed, chaise longue and writing desk, has its own separate space for entertaining. The main bathroom, refurbished with attractive grey stone tiles and marble, features an infinity bath with a plasma TV screen above it.

For the refurbishment of the Premium Luxury Rooms, architects Fearon Hay were selected from an Australasian

talent pool to complete the refurbishments, working in collaboration with a selection of New Zealand’s top designers to deliver a “palette” of Auckland, that is, the colour tones of its harbour and hills.

The rooms are eight years old but the neutral tones of the past have been replaced by a sleeker, more “luxury lodge” feel. They are spacious and airy and designed to minimise clutter while maximising comfort. Ergonomically designed furniture and soft-toned furnishings reflect the hues and textures of the Auckland landscape. Some of the new-look rooms will be available for the holiday period, and all of the rooms on the first five floors are expected to be complete by April 2014.

General Manager of SKYCITY Hotels, Bradley Burnett, told us: “Along with the opening of the new Japanese restaurant Masu in the SKYCITY Grand Hotel lobby, our award-winning Federal Street Dining Precinct and the premium entertainment we have on offer at SKYCITY Auckland, these refurbishments will only add to the truly unique SKYCITY Grand Hotel experience we offer our guests.” For reservations, visit www.skycityauckland.co.nz or phone (09) 363 6000.

Newly refurbished Premium Luxury Rooms at SKYCITY Grand Hotel sport a colour palette echoing Auckland’s harbour and hills. Photos: Bruce Clarke.

T Masu’s Nic Watt specialises in Japanese robata-style cooking, a culinary art form in which the chef is the lead character in a piece of culinary theatre. Photos: Michael Bradley.

MASU

he latest addition to the SKYCITY Federal Street Dining Precinct is Masu, a Japanese robata-style restaurant and bar. “Masu” is a symbol of prosperity and good fortune.

“Robata” translates roughly as “around the fireplace”. It’s a style of cooking that’s like live theatre, with the chefs as the main characters. Robata harks back to the days when an open hearth for grilling was common in Japanese homes. Today, grilling robatastyle is an art form.

The man behind Masu is Nic Watt, 40, who was born in Australia but who grew up in Auckland, where he attended McLean’s College. Masu is attached to the SKYCITY Grand Hotel, which is where we met Nic to hear his remarkable story.

Nic Watt Significantly, Nic Watt grew up in a family where good food was routine. As he told us, “Our family made a point of having dinner around the table because my mum was a great cook. It was always fresh food from fresh produce.

That’s what inspired me to enrol in a catering course at Manukau Polytechnic.”

That course work eventually led to general restaurant work in Auckland and before he was 21 he was head chef in a Ponsonby restaurant. But he hankered to see the world. “I always wanted to travel,” he said, “so I thought: how do I do that in a creative way? The culinary arts became an option. To me, being a chef is an exploration of the world. All the different cultures have different cuisines, so what’s more exciting than that?

“I went to Sydney, where I worked in fine-dining restaurants, but the quality of seafood there was less than what I grew up with in New Zealand, so I wanted to move on. At the time, there was a common track from Australia to the UK, but I was never a common guy so I went instead to Japan.”

He landed in Tokyo knowing no one and not speaking a word of Japanese. But he took his new-found passion for Japanese cuisine to the Park Hyatt Hotel, where Rainer Becker, co-founder of the award-winning Japanese restaurants Zuma and Roka, was working.

Zuma and Roka are world leaders in robata-style restaurants, which are today found in London, New York, Dubai and Hong Kong, among other cities. Young Nic Watt was taken on and though he was there for only 18 months, he had never worked so hard in his life.

Work in a Japanese kitchen can be a challenge even for a samurai. For Nic, the hours were long and so were the

nights when he was called in to work the graveyard shift.

Among his colleagues were a number of Westerners also aiming to learn Japanese-style cooking, but most found the work too tough, so they came and went. Nic was the only Westerner to stick it out for more than a full year.

“The kitchens in Japan are different than anywhere else,” he explained. “People worked hard because there was a basic pride in doing well. I worked with a team of dedicated people who sought the perfection of simplicity, meaning what they did tomorrow must be better than what they did today. But that is what made me fall in love with Japanese cuisine.”

Nic learned to speak Japanese, but finally he could not pass up the opportunity to take it to the next level by working in London for Nobu Matsuhisa, the world’s most celebrated Japanese chef, known for his fusion of Eastern and Western styles. Nic was hired to work in Nobu’s Michelin-starred restaurant. “I believe Nobu revolutionised fine dining in the modern world,” he told us. “Historically, fine dining has been very stuffy, with formal service where you have a table for three hours.

And as exquisite as it is (and I respect that), Nobu brought in exquisite food and service with an entirely different atmosphere. It was high-volume fine dining in a grand atmosphere of high energy, high volume and high quality.”

After nearly three years in London, Nic returned to New Zealand to become executive chef at exclusive Huka Lodge, near Taupo. It wasn’t long, however, before Rainer Becker, his former mentor, invited him back to London to launch a new Roka restaurant, one that within a year was named in the Tio Pepe Restaurant Awards as the Best Oriental Restaurant in the city.

“That was incredibly satisfying,” he said, “but in 2011 I was back here in New Zealand as one of a handful of chefs invited to cook for a group of CEOs for a charity event. The businessmen and women were asked to randomly pull a chef’s name from a hat. By chance, Nigel Morrison, the CEO of SKYCITY, pulled my name, so I ended up cooking for him.”

That was his introduction to SKYCITY. We assume Mr Morrison liked the food, because now, after two years of planning, the award-winning Nic Watt is back in Auckland with his family as founding executive chef of Masu.

“The beauty of robata cooking,” he explained, “is that you marinate meats and fish and cook them over the charcoal. You’re not sautéing them in a pan in oil, where you end up tasting the oil. You taste the pure protein with the pure marinade cooked over a very high heat.

It’s pure flavour.

“For Masu, I’ve taken the best components of what I have seen and done before and amalgamated them, adding new ideas I’ve learned along the way. The restaurant is designed around the central hearth that is the robata grill.

“All 23 of our chefs are on display. The restaurant interior is without walls or pillars so the ambience from the bar carries over into the restaurant to create an upbeat environment with phenomenal service and exquisite food.”

The menu includes dishes such as Tartare of salmon and tuna with a house-made rice cracker; Lamb cutlets with gochujang (Korean) hot pepper, pickled onions and carrot; and Green tea banana baked in cream with soy caramel and black sesame ice cream (if you can imagine that). Most dishes are served on sashimi plates created especially for Masu by Ryusei Arita, an accomplished Californian ceramic artist. For reservations phone (09) 363 6278 or email info@masu.co.nz.

The restaurant is designed around the central robata grill and all of Masu’s 23 chefs are on display.

It’s an “upbeat environment with phenomenal service and exquisite food”.

THE GRILL

BY SEAN CONNOLLY

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onfession: we had never heard of Sean Connolly until he opened The Grill by Sean Connolly in the Federal Street Dining Precinct. But the restaurant had hardly been open before it was declared by multiple sources to be the best new restaurant in Auckland.

Sean Connolly was not in town when this report was compiled so we turned to his website to learn more about him. He was born in West Yorkshire, England, and he credits his grandmother for fostering his love of food. She inspired him enough that he took up an apprenticeship at the age of just 13 and for the next three years worked in restaurants throughout the UK. As a qualified chef, he sailed to Australia on the Queen Elizabeth 2. Once in Sydney with his feet on the ground again, he set about working as a sous chef in two of the city’s best hotels, namely the Sydney Boulevard and the Sheraton on the Park.

In the mid-1990s, he was appointed executive chef at the Astral Restaurant in the Star City Casino and before long he was named Sydney Morning Herald Good Food

Guide Chef of the Year, an accolade that helped launch a television series called My Family Feast. That series won Best TV For Food.

Sean Connolly’s celebrity status was born. He released a cookbook based on the television series and that won Best Cookbook at the 2011 Paris Book Fair. That same year he landed in New Zealand to launch The Grill by Sean Connolly, an opening accompanied by a six-part documentary on the making of the restaurant. But it was the food rather the publicity surrounding it that ultimately led judges at the 2012 Cuisine NZ Restaurant of the Year awards to name The Grill by Sean Connolly Supreme Winner – the country’s best restaurant and Cuisine NZ Good Food Awards 2013 – two Chef’s Hats.

We turned up for lunch. The Grill, together with Depot Eatery and Oyster Bar next door, has established Federal Street as a hub for great food and service just about any time of day or night. The precinct is especially buzzing at lunch time.

Where Depot is pleasantly hectic and informal, The Grill is quiet and unhurried fine dining. Its dark interior

Sean Connolly

One more pic coming

evokes a more private, sophisticated ambience that perfectly reflects a classic American steak house like Morton’s or Smith & Wollensky in the US. It was a work day, so as we examined the impressive à la carte menu, we declined the wine list in favour of a soft drink. The raw bar included two selections rarely seen in Auckland: Alaskan king crab claw and farmed Osetra caviar.

Entrées included the likes of Raukumara venison carpaccio and smoked free-range pork spare ribs, while mains offered a selection of grass-fed Angus and Wagyu steaks. The Grill Wagyu Burger caught our eye, along with a list of sides like the restaurant’s signature Duck fat chips – freshly cut chips fried in duck fat.

It was an exceptional menu of pasture-fed meat and sustainable seafood that will have us going back soon enough. For now, one of us settled on the Savannah Angus sirloin aged on the bone with a salsa verde sauce, while the other tucked into the The Grill Wagyu Burger with a side of Duck fat chips. It was all very good. Sean Connolly has come a long way from his grandmother’s kitchen. For reservations phone (09) 363 7067 or email reservations@thegrillnz.co.nz

Depot Eatery

S

Al Brown’s Depot is a bustling, fun place to eat fresh, beautifully prepared food. There are no reservations but tables turn over pretty quickly. Photos: Kieran Scott.

ince it opened in 2011, celebrity chef Al Brown’s Depot Eatery & Oyster Bar has received a host of accolades, including, in 2013, one Chef’s Hat in the Cuisine Good Food Awards and Metro’s Best Casual Bistro title.

Our first visit was a business meeting over coffee. There’s a lot of that going on here for two reasons: Depot is centrally located, on Federal Street, and the coffee may be the best in Auckland.

On our second, lunchtime visit, we found seats at the kitchen bar at the back, a spot that reminded one of us of New York’s famed Oyster Bar in Grand Central Station. In keeping with that theme, we enjoyed a half dozen raw oysters with natural lemon juice, and as many clams, before sharing two small plates: Turbot sliders with watercress and Warehou tortillas with coleslaw.

The wine list was mainly a selection of New Zealand and Australia’s finest. We topped off our raw bar lunch with glasses of Amisfield Sauvignon Blanc and Nautilus Pinot Gris.

Phone (09) 363 7048; www.eatatdepot.co.nz

Federal Delicatessen

W

ho said you had to go to New York to find a good Jewish deli?

Federal Delicatessen is another creation of acclaimed chef Al Brown, co-founder with Steve Logan of award-winning Wellington restaurant Logan Brown and founder of the previously mentioned Depot Eatery and Oyster Bar. “The Fed” as it’s come to be known, is Al Brown’s take on a classic New York delicatessen and that doesn’t just mean the food. The décor includes wall seating in leather booths for two and four people, a centre row of table seating and counter seating that doubles as a ringside seat to the performances constantly playing out in the open kitchen.

Here, the jars of kosher pickles and boxes of matzo ball flour on the shelves are not props, they’re real.

So are the latkes, the bagels with salmon lox and cream cheese, the chicken salad sandwiches and the meatloaf on rye. You can even pretend to be standing on the corner of 5th Avenue and 42nd Street in Manhattan enjoying a hot dog from one of those iconic street vendors: the menu includes New York-style hot dogs with relish!

There’s nothing pretentious about the coffee. No, either double trim lattes or designer cappuccinos, because it’s all an American-style filtered brew poured directly into your cup from a steaming glass pot. As you’ll find in a typical American deli, the coffee is “all you can drink”. Knock back a brew here and in red letters at the bottom of the cup you’ll read: “MORE?” “I spent some time in both New York and Montreal,” Al told WorId. “I fell for Jewish soul food and the deli culture.

A delicatessen is a happy place, full of action and conversation. The Fed is a meeting place to share delicious food, stories and laughter – morning, noon and night.”

“The Fed” is Al Brown’s take on a classic New York delicatessen.

Uniformed waitresses (left) lend a sassy touch to the deli theme.

Photos: Kieran Scott.

Al Brown

“Our deli is inspired by the traditional Jewish delis of the 1930s. We think of Federal Delicatessen as Depot’s Northern Hemisphere cousin. Open early and closed late, deli food is humble but provides great comfort – from breakfast latkes, lox, griddle cakes and bottomless “Joe” to a late night Reuben, slice of pie and specialty cocktails.”

Federal Delicatessen’s retro paper menu fits nicely with waitresses outfitted in the industrial-looking light green dresses – think Susan Sarandon in Thelma & Louise before they hit the road. And we found them not so much sassy as efficient.

The deli had been open only a few days when World called in one morning for coffee. The place was abuzz from front to back, the kitchen full on, wait staff coming and going in a scene that altogether left us feeling like extras in a Woody Allen movie.

Over a cup of coffee identified on the menu as a Bottomless Cup of Joe and a Sesame Bagel with Al’s Butter, we planned the rest of this report. The entire menu, by the way, can be viewed at www.thefed.co.nz.

Ph: (09) 363 7184.

Peter Gordon THE

SUGAR CLUB

A Room with a view: The Sugar Club, on the Sky Tower’s 53rd floor, offers a menu of entréesized dishes, encouraging diners to enjoy a wide range of flavours.

Photos: Manja Wachsmuth.

bout the time we began researching this report, Kiwi celebrity chef Peter Gordon opened his new enterprise high in the sky. The Sugar Club is on Level 53 of the Sky Tower. Like Federal Delicatessen and Masu, it’s a testament to the everevolving nature of SKYCITY. As we noted in Volume 26 of World, Peter Gordon, like Nic Watt, has an incredible story to tell. One night, as we took our seats in The Sugar Club, we wondered aloud if the chef would some day take the time to tell all in a book. And it will take a book to tell it all.

From Whanganui to Melbourne, back to Wellington, then off to London and the world; the development of fusion cuisine; head chef of The Sugar Club in London and it being named Best Modern British Restaurant by Time Out magazine; more restaurants in London; a consultancy; more world-beating awards and notable recognitions; seven cookbooks (of which the first was The Sugar Club Cookbook and the latest Peter Gordon Everyday) and along the way finding the time to raise millions of dollars for charity. Who said Kiwis can’t fly?

The high-speed lift had us at The Sugar Club reception in a flash. As we were being led to our table, one of us nearly bumped into someone because our attention was

distracted by the extraordinary night view. Below was a hypnotic labyrinth of lights stretching out to the far horizon; lighting so dense even the illuminated Harbour Bridge – looking like a toy model from up here – was almost lost in the vastness.

The night-time view, though, was not the only reason our evening at The Sugar Club was different. As Peter Gordon notes on the menu, “Our dinner menu is made up of entrée-sized dishes, encouraging you to order, and taste, a wider range of flavours and ingredients than you might otherwise experience.”

Unlike the conventional trio of starter-main-dessert, The Sugar Club serves from two to six dishes from a menu of small plates. You can order more, but, as we discovered, the chef is right on when he adds that, “three of these dishes is the equivalent of a starter and a main course”.

As Peter told World, “It was in Japan almost a decade ago that I ate many kaiseki meals, which is a series of very small, exquisite dishes. It occurred to me that I really preferred eating smaller plates of food, with greater variety, instead of the usual starter and main course.”

“I came back to London and introduced a menu with small plates from which the customer chose what they’d like to eat – like a mini degustation. This is what I’ve also now introduced into The Sugar Club. The aim is for the guests to leave feeling satisfied without feeling really over-fed. And it seems to be working a treat.”

We tasted four dishes, starting with Spiced smoked laksa. Laksa is traditionally a spicy noodle soup associated with Peranakan-style cuisine commonly found in places such as Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. Here, the fusion style incorporates duck, pumpkin, egg noodles and a golden egg that, with its smoky flavouring, was altogether perfect for a chilly night.

Our second dish was Seared yellow fin tuna, emboldened by truffled yuzu umeboshi dressing, arame, goji berries and a beer-battered Bluff oyster that – well, had us turning Japanese. Yuzu is a Japanese citrus that when juiced and blended with umbeboshi, the saltiest pickled plum on the planet, provides a pleasant kick to the palate. But what, we wondered, were goji berries?

Disclosure: we later consulted our Barron’s Food Lover’s Companion to learn that goji berries are also known as “wolfberries”, originate in China and are extremely nutritious.

Our tasting was rounded off with Crispy twice-cooked pork belly with creamed kina and apple celeriac slaw and the Five-spiced Cambridge duck breast over smoked polenta, eggplant shiitaki salad and chilled duck liver in a cone. We were left feeling so satisfied we declined dessert, however exotic and seductive the Chocolate star anise mousse cake sounded. For reservations, phone (09) 363 6365 or email enquiries@thesugarclub.co.nz.

BELLOTA

P

eter Gordon has also struck a high note with Bellota, his Spanish tapas bar in the Federal Street Dining Precinct. Our experience there only confirmed what many people believe: it’s the best tapas bar in Auckland. We turned up one drizzly night after seven when we thought the rush-hour crowd would have moved on. But the place was humming and remained that way late into the night.

Bellota is managed by Marcia Hebling, who offered us a wine list as compelling as the tapas menu. Spanish cheeses, pintxos (Basque-style bread-based tapas) and montadilos (literally “little mounds” of food) and tapas headlined an authentic menu from which we ordered three dishes prepared by Chef Ernest Pietx, from Barcelona: Crumbed deep-fried goat cheese flavoured with honey and toasted almonds; Cassava chips with grated Manchego cheese, spicy tomato sauce and alioli; and Crispy battered calamari rings.

Manchego cheese, by the way, is made from the milk of Manchego sheep that are raised on the plains of La Mancha. (It’s sometimes known as “the cheese of Don Quixote” since it was a favourite of 16th-century Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes).

We could have finished our visit with a dessert and special coffee, or even a fine Sherry. Instead we enjoyed

a glass of full-bodied 2012 Avaniel Tempranillo from the Ribera del Duero region of Spain. Tempranillo, one of Spain’s main red grape varietals, was a delightful change from the everyday New Zealand and Australian reds.

We will be back, if only for the wine! www.bellota.co.nz

Bellota is a popular stop in the Federal Street Dining Precinct, serving authentic Spanish tapas matched with wines from an international wine list.

Back TO EARTH

Outside again after our SKYCITY adventure, Federal Street was the usual hive of activity, with people coming and going in all directions: heading back to work from the restaurants, checking in to the hotel, jumping in and out of taxis and tour buses – while, inside, folk were getting their bearings before hopping onto one of the escalators to the casino, the restaurants or the bars. VIPs waited for lifts to take them up to exclusive gaming rooms like EIGHT that are set aside especially for them.

How does one become a VIP? Details can be found at the information kiosk on the ground floor.

For our part, we took a few minutes just to watch the bustle unfold from the foot of the magnificent 19m-tall kauri pillar called Mahi Whakairo Waka, carved by one of New Zealand’s foremost carvers and sculptors, Lyonel Grant. It draws its inspiration from a traditional Maori waka, or canoe, and was created as the spiritual pillar of the SKYCITY complex.

Back outside we saw people landing on a raised platform at the foot of the Sky Tower. They say the now world-famous Sky Jump is a thrill that rivals bungy jumping. That may be, but when it was suggested one of us give it a go, the offer was politely declined.

X.O.

After watching Sky Tower leapers safely touch down on the elevated landing platform, we returned inside for our private little wrap party at X.O., SkyCity’s stylish cocktail

bar on the first floor. Located off The Deck (a more public bar) we entered through a tunnel encased with champagne labels that altogether evoke a sense of exclusivity.

The bar circumnavigates the tower and was, in fact, its original entrance. Today it’s a classy bar specialising in champagne (the interior is a “bubbly” theme and there are nine champagne brands on the menu) and spirits, among them fine single-malt whiskys, tequilas, rums, vodkas and cognacs, including XOs – which, by the way, stands for “extra old” in French vernacular.

The seductive cocktail menu includes variations on the usual suspects like the Manila Hotel Julep that blends Mount Gay Extra Old Rum with Woodford Reserve Kentucky Small Batch Bourbon and martinis like a Classic Gin Martini made with The Botanist Islay Gin and Dolin Vermouth de Chambéry (shaken not stirred).

X.O. serves New Zealand and Australian wines and a selection of boutique New Zealand beers and, for those feeling peckish, a snacks menu with the likes of Prawn twisters, Salt and pepper squid and a Grilled Angus steak sandwich.

We plopped ourselves down in comfortable leather chairs and took note that the effect of the circular nature of the bar is a unique sense of privacy, meaning X.O. is not a bar for hanging out to meet people, it’s a bar for discerning catch-ups with, say, work colleagues, family and friends. As with the other bars and restaurants at SkyCity, the complete menu for X.O. can be found online. www.skycityauckland.co.nz GAME RESPONSIBLY

THE WINE FOR ALL SEASONS WWW.NAUTILUSESTATE.COM

o

W

My

Clive WestOn:

Enter stage right

I ABOVE: Nautilus Marlborough Cuvée Rosé Vintage 2011, a special limitedrelease wine from Nautilus Estate Marlborough.

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f I had not become a wine merchant, I would have been an actor. That’s because I was born in London to parents who were both on the stage and who, when not performing in London, travelled in shows throughout the UK with the likes of Morecambe and Wise.

I really liked theatre and our house was full of music.

I was inspired by my parents but one day they called it quits and bought a tourist retreat, a Hi-de-Hi-style holiday village with a restaurant in Somerset. We ran it as a family and it was there my life changed forever.

I helped out serving drinks in the restaurant. One day a wine merchant turned up and said he could organise a summer job for me in Bordeaux. I had expressed an interest in wine so he warned me that working in a winery was such hard work it would either make or break my interest. It would be a challenge.

So I went and it was hard work. I was a cellar rat, getting my hands dirty doing all sorts of things, from rolling barrels around and pumping wine from tank to tank to sorting grapes and doing whatever I was told to do.

But the net result was I returned to England convinced the wine trade was where I wanted to make a career.

Instead of going to university I went straight into the trade, doing an apprenticeship with a large UK wines and

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rld

spirits group. That took me on travels throughout Europe and in time I left to work for a small fine-wine importer in London. That’s where I met my wife Creina, who was a Kiwi on her OE. We met in a pub in Chelsea.

We married and came back to New Zealand, where I continued my career, thanks to Robert Hill Smith at Yalumba, who owned Negociants New Zealand. I had met him in the UK. When we caught up again in Auckland he handed me the keys to a company car, said “Please go and sell some wine” and I’ve been with them ever since. Robert flattered me this year by declaring me the signatory on Yalumba The Signature 2009.

Since then the trade here has been stood on its head.

There were about 100 wineries then; today there are more than 700. It’s fiercely competitive and exporting is essential. In those early days New Zealand wasn’t associated with fine wine at all, despite Marlborough being on-stream with Sauvignon Blanc. Those were still the days when Kiwis thought of wine as Müller-Thurgau and Velluto Rosso.

Looking back, becoming an actor would never have taken me to the places the wine trade has. Today I get offshore about two or three times a year. This year it was Germany, Norway, Holland and England – where I still have cousins. On one trip I found myself in Canada in the middle of winter when it was minus-30 degrees, tasting with an importer, trying to keep the wine at an ambient temperature.

As for the New Zealand trade (a term I prefer to “industry”), we are less than one per cent of world production, but I’m optimistic, because our Sauvignon Blancs and Pinot Noirs are head-turners. People want to buy them, and with other varieties we’re still in a convincing but adolescent stage.

Our success will depend on how much the trade is willing to wear out shoe leather getting out and doing the hard yards selling. Too many think making good wine is all that’s necessary, as if “make it and they will come”. But it doesn’t work that way.

Yet, with the quality of fruit being grown here, our talented winemakers and the Kiwi “No. 8 wire” mentality when it comes to innovation, the world really is our oyster. I think most New Zealand winemakers are proud and confident enough to open a bottle of their wine beside any of the great wines of the Old World.

Clive Weston is managing director of Negociants New Zealand and of Nautilus Estate Marlborough.

Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2010 vintage available at: FISH Restaurant

Huka Lodge

Eichardt’s

“95/100 - strongly varietal with capsicum, mineral, pink grapefruit and lemon grass. A long, powerful and very impressive wine with a great texture.”

Bob Campbell MW

Hand-harvested grapes from our most prestigious chosen vines, masterfully crafted to bring you a truly distinctive, age worthy S auvignon Blanc. Only 3,500 bottles available worldwide - from the pioneers of the Marlborough wine region, Brancott Estate.

Enjoy Brancott Estate wines responsibly ®

Vines

AMONG THE

John Hawkesby lingers over lunch at a Hawke’s Bay winery with

H

awke’s Bay: blessed with a benign climate, gently undulating hills, an ocean never too far away and with arguably the most versatile wine region in the country.

This is where fine produce, great wine and legendary laid-back hospitality collide with consummate ease in a part of the world you never want to leave. Beautiful, bountiful, rarely bashful and always guaranteed to exceed your expectations.

A plethora of eating and drinking options spill out over some 14,000 square kilometres, with vineyards often wrapped around fine restaurants or casual rustic eateries ready to display their wares.

Without doubt, one of the best of these is Elephant

Hill, on the Te Awanga coast just before the famous gannet colony. The palm-lined driveway leads to a modern, distinctive cellar-door winery and restaurant that sits most comfortably amidst the decade-old vines in the shadow of Cape Kidnappers and an elephant’s roar from the Pacific Ocean. An oasis of calm and sophisticated ease on a quiet stretch of flat land surrounded by tree-lined hills and alive with the sound of birds, Elephant Hill quickly established a reputation for premium wines, especially their Syrah and Chardonnay.

As winemaker Steve Skinner wryly observes, “With our Syrah we’re looking for very much a Northern Rhone style… elegant and floral and not too overpowering.”

Skinner has developed his considerable winemaking skills

a growing reputation for fine wines and food to match. in the Hawke’s Bay for the past 15 years and has been chief winemaker at Elephant Hill since the first vintage in 2007.

Softly spoken, he exudes the sort of confidence you want from a winemaker who has to deal with the vagaries of unpredictable weather.

“You have to work with what the vintage gives you and with a flagship wine like Syrah you have to offer consistency and a decent level of quality, even in a poor vintage,” he says.

After a couple of challenging years in Hawke’s Bay, everyone is relieved that the 2013 vintage is being hailed as one of the greatest in living memory.

Says Skinner: “2013 is looking stunning and being warm and dry will be a riper style. So far, 2014 is looking good,

with no frosts, so we’re quietly optimistic for another stellar year.”

The 2013 Estate Syrah will be bottled around late March 2014, and the super-premium wine sometime in September or October.

American-born viticulturist Brittany Thompson, who has been at Elephant Hill for almost six years, agrees with Skinner and reckons, “Hawke’s Bay is especially good at Syrah, Bordeaux blends like Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot and if you do great Syrah you should be able to make great Chardonnay.”

It’s Syrah and Chardonnay that look like being the focus for the future, with Syrah leading the charge.

With great wines you need great food and Elephant Hill

ABOVE: Elephant Hill’s distinctive winery and restaurant sits amid vines on the Te Awanga coast with dramatic views of Cape Kidnappers.

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Clockwise from above: The lounge and dining room with views across the infinity pool to vines and sea; private dining setting in the atmospheric cellar/ barrel room; Chef Ashley Jones; a seasonal menu offers modern European cuisine; Winemaker Steve Skinner; Chardonnay harvest.

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is fortunate to have the services of Australian-born head chef Ashley Jones. The personable 30-year-old thinks he has just reached the age at which all the hard work pays off.

Jones was brought up in Australia’s Hunter Valley and, in his own words,“I had a feel for a rural lifestyle, so it’s wonderful to be in Hawke’s Bay, which has some aspects of city life, but it is good to see the open spaces, hills, grass, trees and ocean.”

Jones is living his dream. “I love eating,” he says. “I was cooking from a young age and I always wanted to be a chef.”

He initially did a diploma in hospitality and management but found “all the paperwork was tedious, I wanted to be hands-on”. His food philosophy is clearly defined: “Traditional European cooking, which is French-based and way before all the foams. Elephant Hill lends itself to a modern style of cuisine where you can try new things. And it’s great, because you can work your own expression into the food; we’re not hung up by any boundaries.”

Behind the large, modern kitchen is a series of

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raised gardens growing all manner of herbs, produce and edible flowers.

“Living in Hawke’s Bay, you know where all your food is coming from and I’m a big fan of seasonality,” Jones says.

The restaurant celebrated its fifth anniversary in October. In that time it has established a reputation for quality cuisine, beautifully presented in light, airy, spacious surroundings with views over the vines to Cape Kidnappers and the ocean. A huge infinity pool surrounds the alfresco deck and, in keeping with the eco-friendly nature of Elephant Hill, no chemicals are used to keep it clean – rather a high-tech sonar pulse keeps the algae at bay.

A purpose-built biological treatment plant takes wastewater from the winery and after being treated this is recycled by being sprayed onto the green spaces surrounding the vineyard. It’s part of a sustainable, environment-friendly philosophy. But along with this is the kind of precision and attention to detail you’d

expect from German proprietors, in this case Reydan and Roger Weiss, who fell in love with Hawke’s Bay and first purchased land at Te Awanga in 2001.

Ashley Jones says the kitchen has everything you could possibly wish for and is a joy to work in. “I love the professional German way of doing things and the owners are incredibly supportive of all the staff and the sort of dining experience I want to achieve. Frankly, I don’t see any other place where I could do that.”

Summer is a particularly busy time, when business increases threefold and Jones is aware of keeping the “Wow!” factor in the dishes despite the increased patronage. The menu changes with what’s in season and on the day I was there ranged from Smoked lamb kidneys, to Scallops, from Pork belly with apple slaw and cider vinaigrette; Prawn and squid with ink angel hair, garlic and chilli oil, to Sichuan tuna … and that’s just the entrées.

The mains included Beef fillet, potato mousse, fried marrow, oyster mushrooms and garlic confit, Poached

Akaroa salmon, Whitefish, scallop and prawn timbale, or a vegetarian option of Roasted garlic gnocchi, goat cheese, dates, pickled pumpkin with sage and lamb’s lettuce.

Given the lovely, quiet ambience – with the smell of the salty sea air and a sense that you have all the time in the world – best you allow yourself to be seduced by the tempting array of desserts: Fried Frangelico crème, port poached pear with lemon mascarpone, or Baked chocolate terrine, raspberry sorbet on chocolate soil and dark chocolate mousse with dried raspberries. The healthy option would be Candied apples, green apple sorbet, oat and walnut crumble with cinnamon panna cotta, and finally, one which probably doesn’t get the Heart Foundation tick of approval: Roasted banana parfait, doughnuts, butterscotch cream with toasted coconut.

There is, of course, an array of cheeses, and matching Elephant Hill wines are available by the glass.

Lunch usually starts from midday until whenever you want: the kitchen stays open until the last guests are

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completely satisfied. The cellar door staff are only too pleased to guide you through the portfolio of wines on offer and answer any questions. There is a fabulous private dining room in the cavernous cellar/barrel room and this is proving popular as a wedding venue.

Being family owned and a boutique producer of premium handcrafted wines with an innovative and exciting restaurant in the vines, Elephant Hill has an atmosphere that is warm, gentle and inviting. Professional without being pretentious or stuffy, it moves to the heartbeat of the Bay and you find yourself loath to leave.

This is a feeling that can’t be generated just by vineyards and fancy buildings, it is achieved by the people who want you to share something they enjoy, something memorable that will have you returning as soon as possible.

Chef Jones sums it up like this: “For me, you’re either a chef or a cook. A cook is just a job, for a chef it is a passion. At Elephant Hill we are all passionate about preserving integrity with all that we produce.

Here, we have a dedicated approach to quality. Quality is the guideline.”

And really, you couldn’t ask for more.

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2012 Elephant Hill Syrah Hawke’s Bay is fast establishing an enviable reputation for New Zealand’s best Syrah, and Elephant Hill is helping to lead the charge.

With fruit from the Gimblett and Te Awanga vineyards, this is an affordable Syrah with all you could hope for. With typical characters of blackberry and spice and a hint of liquorice, perfect balance with harmonious tannins and a lovely texture, this wine goes beautifully with red meat or for that alfresco barbecue.

2011 Elephant Hill Chardonnay Just what you feel like drinking under a clear summer sky with a gentle sea breeze on your face or at your back. Grapes are handpicked from the coastal vineyard. This wine is drinking beautifully now but will develop even more complexity over the next few years. Fresh, lively and vibrant with a ribbon of clean citrus and stone fruit flavours and lots of swagger and attitude, it’s gorgeous with white meats, anything from the sea or simply on its own. If you have been away from Chardonnay for a while, this is the wine to woo you back.

APPETITE FOR

ADVENTURE

You don’t have to look far for a great feed around Queenstown

S

o there we were, fishing for our lunch.

Literally. Out on Lake Wakatipu aboard Stu Dever’s purpose-built motor cruiser Chinook.

Stu, a former Queenstown detective who retired from the Police to go fishing, has been guiding on the lake for the past 20 years. His prey: salmon and brown and rainbow trout.

Stu has hosted all kinds of people aboard Chinook, including a Russian oligarch with a personal security team and a Gulf States sultan whose PA paid in cash from a briefcase stuffed with crisp multi-currency bills.

But, rich, keen or simply curious, Stu pretty much guarantees his clients a fish or three. He knows all the best fishing spots, the best times of day to chuck in a line and the kind of weather the fish prefer. Apparently, though, they are not keen on changing weather, which is what our day was providing.

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“We’d usually be catching a fish every 15 minutes, but this change isn’t good, the fish don’t like it,” Stu told us after a fruitless hour on the lake. I say fruitless, but time spent drifting around Lake Wakatipu is never wasted time.

Beauty is its own reward.

I’d just explained to Stu that my presence on a boat had jinxed fishing guides up and down the country when I suddenly got a bite. With Stu’s help I played the fish, reeled it in and lifted it into the waiting net: a beautiful little rainbow trout, all 40 shimmering centimetres (at least!) of it. Stu seemed a little embarrassed at its size but also relieved his guarantee had survived intact.

I was relieved, too, because the first stage of my cunning plan for an introduction this Queenstown story was panning out (so to speak).

We had the fish and now it was about to become lunch. Stu dropped us back at Steamer Wharf and,

– even if you have to catch it yourself. By Patrick Smith. clutching our prize – wrapped in a copy of Mountain Scene – we made our way to the Pub on the Wharf, where we hoped to have it cooked.

“People have been bringing in some big ones this week,” chef Ben told me – not unkindly, I thought – when I handed over the trout.

Ben prepared it fairly simply – a few lemon slices and a squeeze of juice, salt and pepper, garlic, pesto and little white wine – and wrapped it in tinfoil. “Fourteen to 18 minutes in the oven,” he declared. We ordered drinks and sat by the fire to wait. The fish was as succulent as you’d expect from something that had been minding its own business in the lake 40 minutes earlier. Next time, though, I’ll tell Ben to hold the garlic and pesto, which rather overpowered the delicate white flesh.

You can get just about anything you want in Queenstown. It has scenic splendour in spades and its

year-round repertoire of outdoor activities in unmatched.

Now, it seems, Queenstown has its sights set on giving Auckland and Wellington a scare as a New Zealand food and wine hub. In fact in 2011 the region’s chefs, restaurants, food producers and wine makers were rated number one in New Zealand and third in the South Pacific (behind heavy hitters Melbourne and Sydney) in the TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Food and Wine Destination Award. And the area’s reputation has continued to grow, with more awards and international acclaim.

There are, I was told, around 150 restaurants, cafés and bars in Queenstown and neighbouring Arrowtown.

That’s a lot of eating and drinking by anyone’s measure.

But then eating and drinking are popular pastimes in this cosmopolitan resort region – a fact not lost on some of New Zealand’s top chefs and restaurateurs.

New eateries have been popping up like mushrooms

ABOVE: Queenstown’s Steamer Wharf, a picturesque setting for a number of good eateries.

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ABOVE, LEFT TO RIGHT: Artisan foods on display at A Taste of Gibbston Valley in Arrowtown; deli specialties from Gibbston Valley Winery chef Mark Sage; Wakatipu Grill at Hilton Queenstown.

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and some of them rival anything in the country.

MasterChef celebrities Simon Gault and Josh Emmett opened restaurants in Queenstown last year and two years ago Peter Thornley (Kermadec) helped establish Hilton Queenstown’s Wakatipu Grill, which was a finalist in the Cuisine Restaurant of the Year Awards last year.

Thornley now serves as Wakatipu’s chef consultant.

New kids on the block include Rãtã (Josh Emmett and Fleur Caulton), Jervois Steak House (Simon Gault), Sasso (Sal Grant – think rustic Italian), La Rumbla (Arrowtown tapas bar and restaurant) and Ivy and Lola’s (homestyle cooking on Steamer Wharf). Upcoming additions include Emmett and Caulton’s second restaurant in The Mall (unnamed at the time of going to press) and the reinvention of the waterside fine-dining eatery Wai. This one will re-open as a “humble, handcrafted comfort food” sort of place (also still to be named) similar in concept to another of the owners’ local restaurants, Bella Cucina.

Established restaurants and cafés, meanwhile, continue to win awards and bouquets. The delightful Amisfield Winery and Bistro at Lake Hayes, for example, took out the title of New Zealand’s Best Winery Restaurant

Traveler’s international “Top 100 Tables” and still owned and operated by chef Pete Gawron and his maitre d’ wife Mel after 14-odd years.

We chatted to Gawron over drinks in his cosy Blue Door bar before crossing the alley to Saffron for dinner.

His gorgeous 2012 cookbook, The Taste of Central Otago, was named Best Local Cuisine Book at the 2012 Gourmand World Cookbooks Award.

“It’s just a piece of cake to do cookbooks here,” he said, “because it’s just so beautiful. You just get a guy with a camera and use the pictures as a backdrop. Of course, you need some nice food too, but it makes the whole process of writing a book in this area – well, it simplifies it, catching the beauty.”

Our dinner that night was just as good as the last time we’d eaten here; dishes lovingly prepared from fresh local ingredients and matched with Gibbston Valley and other Central Otago wines.

“The timeless marriage of food and wine, that’s what it’s all about,” said Gawron. “We make our food to be eaten with a nice local wine… And being here you feel you’re part of the local wine industry; you drive up the

for 2013 in the Cuisine NZ Good Food Awards. Judges praised the bistro’s “leisurely, welcoming and beautiful atmosphere and its thoughtful and confident menu” and awarded it a Cuisine “Hat”, a new rating reflecting high standards of food, service, wine and ambience. Good on them – we love the place, especially Sunday brunch and chef Jay Sherwood’s “Trust the Chef” menu: dishes made to be shared by everyone at the table. It’s a lovely, companionable way to eat.

Just down the road at Arrowtown is one of the region’s pre-eminent eateries, Saffron, one of Condé Nast

road and there’s some super vineyards… It is significant to me as a chef to be in amongst it.”

Josh Emmett commutes regularly between Auckland and Queenstown, but he wasn’t at Rãtã when I sat down to lunch with his restaurant partner, Fleur Caulton.

Caulton is well known on the Queenstown food scene: she opened her first restaurant in the town, the very popular Solera Vino, when she was just 21. She loves Queenstown’s natural environment, as does Emmett, and Rãtã’s décor reflects this: the dining room is all warm, earthy tones, with features of local polished stone and

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Saffron photos: Aaron McLean

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1 Sasso dining room.

Saddle of Southland lamb, filled with bacon, savoy cabbage and local white truffle, from Saffron.

3 Saffron’s Pete Gawron.

4 Amisfield Winery & Bistro head chef Jay Sherwood.

5 Duck confit with date and maple syrup mash and poached rhubarb, from Saffron. 6 Gibbston Valley vines. 7 Sasso chef Sal Grant.

8 Bovine detail, JSH. 9 Simon Gault and team at JSH 2

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TOP: The interior of Rãtã reflects the local natural environment.

ABOVE: Rãtã’s Josh Emmett and Fleur Caulton: fine food but not fine dining.

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natural woods. A big photomural of a beech forest, taken by her husband Daz, covers one wall.

The food, too, is prepared with a light touch: simple, delectable (try the steamed tuta tuas and the wild Otago rabbit!) and perfectly presented.

“It’s about really very considered ideas on the plate but without being too complicated,” said Caulton. With Emmett’s Michelin-star background, she added, “people were expecting fine dining and that’s really what we didn’t want; we wanted people to have fun. We both like to eat in fun, bustling, busy types of places and that’s what we wanted to create here… Great ingredients, very simple food, but with an element of skill to it that probably hasn’t been seen in New Zealand”.

Their second Queenstown restaurant, due to open in time for Christmas, will serve modern Asian cuisine. “We don’t have a name yet,” said Caulton, “but it will be casual and fun and the location [in the former Tattler restaurant premises] is awesome.” Emmett will design the menu together with Malaysian chef Jane Leong, who worked with him at Gordon Ramsay’s Maze in Melbourne.

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Simon Gault’s Jervois Steak House, meanwhile, is modelled on his eatery of the same name in Auckland.

We found JSH, as it’s known, in Queenstown’s Sofitel Hotel complex , where it has become the luxury hotel’s signature restaurant.

If you’ve eaten at JSH in Auckland, you’ll know this is not a place for vegetarians. Signature dishes include prime rib from 150-day grain-fed Black Angus cattle and the Jervois cut eye fillet on the bone from the West Coast. They also have great seafood, but the night we ate there felt the occasion called for beef, so I went for the 350g Black Angus sirloin with a truffle, chipotle and horseradish béarnaise and let my wife judge the Scallop risotto with pickled ginger, chives, parmesan and anchovy caviar butter. (“Brilliant!”)

The décor is stylish and warm, a combination of sleek metal and exposed brick and timber, with a tiled kitchen open to the first-floor dining room. An elegant bar greets you at street level and a black metal staircase leads up to the restaurant. It’s a nice place to spend a relaxed evening with friends and the food and service are excellent.

“It’s a style and authenticity that delivers big flavours and a great time,” says Gault. “It was an opportunity to share the JSH experience with a new audience that might not otherwise get to enjoy it.”

Yes, there’s great food all over this fortunate region.

And sometimes you don’t even have to leave your hotel to find it. On our last night in Queenstown, after a gruelling, rain-soaked hike on the Routeburn Track, we couldn’t summon the energy to venture out from our suite at the Hotel St Moritz, so we ordered up a pizza from the hotel’s Lombardi Restaurant. Room service: we expected nothing exceptional. But when it arrived, piping hot and fragrant, we hoed into one of the best woodfired pizzas (Pollo e pancetta) either of us had ever tasted.

And we didn’t have to catch it… www.queenstownnz.co.nz

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BIUSO J Thomas Hyde chats with the Auckland-born celebrity chef who has just released her 16th cookbook.

Photos: Aaron McLean

Nicola Topping/Real Image Ltd.

JULIE

ulie Biuso was born in Auckland, the youngest of 10 children. At 13 she took a job in a Chinese restaurant with the aim of saving money for a trip to Europe. Three years later she arrived in London via New York and in a very short time set her sights on a career in food.

She enrolled at Le Cordon Bleu London culinary school and when she wasn’t studying she travelled through Europe, tasting the local cuisine and learning new techniques. While in Italy she met her husband, Remo, the father of her two children.

Back in New Zealand she set about developing her career. And what a career it’s been. She’s served as food editor on a host of magazines, penned newspaper columns and commentary, appeared on radio and television, authored 16 books and has won a heap of awards.

Yet, to her mind, nothing beats old-fashioned home cooking and with that in mind she recently released her latest book, Julie Biuso at Home, published by New Holland Press. She talked to Thomas Hyde over morning coffee in Auckland.

Tell us something our readers may not know about you.

I’m known for my association with food but I also write poetry. I won a short story award in primary school and the prize was a 15-shilling voucher. My father took me to Whitcombe & Tombs, where there were shelves

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and shelves of books I wanted to read. I still love Wordsworth’s Daffodils.

I always kept a diary. It was a way of shutting out the world – mainly my nosy, annoying brothers. I’d hide under the bedclothes and write away, simple rhyming lines that improved as time went on.

Today, when I’m in the zone, I can write one or two poems a day, though other kinds of writing, like recipes, get in the way of that. But sometimes when I’m driving, I have to pull over to write something down.

How did you become interested in food?

My mother was a truly great baker, making cakes and biscuits and slices for our school lunches and enough to have as treats when we came home from school. I helped her. She baked every Tuesday and Thursday and the smell of roasted nuts, butter and sugar, chocolate and coconut blasted out of our house. Meanwhile, my father made jam and even in his 90s still made pickled cabbage and chutneys.

I learned early on that cooking for people is a real buzz.

I was 10 when I was put in charge of Sunday suppers with my older sister. This was back in the days when you had the big roast lunch on Sunday, so supper was more of a hefty snack than a meal.

But from that I wanted to learn more. Cooking for family and friends is something I’ve never grown tired of.

Providing good food and having people sitting around a table enjoying it makes me feel good, too.

Where did you meet your husband?

I met Remo in Genoa, at a sailors’ club. That sounds terrible but it was a cool place to hang out, with a pool room, an excellent library of English-language books and a restaurant, which I ran.

It became a place where English-speaking au pairs hung out. Wherever the girls went, Italian men followed. It was a riot! I did the food shopping for the restaurant and soon built up a rapport with a handful of stallholders in the market and surrounding streets.

One night we had a raffle at the club and Remo had the winning ticket. But he told me to do another draw so one of the sailors could win it. I thought that was generous and liked him immediately. Now, 37 years on, his unfailing generosity is still his most amazing attribute.

Julie Biuso at Home is your 16th book. What’s different about this one?

There are dozens of cookbooks published each year, so a book has to have something special to stand out. My book

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has three exceptional features: design, photography, content.

This time we used a magazine designer rather than a book designer. I’d worked with Philippa Moffit on Your Home & Garden magazine. She was fresh, keen and quirky and as a result we’ve got a very contemporary look.

The photographer, Aaron McLean, is New Zealand’s leading food photographer, in my view. His images are outstanding. The content is altogether exceptional, with 270 recipes, 120 colour plates and 32 pages of “cook’s notes”.

It’s good value, I think, because it’s a collection of recipes, plus an in-depth compendium of knowledge I’ve accrued and distilled over many years. The publisher wrapped it in a French-fold jacket, which makes it feel luxurious.

What’s next for you?

I’ll be busy promoting this book, attending several charity events and I’m continuing my involvement with Farmers’ Markets New Zealand, so there’s not much downtime this side of Christmas. But I’ll recharge over summer,

hopefully getting to doze off in a hammock somewhere while reading a few good books, then it’ll be back into my role as food editor of Taste and Your Home & Garden magazines. And I will continue my regular slot on Radio New Zealand.

Is book number 17 already on the go?

Of course!

Images reproduced with permission from Julie Biuso at Home with photography by Aaron McLean, published by New Holland, $65.00.

“The book’s a collection of recipes, plus an in-depth compendium of knowledge I’ve accrued and distilled over many years.”

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SWEET

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New Zealand cheeses are winning high praise on the world stage, but are we tasting them at their best?

Patrick Smith sniffs out the answer.

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RIGHT: New Zealand does Dutch-style and blue cheeses - like this award-winning Kapiti Kikorangi particularly well.

OPPOSITE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Oamaru is a popular stop on the cheese trail; cheese maturing at Whitestone Cheese; Gibbston Valley Cheesery; Whitestone’s Bob and Sue Berry; master judge Russell Smith with prize-winning Meyer Vintage Gouda.

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t’s a short trip from factory to shop counter at Whitestone Cheese in Oamaru. This busy local outlet of the family owned artisan cheesemaker is literally steps away from the vats and ageing rooms where the company’s award-winning products are made. In fact visitors can get an insight into the cheesemaking process with a factory tour before buying their wedge of Windsor Blue or Waitaki Camembert in the well-stocked shop and café next door.

If you want to taste cheese in peak condition, a trip to the source – or at least a specialist cheese shop – is undoubtedly the best way to go, whether that’s in Oamaru, Tirau, Gibbston Valley, Mercer or Katikati.

Unlike in the UK and most European countries where every town, large and small, has at least one dedicated cheese shop, most New Zealand cheese lovers have to buy theirs at the supermarket. If they’re lucky they may have a deli with a decent choice of cheeses under the glass.

Today, New Zealand’s top cheeses are up there with the best in the world, but it seems our talented cheesemakers are not always best served by those who sell their products – a fact I can personally vouch for after buying a pre-packaged wedge of my favourite blue at the local supermarket the other day. Despite having a best-by date a month or so ahead, when I sliced open the plastic wrapper, I found a sweaty looking cheese that tasted well past its delicate, creamy best.

“I think one of the big problems for – certainly artisan – cheesemakers in New Zealand and Australia is the supply chain,” said Australian Russell Smith, master judge at this year’s Cuisine New Zealand Champions of Cheese Awards. “Cheese is a living thing and what you do with it is incredibly important.”

En route from factory chiller to retailer, he says, a cheese may be subject to several degrees’ rise in temperature – perhaps from sitting on a loading dock – and that’s all it takes for the bacteria to become active.

“And suddenly the washed rind cheese or the blue that had another five weeks before it was really ripe is suddenly ripe when it arrives at the shop… The retailer gets it and thinks it’s all right and suddenly, a few days later: ‘I’ve got to sell this, why has this ripened so quickly?’

Nobody knows it was up above its optimum temperature for some period of time.”

And New Zealand’s best cheeses deserve to be tasted at their best. The 10th annual cheese awards – at which 59 companies entered 413 cheeses – produced 74 gold medals, with two Mahoe Farmhouse cheeses from Kerikeri scoring a perfect 100. Apparently, that’s almost unheard of in the world of cheese contests.

“In the judging I conduct internationally I might see one 100 score every two years,” Smith said. “To see two

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perfect scores in one competition – well, it just doesn’t happen. The cheese has to be perfect in every respect; you can’t do any better.”

Dutch cheeses scooped all three major awards for the second year running. Meyer Vintage Gouda took out the Crossroads Wines Champion of Champions Award for large cheesemakers, Mahoe’s Very Old Edam won the Cuisine Champion Artisan Cheese Award for smaller producers and Mahoe’s Jake Rosevear was 2013’s Champion Cheesemaker.

“You’re lucky here with those Dutch cheesemakers,” Smith told me after the event, “I mean, that cheese is just fantastic – that Mahoe cheese and the Meyer stuff is as good as anywhere in the world. I judge the World Cheese Championships in Wisconsin every second year and a Dutch cheese won last year. It wasn’t as good as what we tasted here at the weekend, I can tell you that. It wasn’t anywhere near as good…

“There’s Mercer, there’s Meyer, there’s Karikaas, Mahoe – half a dozen of them that are just making great cheeses… And the ones that didn’t get the top gongs are

so close – they all got gold medals. So that’s great for the industry here.”

Smith says New Zealand does Dutch-style and blue cheeses particularly well. I was pleased to hear him praise my own favourite blue, Kapiti’s Kikorangi, a former Supreme Champion and this year’s New World Champion Favourite Cheese winner.

“In terms of a top-end commercial blue, you won’t get any better anywhere in the world. It has a great flavour and it’s balanced. The problem with blues particularly is to get them balanced.”

Cheese & Wine

It’s a long-held tradition, but international cheese judge Russell Smith is not convinced cheese and wine make good partners. “Mostly,” he says, “the more interesting the cheese and the more interesting the wine the less likely they are ever to match.”

But many of us don’t agree – certainly not Bess and Kevin Paul at Gibbston Valley Cheesery, which sits alongside some wonderful Central Otago wineries.

You can phone or call in to the cheesery on Gibbston Valley Highway outside Queenstown and order up a hamper of four boutique cheeses specifically chosen to match locally produced Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Rosé or Riesling wines.

The chilled hampers also contain freshly baked baguettes, antipasto ingredients, crackers, napkins, wine glasses and bottles of water. You can even order a nice checked picnic rug.

You’ll also get a wine-matching guide and map to either the Gibbston or Cromwell/Bannockburn wine regions with suggested stops along the way for a nibble and a sip.

Cheese and wine beside the vines? Not a bad way to spend a sunny summer afternoon.

Book a hamper by calling (03) 441 1388 or online at www.gvcheese.co.nz

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But, Dutch and blues aside, Smith says he’s seen many new cheese styles emerge in the five years he’s been judging the New Zealand awards.

“There’s certainly a trend to goat, sheep and buffalomilk cheese and there’s actually a couple of buffalo herds here now… There would have been 30, 40, 50 cheeses [entered] that would have been either goat, sheep or buffalo, or a mixture. Buffalo Mozzarella, that traditional Italian cheese, certainly wasn’t here five years ago.”

Buffalo Mozzarella, Pecorino (a hard, salty Italian style), Mascarpone, Haloumi, Labneh (a Lebanese yogurt cheese)… all these and myriad variations on Cheddar, Fetta, Gouda, Edam, Camembert, Brie and blue cheeses were among the medal winners.

OK, so we make good cheese, but how to taste it at its best? Well, if you were a really keen cheese buff and had plenty of time to spare, you might want to follow the “cheese trail” through New Zealand. You might start at Mahoe Farmhouse in Kerikeri and end at Blue River Dairy Products in Invercargill, with around 30 or more stops along the way. You’d be tasting cheese at the “cellar door” – but who’s that keen?

If you don’t have access to a cheese shop or a good deli counter, many artisan and larger producers have online shops from which you can have cheese delivered to your door.

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Of course, that way you don’t get to sample it before you buy. A good place to sniff out what’s new and exciting in the local cheese world is at Cuisine Cheesefest, the biggest collection of New Zealand cheeses you’ll ever find in one room (and served with a complimentary glass of wine or beer). You can meet the cheesemakers, buy cheese at good prices and discover new tastes. The next Cheesfest will be held in Auckland in early March. Check out the New Zealand Specialist Cheesemakers Association website (www.cheeselovers.co.nz) for details. You can also download a copy of the association’s Guide to Cheese, which includes a Cheese Trail map and tips on keeping and serving cheese when you get it home.

So what makes a great cheese? Russell Smith thought a bit and then gave a judge’s opinion.

“I think probably for me it does come down to a balance of flavour profiles,” he said. “Something that really fills your mouth with flavour and stays through the mid palate, right through to the back of your palate and lingers. And maybe five minutes after you’ve tasted it you’re saying, ‘God, that’s good’.

“Texture is very important, too. I think it’s often more important in food than flavour… And that’s why I like a really well-made Cheddar that’s nice and crumbly and just [as you chew it] it brings out the flavours…”

Cheese lovers, say “Mmmmm!”

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he function was held inside the Rolls-Royce showroom on Great South Road, Auckland, next to McMillan BMW, the agents for Rolls-Royce in New Zealand. On arrival, invited guests were treated to a flute of champagne and tasty hors d’oeuvres before a shroud was pulled off the new 2014 Wraith, an elegant two-door coupé powered by a twin-turbocharged V12 engine.

Giles Taylor, director of design for Rolls-Royce, says: “There’s a sense of effortless grace and elegance [about the Wraith] but at the same time something more contemporary and daring.”

I noted that, because the remark might have also applied to the aged cognac from the House of Croizet guests were invited to try as they examined the new car.

Leon Croizet was Napoloeon Bonaparte’s sommelier

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before he established his cognac house in 1805 in the Grand Champagne region of southwest France. Aficionados will tell you the best cognacs derive from grapes grown there, so perhaps that explains how this house became an award-winner and the cognac chosen by Winston Churchill to drink when he sat down with General Dwight D. Eisenhower to plan the invasion of German-occupied Europe. Great cognacs have great stories to tell.

New Zealander Jason Dellaca, who comes from a family of importers and is the agent for Cognac Croizet here, told World, “It is different because it is a premier singlevintage cognac and Croizet is only one of three houses that have continuously held a single-vintage licence since its inception. This means it can age its mainstream range far longer than the minimum required age.”

How long? Well, he suggested we sample the limitededition Cuvée Rolls-Royce, perfectly suited for this

THE ROLLS-ROYCE OF

COGNACS The recent unveiling in Auckland of the 2014 Rolls-Royce Wraith was celebrated with a tasting of the world’s most expensive cognac. Thomas Hyde sips a rare drop.

special occasion. It was a 100-year-old blend using grapes harvested in 1904, when the Rolls-Royce company was established. He poured out a generous drop from a bottle set aside especially for guests on the night and it was indeed exquisite – although we could not help but notice an even older bottle, somewhat musty as if it had just been removed from a cellar.

It was the 1858 Cuvée Léonie, the vintage Churchill and Eisenhower drank and the one that set a world record not long ago when it sold to a bidder in Shanghai for $190,000, the most expensive cognac ever sold, according to the Guinness Book of Records. It was for display only, of course. www.cognachouse.co.nz

Opposite Page: Croizet Cuvée Léonie 1858 cognac, as drunk by Winston Churchill.

ABOVE: The 2014 Rolls-Royce Wraith: a sense of effortless grace.

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FOR THE A New Zealand company is taking new super-premium brands of vodka and gin to the world while helping to preserve two endangered native birds.

T

he exquisite bottle labels were painted

by New Zealand artist Andrew BarnsGraham. The Chatham Island black robin, or toutouwai, is a small songbird with a black plumage that was rescued from the brink of extinction in 1984 after it was discovered there were only two breeding pairs left in the world. It remains endangered, but the population has grown to more than 250 on two remote islands in the Chathams group.

The native Fiordland blue duck, or whio, is also under threat. It is the only member of its genus in the world and it remains listed as “nationally vulnerable” under the New Zealand Threat Classification System. In an everyday way, the bird features on the New Zealand $10 note.

That these two native birds are now the face of new brands of vodka and gin launched recently in Auckland may seem a little cheeky, but the company, Simply Pure, has entered into a special relationship with the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand.

A percentage of the profits from the sale of these new

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beverages is donated to the society to help fund the restoration of the birds’ native habitats.

Simply Pure (Rarified Spirits) was founded by Kiwis Peter Darroch and Phil Clark. Darroch is a successful advertising and marketing executive who was twice a finalist in the Fairfax AdMedia CEO of the Year awards.

His impressive resumé includes 1997 New Zealand Marketer of the Year and stints working for and with multinational companies in Europe, North America and Asia, in particular mainland China. Phil Clark has held various roles within the New Zealand hospitality sector for over 20 years.

The launch of Black Robin Gin and Blue Duck Vodka coincides with a worldwide resurgence of sales in each of these two spirits – despite a relatively weak global economy. Luxury goods companies like LVMH, for example, are enjoying unprecedented growth (sales up 19 per cent in 2011), much of it attributed to an increasing demand for premium spirits.

Each of these brands is distilled in Tauranga. Peter Darroch told World that, “Our vodka is distilled seven times, producing a far superior result. Other top brands, are distilled no more than five times. And our brands are handcrafted, meaning they are produced by the hand of our master distiller.” The master distiller is German Michael Deinlien, who studied his craft at the University of Stuttgart.

Black Robin Gin is 43 per cent alcohol and is derived from natural New Zealand spring water. It has no additives, preservatives or sugars. Its unique fragrance comes from a botanical mix of chervil, watercress, parsley and mint, blended with the New Zealand native plant horopito – one of the world’s oldest flowering plants, with a peppery taste. After its seven distillations, Blue Duck Vodka, also 43 per cent alcohol, is subtle and polished, with a smooth, velvety texture and a lemony zest. www.simplypure.co.nz

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OVER THE SEA Likuliku Lagoon Resort boasts Fiji’s only overwater bungalows. Karen Halabi falls into the dreamy embrace of this couples-only island sanctuary.

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L ABOVE: Reception at Likuliku Lagoon Resort: unmistakably Fijian.

OPPOSITE PAGE: Snorkelling is a major attraction at Likuliku Lagoon and guests in overwater bungalows have direct access to a brilliant underwater world.

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arry Ellison’s megayacht was moored at Denarau marina when I arrived, a giant, gunmetal and blue vessel the size of a naval ship, complete with helipad. Perhaps the owner of Oracle and one of the richest men in the world was looking to buy an island.

Mel Gibson has one – here in the Mamanuca group.

So does Tony Robbins, the American motivational guru, and Dietrich Mateschitz, the super-wealthy owner of Red Bull. Many of Fiji’s islands are owned by foreigners. But I’m heading to Likuliku Lagoon Resort, which is 100 per cent Fijian owned and almost completely Fijian staffed.

My driver, Ronnie, from Rosie Tours, greets me with, “Welcome to our family. Thank you for coming. Now you are family. Welcome, family.” And he repeats that chant all the way to the boat. From then on I’m known simply as “Family”.

You’ll find Likuliku on the island of Malolo, on its own little bay. It takes 35 minutes to get there by speedboat from Denarau marina or considerably less by helicopter.

Choppers aren’t allowed to land on Malolo before 8am and after 8pm: too much of an interruption to the guests, says Steve Anstey, the GM. Anstey comes from Zimbabwe via stints at Bedarra, Sea Temple and Lizard Island in

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Australia. Anstey is one of the few non-Fijian staff at the resort – the others are the New Zealand-born executive chef and his French-born wife.

Likuliku is rated one of the top resorts in Fiji, a luxury kids-free zone that has been up there with the best of the best since opening in 2007.

Likuliku stands apart because it is built on top of a live reef and has Fiji’s only overwater bungalows – something normally only associated with French Polynesia or the Maldives. There are 10 of them, fanning out into the lagoon at the end of a long walkway that runs out into the reef. And luckily I’m headed for one, Number 9.

More bures are set along the beachfront with lagoon or garden/sea views.

A tropical fruit plate and a bottle of champagne chilling in an ice bucket greet me on arrival. Red hibiscus petals and seeds lie strewn across the beds, spelling out the words “Bula, Welcome Home”. There’s also a sulu (sarong) and, in the bathroom, signature Pure Fiji toiletries.

My new home is a freestanding overwater bungalow – with a separate bedroom and bathroom connected by a walkway and a huge lounging deck facing out to sea complete with an outdoor shower, lounge chairs and a ladder that leads down into the water. My bungalow looks across the water to Honeymoon Island, where I am to visit the next day.

There’s no TV, but who needs it when the floor of the bedroom has glass panels through which I can see tropical fish darting through dappled sunlight amongst the coral below? The same in the bathroom: behind the vanities is another glass viewing panel so you can watch the water and the fish below while cleaning your teeth.

The ambience is all very Fijian, with thatched roofs, lots of wood and Fijian prints and cloths. As Anstey says, “We’re definitely not the marble-and-chandelier set. We’re more ‘barefoot in the sand’.”

Soon after I arrive there’s a knock at the door and a voice calls, “Bula vinaka!” One of the smiling staff enters with a platter of canapés and puts it down on the glass table, then restocks the cookie jar with fresh choc chip cookies and replenishes the ice bucket, all the time beaming. This happens every afternoon during my stay.

Two more staff bring afternoon snacks – anything from fresh rice-paper rolls to an antipasto plate.

I sit on the deck with a glass of bubbly and a nibble and watch a lone paddle-boarder weave around the lagoon.

Iridescent blue fish dart through the water below me. I don my goggles and decide to join them, climbing down the ladder to snorkel in the water below the bungalows and around the bay.

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Building the bungalows over the reef was no mean feat, Anstey tells me. Apparently it’s very expensive and complex to build over water and there are only a few places in the world close to the equator with the right tidal and other conditions to make it possible.

That evening I head over to the Masima bar on the finger wharf that juts out into Malolo Lagoon for the GM’s cocktail party. The bungalows are a bit of a hike from the main complex so I phone for a buggy to come and pick me up. One arrives within minutes – all part of the service.

The night starts with a traditional torch-lighting ceremony by a Fijian “warrior” in a grass skirt. There’s a welcome drink, ukuleles and a Fijian choir. The guest list is truly international: couples from Spain, Italy, the US, France, China, Korea and Australia. Many younger couples have their honeymoon here.

Older couples tell me they’ve been coming here every year.

The record, Anstey tells me, is 11 revisits. Such is the sense of family and relaxation Likuliku induces.

The friendliness and efficiency of the staff must have a lot to do with that. You really feel welcome and part of a family.

Every staff member greets you with an enthusiastic “Bula!” or “Bula vinaka!” wherever you are and they gather to sing Fijian welcome songs as you arrive and Isa Lei Lia as you leave.

The next morning I head off on an island-hopping excursion that includes stops at The Sandbar for snorkelling and Monuriki, a tiny uninhabited island, just 600 metres across, where Castaway was filmed. Monuriki is only a stone’s throw from neighbouring islands, including Malolo. Tom Hanks could have swum across to Likuliku for lunch.

On Monuriki, we find stones laid in the sand spelling out,

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“Help Me”. Opposite is Monu Island and we also sail past Mataramona, an Italian-owned island, and Tokoriki (Australian owned) and Tadrai – both couples-only resorts.

The following day it’s time for a picnic and snorkelling trip.

The staff will take you to a number of spots, but for my money the best is Honeymoon Island, because it’s completely ringed by a reef wall and just a five-minute trip by speedboat across the bay. There’s a white-sand beach at one end and a small, thatched structure. We peg our clothes to a piece of driftwood in the sand and imagine what it would be like to be stranded here.

I can’t believe the variety of coral and the exquisite tropical fish I see within metres of shore and set off to snorkel around the surrounding reef. There are incredible underwater scenes and a huge array of multicoloured tropical fish swimming among the coral, bright blue starfish and all kinds of brain and ribbon coral that unfurl when you touch them.

Exhausted, I arrive back just in time to see staff serving up a picnic lunch of seafood and salads. We sit and eat on the beach under the makeshift sun shelter.

The food at Likuliku – and there’s lots of it – is like eating every day in a fine-dining restaurant. Lunch and dinner are served in the beachfront restaurant and both include a threecourse degustation fusion menu with a range of choices. Even breakfast is special, with juices, fresh coconuts and hot dishes such as the signature mud-crab omelette.

With all this fine dining, I’m happy to be sitting on a beach eating a simple salad and grilled fish.

That night in the restaurant there is a crab amuse-bouche with coconut and coriander, a poached champagne lobster entrée with avruga caviar, heirloom tomato consommé and

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ABOVE: Deluxe Beachfront Bures at dusk.

ABOVE RIGHT: Snorkelling reveals multicoloured coral and the exquisite tropical fish within metres of shore.

RIGHT: Overwater bungalows fan out across the emerald waters of Likuliku Lagoon.

jelly, followed by a choice of braised pork belly, confit duck or pan-seared barramundi with artichoke purée in a mud crab and oyster mushroom emulsion. Desserts include flourless chocolate cake, espresso ice cream, liquorice and strawberry curd purée.

The next afternoon I have the chance to chat with executive chef Ihaka Peri when he takes me on a tour of his kitchen vegetable garden. Peri hails from the Bay of Islands and before coming here with his wife (who is the charming maitre d’ at the restaurant), he cooked at Balzac and Wildfire in Sydney. Many of the ingredients for his Fijian-inspired cuisine come from this garden, including sawtooth coriander, micro herbs, black and red Fijian chillies, local sage, eggplants and tomatoes.

Peri is happy to show guests around his garden and talk about his food. I also take a traditional medicine walk with one of the staff, who points out all the local plants and herbs that grow on the island, among them dilo, saltbush, hibiscus, the noni tree, pandanus and kava.

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There’s no shortage of things to do on Malolo, only time.

There are trips to the local village and guided walks to Jonas Lookout, on top of the island; even a chance to watch the preparation and burial of the traditional lovo feast once a week.

But I settle for a visit to the Tatadra Spa, which caters specifically for couples with twilight spa and massage treatments complete with candles, dimmed lights, hibiscus petals and aromatic smells. Pity I’m alone.

All too soon the staff gather at the jetty to sing for those of us who must leave. Isa Lei Lia, the Fijian farewell song, is surely one of the saddest ever written.

Ronnie tells me as he drives me back to the airport, “God made us last. You know why he took so long? Because he had to make 300 islands. He made us when he was happy and he said you can only have them if you share them. So, come back soon, Family…” www.likulikulagoon.com

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PLEASURES OF THE

PLATEAU

Lake, mountains, golf – and a set of very classy wheels: Thomas Hyde enjoys a perfect weekend in Taupo.

I

t used to be called a “getaway weekend”. A magazine I once wrote for covered the cost of your weekend away from the predictable rowdiness of Auckland and the destination had to be far enough away to feel like a true break from the city.

The lake, the mountains and golf courses around Taupo were perfect getaway material, but in those days I never had the chance to get there. So I jumped at the chance now, especially since the offer included two nights at the Hilton Lake Taupo and test-driving a new BMW X6.

It was too wet that weekend for golf. In fact, I was in a golf cart overlooking the ultra-challenging par-three 15th hole at Kinloch when the downpour struck. Maybe it was just as well: golf can be difficult at Kinloch on the best of days. Kinloch, the only Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course in New Zealand, is a serious test. Like the honour board

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for holes-in-one, Kinloch should have one for scoring par at the 416-metre 9th hole, an uphill battle to a blind green.

The BMW X6 was a diesel eight-speed automatic that we drove from Auckland to Taupo and back again on the smell of an oily rag. The car was a sleek blend of coupé and SUV with comfy leather upholstery. All of this and a host of high-tech accessories (too many to list here) were fun to play with, but my foremost memory of the drive was one of feeling safe in a vehicle that held the road as if the tyres were attached to the asphalt, even in wet conditions.

Hilton Hotels & Resorts has become a leading international hospitality brand since its founder, Conrad Hilton, gave away the idea of buying a bank and, virtually on the spur of the moment, bought a hotel instead.

That was in 1919. Today, there are 4,000 Hilton properties

worldwide across 90 countries, while Conrad is perhaps better known as the great-grandfather of Paris Hilton.

Curiously, like Paris Hilton, the group’s hotels today tend to be smart and stylish without crossing the line into snobbery. Hilton hotels are accessible and fun and that, I think – together with the quality service on all fronts – is the secret to their success. Hilton hotels remain innovative without “putting on the glitz”, a feature that too often is more of a put-off than a turn-on.

Hilton Lake Taupo, set on a hilltop with a grand lake view two kilometres from town on the road to Napier, was fully booked when we arrived. In spite of the rain, people appeared to be having the time of their lives indulging in the fine food and drink at Bistro Lago, the hotel’s in-house restaurant, and the hot pools, either out back of the hotel (complimentary) or next door at DeBrett’s Living Water Spa,

the iconic mineral pools Kiwis have been enjoying since 1889 and where today Hilton hotel guests receive a discount.

For me, there’s something special about Taupo.

Maybe it’s the high Central Plateau air; maybe it’s the lake and the rivers that provide one of the world’s great angling experiences. Had the weather improved we might have booked a morning on the lake with Chris Jolly Outdoors, the adventure company specialising in activities ranging from fishing and hunting to more sedate scenic cruises on the lake.

CLOCKWISE FROM FAR LEFT: Hilton Lake Taupo – room with a view; Lake Taupo is a mecca for trout fishers; sunset, Hilton Lake Taupo; Kinloch golf course; BMW X6.

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RIGHT: Kinloch, the only Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course in New Zealand, is a serious but brilliant challenge for the visiting golfer.

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Founder Chris Jolly is one of New Zealand’s most accomplished outdoorsmen. Chris was off in the wilderness somewhere with a hunting party from overseas but I knew he had arranged a dependable team we could rely on to guide us to the right fishing spots in one of the company’s four launches (morning tea included). Unlike fly fishing, which takes some practise and skill, lake fishing involves trolling – which means it’s possible to enjoy food and drink while keeping an eye on the line. But the weather packed up.

Before dinner on Friday night I took time for a quick tour of the hotel property, namely the Heritage Wing, which is the original hotel. Here, hallways double as photography galleries. The framed black-and-white images give guests some idea of what a “getaway weekend” looked like a hundred years ago.

I had a look at the fitness centre with its steam room and sauna (perfect for the conditions outside) and took note of two floodlit tennis courts. Back inside the hotel I bypassed the Cellar Ballroom where staff were setting up for a wedding the following night: 120 guests for a sit-down dinner with a head table and a dance floor with strobe lighting out the back. The wedding went off without a hitch and though dancing carried on into the early hours of Sunday morning I heard not a sound from my room.

For dinner on Friday night I booked a table at Bistro Lago, a restaurant with a reputation that preceded my visit in so far as it is owned and managed by Simon Gault’s Nourish Group. Euro (a personal favourite in Auckland), Jervois Road Steak House and FISH at the Hilton in Auckland as well as Shed 5 and Pravda Café in Wellington are part of the group.

At Bistro Lago I very much enjoyed the Calamari salad and Lago Burger with prosciutto and pickled onion and, from a comprehensive list of New Zealand wines, a bottle of Mt Difficulty Roaring Meg Pinot Noir.

On Saturday night I rang friends who live in Taupo and invited them for dinner at the hotel, in my room. After all, the room, one of 113 in the hotel, was fully equipped with a kitchen and a dining area containing a table for eight.

My idea was to drive over to the supermarket and spend a rainy afternoon cooking. Instead, my friends invited me out, so when the time came – and knowing this was a rare reunion of old friends – I left the X6 in the parking lot and took a taxi.

On Sunday morning I was back at Bistro Lago for the breakfast buffet before heading home. Driving back up State Highway 1, I took a detour to the Taupo racetrack to meet Charles Dawson of Formula Challenge, a business he established as a way of introducing people to the thrills of

E xpect the exceptional

open-wheel racing. Charles described driving his cars – all of which are designed and built in New Zealand and can reach speeds of 225km/h – as “controlled fun”.

Each session lasts about 90 minutes, beginning with a tutorial with an experienced driver. You can then drive 10 laps (about 14km) on your own as fast as you feel comfortable going, or racing against the clock. For corporate groups, the competition to be the fastest can become perilous, although Dawson reports that there have been no serious accidents so far.

By the way, he added as I backed out to leave, “anyone staying at the Hilton should check out our `Race and Stay’ package!” Race and Stay was one I had never heard of. Personally I’d rather play and stay, as in golf and if not at Kinloch then Wairakei International, the Taupo Golf Club – or ideally, all three. Fishing, golf and pretending to be Scott Dixon (he learned to drive on the Taupo track) are just three of the many types of activity Taupo offers.

Tandem skydiving, jetboating, scenic helicopter tours: it’s mountain air and more.

One final note: on the drive home we found a café that’s well worth stopping at. It’s under new management and studiously avoids serving the same old, same old. Nigel Brown is a former truckie who drove rigs across the Aussie outback until he decided to return home to New Zealand. He now operates Tirau’s Cabbage Tree Café, a place we declared the best refreshment stop between Auckland and Taupo.

Judging from the signatures on the wall of the café, the likes of former All Black coach John Hart and TV3’s John Campbell agree.

Fishing, golf, tandem skydiving, jetboating, scenic helicopter tours: it’s mountain air and more.

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Not For

Profit

Emerald Bluffs, a new private property development near Wanaka, is taking a unique and commendable approach to the environment.

J

ohn May arrived in New Zealand from Germany 15 years ago. He was so taken by the beauty of the lake and the mountains around Wanaka he bought a section. Inspired to do more, to leave a legacy, he acquired some land in West Wanaka that was intended to be a 15-section housing development but had failed to meet strict environmental standards.

May disagreed that the area should be developed so intensively, and purchased that undeveloped land and an adjacent section two years later, a total of 85 hectares.

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Since then, ecologists, landscape designers, architects, engineers and other experts have been employed to restore Emerald Bluffs to its original habitat and to create seven building platforms on their spectacular respective sites. Set up as a not-for-profit enterprise, any profits from the sales of the sites will be donated to environmental projects in the area through a charitable trust. Five of the seven house sites remain.

Spokesman Michael Rawlence told World, “This style of development, to my knowledge, is unprecedented in New Zealand. The commitment to the regeneration and protection of natural ecosystems, combined with the spectacular beauty of the area and the world-class infrastructure is a unique and exciting concept.

“John May’s passion for the local environment led to this project being undertaken. The process has thus far involved removal of weed species, creation of a wetland area and vast re-vegetation in native species – over 100,000 plants to date.

“This work, and a comprehensive pest control programme, has led to an increase of local birdlife.

The New Zealand falcon, emblem of Emerald Bluffs and one of New Zealand’s most spectacular birds, now makes its home here”.

To complement the environmental work, a study in sustainable buiding design was undertaken. The result was the international award-winning C3 House design concept, a luxurious family home that achieves a net zero carbon footprint and satisfies design requirements within outstanding natural landscapes.

A management company has been formed to look after the entire site, its services, and infrastructure. “All the services, including power and water, are controlled from the centrally located base building to each building platform,” said Rawlence. “The base building also houses a large solar power system, which is connected to the grid.

“The infrastructure is world-class quality, but it is the tranquillity and the seclusion of the site within this stunning landscape that makes Emerald Bluffs truly special. Each house will be nestled amongst native bush and the glacially formed topography – totally hidden from public view and neighbouring houses. It is an example of how areas of natural beauty can be enhanced and protected through sensitive land use.”

Emerald Bluffs is located 15 minutes from Wanaka off the Wanaka-Mt. Aspiring Road. www.emeraldbluffs.co.nz

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2014 DESTINATIONS: AFRICA • ALASKA • Asia • Australia • canada • Caribbean • EUROPE • South America • South Pacific

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T h e p i n n ac l e o f p e r f e c t io n Oceania Cruises’ Owners Suites feature rich furnishings from the Ralph Lauren Home Collection and span the entire beam of the ship. With Suite Privileges ranging from priority embarkation, complimentary in suite bar set up to a customized entertainment system and personal butler service, there is simply no more luxurious way to explore Your World. Your Way®.

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S

ince it was launched in 2002, The World, a 196-metre “yacht” containing 165 privately owned residences and world-class facilities, has visited more than 900 ports in 140 countries. But let’s be clear, The World is not a cruise ship, it’s a residential yacht – an important distinction, because it was not built to offer short-term cruising holidays so much as a lifestyle of global discovery.

The World can accommodate more than 300 passengers but at any given time the number of those on board is usually from 150 to 200 residents and guests whose average voyage is three to four months. Typically,

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the yacht will stay in a port for three days, giving those aboard time to engage in incredible and often exclusive destinational experiences.

Land-based explorations run the gamut from cultural enrichment – such as visits to historic landmarks and museums – to fitness pursuits like hiking, biking and diving. For foodies it can be anything from savouring regional delicacies at a local market to having the ship’s concierge reserve a table at a Michelin-starred restaurant.

The World circles the globe on a never-ending journey of discovery. In 2013, for example, the yacht made its way from ports in the Caribbean and along the northern coast of South America and across the Atlantic to

A HOME ON THE OCEAN WAVES

Fancy the life aquatic? The planet’s largest privately owned residential yacht is heading our way in 2014.

the west coast of Africa before heading north to the Mediterranean, the UK and Scandinavia.

The 2014 itinerary begins in the Canary Islands before crossing the Atlantic to the Caribbean and Central America.

It passes through the Panama Canal and sails south to the west coast of South America and then makes the extraordinary journey across the Pacific, with stops in Easter Island, Tahiti and the Cook Islands. It reaches New Zealand in April. From here, it heads to Australia, then north to ports in Southeast Asia. By then it will have covered 44,000 nautical miles and visited 123 new ports.

The World circumnavigates the globe every two to three years, depending on an itinerary set in consultation

with the owners of the residences. These range in size from studios to three-bedroom apartments and as every residence is wired into the world at large, it’s possible to do business while at sea – in between adventures, of course.

In-depth expeditions in 2014 include a 17-day exploration of Papua New Guinea in June and The World’s first-ever visit to the Solomon Islands. Residents and guests will explore the Sepik River, experience local rituals in the Highlands and, in Rabaul, witness the famed Fire Dance by men from the Baining tribe. The Fire Dance is performed at weddings and funerals but can also be a rite of passage for young men into adulthood. In August there’s another expedition north of Japan to the Sea of

During 2014 The World will travel 44,000 nautical miles and visit 123 new ports. The ship circumnavigates the world every two to three years.

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Okhotsk, which brims with wildlife amid the incredible beauty of the Arctic.

The World has six restaurants and six bars, a casual bistro and delicatessen, a pool-side grill, tea room and cigar club.

There’s a spa and fitness centre, the only full-sized tennis court at sea and a theatre for movies, lectures and live local performances. A recurring theme onboard is gourmet food and fine wine. The ship’s wine cellar holds 12,000 bottles and restaurant menus reflect a destination’s authentic flavours.

Meals can also be prepared in the privacy of each residence with the Call-A-Chef programme.

The World brings destinations to life in unique and original ways: being greeted at the top of an Arctic glacier with champagne,

atas essqui

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CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE LEFT: Tides, one of six restaurants aboard The World; longer port visits allow more time to explore; the well-equipped library; night falls on the Pool Deck.

caviar and hot chocolate; turning a corner while exploring a Norwegian fjord in a Zodiac to discover a Viking-clad general manager serving hot toddies and hot dogs; sailing through Canada’s Northwest Passage and, from the warmth of your living room, seeing a mother polar bear and her cub staring back at you from an ice floe.

The World is a one-of-a-kind experience.

To learn more, phone Joseph O’Sullivan +64 (9) 9174440 or visit www.aboardtheworld.com

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www.luxuryholidaycompany.co.nz Carolyn Hedley, Travel Broker, t/a Luxury Holiday Company. a division of Just Tickets Ltd. Just Tickets Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Stella Travel Services Group, 66 Wyndham Street, Auckland.

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After the adrenalin-pumping antics of those fast-charging catamarans at the America’s Cup in San Francisco, the prospect of a friendly superyacht regatta in Auckland this summer seems downright civilised. Thomas Hyde reports.

L

ast summer, five magnificent superyachts held a regatta in Auckland. Over three days, they sailed a course from a start line off Viaduct Harbour up the Rangitoto Channel to the Whangaparaoa Peninsula, around Rakino Island and back.

Among the entries were the 39.6m Janice of Wyoming, the 50m Ohana and the 30.2m Zefiro. Zefiro won two of the three races and at the festive post-regatta function was declared the overall winner.

New Zealand claims just 1.5 per cent of the world’s superyacht activity but in dollar terms it is a significant sector of the economy – and one expected to grow in the coming years. This regatta was organised by the New Zealand Marine Export Group with the aim of promoting New Zealand as a hub for building and refitting those yachts. Other sponsors included Yachting Developments, Alloy Yachts, Fitzroy Yachts and the Viaduct and Silo Marinas. Silo Marina now has berths up to 115m long designed especially for servicing and refuelling the big boats.

Ellie Brade, the Pacific editor of The Superyacht Report, told us: “The industry has experienced huge levels of growth over the last 20 years, and particularly over the last decade… The total delivered fleet grew from 1,597 yachts in 1992 to 4,723 today.”

New yacht construction has slowed, but growth continues in the refit and charter sectors. Aucklander John Vitali, a former round-the-world sailor on Flyer II with legendary skipper Conny van Rietschoten, and the New Zealand operations manager for Young America in the 1999-2000 America’s Cup, is now a partner in Diverse

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Projects, an independent contractor based in the Viaduct Basin. Diverse Projects manages the construction, refitting and chartering of superyachts.

“To me, there are two things that have happened in the superyacht industry,” he says. “One is a comfort level, where you now have five-star quality for the absolute elite, while the charter business has given an opportunity to people who don’t own one but would like to spend a holiday on one.

“The other is that the Pacific Rim has opened up as an alternative to other regions. We are a new destination, so there are a lot of people who have had no exposure to this region. So we’re seeing owners of superyachts coming here to get work done rather than just to restock and move on.”

Diverse Projects represents Ocean Independence, the largest superyacht charter fleet in the world. Ocean Independence managed superyacht berths at the America’s Cup in San Francisco. Diverse Projects is its New Zealand agent for booking charters anywhere in the world.

Or, if you’re really keen, you could buy a superyacht.

It would take about two years to build and involve a lot of money. Companies and owners are not inclined to say how much, but we’ve been told that if you haven’t got a spare $25 million you shouldn’t be in the game.

Fitzroy Yachts of New Plymouth, whose entry in the Auckland regatta was Ohana, employs about 160 staff and lists 4,000 scheduled activities that go into the building of a superyacht. Managing director Rodney Martin noted that one of the advantages New Zealand has is: “Unlike Europe and North America, New Zealand’s economy is seen as relatively stable. We’re also known for our straightforward attitude – if we say we’re going to do something, we do it. Our clients find that refreshing.”

Tony Hambrook, managing director of Alloy Yachts, another Kiwi company building these extraordinary boats, says, “The superyacht market had a massive correction, but now the real superyacht owners are ordering new yachts.

“Today, owners… look for companies like Alloy with a strong pedigree, good financial structure and a reputation for delivering award-winning yachts.”

Keep an eye open for another superyacht regatta on the Waitemata Harbour this summer. It should be a great sight.

“We’re known for our straightforward attitude – if we say we’re going to do something, we do it.

Our clients find that refreshing.”

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Obama’s

Hawaii

US President Barack Obama grew up in Hawaii and although he’s been on a remarkable journey since then, he still returns to his home state to catch up with old friends, enjoy local cuisine and play golf.

Thomas Hyde checks out some of the President’s holiday favourites.

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Kailua

The quiet shade of Kapiolani Park acts as a buffer between the bustle of central Waikiki and the New Otani Kaimana Beach Hotel.

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The late-night departure of Hawaiian Airlines from Auckland to Honolulu suited us. It meant we slept through most of the eight-hour flight and arrived mid-morning the same day; back to the future. That left us with the remainder of the day for shopping at the Ala Moana Centre and a late lunch at Duke’s on Waikiki Beach before checking into the New Otani Kaimana Beach Hotel.

The Japanese-owned New Otani Kaimana (www.kaimana. com) sits at the far end of Waikiki Beach below Diamond Head. It’s separated from the heart of Waikiki by the quiet, shady grounds of Kapiolani Park. Kalakaua Avenue invariably feels crowded with its endless flow of strolling tourists, so it was a nice change to have the park as a buffer. We were on the beach yet removed from the bustle.

Our spacious fifth-floor ocean-view room (with kingsize bed and marble bathroom stocked with L’Occitane accessories) had compelling views of Waikiki, especially at night. Downstairs, a ramp led from the lobby directly onto the beach. The hotel’s beachside restaurant, with its broad international menu and South Pacific–style bar, was perpetually busy with visitors from all over the world.

American President Barack Obama grew up here, on the

a beach town on the windward coast about 20 minutes away on the Pali Highway. It’s easy enough to hire a car or catch a public bus and head over for the day. Kailua Beach is one of the best beaches in the state and the golf courses Obama plays are, I suggest, unlike any you have played before.

Take Luana Hills Country Club, for example. Also known as the Royal Hawaiian Golf Club, it’s not called the Jurassic Park of golf for nothing. Playing here, someone once said, was like “being in an episode of the reality TV show Lost”.

The course plays around bush-clad hills and has steep slopes and valleys that altogether make it easy to leave the real world behind, although the rolling fairways and tiered greens are a sharp reminder of reality. Obama had played here earlier in the year. Head professional David Nagatori told us his game was “not bad”, adding: “He scores in the mid-90s but he’s good enough to break 90 if he played more.” A photo of the President taken here hangs on the wall of the pro shop. Tourists turn up and take a photo of the photo.

Luana Hills, like most of the golf courses on Oahu’s windward coast, offers a shuttle service from Waikiki. It’s less than 30 minutes across the Ko’olau Range to the golf

island of Oahu. He was born in this US state, too, despite what a band of politically motivated knuckleheads wish to believe. He attended Punahou High School in Honolulu, then Harvard Law School, after which he took a job at a law firm in Chicago, where he met his wife, Michelle.

For Obama, Hawaii is home and it is to Hawaii he loves to return. Since being elected President that has also meant a large press corps following along behind and though it may be debatable whether that’s good for tourism, I suspect it is. If nothing else, his presence reminds the rest of us what a holiday in Hawaii can look like.

Obama spends less time in Honolulu than in Kailua,

course, allowing players to be back “in town” (as locals say) for a Mai Tai at sunset. Along the way they might take time to stop at the Pali Lookout for a sweeping view of Oahu’s windward coast.

According to the Honolulu Star–Advertiser, Obama took up golf in high school, but basketball remained his true passion until his wife suggested he take up a sport where he was less likely to sprain an ankle or worse.

Basketball is a young man’s game, after all.

By then Obama was an Illinois State Senator looking to run for the US Senate. Golf can be good politics, so he picked up a golf club again and since becoming President

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For Obama, Hawaii is home and his presence reminds the rest of us what a holiday in Hawaii can look like.

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Golf on Oahu is especially challenging at courses like the Royal Hawaiian, the “Jurassic Park” of golf courses.

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in 2008, he has played about 140 rounds – or about a round a day during every holiday he’s taken.

When in Hawaii, the President rekindles his taste for local cuisine. With that in mind, we met Alesia Cloutier for an organised Flavor of Hawaii (www.flavorofhawaii.com) culinary tour of Kailua. Alesia, a native of Kailua, met us at what many consider the best coffee house in town: Morning Brew.

Her tours are for groups of up to 10 people but by chance we were her only customers on the day and that suited us fine. It gave us a chance to ask more questions.

In fact, I recommend paying a bit more for a private tour to get the most out of the experience.

“Poke” is Hawaiian for “cube”. At the Hibachi Deli we tasted four recipes of Ahi poke, or fresh tuna cubes, flavoured with ginger, sea asparagus, spicy Tobiko mayonnaise and wasabi ginger soy. Hibachi Deli has a reputation for making the best poke on Oahu.

We also tasted the deli’s smoked octopus before walking around the corner to Fatboy’s, a local restaurant, for a classic Hawaiian dish – and one Obama never fails to track down when he’s home. It’s the plate lunch, or what is sometimes referred to as the Hawaiian Barbecue.

The plate lunch is typically two scoops of rice, a scoop of macaroni salad and a meat or seafood entrée. It’s a dish derived from plantation days a century ago when Hawaii was little more than one huge pineapple plantation relying on imported workers who ate solid if modest food like this for lunch. As Hawaiian as the hula, the plate lunch is common at chain restaurants like Zippy’s, although Fatboy’s, we were told, serves the best.

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We tasted macadamia nut pancakes at the Uahi (oo-a-hee) Island Grill and a Shinsato pork taco with pineapple pico de gallo (relish) at Cactus, a Latin American bistro where we were introduced to Kailua’s celebrity chef, John Memering. Memering is one of the local chefs who take part in the annual Hawaiian Food and Wine Festival, held in September.

Like a number of restaurants on Oahu, the menu is created from mainly local ingredients. That helps to reduce costs while allowing for quality control. Shinsato, he explained, is the name of the Oahu farm where the pork is reared. Our pork taco was accompanied by a glass of frozen Sangria.

Our tour ended with a taste of Mama’s homemade bread pudding with haupia (hah-oo-pee-ah), roasted macadamia nuts and Bubbie’s homemade vanilla ice cream with whipped cream on top. Haupia is a coconutflavoured dessert commonly served at luaus (traditional Hawaiian parties or feasts).

Accommodation in Kailua is typically holiday rentals – both apartments and houses – with Paradise Point Estates (www.paradisepointestates.com) at Kailua Bay topping the list. Known as the “Winter White House”, it’s where Obama and family stay. It’s a five-bedroom plantationstyle house in a gated community, ultra-private and secure. We asked the manager for a tour. At any other time, he said, that would be fine, but a “Hollywood star” was currently in residence while shooting a film on Oahu.

He declined to tell us who that star was.

From Kailua we drove north along the scenic

Kamehameha Highway to Oahu’s North Shore, with stops at the Valley of the Temples and Kualoa Ranch. The signature attraction in the first instance was a Japanese Buddhist temple and in the second a bus tour of film locations.

Kualoa Ranch is a 1,600-hectare cattle ranch with a history going back to 1850. In recent times it’s become a popular location for movies. Scenes from Pearl Harbour and Jurassic Park were shot here. Other tours of the property are taken by all-terrain vehicle, horseback or boat (the ranch has its own marine reserve). After a final stop in Kahuku for a recommended shrimp plate lunch at Tita’s, we arrived at Turtle Bay.

Turtle Bay “Obama arrived about noon”, said Matthew Hall, director of golf at Turtle Bay. “I was told the previous day he was coming but no final decision had been made, so we were given less than 24 hours’ notice. We were introduced, but he had his usual playing partners – a friend from Chicago, his personal chef and one of his advisors.”

Turtle Bay has two courses: the (Arnold) Palmer Course and the (George) Fazio Course. Together they are a perfect fit, insofar as the Fazio course is flat, with wide, friendly fairways and elevated greens guarded by red-dirt bunkers. It’s the perfect resort course, accessible to all handicaps and where even the best players can get the kinks out of their swings after that long flight. It’s only 6,000 metres long but it challenges your short game.

The Palmer Course was one of three Arnold Palmer designed and built in Hawaii in 1972. It’s more than 30 years old now but you’d never know it. Some say it’s still the best golf course on Oahu. And the fact that Obama made a point of playing there when he normally plays in Kailua, says as much.

Palmer is longer than Fazio by 600m, but it’s a course with hidden nuances, where every shot has to be thought out; so perhaps that’s why it’s a favourite with professionals who have played here in a host of tournaments, including senior tour and LPGA events. It’s also the course used to film a Golf Channel reality show called Big Break.

Turtle Bay is found at the tip of a small peninsula that is the northernmost point on Oahu. It has popular vantage points for the typical beauty of Hawaiian sunrises and sunsets. Check out the website (www.turtlebayresort.com) for special packages, but for now I note that while golf was my personal preference, water sports and off-site tours by mountain bike, horseback and Segway are popular.

Oahu’s North Shore is one of the original homes of surfing. Its three world-renowned beaches – Ehukai Beach (the Banzai Pipeline), Sunset Beach and Haleiwa Beach – are where the annual Vans Triple Crown of big-wave surfing is held in November and December, when ocean swells produce 10m-plus waves. Meanwhile, at Turtle Bay there’s the more sedate paddle-boarding and kayaking.

President Obama has fun but takes golf seriously and always spends time on the driving range before he tees off.

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The hotel at Turtle Bay has a swimming beach on one side, a surfing beach on the other and two fine golf courses in between.

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Giant sea turtles have their own beach on one side of the main hotel, while guests have theirs on the other.

Turtle Bay accommodation ranges from beach cottages and ocean villas to newly renovated guest rooms. Our room was typical – light and airy; breezy enough that we could turn off the air conditioning. Tired from the drive up the coast, we checked in and headed straight for the pool and a cool drink. That evening at the hotel’s Kula Grill we enjoyed a Kona lobster salad with roasted beetroot and goat’s cheese and grilled Kaua’i shrimp.

The next day I met Matthew Hall for lunch at the golf club. “Michelle came that day, as well,” he said, “but she and the two girls went over to Kahuku Point to see the monk seals while the President played golf. He spent a lot of time on the range. He takes his game seriously. He was still on the course after sunset; but that was okay because the Secret Service was everywhere.”

Ko Olina From Turtle Bay we drove over to the Leeward Coast of Oahu, to the JW Marriott Ihilani Resort & Spa in Ko Olina.

Ko Olina, Hawaiian for “place of joy”, felt remote, but

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it’s only a 20-minute drive from Honolulu International Airport. It was the perfect spot for our final two nights before catching an afternoon flight back to Auckland.

We checked in to an 11th-floor room with a balcony and view down to the pool, over the beach and out to the deep blue sea. The temperature was a comfortable 27˚C, with a cooling offshore breeze.

The award-winning JW Marriott Ihilani Resort & Spa (www.ihilani.com) had recently earned a 2013 TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence. Reader surveys in one top travel magazine named its spa as among the best in the world.

We arrived by car, but the hotel has a shuttle service from the airport and one that takes guests to and from shopping sites in Honolulu.

The hotel has 351 rooms and 36 suites over 13 floors.

High-speed wireless internet is complimentary in the lobby and other public spaces. Its three restaurants specialise in American, Japanese and Italian cuisine respectively and I read that its Italian restaurant, Azul, is considered by some local critics the best Italian eatery in Hawaii.

For these reasons and more the JW Marriott Ihilani was chosen by President Obama to host an ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) conference. Of course, he took time out to play golf with other heads of states at the splendid Ko Olina Golf Club across the road.

The club is the site for an annual LPGA tournament in April. The course was designed by Ted Robinson, whose other notable Hawaiian course is the scenic Experience at Koele on the island of Lan’i. Ko Olina, with its wide fairways and elevated greens, reminded me of the Fazio course at Turtle Bay, although here, unlike Turtle Bay, water comes into play on a number of holes. Ko Olina is also newer and, however debateable it may be, was reported as “the best golf course in Hawaii” by the local newspaper.

ASEAN delegates staying at the JW Marriott Ihilani also enjoyed the spa, which is rated among the best in Hawaii.

It’s one of only two spas in the entire US offering classical thalassotherapy, an ancient Greek treatment using seawater.

Clients soak in an illuminated jet bath enjoying a full body water massage and colour therapy at the same time.

On our final day I was invited, as guests are, to take an active part in feeding the hotel’s resident spotted eagle rays and its 16 sharks. The Reef and Ray Adventure, as it’s called, allows guests the opportunity to feed the rays and sharks in the hotel’s exclusive saltwater ponds – under the eyes of its two resident marine biologists, of course.

The rays scooped clams from my open hand, cracking them open and leaving the broken shells on the bottom of the pond. We then stood in a knee-high cage feeding hammerhead and reef sharks, all about a metre long, with freshly cut octopus. Unlike when feeding the rays, I was reminded not to stick my hand in the water to feed the sharks.

We spent our final afternoon on the beach with a book, regular and e-versions.. That evening, we walked from the hotel over to Monkeypod kitchen, a favourite local restaurant specialising in gourmet burgers and wood-fired pizzas – although the menu is considerably more diverse than that.

The next morning we returned our rental car to the airport and by midnight, albeit the next day in New Zealand, we were back in Auckland wishing we had had more time in Hawaii but aiming to get back again soon.

Like President Obama, we love it there.

The JW Marriott Ihilani Resort offers fine dining, an award-winning spa and golf at Ko Olina, site of an LPGA Tour stop.

Thomas Hyde travelled to Hawaii with the help of Hawaiian Airlines, www.hawaianairlines.com, and Hawaiian Tourism in New Zealand, www.gohawaii.co.nz

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AP SC-kaleidoscope-230x297-en.indd 1

03/10/11 10:35

The Art of

Packin g

There’s something deeply satisfying about a well-packed suitcase. Louis Vuitton, leader in luggage for more than 150 years, has a few tips for the modern traveller.

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UPPER LEVEL

The

Pegase MIDDLE LEVEL

Bag trip

Fly light from a business lunch to a business meeting. Take a taxi, belongings at your side. Check the tickets in one glance.

Go straight to boarding. Cross the airport without a sound, one hand on the cane handle, the other on the smartphone.

Unpack the clothes in a “zip” in the bedroom: first the suit from its removable cover, then the V-neck cashmere jumper; and then the shirts, collars to fold down…

BOTTOM LEVEL

IN AND OUT

The Pegase takes off; rolls; stands back (the telescopic handle obliges); is carried by the sides; displays its Monogram canvas and transports, of course – what? For example: 1 jacket, 1 suit, 1 pair of jeans, 1 jumper, 1 shirt, 1 polo shirt, 2 t-shirts, underwear, socks, 1 pair of gloves, 2 pairs of shoes, 1 belt, ties and their case, 1 Louis Vuitton City Guide European Cities 2013 boxed set, 1 toilet bag and some accessories (shoe-care kit, watch, bow ties, diary, iPad case, etc). To be artfully packed…

INSTRUCTIONS

n°1

Arrange the shoes at the bottom and the top of the Pegase, separating the pair, with light shoetrees inserted and protective covers put on.

n°2

Place between them the Louis Vuitton City Guide boxed set, the toilet bag, the shoe-care kit and the belt rolled up on itself.

n°3 Fill in the empty spaces with underwear, socks and gloves. n°4 On the wheeled side, stack the shirts and polo shirt

top-to-toe and intertwined, collars raised, with every other button done up.

n°5 Further up, arrange the T-shirts and jumper rolled up

on themselves, as well as the ties in their case.

n°6 Insert the accessories (watch, bow ties, etc). n°7 Cover with the jeans, then the jacket folded in the

usual way: in two across the height with the collar visible and the sleeves folded in the back.

n°8

Place the complete suit in its cover. Fold it in three over itself and attach it to the flap of the Pegase.

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n°9

Close the suitcase, slip the diary and iPad case into the patch zipped pocket on the front. Check the taxi reservation number and confirm your departure is on time.

SHIRTS

1. Raise the collar of the shirt to protect it.

2. Do up every other button.

3. Fold it the usual way: in two, across the height with the collar visible and the sleeves folded in the back.

4. Stack two shirts, top to toe, to avoid creases.

SUIT IN A COVER

1. Lay the trousers down flat, legs folded in the usual way.

2. Place the outside trouser leg in the coat hanger. Fold it in two around the crotch.

3. Place the inside leg in the same coat hanger, and fold it identically, towards the waist of the trousers.

4. Hang the jacket on the coat hanger.

5. Place the complete suit in its cover.

BONUS

TIP

Protective covers, to slide along the side handle which guarantee the Pegase and its contents will remain intact.

The

Keepall UPPER LEVEL

MIDDLE LEVEL

Bag trip

BONUS

TIP

When shopping, the Keepall is a must.

Carried in another bag on the way there and held in the hand on the way back.

To do this, unzip it a little to flatten it better. Turn it over and bring in the tops of the sides towards the inside.

Fold once again, still towards the centre of the back of the bag. Turn it over, handles upwards, and stow it in a bigger bag.

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“Keeps all”. By Nature. Here, the Keepall unfolds and “zip” fills up; there, “zip” it opens, empties and folds up.

Between the two, an outwards journey in a flash for a trip, planned or not, alone or for two.

Soft, light, elegant, with a large volume, this classic goes everywhere, even in the overhead compartment!

“Keeps all”. By excellence.

Monogram canvas, natural cowhide, yellow linen thread, golden brass... Welcome aboard Air Louis Vuitton!

“Keeps all”. Beyond fashions.

In and out

The Keepall? One Monogram canvas, two handles, carryon size. Practical elegance. Easy to pick up, zip up, unzip, squeeze in. And to fill?

1 pair of jeans, 1 dress, 2 light jumpers, 1 cardigan, underwear, socks, 2 pairs of trainers, 2 pairs of shoes, 2 belts, 1 toilet bag, 1 cosmetics bag, 1 jewellery bag, 1 three watch case?

Easy, on condition you follow the instructions…

INSTRUCTIONS

n°1 Cover the bottom of the Keepall with the jeans,

folded in two or three, depending on the size of the bag.

E x p e c t t h e e x c e pt i o n al

BOTTOM LEVEL

n°2

On top of it, at each end, place one pair of trainers, tip to toe, and shoes, separating the pairs, with light shoetrees inserted, or stuffed with silk paper and protective covers on.

n°3

Place the toilet bag, cosmetics bag, jewellery bag, and three watch cases between them.

n°4

Fill the empty spaces left with underwear, socks and belts rolled up on themselves.

n°5 Cover with the jumpers, cardigan and dress rolled

up on themselves.

n°6 Close the Keepall with a “zip” and leave!

JEANS

1. Lay the jeans down flat with legs open, stitching facing outwards, pockets flat on the back.

2. Bring in the legs one on top of the other.

3. Fold the jeans lengthways in two or three, so it takes up as much as possible of the bottom of the Keepall.

THIN JUMPER

1. Lay the jumper down flat, collar on top.

Fold the sleeves in.

2. Roll it over on itself, from the collar to the bottom.

3. Roll it over on itself again from left to right as needed.

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Concierge A WORLD of exceptional accommodation: spas and wellness retreats.

Treetops Rotorua World Magazine

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Treetops Rotorua

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magine an evening soak in your own private hot tub tucked inside a serene native forest where the only sound you hear is made by native birds. Located on a quiet, secluded estate of native trees, streams and valleys about 15 minutes from Rotoura town and within easy driving distance of Lake Taupo, Treetops Lodge and Estate, a member of Healing Hotels of the World, is a multiple award-winner recognised worldwide as one of New Zealand’s finest retreats.

The Treetops spa menu is based on unique indigenous treatments like the Mirimiri Massage, a sacred Maori practice that begins with a powhiri (welcome) followed by a 60-minute treatment using oil derived from the kawakawa plant. It’s a holistic massage designed to synchronise your mauri (life essence) and wairua (spirit) to release tension and stress while producing renewed energy and general wellbeing.

Treetops’ Wellness Package is a minimum two-night stay that includes indigenous spa treatments, yoga, meditation and cooking classes. The lodge also offers other two, five and seven-day programmes. Enhance your new-found sense of peace with tranquil walks through the bush or a guided horseback tour of the property. Keep an eye out for native birds and wild pigs along the way.

www.treetops.co.nz

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Chiva-Som

Thailand

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hiva-Som translates as “haven of life” and this spa retreat at Hua Hin, on the Gulf Thailand, has been leading the way in top-end health and well-being for the past 15 years, consistently winning awards and reviews along the way, including World’s Best Destination Spa. Just ask Elizabeth Hurley, David and Victoria Beckham, Elle Macpherson, Hugh Grant and other A-listers who come here to top up their batteries and polish their chakras.

A member of the Destination Spa Group and Healing Hotels of the World, Chiva-Som is surrounded by several hectares of lush gardens, with a long beach frontage. Accommodation is in 58 stylish Thai Pavilions, sea-view Ocean Rooms and spacious suites that come with butler service.

This is a resort dedicated to “lifestyle transformation”.

In addition to 70 treatment rooms, facilities comprise a kinesis studio, gym, Watsu pool (for gentle water therapy), flotation pool, a large outdoor swimming pool, bathing pavilion with Kneipp (mineral salts) bath, sauna, steam, Jacuzzi and indoor swimming pool.

Chiva-Som’s award-winning cuisine uses organically grown fruits and vegetables from the resort garden, “proving that low-calorie, nutritious food can truly be a gourmet experience”. The Emerald Room is for fine dining while Taste of Siam is the place for casual alfresco dining by the sea. www.chivasom.com

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Ayana Resort & Spa Bali

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he term “thalassotherapy” comes from the Greek: thalassa, meaning sea and therapeia, meaning healing. Thalassotherapy, we’re told, increases blood circulation and restores vital minerals lost as a result of stress, pollution and poor diet or lifestyle.

Thalassotherapy is a signature treatment programme at Ayana, whose 22,000 sqm Thermes Marin Bali spa complex includes one of the world’s largest Aquatonic seawater jet

pools – fed by water from the Indian Ocean and warmed to optimum temperatures to rebalance mineral deficiencies.

Floating in its salty buoyancy, it’s easy to exercise your way through 12 hydro massage stations containing dozens of individual jet streams, micro-bubbles and geysers to heal injured muscles and relieve stress. It’s recommended before “an early night and a dreamless sleep”.

Set amid Ayana’s serenely landscaped gardens on Jimbaran Bay, the spa complex also includes spa villas, treatment rooms, a beauty salon, reflexology and relaxation lounge, steam and sauna rooms. Not to mention an 18-hole golf putting course, three floodlit tennis courts, Jacuzzi Grotto, cold plunge pool, gym, spa boutique, Spa Café and the Honzen Japanese restaurant.

But the most exclusive venue must be the awardwinning Spa on the Rocks: two beautifully appointed treatment villas anchored to natural rocks and surrounded by the Indian Ocean. Only six couples a day can book in for treatments such as the exclusive “Lava Me Tender”, which utilises the rich mineral content of natural volcanic lava to restore skin radiance and elasticity. Check out the website for resort/spa packages. www.ayanaresort.com

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Kamalaya Koh Samui

Thailand

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his superb wellness retreat merges Eastern and Western therapies in a serenely beautiful environment on the Gulf of Thailand. Built around a cave where travelling monks once stopped to meditate, Kamalaya integrates holistic traditions from East and West to create a menu of more than 70 treatments covering detox and rejuvenation; programmes for a healthier lifestyle (such as weight loss and fitness); methods for dealing with stress; yoga and sleep enhancement.

Programmes range from three to 14 days and are tailored to meet the individual needs of each guest. The five-night Sleep Enhancement programme, for example, includes transfers from Samui airport, accommodation in one of 10 categories of rooms and villas, professional consultation, three healthy meals a day, participation in holistic fitness activities and use of the Steam Cavern and swimming pools.

Kamalaya cuisine, organic where possible, is based on a combination of Asian healing philosophies and current medical research. Menus include vegetarian dishes as well as seafood, poultry and lamb.

Founded by Americans John and Karina Stewart, who have engaging backgrounds (their stories are on the website), Kamalaya was recently named Spa Retreat of the Year at the Asia Spa Awards and Favourite Spa in Thailand at the SpaFinders Readers’ Choice Awards in New York. www.kamalaya.com

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COMO Shambhala Estate Bali

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oted Best Destination Spa in the 2013 Condé Nast Traveller Readers’ Spa Awards, COMO Shambhala Estate sits amid tropical jungle beside the River Ayung, a few kilometres from Ubud.

The stated aim of this holistic health spa is to encourage guests “to make real and lasting improvements” to their lifestyle “while learning to relax more completely”.

It would seem easy to relax in this lush jungle and river setting where The Source, a natural spring said to be revered by locals, provides “healing water”. Water from The Source fills Kedara – Sanskrit for “Water Garden” – where four treatment pavilions and relaxation areas sit. Other wellness facilities occupy a jungle clearing, while guest villas and suites are scattered throughout the 9ha site.

“Hands-on healing” is the mantra at COMO Shambhala, combining traditional Eastern techniques with scientific advances in holistic healthcare: various massage therapies, facials for restorative skincare and authentic Ayurvedic programmes. Resident experts include a yoga teacher, Ayurvedic doctor and nutritionist. After an initial consultation, individual programmes are designed to match your goals, be they fitness, detoxification, stress management or weight loss. Recommended treatments go hand in hand with daily activities of morning yoga, guided hikes and meditation. For the more energetic there are hikes and biking adventures through a landscape of rivers and jungle gorges.

Resort cuisine encourages balanced eating with menus that feature flavoursome dishes and raw foods. www.comoshambhala.com

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Fusion Maia Vietnam

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he Central Coast of Vietnam, with the bustling city of Danang at its heart and including the ancient capital of Hue to the north and the rustic town of Hoi An to the south, has emerged in recent years as one of Asia’s most popular destinations.

Much of that has to do with China Beach, a long stretch of white sand that’s now home to new resorts, golf courses and a distinctive spa hotel called Fusion Maia.

There’s nothing else like it in Asia. Room rates include two complimentary spa sessions a day.

Fusion Maia is Asia’s first all-inclusive spa; that is, your

room, a gourmet breakfast any time of day and all spa treatments are included in the rate. As manager Michelle Ford told World, “It’s great value because when you think of the price of spa treatments in other hotels, the room here is basically free.” Fusion Maia has 87 pool villas (villas with private pool), though most guests seem to prefer the main pool out by the beach – or the beach itself – when not indulging at the spa.

Fusion Maia aims to introduce guests to more natural ways of living and eating by employing methods and ideas they can take home. As we were waiting in the library for our Balancing Foot Massage at the end of a day playing golf, we noted a book on a shelf entitled 1001 Ways to Relax. Just being here was a good start. www.fusion-resorts.com

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Canyon Ranch @ Sea

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ruising can be a decadent business – too much good food, too little exercise – but for those who want to come home in better shape than they left, Canyon Ranch SpaClub® may be the answer.

Canyon Ranch SpaClub® spas are found on Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises fleet. Offering passengers “a haven of wellness and rejuvenation” with massage, body and skincare treatment rooms, weighttraining and cardio centre, sauna and steam rooms and a beauty salon with a full menu of services.

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The list of spa treatments includes facials, conditioning body scrubs and organic body wraps, massage and body work, including Ayurvedic and other Eastern therapies such as Reiki. Pre-treatment warm-up and relaxation comes courtesy of the Aromatic Steam Room and Finnish Sauna.

Physical fitness is not forgotten, with fitness assessments, fitness classes, specialised fitness services such as orthotics assessments and back care, and personal training.

Heath-conscious dining, meanwhile, is provided by way of Canyon Ranch SpaClub® selections marked on ships’ menus. And there’s nothing tasteless and austere here: portions are anything but skimpy and fresh seasonal dishes are prepared, wherever possible, with organic and sustainable ingredients. www.canyonranch.com/sea

It’s all included...

Enjoy the most inclusive cruise experience ever.

• FREE Unlimited shore excursions • FREE Pre-paid gratuities • FREE Beverages including fine • FREE 24-hour room service wines & premium spirits • FREE Specialty restaurants • FREE In-suite mini-bar replenished daily • FREE 1-night luxury hotel package**

2014 SAILINGS OPEN FOR RESERVATIONS 7 - 21 night cruise in a deluxe suite starting from $4,080* per guest!

For a brochure call 0800 CRUISE (278 473) Contact your travel agent or visit www.RSSC.com

NORTHERN EUROPE

MEDITERRANEAN

ASIA/PACIFIC

SOUTH AMERICA

ALASKA

CANADA/NEW ENGLAND

CARIBBEAN

*New Zealand dollars, double occupancy. Based on Seven Seas Navigator’s 21 May 2014 sailing. Subject to availability. **Hotel package available for Concierge & Above only. Terms apply. Please see brochure for full conditions.

The Banjaran Hotsprings Retreat Malaysia

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his spectacular spa and wellness retreat lies close to the city of Ipoh, in the northeast of the Malay Peninsula, about two hours by road from Kuala Lumpur. Its setting, however, within a sevenhectare valley filled with lush rainforest, geothermal hot springs, natural caves, waterfalls and dramatic limestone hills, is a world away from the normal considerations of everyday life. It’s a place for some serious time out – with physical and mental tune-up included.

The Banjaran’s myriad wellness programmes are designed for stays of from two to 21 days. Arriving guests go through a personalised wellness consultation and an itinerary of appropriate activities is put together. Its Spa and Wellness Centre offers more than 40 types of

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holistic treatments and therapies inspired by ancient Malay, Chinese and Indian practices. Also available: colon hydrotherapy, antioxidant restorative therapy and hydrotherapy, energy healing treatments such as Reiki and chakra energy balancing, and a variety of massages, foot reflexology, organic facials and body treatments.

Also on site are mineral hot pools, a thermal steam cave, ice bath, meditation cave, crystal cave, jungle walk, fitness centre and swimming pool. Oh yes, and a pool containing garra rufa doctor fish for those who fancy having their legs therapeutically nibbled.

Accommodation is in 25 beautifully appointed Garden and Water Villas, each with its own private plunge pool.

The retreat’s Pomelo Restaurant serves Malaysian spa cuisine with an emphasis on light and healthy dishes and you’ll find rare and organic wines in Jeff’s Cellar – housed in a limestone cave. www.thebanjaran.com

Daintree Eco Lodge and Spa Queensland

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orty minutes north of Port Douglas, Queensland, this world-renowned eco-lodge occupies 12 hectares in the heart of the World Heritage-listed Daintree Rainforest. From its very beginning the lodge has worked closely with the Kuku Yalanji tribe, which has occupied the land for – well, a very long time.

The rainforest itself is believed to be 135 million years old. The Kuku Yalanji people know the rainforest as Wawu-Karrba, or a place that heals the spirit. With that in mind, the lodge has a spa inspired by Aboriginal healing

techniques. Indeed, the menu of treatments here had first to be approved by tribal elders whose knowledge of ancient healing practices was incorporated into treatments used here today.

The Ngujakura or “Dreamtime” treatment, for example, is a three-hour sensory journey where, they claim, your body, mind and soul go “walkabout”. It includes Aboriginal foot and water therapies, a full body massage and a facial.

The Kambar Ochre treatment, on the other hand, involves the use of warm oil and sea salts for exfoliation inside a cocoon of warm mud.

Of course, between spa treatments guests have time to discover the rainforest and learn more about Aboriginal culture during guided walks and by taking part in on-site art and cultural workshops. The lodge’s highly-rated restaurant serves modern cuisine infused with local flavours. www.daintree-ecolodge.com.au

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Gwinganna Lifestyle Retreat Queensland

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f you find there are too many everyday distractions preventing you from achieving the kind of healthy lifestyle you’ve only dreamt about, we suggest you spend a week here. You might think of it as a wellness boot camp but it’s really more relaxed than that. Indeed, learning how to relax is the point.

Lying 30 minutes from Gold Coast airport amid 200 hectares of lush forest in the Tallebudgera Valley, this award-winning retreat is an architectural gem – an eclectic collection of villas, suites and houses with a circular spa compound that includes 33 treatment rooms. It’s located in the hinterland but not far removed from the coast. Some vantage points have sea views.

It’s hard to imagine another spa in this part of the world offering such an extensive menu of treatments. Organic facials and massages are just the start. An Amethyst Crystal Steam Room, shiatsu, reflexology, acupuncture, herbal healing, Pilates, yoga – even boxing and modern dance with personal trainers – are part of the package.

The menu includes unique Gwinganna experiences such as Sound and Stone (the Holistic Treatment of the Year according to the Asia Spa Awards; see the website for details). The dining room serves only organic food, beautifully prepared and with many ingredients sourced from gardens and orchards on the property. www.gwinganna.com

SpaHalekulani Hawaii

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ou’ll find SpaHalekulani in the landmark Halekulani hotel on Waikiki Beach. Oral history has it that early Hawaiians viewed Waikiki as a place of hospitality and healing. Gray’s Beach, which fronts Halekulani, we’re told, was known for its healing waters, or kawehewehe, and Hawaiians sought relief from their ailments here, where a freshwater channel ran through the reef.

Since it opened 2003, the 464 sqm spa has received regular accolades for its services. The stylish and well-equipped spa “infuses the concept of wellbeing throughout your entire experience, evolving healthy practices to inspire an elevated lifestyle”.

A major makeover at the spa included a new philosophy – Wellbeing, Living as an Art – which is, it says, has been incorporated into a new menu of treatments, new organic product lines, enhanced Spa Cuisine offerings and a series of MindBody fitness classes. The spa specialises in Polynesian therapeutic rituals and Pacific and Eastern techniques and treatments using pure products.

The extensive spa menu includes massage and body treatments, skincare for face and body spa rituals and sessions for couples, and hair and nail care. Featured signature treatment: Ho‘olele – “deep yet soothing” foot massage. www.halekulani.com

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