Lodestars Anthology #8
Now on its eighth issue, Lodestars Anthology travels to New Zealand to produce a reflective instalment that is full of typically dreamy landscapes and panoramic images. Editor Liz Schaffer invites us into this issue by pressing readers to visit New Zealand, if not to soak in the dramatic scenery, then to support Kaikoura, a township well-known for its whale watching and coastlines, that was hit by an earthquake in November last year.
Made for travellers, Lodestars seeks to inspire its readers by delving into one destination per issue, and what better time to tackle New Zealand than in its under-reported time of need? As a country that is, in places, very reliant on tourism, Schaffer addresses the importance of travelling and the difference it can sometimes make in restoring verve back into a community after a natural disaster.
Serving as a scrapbook that hopes to tickle its readers’ curiosity, the pieces are all written in a first-person, journal-like format, as though you really are opening the pages of somebody’s travel diary. Through these intimate pieces, the magazine acquaints us with many of New Zealand’s hidden gems; Aro Ha - a secluded health and wellness retreat, an illustrated account of the wildlife you might encounter on one of New Zealand’s hidden hiking trails, and many images of the more secluded South Island, and its stunning natural beauty.
Lodestars does what it sets out to do; describing itself as a magazine-meets-journal for curious travellers, and also a coffee table staple, it transports you serenely to another place and gives you a pinch of wanderlust.