How to travel, even if you haven't saved
![SWAPPING HOMES: Richard Lintott and his wife turned to home swap as an affordable way to travel the world.](/web/20150123120842im_/http://www.stuff.co.nz/content/dam/images/1/2/w/d/n/z/image.related.StuffThumbnail.90x60.12wdif.png/1421954360574.jpg)
Long and leisurely trips after retirement would have been out of reach if Richard Lintott and his wife hadn't begun home swapping.
Time travelling to Hawaii
NZ has an unusual advantage for NYE: it's one of the few places where you get the chance to replay the occasion.
Planes should carry improved technology
![The aircraft's black box.](/web/20150123120842im_/http://www.stuff.co.nz/content/dam/images/1/0/e/o/9/5/image.related.StuffThumbnail.90x60.12whbl.png/1421965554912.jpg)
US accident investigators recommend all passenger planes making long flights over water carry improved technology.
US backs new airline warning system
The US will support the UN's proposal to share information about risks to aircraft over conflict zones.
King Tut's beard glued back on
![A golden funerary mask of King Tutankhamun is on display at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.](/web/20150123120842im_/http://www.stuff.co.nz/content/dam/images/1/2/w/h/v/6/image.related.StuffThumbnail.90x60.12whn7.png/1421966854903.jpg)
The blue and gold braided beard of famed pharaoh was hastily glued back on after being knocked off during cleaning.
Virgin flight drama costs man
An Australian man's wallet is considerably lighter after his bad behaviour aboard a Sydney-bound plane.
Wellington one of world's 'hottest cities'
![LOOKING FINE: It may be the windiest city in NZ, but Wellington is hot stuff according to the BBC.](/web/20150123120842im_/http://www.stuff.co.nz/content/dam/images/1/2/v/u/n/f/image.related.StuffThumbnail.90x60.12vtza.png/1421899427021.jpg)
Wellington has nabbed yet another international accolade, this time being named among BBC's "hottest cities" to visit in 2015.
Glow worms put on spectacular show
A park where hundreds of the luminescent critters light up the night is still one of Auckland's best-kept secrets.
![Quadcopter to capture New Zealand's scenic beauty](/web/20150123120842im_/http://www.stuff.co.nz/content/dam/images/1/2/u/y/6/z/image.related.StuffLandscapeThreeByTwo.300x200.12uunq.png/1421825379686.jpg)
Drone captures NZ's beauty
A drone called Clifford has taken to the skies to document New Zealand’s beauty.
Where you should really go in Melbourne
![PRETEND YOU'RE IN ITALY: Pellegrini's is just like Nonna's kitchen. Model: Monika Clarke from Chadwicks.](/web/20150123120842im_/http://www.stuff.co.nz/content/dam/images/1/2/t/d/q/3/image.related.StuffThumbnail.90x60.12tpm8.png/1421747928136.jpg)
Forget about the cliches: Here's where tourists should really go when visiting the world's most liveable city.
More than a touch of Paradise
A luxurious Gold Coast destination which proves more than a match for the region's famed beaches.
![EYE CONTACT: Thick glass separates the animals from the guests at the National Zoo's Jamala Wildlife Lodge.](/web/20150123120842im_/http://www.stuff.co.nz/content/dam/images/1/2/m/5/a/a/image.related.StuffLandscapeThreeByTwo.300x200.12t0au.png/1421544482728.jpg)
The lion (and the bear) sleeps with you tonight
Bathing under the gaze of an animal is disconcerting, to say the least.
The world's best hotel named
The best hotel in the world named in annual awards, but staying there doesn't come cheap.
![I’m not quite sure what to make of this. Photo location: Shanghai, China.](/web/20150123120842im_/http://www.stuff.co.nz/content/dam/images/1/2/t/b/t/d/image.related.StuffLandscapeThreeByTwo.300x200.12vtm9.png/1421958094356.jpg)
World's funniest signs
Sometimes signs just don't make sense. Here are 18 of the funniest from around the world.
Tourist numbers drop in Paris
![TOURIST NUMBERS DROP: French soldiers at the Eiffel Tower after the Paris shootings.](/web/20150123120842im_/http://www.stuff.co.nz/content/dam/images/1/2/m/r/u/3/image.related.StuffThumbnail.90x60.12ttk8.png/1421708849202.jpg)
Grey skies over a half-empty Eiffel Tower. Only a handful of tourists were taking photos, and one or two having portraits sketched by resident artists.
Bungy jumping, sans rope, in Spain
A medieval hamlet built into a towering cliff face proves a new dare-devil pursuit.
Death came in a bundle of cloth
![BATTLING THE PLAGUE: The boundary stone where all food and supplies to Eyam were left.](/web/20150123120842im_/http://www.stuff.co.nz/content/dam/images/1/0/6/j/f/h/image.related.StuffThumbnail.90x60.12wgfu.png/1421963839995.jpg)
A tailor who ordered a bale of cloth unwittingly triggered a chain of events that led to 260 villagers dying.
What's at the other Abbey Road?
Confused music fans roam the streets of London looking for Abbey Road
Could you escape from this room?
![RIDDLE ME THIS: (L-R) Eric Arnold, Cassie Young, Jen Lee and Matt Leedham work together to figure out a riddle on one of the clues in the room at Escape Room Live DC.](/web/20150123120842im_/http://www.stuff.co.nz/content/dam/images/1/2/t/w/e/5/image.related.StuffThumbnail.90x60.12tw3x.png/1421713656101.jpg)
You're trapped in a basement, frantically searching for clues to root out a spy defector and time is running out...
World's first Virgin hotel opens
Richard Branson promises unique services and no rip-offs a his first hotel opens.
5 free things to do in Vancouver
![VANCOUVER GEM: A visitor to Stanley Park rides his bike along with his dog.](/web/20150123120842im_/http://www.stuff.co.nz/content/dam/images/1/2/o/f/k/o/image.related.StuffThumbnail.90x60.12ofms.png/1421278523370.jpg)
Vancouver consistently ranks as one of the world's most livable cities and many of its most beautiful attractions are free.
Natural beauty to spare
In Alberta's high country the Rockies march shoulder to shoulder flanking the road, peaks bristling, glaciers sparkling.
China to 'shame' unruly tourists
![SNAPSHOT: Tourists posing at the ruins of Ephesus, Turkey. But the Chinese government says not all Chinese tourists behave well overseas.](/web/20150123120842im_/http://www.stuff.co.nz/content/dam/images/1/1/g/k/8/p/image.related.StuffThumbnail.90x60.12s99m.png/1421446841343.jpg)
China encourages citizens to film Chinese tourists' bad behaviour overseas so it can be publicised to shame offenders.
Amidst ancient temples
As I tee off for the sixth hole, the Shwedagon Pagoda looms in the distance.
![One of the 32 luxurious over-water villas at the One & Only Reethi Rah, Maldives.](/web/20150123120842im_/http://www.stuff.co.nz/content/dam/images/1/2/g/q/e/5/image.related.StuffLandscapeThreeByTwo.300x200.12ri30.png/1421744907055.jpg)
No limit to luxury in the Maldives
Rich or poor, this Maldives resort will at least make you feel like a million bucks.
What it's like living on a cruise
![The Crystal Serenity cruise ship at sea.](/web/20150123120842im_/http://www.stuff.co.nz/content/dam/images/1/2/v/n/3/p/image.related.StuffThumbnail.90x60.12vf2i.png/1421957745397.jpg)
For $216,000 a year, 86-year-old widow Lee Wachtstetter gets to see the world while living in the lap of luxury.
Luxury at sea in a $6000-a-night suite
Regent Seven Seas Cruises has unveiled plans for what it is calling the "most luxurious ship ever built."
Jumbo jet's spectacular journey
An unforgettable flight to the world's only ice continent makes for a perfect start to another New Year.
Woman freaks out over ferry delay
A woman's ridiculous temper tantrum about missing a ferry was captured on video for the world to see.
King Tut's beard glued back on
Planes should carry improved technology
US backs new airline warning system
Death came in a bundle of cloth
Measles outbreak tied to Disneyland
How to travel, even if you haven't saved
Air NZ worker didn't check cargo weight
Wellington one of world's 'hottest cities'