Standing with my head dangerously close to the cow’s buttocks, I’d been assigned the task of attaching the suction cup apparatus to the teats. I hadn’t milked a cow since the 80s and it was oddly satisfying how each cup would so neatly swallow their assigned teat. Equipment attached and with a brief surge of…
Tag: Hotels
Why ‘Bayview At 91’ Is The Place To Stay In Whitianga + My Top 40 Coromandel Photos
You’d think there’d be more of a song and dance about one of the initial landing spots for Captain Cook in New Zealand. After the first-placed Cook Landing Site Historic Reserve on Kaiti Beach Road in Gisborne, the evidently humble, picturesque spot of Simpsons Beach in the Coromandel is right up there historically for the adventures…
Tauranga’s French Country House: Why You Don’t Need To Be Beachside – Top 50 Photos Including Waterfalls, Forests & The Mount
The view towards Mount Mauganui from the French Country House, Tauranga. I wanted to stay by the beach. It was January, the middle of the Kiwi summer, and not only that, I was going to be in one of the most iconic seaside destinations in New Zealand – Tauranga / Mount Maunganui. Only problem was, everybody…
New Zealand’s Only Tea Estate: Zealong Tea + A Luxury Waikato Farm Stay
Statues at the Zealong Tea Estate. Turns out in all of New Zealand there is only one solitary tea estate. In a country famed for agriculture, horticulture and our basic enthusiasm for growing stuff, we don’t make any of the product so many of us drink on a daily basis. That is, all except for…
Road Trippin’ Through Tauranga & Coromandel In A Brand New Holden Commodore VFII – Top 10 Photos Of The Car
The Holden Commodore VFII – the French Country House Tauranga behind. It’s the first time I’ve ever driven a car without having to put the keys in the ignition. I know this is technology that’s been around for more than just a little while, but when you normally drive a 1600cc 2001 VW, the novelty…
Why Robin Williams Loved Rotorua – Top 50 Rotorua Photos Incl. The Black Swan Boutique Hotel
Rotorua’s Black Swan Boutique Hotel. When Robin Williams died, one of the best stories to come through to my Newstalk ZB radio show was from a Kiwi couple who’d once bumped into the actor in Rotorua. They were riding their mountain bikes through the city’s famed Redwood Forest (5600ha, officially named Whakarewarewa Forest) and had taken…
Summer At The Chateau – My Top 50 Photos From 1 Of NZ’s Most Iconic Hotels
Summer at The Chateau. With the New Zealand Herald publishing my article on what is arguably the most famous hotel in New Zealand – The Chateau in Tongariro National Park – I thought I’d head on back. Why not! Only this time it was with the idea of doing a Summer At The Chateau photo…
3 Days In Wellington – What To Do, Where To Stay & My Top 50 Photos
Oriental Parade. I wonder if there are other major cities in the world with the unofficial slogan “you can’t beat it on a good day.” Because Wellington is not alone in being beautiful when the weather is nice, just think of northern rival Auckland along Tamaki Drive with the sparkles of the harbour and the…
Did Elton John Really Stay At A 2-Star Guesthouse In Cambodia?
The signed photo that hangs proudly at the Fancy Guesthouse. With news Elton John is about to release his 33rd studio album (entitled Wonderful Crazy Night*), there’s one lingering question that remains tantalizingly unanswered for fans: Did he or did he not stay at a 2-star guesthouse while in Cambodia a few years ago? According…
Let’s Travel Magazine Akaroa Article – Top 30 Photos + Where To Stay
The cover of the latest Let’s Travel mag. The latest issue of New Zealand’s premier travel magazine Let’s Travel is out and it features two of my articles. One is about my return to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia where I lived as a child and the other is about the incredibly photogenic and historic town…
The Opulence Of Lake Karapiro Lodge – Why Waikato Can Be A Destination And Not Just A Gateway (incl. 40 photos)
Lake Karapiro Lodge Provincial Waikato is unfairly unfashionable when it comes to New Zealanders’ own appraisals of their beautiful country. Probably because when we drive through Waikato it’s at 100ks and we’re always on the way somewhere. Somewhere more heralded as a tourist destination like Rotorua, Tauranga or the mountains and forests of Tongariro National…
New Zealand’s First Great Luxury Hotel: Why Staying At The Chateau Is Still So Worth It
The Chateau in Tongariro National Park, central North Island. I’d always wanted to stay at The Chateau. As far as historic hotels go in New Zealand there are few so iconic. So with it being my birthday last week I decided to see what the 86-year old dame is like. And given the lakeside town…
