Auckland

Autumn in Auckland, New Zealand, has a certain ring to it, and it can be had for less too. Air New Zealand is offering a round-trip from LAX for $989, including all taxes and fees, for travel April 1-June 8 (their autumn). It's subject to availability, and there's a maximum six-month stay. Availability may be limited. Info: Air New Zealand , (800) 262-1234 Source: Airfarewatchdog.com  

Megaupload.com founder Kim Dotcom must remain in a New Zealand jail until a judge determines whether the alleged leader of a $175-million criminal conspiracy to pirate copyrighted material is eligible for bail. The German-born Dotcom, who legally changed his name from Schmitz, is scheduled to return to court Wednesday to learn whether the judge will set bail and allow him to return to his mansion, where police seized luxury cars, guns and art in a raid Friday. Dotcom and three other men appeared in court Monday in Albany, a suburb of Auckland, on U.S. criminal charges of copyright infringement and money laundering.

Air New Zealand has a sale on round-trip airfares from Los Angeles to Auckland . The deal: Discover New Zealand fares start at the bargain price of $848 round trip, excluding taxes and fees. Add $150,  and you get three stops within the country on the airline's Airpass -- a great way to see more and save. When: Good for travel May 4 to June 6 (remember, that's late fall / early winter in New Zealand), but you must purchase tickets by 11:59 p.m. PST Monday.

Autumn in Auckland, New Zealand, has a certain ring to it, and it can be had for less too. Air New Zealand is offering a round-trip from LAX for $989, including all taxes and fees, for travel April 1-June 8 (their autumn). It's subject to availability, and there's a maximum six-month stay. Availability may be limited. Info: Air New Zealand , (800) 262-1234 Source: Airfarewatchdog.com  

I walked along a wild, isolated beach, my bare feet sinking into damp sand as I listened to waves tumbling onto the shore. A lone surfer was catching foaming swells and then disappearing into the sea, popping up later in another place with his board. I had seen no one else in the two hours I'd been walking. Earlier that day, a nine-passenger twin-engine Islander had deposited me here, bumping down on the grass runway at Great Barrier Island, 65 miles and a world away from Auckland, New Zealand.

Misadventure made Michael Lewis famous. Now it's making him miserable. The tale of how an exhausted Sacramento college student misheard a series of airport announcements and found himself bound for Auckland instead of Oakland became an instant pop legend last week. Lewis was hot. The day after his mixed-up odyssey ended, he appeared on "The Tonight Show." Then he signed a contract with a Hollywood producer for a TV movie. Promotional trips to New York and Chicago were planned.

Rex Wilson of New Zealand won Auckland's shore-to-shore 10-kilometer road race Sunday in 28 minutes 24 seconds. Australia's Commonwealth marathon champion, Robert de Castella, finished second in 28:41. Last year the event was won by England's Dave Moorcroft.

Megaupload.com founder Kim Dotcom must remain in a New Zealand jail until a judge determines whether the alleged leader of a $175-million criminal conspiracy to pirate copyrighted material is eligible for bail. The German-born Dotcom, who legally changed his name from Schmitz, is scheduled to return to court Wednesday to learn whether the judge will set bail and allow him to return to his mansion, where police seized luxury cars, guns and art in a raid Friday. Dotcom and three other men appeared in court Monday in Albany, a suburb of Auckland, on U.S. criminal charges of copyright infringement and money laundering.

During a recent visit to New Zealand, my wife and I enjoyed a real change of pace with a tour to the Coromandel Peninsula, a region of spectacular natural beauty across the bay from Auckland. Brian Moorhead and Gaylene Earl, owners of Bush and Beach Ltd., made sure there was ample opportunity to get out and explore. We strolled through a tropical rain forest, walked along some magnificent beaches, dug our own hot tub on Hot Water Beach, enjoyed tea by a waterfall and picnicked in a park.

Whether the 1992 America's Cup is in San Diego or Auckland, New Zealand, skipper Dennis Conner will be racing for it. Conner announced the formation of "Team Dennis Conner," the syndicate under which he will race for the next challenge, either in Auckland or San Diego, pending an appeal by the America's Cup Organizing Committee to overturn an earlier court decision that awarded New Zealand the coveted cup. John Marshall, formerly of Hinkley...

New Zealand is temporarily allowing certain travelers in Christchurch who lost or left behind their passports and photo IDs amid the chaos of the deadly 6.3-magnitude earthquake to fly out without that documentation, according to a U.S. State Department alert . "At this time, no passport or photo identification is required for the New Zealand Government-sponsored flights," the alert posted Tuesday on the agency's website said. The alert added: "Commercial flights are operating from Christchurch to Auckland and Wellington.

Air New Zealand has a sale on round-trip airfares from Los Angeles to Auckland . The deal: Discover New Zealand fares start at the bargain price of $848 round trip, excluding taxes and fees. Add $150,  and you get three stops within the country on the airline's Airpass -- a great way to see more and save. When: Good for travel May 4 to June 6 (remember, that's late fall / early winter in New Zealand), but you must purchase tickets by 11:59 p.m. PST Monday.

I walked along a wild, isolated beach, my bare feet sinking into damp sand as I listened to waves tumbling onto the shore. A lone surfer was catching foaming swells and then disappearing into the sea, popping up later in another place with his board. I had seen no one else in the two hours I'd been walking. Earlier that day, a nine-passenger twin-engine Islander had deposited me here, bumping down on the grass runway at Great Barrier Island, 65 miles and a world away from Auckland, New Zealand.

THE BEST WAY TO AUCKLAND From LAX, Air New Zealand and Qantas offer nonstop service. Restricted round-trip fares begin at $1,538. TELEPHONES To call these numbers from the U.S., dial 011 (international dialing code) 64 (New Zealand's country code), the regional code (9) and the local number. WHERE TO STAY Boat Shed, P.O. Box 560, Oneroa, Waiheke Island; 372-3242, www.boatshed. Chic, nautically themed, luxury boutique hotel is centrally located to explore the wineries of Waiheke Island.

Bungee jump off a bridge, careen through wild rapids, float on a river through the blackness of a subterranean cave. "If you can dream it, we have it," the Kiwis say. There's no doubt about it: New Zealand offers a great escape, a misty dreamland of tranquil fiords, rugged peaks, frosty glaciers, turquoise alpine lakes and verdant rain forests. But with its wines now ranked alongside some of the world's best, New Zealand also offers visitors a grape escape as well -- a first-class wine destination where travelers can find pleasure year-round in hundreds of tasting rooms.

Gale-force winds battering northern New Zealand cut power to the nation's biggest city, while heavy snow from a cold snap collapsed roofs and blanketed much of the country's south. Electricity was cut to half of Auckland's 1.3 million residents. Police activated an emergency management plan. The city's airport was open but operating on generator power. Officials said a wire that had fallen across a power line also affected eight other supply lines to the city.

Chills ran up my spine as I read "Shipboard Medicine Raises Standards" (Healthy Traveler, March 25). Last Christmas Eve, on a cruise in the South Pacific, my father suffered a massive heart attack in his stateroom on Princess Cruises' Regal Princess. Medical personnel arrived immediately, and they were able to resuscitate him using onboard defibrillators. The defibrillators were needed again in the doctor's quarters during the wait for an ambulance in Auckland, New Zealand. (My father underwent a successful triple bypass operation in Auckland.

A group of 40 people in ill-fitting Santa Claus outfits, many of them drunk, went on a rampage through Auckland, New Zealand, robbing stores, assaulting guards and urinating from highway overpasses, police said. A group of Santas objecting to the arrest of one of their group attacked security staff who were later treated by paramedics, police spokeswoman Noreen Hegarty said. The rampage was dubbed "Santarchy" by local newspapers.

After taking four days off to avoid stealing any of the Angels' thunder, the nine America's Cup challengers resumed racing at Auckland on Monday -- Tuesday in New Zealand. OK, what really happened was that the Kiwi weather god, K-Rod, pitched a series of sliders across the Gulf that threw the Louis Vuitton Cup into chaos. For nine of the 21 scheduled race days since the trials started Oct. 1 the wind has blown too hard or too little -- usually too hard.