Where you find sport, you find Aussies

Ricky Ponting during the New Zealand Golf Open Championship at The Hills, Arrowtown, New Zealand. Friday 28 February 2014. Photo: Michael Thomas / www.Photosport.co.nz.

You can take the sport out of Australia, but you can’t take an Aussie out of the sport.

The NRL Auckland Nines, ICC Cricket World Cup, and the BMW New Zealand Golf Open have all been hosted in New Zealand over the past three months, giving Aussie sport fans plenty of reasons to visit.

Over 20,000 additional travellers have made the trip so far in 2015, compared to the same period (Jan-March) last year. March alone showed an almost 15% increase in arrivals from across the Tasman.

NZ is hoping this figure increases in the next months, when the AFL St Kilda vs Carlton Wellington Anzac Day Game and the NRL Melbourne Storm vs Dragons on July 25 are both held on home soil.

Everyone knows Aussies love their sport, and it’s not just the fans willing to take the journey to be part of the action. Australian cricketers Shane Warne and Ricky Ponting were photographed playing gold at Queenstown’s Millbrook Resort, in a spectacular pro-am round at the New Zealand Open golf championship.

The courses and scenery are “a one off – you just don’t see in many parts of the world,” Ponting said.

The flight being only three hours from some major East Coast Australian cities means it’s easy to watch a game, play a round of golf and still be back in time for work on Monday.

“We are finding that once fans are in New Zealand, they’re also taking part in a variety of experiences and end up doing everything from skiing and cycling to visiting vineyards,” Tourism New Zealand general manager Australia, Tony Saunders said.

Dragonflies is a whimsical sculpture on a water feature in The Hills golf course, Queenstown, New Zealand. CREDIT: Mark Hill

Dragonflies is a whimsical sculpture on a water feature in The Hills golf course, Queenstown, New Zealand.
CREDIT: Mark Hill

Featured Image: Australian cricketer Ricky Ponting tees off on The Hills golf course, Queenstown, during the 2014 BMW New Zealand Golf Open celebrity challenge.
CREDIT: BMW New Zealand Golf Open

Latest News

  • Destinations
  • News

APT Launches 2025 Asia Adventures

APT has launched its Asia Adventures for 2025, including new luxury holidays in India, Sri Lanka and Japan. Five new tours lead guests to the highlights of India, including a seven-night cruise along the rarely travelled Lower Ganges aboard the Ganges Voyager. Further south, Sri Lanka’s greatest destinations are revealed on a new 15-day Land […]

  • Cruise
  • Luxury
  • News

Seabourn announces Western Kimberley Traditional Owners as Godparents of Seabourn Pursuit

Seabourn has named Western Kimberley Traditional Owners, the Wunambal Gaambera, as Godparents of the ultra-luxury purpose-built Seabourn Pursuit. It is the first cruise line to appoint Traditional Owners as godparents of a ship. Seabourn Pursuit embarks on its inaugural season in the Kimberley region this June. The naming ceremony will take place on Seabourn Pursuit’s […]

  • Luxury

Malolo Island Resort opens brand new Spa

Fiji’s Malolo Island has added another string to its bow – opening its $1.3 million day spa on Thursday, 18th April 2024. (Lead Image: matriarch Rosie Whitton with spa staff) Located at the edge of the resort’s luscious patch of tropical rainforest, the new “Leilani’s Spa” adds another level of elevated experiences to Malolo’s already […]