We previously reported that New Zealanders who were waiting anxiously for the big America’s Next Top Model arrival last week came up empty-handed at the airport. They caught some of Jay Manuel on film, but, sadly, no Tyra.

Well, they didn’t have to wait long for proof that America’s most mogul-tastic supermodel was living it up in the Southern hemisphere.

At right is the first photographic proof of Tyra in New Zealand, thanks to the New Zealand Herald.

After the jump, read the latest news about where Tyra is taking her judges and final ANTM cycle 14 contestants, plus see more photos of Tyra in her purple one-shoulder get-up.

Here’s what the Herald had to say about the Tyra sighting, after the paper was provided the photo by Banks’ crew:

Looking glamorous and fierce in a magenta-coloured jumpsuit, she is shown standing in front of a Kea Campers rental van.

New Zealand fashion blogger Isaac Hindin Miller yesterday wrote that Banks had been spotted wine touring on Waiheke Island.

And the show’s judges have been seen shopping on Auckland’s High St.

They and the contestants arrived in Auckland this week.

The new season of the show has not started screening in the US, although it is understood filming is down to the final few model hopefuls.

Here are a few more shots of Tyra ‘smeyesing’ in Auckland, courtesy of Miller. Head over to his blog for the full batch!

Meghan Carlson

Senior Writer, BuddyTV

Meghan hails from Walla Walla, WA, the proud home of the world’s best sweet onions and Adam West, the original Batman. An avid grammarian and over-analyzer, you can usually find her thinking too hard about plot devices in favorites like The OfficeIt’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and How I Met Your Mother. In her spare time, Meghan enjoys drawing, shopping, trying to be funny (and often failing), and not understanding the whole Twilight thing. She’s got a BA in English and Studio Art from Whitman College, which makes her a professional arguer, daydreamer, and doodler.