The best yoghurts in New Zealand

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New Zealanders love their yoghurts and innovative manufacturers continue to find new flavours and styles of yoghurt.

The best are honoured annually at the NZ Champions of Cheese awards.

Recent winners include:

The best yoghurts in New Zealand

Champion Yoghurt Award 2017

Clevedon Valley Buffalo Vanilla Bean Yoghurt – Clevedon Valley Buffalo

Champion Yoghurt Award 2016

Symbio Probalance Blueberry Wholegrain Yoghurt – Fonterra Brands NZ

Champion Yoghurt Award 2015

Clevedon Valley Buffalo Boysenberry Yoghurt – Clevedon Valley Buffalo Company

Source: NZ Champions of Cheese Awards

The best cheeses in New Zealand

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With some of the best milk in the world with which to work, New Zealand cheesemakers are building a reputation for making some of the best commercial and artisan cheeses in the world.

The best of the best are judged annually in the NZ Champions of Cheese awards.

Best cheeses in New Zealand

Overall winners

Champion of Champions Cheese Award (Commercial) 

Meyer Gouda Cheese

Meyer Smoked Goat Gouda

Champion of Champions Cheese Award (Artisan) 

Mercer Cheese

Fifty Fifty

Champion Cheesemaker Award 

Catherine Oakley

Just Ewe – Winsam Farm

 

Category winners

Champion Fresh Unripened Cheese Award 

Mozzarella Log – Massimo’s Italian Cheeses

Champion Feta Cheese Award 

Puhoi Valley Feta – Puhoi Valley Cheese

Champion Soft White Rind Cheese Award 

Grinning Gecko Brie – Grinning Gecko Cheese Co.

Champion Goat Cheese Award 

Meyer Goat Milk Gouda – Meyer Gouda Cheese

Champion Sheep Cheese Award 

Just Ewe Winsam Farmhouse – Winsam Farm

Champion Washed Rind Cheese Award

Puhoi Valley Cellar Range Washed Rind – Puhoi Valley Cheese

Champion Blue Cheese Award 

Kapiti Kikorangi – Fonterra Brands NZ

Champion European Style Cheese Award

Barrys Bay Havarti – Barrys Bay Traditional Cheese

Champion Dutch Style Cheese Award 

Meyer Fenugreek – Meyer Gouda Cheese

Champion New Cheese Award 

Meyer Smoked Goat Gouda – Meyer Gouda Cheese

Aspiring Cheesemaker Award

Zev Kaka-Holtz – Grinning Gecko Cheese Co.

Champion Original Cheese Award 

Kapiti Kikorangi – Fonterra Brands NZ

Champion Flavoured Cheese Award 

Meyer Smoked Gouda – Meyer Gouda Cheese

Champion Cheddar Cheese Award 

Mainland Tasty Cheddar – Fonterra Brands NZ

Champion Export Cheese Award 

Kapiti Kikorangi – Fonterra Brands NZ

Champion Yoghurt Award

Clevedon Valley Buffalo Vanilla Bean Yoghurt – Clevedon Valley Buffalo

Champion People’s Choice Cheese Award 

Kapiti Kahurangi Creamy Blue – Fonterra Brands NZ

Champion Cheese Packaging Award

Barrys Bay 3 Cheese Selection – Barrys Bay Traditional Cheese

Champion Home Crafted Cheese & Cheesemaker 

Mozzarella – Sandra Crone, By The Whey

Source: NZ Champions of Cheese Awards 2017

25 great places to pick your own fruit

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Every summer, New Zealand’s climate and fertile soil combines to help produce some of the world’s best fruits, especially berry fruits.

Throughout the country, farms and orchards sell from the gate, farm shop or cafe on site, and many encourage visitors to pick their own fruits (known as PYO, or pick your own).

Here are some of the best-established spots in New Zealand to find excellent produce at its source.

New Zealand’s best PYO fruit farms

(Listed north to south)

Northland

Blueberries

Blue River Orchard

5 Koropewa Rd, Kerikeri

As well as providing PYO, Blue River also takes its berries to weekly farmers’ markets at Kerikeri and Paihia over the summer. They also make and sell fresh berry ice creams, coffee, cake and smoothies.

Auckland

Strawberries

Massey Gardens and Orchard 

61 Bradly Road, Helensville

This is a third-generation family business that has been growing strawberries since 1974 and champions the “sweet red” brand (claiming they are “the world’s best strawberries”). With more than 40 hectares of crop, there’s plenty of opportunities to put the claim to the test.

Strawberries

Strawberry Corner

217 Alfriston-Ardmore Rd, RD2, Papakura

Established in 1995, Strawberry Corner is open for PYO from September-February and sells various grades of berry from their farm shop to cater for those who want to make jam to those who want to eat their strawberries fresh. Their berries are also available at the weekly Howick village market.

Coromandel

Plums and nectarines

Valley Orchard

1079 Tairua Rd, Whangamata

This orchard grows plums and nectarines beside State Highway 25, between Whangamata and Opoutere.

Waikato

Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries

Ye Olde Berry Farm 

479 Tauwhare Rd, Matangi

Just 10 minutes’ drive from Hamilton, this farm also offers fresh berry ice cream (including cherry and peach).

Blueberries (organic)

Monavale Blueberries

790 Wallace Rd, RD3, Cambridge

With more than 10 hectares of Bio-Gro certified organic crop, Monavale says it’s the largest such orchard in New Zealand. An excellent cafe, Cafe Irresistiblue, offers organic coffee to go with various blueberry treats.

Strawberries

Punnet / The Strawberry Farm

337 Newell Rd, Hamilton 

This site combines a PYO strawberry farm, an excellent cafe/restaurant, Punnet, and a country food store, The Country Providore. Young children will love the themed playground which includes trampoline, and large boat, train and aircraft structures to stimulate their imaginations.

Blueberries, lavender

Lavender Backyard Garden

398 Marshmeadow Rd, RD6, Hamilton

Just 10 minutes’ drive from Hamilton, Lavender Backyard Garden offers PYO blueberries and lavenders, fresh/frozen blueberries, lavender coffee and foods, real fruit ice cream and berry smoothies.

Bay of Plenty

Blackberries, boysenberries, redcurrant, blackcurrants, loganberries, olallieberries, raspberries, strawberries and bayberries.

Julian’s Berry Farm & Café

12 Huna Rd, Whakatane

PYO or go to the berry shop for various berry products including jams, sauces, soaps, moisturisers, and more. Their cafe is well-known for its best-selling berry ice creams.

Boysenberries

Iona Boysenberry Orchard

Corner of Bell Road & State Highway 2, Papamoa

You might need to be quick to PYO as the boysenberry season can be short. Keep checking in December and make the most of these gorgeous berries while you can.

Hawkes Bay

Strawberries

The Strawberry Patch

96 Havelock Rd, Havelock North

The farm grows three variety of strawberry (Cameras, Camille Royal and Albion), but also offers a range of fruit and vegetables at their shop. Real fruit ice cream and smoothies using their own product top off a visit.

Cherries, raspberries, blackberries, gooseberries, boysenberries, blackcurrants, redcurrants, blueberries, plums, table grapes, peacharines, peaches, pears, figs, feijoas, persimmons, chestnuts and tayberries 

Ruby Glen Orchard

92 Powdrell Rd, Meanee, Napier

Family-owned and been growing and selling seasonal fruits since 1997. You can PYO or go to the gate sales shop. With this huge range of produce available, you’ll always find something in season and as fresh as it can be.

Manawatu

Strawberries, apples, chillies, tomatoes, garlic

Penray Gardens

1199 State Highway 1 South, Otaki

This is a PYO farm with roadside shop on the main highway to Wellington. They offer whatever they can grow well.

Wellington

Bluebank Blueberry & Emu Farm

1301 Akatarawa Valley Road, RD2, Upper Hutt

About 45 minutes’ drive from downtown Wellington, this farm grows organic blueberries and sells them as is, or in farm-made fudge, dairy-free ice pops or as organic ice cream. The farm also breeds emu (they provide a meat similar to venison) and their shop sells emu oil and skin products.

Nelson

Raspberries, boysenberries

Berrylands

108 Appleby Highway, Appleby, Nelson

The raspberries are grown in the sunniest corner of New Zealand and are PYO when in season. You can also buy fresh fruit ice cream.

Canterbury

Blueberries

Broadfield Berryfruits

475 Robinsons Road, Broadfield

This farm is 20 minutes’ drive from central Christchurch and has been growing blueberries since 1992, and the crops haven’t been sprayed with chemicals since 1998. The owners encourage customers to pick fresh and in sufficient quantities to be able to save some for the freezer.

Cherries

Gracebrook Cherries 

156 Ashworths Road, RD1, Amberley

This cherry orchard charges an entry fee as well as a per-kilo price for cherries picked from the tree. Varieties grown are Dawson, Bing and Stella.

Blackberries, boysenberries, raspberries

Smithfield Berries 

90 Smithfield Road 2RD, Ashburton

This four-hectare berry farm has been growing fruit for more since the 1980s and offers PYO in season, and a produce shop. Berries include Ranui (a hybrid bred from Auroraberry and Marionberry) and their blackberry is the Karaka variety.

Otago

Cherries

Darling Orchard and Pure Fruit Juices

5090 State Highway 8, Ettrick

You can PYO cherries but also buy a wide range of fresh fruit and vegetables from the shops, including apricots, plums, nectarines, peaches, apples and pears.

Raspberries, boysenberries

Monte Christo

100 Springvale Road, RD1 Alexandra, Clyde

This speciality dessert cafe and gardens has plenty to offer families with a maze, mini golf and other children’s activities, as well as a range of tempting sweet dishes made with berries (and quince, walnuts and other produce) grown on site.

Raspberries, strawberries, boysenberries

The Berry Farm Bed and Breakfast

83 Orchard Road, Wanaka

This farm offers accommodation for visitors who want to wake up close to fresh berries. Located about 3km from Wanaka.

Cherries

Cheeki Cherries 

247 Ripponvale Rd, Cromwell

You can PYO or buy export-grade cherries from the farm shop.

Apricots, cherries, nectarines, plums, quinces, peaches, pears, greengages

Coal Creek Gardens 

3314 Fruitlands-Roxburgh Rd, Coal Creek Flat 

Five minutes north of Roxburgh on SH8, this is one of the oldest orchards in the country, having first produced fruit more than a century ago.

Cherries, apricots, peaches, nectarines, plums, apples, pears

Mrs Jones Fruit Orchard 

Cromwell to Queenstown Highway, Cromwell

Some fruit is available for PYO and the business has visitor tours of the orchards which are in a beautiful setting.

Southland

Blueberries

Blueberry Country

513 Otautau-Drummond Road, RD3, Otautau

This is the South Island blueberry farm for Blueberry Country who also have sites in Ohaupo, Waikato, and Ngatea. This is no hobby business – it produces more than 100 tonnes of blueberries every season!

10 top cinemas to watch a movie

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Among the string of chain-owned multi-screen cinema complexes, New Zealand still has some classic old theatres that provide more than just a seat, a bowl of popcorn and a couple of hours of escapism.

The movie industry boomed in the 1930s, thanks to the advent of technology that merged pictures and sound, and New Zealand soon had cinemas in just about every sizeable town and city. Built in the Art Deco style of the era, many of those buildings have either been destroyed or converted for other uses.

But some remain to provide movie-goers with a special experience, having been restored and converted to digital technology.

Here’s a list of cool theatres to check out a movie.

10  top cinemas to watch a movie

(Listed north to south)

The Bridgeway 

122 Queen St, Northcote, Auckland

Formerly known as the King’s Theatre, the cinema was renamed to acknowledge the construction of the neighbouring Auckland Harbour Bridge in 1959. These days, The Bridgeway provides a four-screen arthouse cinema with excellent cafe and a charm that reflects its history.

The Bridgeway was named Best Independent Cinema at the New Zealand Movie Convention in 2012 and was awarded New Zealand’s Best Cinema accolade the Australian Independent Distributors’ Association (AIDA) in 2012.

Victoria Theatre

48-56 Victoria Rd, Devonport, Auckland

The Victoria opened in 1912 with 965 seats and has had a tumultuous history, surviving a fire in 1924 and falling into disrepair and gradual decline. In 2004, the theatre faced potential closure so locals formed a trust and have helped turn fortunes around.

These days, patrons can enjoy movies with a drink, gelato, tapas and pizza, all in a compact but comfortable cinema.

Catch the Devonport Ferry from downtown Auckland and the theatre is a few minutes walk up the main street.

The Lido

427 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland

This arthouse cinema first opened as the Regent in 1925 and remains a stunning example of Art Deco design, inside and out, after being fully renovated.

The Lido has two screens and has a grand lobby with a particularly good wine bar, armchairs and a fireplace.

There’s also a twin – the Lido Hamilton, at Centre Place, 501 Victoria St, Hamilton – which lives up to the style standards set by its Auckland counterpart.

The Regent Cinema

61 Hakiaha St, Taumarunui

This cinema deserves full audiences (it seats 330) if only to repay the commitment of long-time owners Eri and Noelene Riches who finally gave it a digital upgrade in 2016, enabling it to screen recent release movies.

It’s the latest significant move in the history of a cinema that first opened in 1935 to a full house of 700. Since then, it’s been through changes that have seen the screen (one of the largest in the country) moved forward, reducing the seating capacity.

The Embassy

10 Kent Terrace, Wellington

The Embassy opened in 1924 as the Deluxe and it retains its historic links now it is part of the Event Cinemas chain. The original cinema could seat more than 1,700 customers before one of the largest screens in the Southern Hemisphere.

The building was renovated in the 1960s but was restored again for a Lord of the Rings premiere in 2003.

You can now enjoy everything from mainstream to arthouse and festival films at this iconic location at the gateway to Wellington’s food and drink district around Courtenay Place.

The Paramount Theatre

25 Courtenay Place, Te Aro, Wellington

Built in 1917, this is one of the oldest theatres still active in New Zealand. While its decor might be a tad tired, it’s still got the grandeur of times past with a staircase leading to a large lounge and balcony. It has three cinemas (one hosting 430 and the others 60 and 44), and juggles an eclectic programme of titles ranging from box office hits to arthouse features.

The Roxy

5 Park Rd, Miramar, Wellington

The Roxy began life as The Capitol Theatre in 1928 before being converted into a shopping mall in the late 1960s. It re-opened as The Roxy in 2011 after a $6 million redevelopment which retained its Art Deco design.

It now has two state-of-the-art cinemas and a licensed restaurant and cafe with features designed by the Weta Workshop team.

The Roxy won a Gold Award at the New Zealand Commercial Project Awards 2013 and was awarded Best Cinema in New Zealand by the Australian Independent Distributors’ Association (AIDA) in 2013.

The Regent Theatre

23 Weld St, Hokitika

Built in 1935 at the height of Art Deco popularity, the now-refurbished Regent is an impressive building. In 2009, The Regent became the first fully digital cinema in the country with the ability to download movies and screen them the day of release. Though it has only one screen, The Regent can seat 350 patrons.

It’s Hokita’s best night out since the 2014 closure of arthouse cinema Crooked Mile Talking Movies.

Dorothy Browns Cinema and Bar

18 Buckingham St, Arrowtown

This Otago gem was named after a rebellious photographer who scandalously lived with a Chinese gold miner during Arrowtown’s gold rush days.

Hopefully, Dorothy Brown would be proud of what she would find today – two beautifully decorated theatres, a bar and a bookshop, all in a stylish, modern setting. The roaring fire, and armchairs lined with possum fur, make the pre-movie drinks a bit special, while floating pink chiffon lines the walls of the main cinema, lit by chandeliers.

Cinema Paradiso

72 Brownstone St, Wanaka

Going to a movie at the Paradiso is night out with a difference. The twin screen theatre offers patrons the choice of being seated in comfy old sofas, a few armchairs or even in an old Morris Minor parked on the front row (a very different spin on the concept of a drive-in movie).

The cafe and bar does a roaring trade with local beers and wines and homemade treats such as warm cookies and ice cream.

“Halfway through, the film stopped and we had a short interval. Everyone went outside to the adjoining cafe and got freshly baked cookies (still warm), homemade ice cream or a beer and then settled back into their chairs. This is how all cinemas should be. It was more like being round someone’s house.” – UK Guardian writer enthusing about the Paradiso.

New Zealanders’ 10 favourite movies of all time  Ι  Our top 10 classic Kiwi movies

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