CHIT CHAT

For those who travel the world, Aesop has you covered. Aesop Arrival Travel Kit offers four best-selling products to ensure that your hair and body are well-maintained, even if you live your life on the go. With 50ml offerings of shampoo, conditioner, a Geranium Leaf body cleanser and body balm, you’ll travel well. aesop.com

What if you could embark on a trip without forgetting to pack a single item? Packing Pro offers an impressive selection of packing templates, which you can customise and save for future trips. Set a few parameters (days on the trip, abroad or domestic, activities planned), and the app churns out a custom checklist. quinnscape.com/packingpro

The latest addition to The Crossing whānau is Zeeks – a Mediterranean kitchen that favours fresh, simple ingredients, made well. Zeeks has taken on souvlaki, super salads, and hummus with nary a wince – and it’s fast becoming a Friday lunch staple here at Aves HQ. See you upstairs at The Crossing! zeeks.co.nz

Having the interests of the Little Blue Penguins at its heart, the staff at the Ōamaru Blue Penguin Colony proudly share their conservation story with thousands of visitors. The penguin colony is a modern-day sanctuary providing nesting boxes, rehab facilities, and a predator-trapping programme. Visitors can take delight in viewing the 30cm high penguins as they return home each evening from their days fishing at sea. A wonderful opportunity to experience this unique wildlife encounter, where your entry fee directly supports the ongoing conservation of the penguins and their habitat. penguins.co.nz

Planted one day by a flirtatious fairy, Qeeboo’s Daisy Lamp turns its most radiant love-awakening spotlight on you. The loves me, loves me not rendezvous is now transformed into a pretty lamp which will bring a soft note of love and emblematic romanticism to your room. ballantynes.co.nz

Addington Wine Festival kicks off as the leader of a series of mini-festivals held at Addington. With local wineries and musicians, it’s sure to be a fantastic day for a first taste of local 2022 vintage wines. Also on offer will be some of the finest smoked meats. Best of all, it’s affordable. 24 September at Addington Raceway. addington.co.nz/winefestival

Get ready to be inspired by some pro travellers! Peter and Yen are a Kiwi couple who post weekly travel vlogs from New Zealand and around the world. With a whole lot of hard work and planning, the couple retired young, left their jobs, sold their home, and now travel fulltime, making videos to share with others worldwide. The duo love travelling and eating good food, creating things, and learning about other cultures. With close to 40,000 subscribers on YouTube, they’re the ones to watch for all things travel. Check them out and journey along with them, and get some inspiration for your next intrepid journey. youtube.com/peterandyen

Have you heard of Madras Link? Founded in the early nineties by three sisters who brought the vibrant colours and exquisite fabrics of their Indian heritage to the textile market. Bring classic and elevated finishes to your evening drinks with Madras Link’s Ponte Brass Bar Cart. ballantynes.co.nz

Honey, pack the car, we’re off to Gondwanaland. Have you ever pondered what it would be like to tour ancient landcapes, experience the Jurassic and Cambrian worlds, and take in creatures and plants extinct for millions of years? Palaeontologist Thomas Haliday pens Otherlands: A World in the Making, a mesmerising Contiki of worlds long gone. With the skill and imagination of a novelist, Haliday has captured the drama and detail of every environment. Yet every description – whether the colour of a beetle’s shell, the rhythm of pterosaurs in flight or the lingering smell of sulphur in the air – is grounded in fact. thenile.co.nz

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