Kaikoura has prime spot in Australian papers

A travel story that splashed the delights of Kaikoura across the pages of major Australian newspapers The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age in Melbourne has won its Kiwi writer top travel writing honours across the Tasman.

New Zealand-born, Australia-based travel writer Louise Southerden was chosen as the Australian Travel Writers Association's travel writer of the year last weekend, for the story on Kaikoura's eco-tourism appeal.

She also won the association's top award for environmental travel writing for the same story.

Ms Southerden was hosted by several well-known Kaikoura tourism operators and accommodation providers during her visit, but her exploring was not limited to the traditional tourist trail, with a visit to the Kaikoura refuse and recycling centre also included.

She heaped repeated praise on Kaikoura for its environmental achievements, including a string of eco-friendly firsts, such as becoming the first community in New Zealand to be Green Globe benchmarked and the first to become a plastic bag-free district.

"Kaikoura is a little town with big, environmentally responsible ideas," she wrote.

She loved the fact that the story was a winner.

"New Zealand's South Island is one of my favourite places in the world, and when I visited Kaikoura earlier this year, I was deeply impressed by its eco-sensibilities, and the way a consciousness of its natural environment and Maori heritage infuses the whole town and its tourism offerings.

"Thanks, Kaikoura, for giving me such great material to work with."

Kaikoura Mayor Kevin Heays described the story as very good exposure.

"Not only are we grateful, we're very pleased."

He was also pleased that Kaikoura's efforts on sustainability were again being recognised. The Kaikoura District Council had already fielded interest from Australian councils keen to copy its eco-efforts, he said.

The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age have the largest daily newspaper readership in Australia, with more than 1.3 million print readers and an equal number of online readers.

Australia was a very important tourism market, and feature stories in newspapers there provided inspiration for travellers to come to Kaikoura and New Zealand, Mr Heays said.

- The Marlborough Express