New Zealand Explorations

Nelson, New Zealand

npurdin — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:23:46 +0000

Ah, beautiful Nelson. I didn’t fall in love with you the first time I visited, but I did this time. The sun was shining brightly every day. I sent my group on a trip to Abel Tasman, then we all went on a wine tour. One of the best wine tours ever. Off the beaten track wineries. And the little town of Nelson was alive with all the rugby folks in town. USA v. Italy, so the fun Italians and the crazy Americans. Or is it the other way around? At any rate, Nelson is at the top of my list. More sunshine than any other place in New Zealand, beautiful scenery and delicous wines!

Is travel an experience?

npurdin — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 21:51:59 +0000

What? Groupon is now “selling” travel. Is travel an experience or a commodity? Travelocity, Expedia and all the others have turned travel into pork bellies. You work hard for your 2 weeks vacation each year. Do you want to have the best deal, no matter where or what it is, or do you want to have the best experience you can have?

Sydney

npurdin — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 22:50:29 +0000

How wonderful to be in Sydney again. It’s been a long time. Not much time here this time, but time enough for a dinner harbor cruise and then a half day city tour the next day. Got to spend some time on Bondi Beach and see the surf lifesaavers club. www.bondisurfclub.com You can see pics on my facebook page. Sydney never fails to disappoint.

Auckland

npurdin — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 18:03:21 +0000

What a glorious day to Waiheke Island. We first went to Stonyridge Winery www.stoneyridge.com where we got a very thorough tour of the vineyards and had a delicous lunch. Then off to Rangihoua Estate www.rangihoua.co.nz to see how olives are processed into oil and we got to taste some wonderful olive oils, and, of course, the opportunity to buy. They have some very famous customers who order their olive oils worldwide. Yikes! Spent too much money, but worth it! Then to Wild on Waiheke for beer (and wine) tastings. They are a microbrewery, a vineyard and also offer activities for team building, so a unique setting. www.wildonwaiheke.co.nz We ended the tour at Mudbrick, the original vineyard on Waiheke and one that has spectacular views back to the city.Great wines for the tasting, an interesting gift shop and of course, the views are just wonderful. www.mudbrick.co.nz Beautiful day. This was my second (or maybe third?) wine tour to Waiheke and I fall in love with the island more every time I go. Can’t wait to return.

Papeete

npurdin — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 16:35:47 +0000

Back to Papeete for last night back at InterContinental. A wonderful relaxing morning in one of the most beautiful places in the world before boarding a plane for Papeete. The scenery from the plane is worth the price of admission. And then a great stage show at the InterCon. Luscious Polynesian dancers, twirling fire and telling a story. Tomorrow up early for the flight to Auckland.

Bora Bora

npurdin — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 16:43:24 +0000

Lagoonarium. Now if that isn’t a made-up name. Hard to pronounce but pretty specific. Snorkeling in the lagoon and the lagoon is an aquarium since it’s protected from the ocean by the reef. However, the weather gods were not smiling. It was a very windy day, which made the water difficult to swim in. Almost everyone went in and we were supposed to hold onto a rope to watch the lemon sharks and rays beneath, but just getting to the rope was hard. I eventually gave up and tried to fight the waves to get back into the boat. I was getting nowhere fast, when one of the crew members saw I was struggling and immediately jumped in to help. The crew was fantastic. They were funny and entertaining, but clearly serious about their job. The boat driver confided that his wife worked at a resort but had lost her job about a year ago because tourism was down so much, so they were struggling to survive and feed their 3 kids. It’s tragic how this economic crisis has affected so many worldwide. Later, the sun came out for a little swim in a very protected spot and then it rained all afternoon. Ah well. There are worse places to be rained in than in an overwater bungalow in Bora Bora!

Bora Bora

npurdin — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 16:32:22 +0000

Spent a wonderful morning relaxing at the InterContinental Moorea. They have a great turtle enclosure where they rehabilitate turtles that have been hurt by propellers and other accidents. Most will be released back into the wild. Those who can’t fend for themselves get to spend the rest of their days being fed and pampered. After breakfast and lunch, it was off to the airport for the flight to Bora Bora. Found some wonderful bracelets at the Moorea airport. Only bought 2…should have bought all of them. Ah, regrets. The flight throughout the islands is spectacular. We made one stop before Bora Bora and each island was more beautiful than the last, before we finally arrived at Bora Bora late afternoon. Our launch was waiting to take us to the InterContinental La Moana. It was dark by the time we took off so all we could see were the lights of the resorts. Still, even at night, you could tell that Bora Bora was magical.

Moorea

npurdin — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 20:09:51 +0000

What a lovely day! Driving through downtown Papeete (wish we could have stopped for a while) and then the ferry to Moorea. It’s a short ride, full of all kinds of locals, hippies, surf boards and tourists. While I was busily videotaping and snapping shots, it wasn’t until we arrive that I realized the cover to my video camera was on! Not good. When we got off the ferry, we were picked up and went to a lookout at the top of a windy hill and the view of the Sofitel in the water was gorgeous! The water is a color of blue that must be seen. It cannot be described and I only hope my pictures can convey some of it. Our guide, who was fabulous, showed us the Bali Hai mountain, appropriately shrouded in fog, we saw people fishing in the lagoon and had a snack of delicous fresh fruit at a stop for a garden that was full of vanilla plants. Then to our home for this night, the InterContinental Moorea, where we had a lovely overwater bungalow! We had most of the afternoon free to relax by the lagoon or snorkel. A truly lovely day.

Irish Weather

npurdin — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 17:18:23 +0000

I always love a discussion of Irish weather. Just ran across one on the Northern Ireland Tourist Board website. It says the sunniest months are May and June with an average duration of sunshine at 5 to 6.5 hours per day! Living in Arizona, where we have 330 sunny days a year with probably an average duration of 10 to 12 hours per day, those numbers are astonishing! The wettest months are, not surprisingly, December and January with the driest April. I flew into Belfast one year in January and was met by an unusual snowfall. So unusual that the reason I was there, a rugby match in Dublin between Ireland and England, was cancelled because of the snow. But I’ve also been to Ireland in October and November and have enjoyed beautiful, sunny weather. It’s the “four seasons in a day” weather forecasting. Maybe that’s why I enjoy Ireland so much…the unpredictability of the weather, the warmness and openness of the people, and the green everywhere….because of the rain, of course!

Undefeated

npurdin — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 18:18:30 +0000

I don’t get it. New Palin movie called Undefeated. Didn’t she quit the only political job she’s ever had? Didn’t she contribute significantly to the “defeat” of the Republicans in the last presidential election? How exactly is she “undefeated”. Such an ego. Such a sham.