North & South

North & South is New Zealand’s premier monthly current affairs and lifestyle magazine, specialising in long-form investigative journalism, delivered by award-winning writers and photographers. North & South also showcases New Zealand ingenuity and creativity, explores the country and profiles its people. It is a touchstone of New Zealand life.

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OUR FIRST CREEPY CRAWLY VALENTINE • On 14 February, New Zealand will crown its first Bug of the Year — a new competition to rival (or complement) the beloved Bird of the Year.

The Pavlova Paradise • Once the defining feature of Kiwi suburbia, the quarter-acre section rapidly receded from view as urban development intensified. Matt Vance encounters a rare remnant and its gem of an owner.

SWEETEN UP, COOL DOWN • Regulate your temperature on these long, hot summer days with a cold treat. Where to find the best scoops in town, whether you’re north, south, west or east in the motu.

SAVE THE DATE

WHEN FIVE EYES DIDN’T BLINK

SUBSCRIBE TO NORTH & SOUTH TO BE IN TO WIN A LUXURY BACHCARE GETAWAY

Features • Whether by hammock, couch or in a quiet office, holding the fort while others play, enjoy our selection of “mysteries” this month. From a diplomat’s memories of the last days of the Vietnam War to a very modern sleuthing tale tracking the history of a tiny house, our features traverse different subjects, but all with a mystery at their heart.

OUR MAN IN SAIGON • Civilian chaos, terror, advancing unfriendly forces: the fall of Saigon to communist troops was one of the defining final chapters in the Vietnam War. By late March 1975, many Western countries — who had backed the South Vietnamese — had shuttered their consulates and evacuated their nationals. New Zealand was no different. Now, an untold story of the nail-biting Kiwi departure — and the antics of a French fraudster — can be shared.

THE OTHER LIVES OF KATHERINE MANSFIELD • Katherine Mansfield is celebrated for her literary genius but on the centenary of her death, Nicola Saker raises a glass to Mansfield’s determination to live a life true to herself.

CHASING THE GREY GHOST • The song of the South Island kōkako is said to have been one of the most beautiful sounds of the forest, but by 1900 it was all but gone. The species was finally declared extinct more than a decade ago, yet people keep hearing its haunting call and seeing glimpses of the bird dubbed the grey ghost. Some have spent their lives searching for elusive proof that it survives.

Lazarus Taxon

FOLLOW HER HOME • Tracing the tale of a little house — from Taupō landmark to Raglan family home — raises as many questions as it gives answers.

THE FANTASTICALLY GRAND INTERPLANETARY HOAX

SEEING RED • Last May, North & South published Nicola Saker’s memoir of what she found in her father’s SIS files: Wellington GP Dorian Saker had been spied on for years based on benign student antics and his friendship circle. In a bookend to that article, Miranda Jakich writes of a thwarted career and the cloud that has hung over her family — all laid bare in her father’s file.

Culture Etc • This month we welcome MasterChef finalist Alice Taylor to our pages with her new monthly food column, Alice Eats. Enjoy her first recipes — a delightfully summery combo of a warm salmon salad and lemon cream cups. Also in Culture Etc this month: gin, Crown Lynn, and taking it all in while travelling the Forgotten World Highway by golf cart.

Running Wild • From travel adventures to making mead in Coromandel — the couple behind a world-beating local gin followed a unique path to distilling success.

CROWNING GLORIES • Crown Lynn, the New Zealand-made crockery brand that can...