New Zealand Explorations

Oamaru New Zealand

npurdin — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 20:16:04 +0000

When the Rugby World Cup changed matches around due to the Christchurch earthquake, I knew I would have to scamble to change the itinerary around for two groups. One group was fairly easy. They just started their trip in Auckland instead of Christchurch. The other was going to spend 4 nights in Christchurch in the middle of the trip and end up in Queenstown. When I started to look at options, I realized we would have to stay in Christchuch and continue down the southeast area of the South Island towards Dunedin. Dunedin was full, so here was my dilemma. Fortuntely for all concerned, I was able to get accommodations in Oamaru, and it was the hit sleeper of the tour! Not only did it have a blue penguin colony, but there was also an old boys tournament going on the weekend we were there. We visited the Whitestone Cheese Factory (award-winning handmade cheese.. http://www.whitestonecheese.co.nz ) . Yum. I bought the Windsor Blue and Farmhouse varieties and they were delicous! Can’t wait to try more. The Blue Penguin colony was fun, as was the town itself, with the Train and Steampunk contraptions in the middle of town. It was a great visit, and I’m so glad it worked out the way it did. Spent way too much time in Fat Sally’s though! Won’t forget that any time soon! Things happen for a reason, don’t they? www.visitoamaru.co.nz for more information.

Restaurants in Auckland

npurdin — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 16:28:36 +0000

The list of the 50 best restaurants in Auckland was recently posted, and Al Brown, the “wild chef” has named restaurateur of the year. His Auckland restaurant, the Depot Eatery & Oyster Bar, was also named best new restaurant. Al co-owns Logan Brown Restaurant & Bar in Wellington. Top 50 includes Clooney, Number 5, Morita, The Shed at Te Motu, The Tasting Shed, Tribeca and Vinnies. Can’t wait to give one and many of them a try.

AAT King’s

npurdin — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 18:10:34 +0000

AAT King’s has a great product and good discounts for both individuals and groups. I’ve taken many of their day trips in Australia and New Zealand. I love the itinerary for their Small Group tour of the South Island of New Zealand “Mountains and Lakes”. You do the TranzAlpine train to the West Coast, visit Franz Josef, beautiful Queenstown, an overnight at Milford Sound away from the crowds and Stewart and Ulva Islands for bird watching and native flora. Great itinerary for some of the best of the South Island. www.aatkings.com

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.