Perhaps unexpectedly, one of my most memorable drives ever was in a Toyota Highlander. Given that SUVs aren’t known for their driving dynamics, I was a bit surprised at the time, too. It was late afternoon, and we were on a skiing holiday in Queenstown. Without boring you unreasonably with detail, our slope time had […]
Okay, okay, I admit it, I am guilty as charged. When it comes to the four-wheeled machine, I have always preferred big over small. Sure, it’s a prejudice but one I have always been able to justify — comfort, performance and practicality… need I go on? Which is why I was struggling to get excited […]
It’s official. Wellington’s hottest new residence of choice is undoubtedly Clyde Quay Wharf. For those of you a little out of the loop, that used to be known as the much less salubrious Overseas Passenger Terminal. Rest assured, these days plenty of five-bedroom places in Wadestown have gone under the hammer to expedite a purchase […]
A lot can happen in a decade. Take the last ten years for example. We’ve collectively witnessed the rise and rise of social media; the invention of the smart phone; and pretty much digital everything. Attitudes have changed too — President Obama is living proof of that — while we also contend with the phenomenon […]
The photos were beguiling. A large stone fireplace, comfy loungers, a swimming pool and expansive views stretching over Hawke’s Bay — the promise of a perfect weekend holiday home, or antidote to the usual Wellington weekend humdrum, in other words. No indulgent weekend is complete without the appropriate wheels, and none of us was disappointed to […]
I’m not a neuroscientist — this won’t come as a surprise to anyone who has read my columns I’m guessing — but I wonder if a chemical reaction occurs in the brain when you combine an enthusiastic driver with both a fast car and a beguiling (read empty) stretch of tarmac? On the basis of […]
As a youth, I liked nothing better than cruising around in cars with my mates — usually other people’s cars back then, as we didn’t have the means to buy our own. Very rarely, one mate in particular would get a loan of his dad’s Holden Calais. With its flash stereo, plush leather seats and […]
It’s Saturday night — after midnight, in fact, so technically Sunday morning — and Wellington’s infamous strip, otherwise known as Courtenay Place, is pumping. Teens and 20-somethings bounce off each other on the packed pavements; taxi drivers play dodgems with drunken youths as they weave through slow-moving traffic seemingly without pause for thought; and for […]
As luck would have it, it turns out that the Martinborough Hotel has really good mid-week pizza. In my experience though, pretty much anything will taste great when it’s 10pm and your stomach has been rumbling for an hour or two. As I cruised into town, the lights of the hotel were a welcome beacon. On […]
Believe it or not, many new European cars are getting cheaper. There’s a good chance you haven’t noticed – especially if a new car purchase in your household is about as likely as a Lotto win. But, if you’re lucky enough to be shopping for new wheels, your dollar should be buying you more Euro. The […]
